Jean-Loup Chappelet · Sport in Society 2020 · narrative review and policy analysis · n=?

The unstoppable rise of athlete power in the Olympic system

Cited 23 times in the scientific literature.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Level 5 by design analogy (narrative historical review and policy proposal without empirical data).

OpenAlex W3015443719 · doi:10.1080/17430437.2020.1748817 · record verified 2026-08-27

What was done

The author conducted a historical and legal policy review tracking the evolution of athlete demands for improved remuneration and governance representation in Olympic and non-professional league sports over the past two decades. The paper outlines the history of these demands, analyzes responses from national and international sports federations, reviews mid-20th-century to present athlete representation models, and proposes a governance model requiring sports federations to alter their legal structure.

What was found

The abstract provides no quantitative data or empirical metrics. It descriptively outlines the progression of athlete representation movements and notes that current solutions center around various representative athlete groupings, while proposing legal restructuring of sports federations to accommodate athlete power.

Why it matters

The paper contextualizes growing athlete activism in international sports governance and offers a structural legal framework for federations attempting to integrate athlete representation and revenue sharing.

Limits

This is a non-empirical, narrative policy analysis and opinion piece. It contains no primary empirical datasets, quantitative evaluation of athlete representation models, or comparative outcome measures across specific federations.

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