A Study on Olympic Athletes’ Rights in the Athletes’ Rights and Responsibilities Declaration

The Athletes' Rights and Responsibilities Declaration(Athletes' Declaration) embodies values of progressiveness,inclusivity, representativeness, and the distinct nature of the sports industry. At present, the adoption of the Athletes' Declaration faces challenges, notably due to the considerable interpretational flexibility of its clauses, the narrowing scope of athletes' rights in practical scenarios, persistent limitations in procedural democracy of the Olympic model, and the absence of explicit provisions for the rights of athlete development. To tackle these issues, a strategic roadmap was proposed in the Olympic Agenda 2020+5. It consists the recommendations of optimizing execution environment, providing athletes with support to access funding, enhancing elearning opportunities for athletes, strengthening the main position of athletes, and digitally empowering athletes in acquiring knowledge and developing skills in digital media. By further summarizing and drawing insights from best practice examples of the IOC in promoting the Athletes' Rights and Responsibilities Declaration, a comprehensive approach can be adopted. This approach should consider the universal principles of human rights, cultural diversity and the distinctive nature of sports. By resolutely following China's path of human rights development and methodically planning and promoting athlete rights through aspects like development strategies, organizational leadership, guiding principles, legal protections, democratic practices, and exemplary case studies, the high-quality advancement of athlete rights in our nation can be facilitated.