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A History Of The Modern Olympics 1960 – 1988

hanun — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 05:25:25 +0000

This August (8th-24th) sees Beijing, China, hosting the games of the X X I X Olympiad. Below is listed a potted history of the Olympic games from 1960 to date including a few interesting facts about each games.

Rome 1960

Rome had been chosen to stage the 1908 Games, but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy had intervened. It was some 52 years later that the Games finally arrived in the Italian capital. The Rome games were broadcast by television to all European countries and were watched by millions. However, the competitions themselves were overshadowed by the rivalry between the US and the USSR. In the final medal table the USSR finished ahead of the US by 43 to 34 gold medals.

Olympic Highlights

Running barefoot, Ethiopian athlete Abebe Bikila did not go unnoticed when he entered the marathon. He refused to be daunted by the condescending remarks and left all his opponents behind to cross the finishing line victorious, near Constantine’s triumphal arch.

Aged 20, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold athletics medals in one Olympiad: in the 100m, 200m and 4×100m relay. She achieved this extraordinary feat despite suffering from a string of childhood illnesses and recovering from a deformed leg caused by polio.

Cassius Marcellus Clay, later known as Muhammed Ali first came to international prominence by winning the light-heavyweight gold medal. He would later turn professional and embark on a phenomenal career.

Tokyo 1964

For the first time, the Olympic Games were hosted in Asia, Japan invested heavily in the most modern sports facilities as well as in improving the infrastructure of a city containing over 10 million people.

The extraordinary architectural design of the swimming stadium led to it being described as a “cathedral of sports”. Other outstanding new buildings included the judo hall, which was modelled on the architectural style of traditional Japanese temples.

The opening ceremony offered a glimpse into how record-breaking the competition would be, when teams from 93 nations (10 more than participated in Rome) paraded into the Meiji Stadium. However, the high standards set by athletes at the Tokyo Games led some critics to warn about exaggerated expectations for the future development of the Olympic disciplines.

Olympic Highlights

Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser won her third successive gold medal in the 100m freestyle. She was the first woman swimmer to win eight medals (four gold and four silver) – over three Olympics.

Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina added six more medals to her tally, becoming the first woman to win nine Olympic gold medals.

Deszo Gyarmati won gold with the Hungarian water polo team, thus achieving the (then) unique feat of winning medals at five successive Olympic Games

Mexico City 1968

Mexico City’s high altitude – almost 2,240m (7,350ft) above sea level dominated much of the pre-Games discussion: the consensus being that athletes from lowland countries would be at a disadvantage. However several weeks of high-altitude training enhanced the performances of many of these athletes.

There were violent riots in the run-up to the Games, following complaints about the exorbitant amounts of money being invested in Olympic facilities in contrast to Mexico’s own social problems.

Controversy also arose over South Africa’s participation at these Games and the IOC withdrew its invitation under pressure. Doping controls were introduced for the first time and a Swedish athlete was disqualified for having too much alcohol in his bloodstream.

Olympic Highlights

American Bob Beamon was the favourite in the long jump but he exceeded all expectations. His jump of 8.90m beat the world record by 0.55m.

Czech gymnast Vera Caslavska won four gold and two silver medals. These victories were given extra significance by beating the Soviet gymnasts shortly after Soviet tanks had invaded her homeland.

American Debbie Meyer became the first woman swimmer to win three individual gold medals at one Olympic Games.

Munich 1972

The 1972 Munich Games were the largest yet, setting records in all categories, with 195 events and 7,134 athletes from 121 nations. The Games were supposed to celebrate peace, and for the first 10 days all went well.

But in the early morning of 5 September, eight Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic village, killed two members of the Israeli team, and took nine more hostage. In the ensuing battle, all nine Israeli hostages were killed, along with five of the terrorists, and one policeman.

The Olympics were suspended and a memorial service was held in the main stadium. In defiance of the terrorists, the International Olympic Committee ordered the competitions to resume after a pause of 34 hours. All other details about the Munich Games paled in significance.

Olympic Highlights

Finnish distance runner Lasse Viren fell halfway through the 10,000m final, but still set a new world record to win the first of his four career gold medals.

The media star of the Munich Games was the petite Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut, whose three gold medals helped establish Soviet dominance in the female gymnastics events and captured the attention of fans worldwide.

