Political Science PhD Student Kayla Lui and her brother Justin talk about their Olympic journeys

Kayla Lui, PhD student in Political Science, is researching the politics of Olympic athletes and how their identities become political due to the nature of the Games. Her brother, Justin, is a member of Team Canada Volleyball, whom will be competing this summer at the Paris 2024 Games. Here, the siblings talk about their connections to the Olympic Games.

During my Master’s in Global Politics at McMaster, around February 2022, the Beijing Winter Olympics were in full swing. The big news was the doping scandal of Russian figure-skater, Kamila Valieva. I was fascinated about the contrasting reactions between how officials handled this case compared to previous summer’s USA track and field incident involving Sha’Carri Richardson.

I wrote a paper for Dr. Tony Porter’s Global Governance class comparing how each doping situation was handled by the IOC and WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) from a Black American runner to a White Russian figure-skater, since the situation carried similar elements but was handled in opposite fashions. Richardson was using marijuana to cope with her mother’s death, while Valieva was found using heart medication that could enhance her performance. Richardson was banned from the Olympic-qualifier event, whereas Valieva was granted permission to finish her competitions. At the time, the media was quick to compare the doping scandals and question whether race was a factor. The WADA claims it was following procedure and there was no element of race in question.

After discussions with Dr. Porter and Liam Stockdale about doping, the Olympics, and the lack of research in sports and politics, I mapped out how this interest could turn into a PhD dissertation. However, I wanted to bring in my other academic passions of gender and intersectionality, while still studying athletes as political actors.

Which brings me to my brother, Justin Lui.

Justin is a gay athlete for Team Canada Volleyball. It is no secret that if he played his sport in another country where LGBTQ+ rights were more constrained, he would not be representing his country. Justin is not the only one that unknowingly is a political actor with his decisions, other athletes continue to break the boundaries with their own identity and actions.

Through my research, I want to contribute to the literature about why and how the Olympics are political despite the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and their President Thomas Bach (2020) claiming they are apolitical. I think most people agree that it is impossible to be apolitical hosting over 200 states for an interactive global event.

Justin Lui on his Journey to Paris 2024

My journey to the Olympics started in 2016 when I watched the Canadian Men’s Volleyball team compete in the Rio Olympics. At this time, I was 16 myself and beginning to understand my potential future with the sport of volleyball. I was playing with Team Ontario and could see myself improving constantly as I looked towards playing volleyball in university. I never knew how far I could go with the sport, but at that time, volleyball was all I wanted to do. It was all I could think about. And when you’re 16, with nothing in your mind but an obsession and a dream, the future seems nothing short of an inevitability.

Two years later, I found myself in the gym of Stanford University, competing with the Stanford Men’s volleyball team. It was a goal of mine to attend Stanford university, given its prestigious academic and athletic culture there. I had known I wanted to go there in high school but thought it might be out of reach. But with my incredible support system of a family and some good fortune, I was able to live out my university dreams, finishing with two degrees and a wonderful volleyball career from the place I called home for five years of my life. It was through this time that I was able to strengthen my skills as a volleyball player, bringing my Olympic dreams closer within reach.

Finally, this past year in October of 2023, with some high odds stacked against us, the Canadian Men’s Volleyball team qualified for the Olympics. I was fortunate enough to be on the floor when this happened, shedding tears and hugging teammates as we realized what we had just accomplished. Some part of me thought this would not be possible. But sixteen year-old me held out faith. And now I look back and realize, amidst all the hard work, the struggle, the stress, and the immense challenge, what was once a dream is now a reality.