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EXPLAINER: What does an Olympic diplomatic boycott achieve?

FILE - A crew member leaps to fix a logo for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics before a launch ceremony to reveal the motto for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing on Sept. 17, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics open in just under two months and are now the target to a diplomatic boycott by the United States with others likely to follow. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - A crew member leaps to fix a logo for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics before a launch ceremony to reveal the motto for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing on Sept. 17, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics open in just under two months and are now the target to a diplomatic boycott by the United States with others likely to follow. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE - A crew member leaps to fix a logo for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics before a launch ceremony to reveal the motto for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing on Sept. 17, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics open in just under two months and are now the target to a diplomatic boycott by the United States with others likely to follow. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

By GRAHAM DUNBAR / AP Sports Writer 5 min read

GENEVA (AP) – Diplomatic boycotts of the Olympics aim to snub host nations while keeping athletes free to compete.

A small cascade of government boycotts hit China on Wednesday, less than two months before the Beijing Olympics open.

The impact of these political weapons on athletes at the games should be close to zero, and viewers should see no difference in their broadcast content.

Their aim is calculated to hurt the pride of host nations such as China, which often have both sports and politics mixed into their motives for staging events as big as an Olympics or soccer’s World Cup.

In Australia, then the United Kingdom and Canada, governments announced their refusal to send officials to the Winter Games being held Feb. 4-20. The move against China started in the United States on Monday.