Montreal 1976

The 1976 Montreal Games were marred by the boycott of 22 African nations protesting the fact that despite the New Zealand rugby team touring South Africa in defiance of international sporting sanctions, New Zealand was still allowed to compete. To compound the situation, the host nation suffered an unusually long winter, industrial disputes, and a lack of funds, which made it impossible to finish work on the Olympic facilities in time for the opening ceremony.

However, the performances of the athletes did not suffer from the political and national disputes. Despite the problems, the Games were well organized and, following the 1972 terrorist attack in Munich, security was tight.

Olympic Highlights

Nadia Comaneci was the star of the Games. She achieved her first perfect 10 on the uneven parallel bars, and the judges awarded her the maximum mark seven times.

With his victory in platform diving, Italian Klaus Dibiasi became the first Olympic diver to win three successive gold medals, and to win medals in four Olympic Games.

The US and East Germany dominated the swimming events. Only Great Britain’s David Wilkie and the Soviet Union’s Marina Koshevaya (both winning their 200m finals in record times) upset the monopoly.

Moscow 1980

As a result of the US-led boycott in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, only 80 countries were represented at the Moscow Games. : Notable absentees included Japan, West Germany, and the US.

Western countries have frequently referred to the Moscow Games as being of a low standard, and have raised doubts about the sporting value of the results and medals. Nonetheless, although not of the highest calibre, the Moscow Games were hardly sub-standard: 36 world records, 39 European records, and 73 Olympic records bore testimony to the high level of talent and competition on display.

Olympic Highlights

Soviet swimmer Vladimir Salnikov won three gold medals: in the 400m and 1,500m freestyle, and 4×200m relay. He was also the first to swim 1,500m in a time of less than 15 minutes.

British middle-distance runners Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe faced each other in two memorable duels. In the 800m, Ovett won the gold medal just ahead of his compatriot. Six days later, a determined Coe redeemed himself in the 1,500m, taking gold while Ovett could only manage bronze.

By winning the decathlon, Great Britain’s Daley Thompson became “king of the athletes”, beating home crowd favourite Yuri Kutsenko into second place.

Los Angeles 1984

Although a revenge boycott led by the Soviet U
nion depleted the field in certain sports, a record 140 nations took part in the first privately funded tournament in Olympic history.

More than 30 sponsors together contributed more than $500 million, while other companies funded the building of new sports facilities, in a deal that allowed them to advertise on the admission tickets.

The ABC television network paid $225 million for the exclusive television rights, thereby ensuring that most events started in the evenings during prime television time in the US. With these vast amounts of money involved, many critics held the view that what had once been a festival of amateur sport was now a purely commercial spectacle.

Olympic Highlights

American diver Greg Louganis remained unbeaten from the 3m springboard as well as from the 10m platform.

Sebastian Coe became the first repeat winner of the men’s 1,500m.

In the women’s 400m hurdles, Nawal El Moutawakel led from start to finish, becoming the first Moroccan athlete to win a gold medal.

British decathlete gold medallist Daley Thompson finished just one point off the world record.

The Most Popular Sporting Events to Travel To

hanun — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:01:01 +0000

Traveling to sporting events is a way of life for many individuals. A person picks a particular sport they’re interested in and they follow it religiously. The most popular of these sports include American football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and hockey. Each one of these sports consists of an event in which thousands upon thousands of people attend and millions more watch on TV. Then there is the ultimate event, which is the Olympics. The Olympics is the crème de la crème of sporting events because it consists of a myriad of sporting events that many individuals love.

Popular world championships

Of the most important sporting events that people travel to is the World Cup Soccer Tournament. Millions upon millions of people enjoy watching this event live and on television. Some of the most talented athletes play soccer and the game itself is rather exciting to watch. One just never knows what is going to happen, which is one of the reasons why the sport has grown to worldwide popularity.

In the United States, the Super Bowl is the most popular sporting event. It consists of two teams that have played through a series of bowl games in order to make it to the ultimate prize. Thousands show up to this event and millions watch on television. The halftime show is known for exciting moments and big superstars.

The NBA’s Final Four Tournament is watched religiously by many basketball lovers. Many individuals use charts to predict who is going to make it to the Final Four. The Final Four is one team from each region of the United States. Eventually, it is narrowed down to two teams who play for the national championship.

The World Series is another very popular worldwide event. The World Series consists of the best baseball teams in the world competing for that one goal. That goal is to win the world championship title. This shows that baseball is more than just an ‘All-American Game.’

The last event that many travel to is the Hockey World Championships. Again, this is a world championship that many in the United States, Canada, and various other countries attend. The best in the world compete for the ultimate title of ‘World Champions.’

The Olympics

The Olympics is the most watched event and has the highest live attendance throughout the course of the event. Many countries from around the world compete in both the summer and the winter Olympics. Some of the sports such as basketball and hockey are commonly televised sports. However, there are other sports such as track and field, volleyball, swimming, and softball that aren’t usually televised as much. Gymnastics doesn’t see as much television time either, so the Olympics provides an opportunity for individuals to watch those sports they enjoy but do not normally get to see. This makes the Olympics a treat.

Fortunately, people are able to travel to an Olympic event every two years. That’s because there is a 4 year gap between the Winter Olympics and a 4 year gap between the Summer Olympics. This causes both Olympic events to stagger, allowing people to enjoy the games every two years.

Fun for everyone

When it comes to sporting events, they are fun for everyone. With such events as the Olympics, there is always a sporting event that everyone enjoys watching. It is refreshing to see the teamwork and more so to watch your team win the game. Winning produces a feeling of elation for the athletes and does the same for the fans routing them on. That’s why everyone should pick a favorite sport and a favorite team at some point in their life.

Bodybuilding And The Olympics: An Ongoing Controversy

hanun — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:48:24 +0000

The debate on whether bodybuilding should be an Olympic sport has been raging for years amongst the bodybuilding community and those interested in the Olympics. Ardent fans argue that weightlifting has been an Olympic sport for years, so why not bodybuilding? To diehard fans, bodybuilding and the Olympics seems to be a perfect fit, and questions like “Why is bodybuilding not already an Olympic sport?” are routinely aired.

Perhaps the more telling questions to ask are “Should bodybuilding be an Olympic sport?”, and “Would making bodybuilding an Olympic sport help the Olympics?”

Bodybuilding And The Olympics: Why It Is Not Already An Olympic Sport

The current Olympic program consists of 35 sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events, ranging from archery through to weightlifting and wrestling. The bodybuilding fan base, competitors, and sponsors are all ready and willing to take the step to Olympic level. The stumbling block is the International Olympic Committee and the OPC, who state simply that according to their criteria, bodybuilding is not a sport and there has no place in the Olympics.

This stand begs the question, “what determines a sport in the first place?”. A simple definition by the Australian Sports Foundation says that sport is “a human activity capable of achieving a result requiring physical exertion and/or physical skill, which, by its nature and organization, is competitive and is generally accepted as being a sport.”

Arguably, bodybuilding fits within this definition, and one would think this should be enough for the IOC. However, the primary problem the IOC has with allowing bodybuilding into the Olympics concerns drug abuse. They claim that the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs by bodybuilders would prevent bodybuilding from complying with Olympic drug policies. There are harsh and vigilant doping rules for Olympic competitors, which would certainly exclude many professional bodybuilders.

However, the natural bodybuilding fraternity does not use performance enhancing drugs. The Olympics could uphold their drug policies, allowing only natural bodybuilders to compete at the Olympics. This also aligns with the tradition of the Olympics being a competition for sporting amateurs, not professionals.

Another reason stated by the IOC for excluding bodybuilding from the Olympics was that the judging in competitive bodybuilding was far too subjective for an Olympic judge to critique. Given the controversy surrounding the subjective judging of sports such as ice skating, diving, and gymnastics this argument hardly seems to hold water. In fact, bodybuilding would seem to be a perfect fit!

How Bodybuilding Could Help The Olympics

As competitive bodybuilding has never been a mainstream sport, including it as an Olympic Sport would allow the sport to be better known and recognized. It would also make the sport more accessible, allowing people to learn more about bodybuilding, and possibly participate themselves.

Bodybuilding would also help the Olympics by widening the scope of sports on display. By showcasing bodybuilding, the Olympics would be encouraging people of all ages to eat good food, work out, become fit, and look after their health. These are important messages in a world where so many people are overweight.

A look back into history reveals that the Olympics were first introduced by the Greeks, who idolized and revered well toned, aesthetic bodies with healthy strong physiques.

Bodybuilding And The Olympics: The Main Argument Against

Besides the drug doping issue, perhaps the most prominent argument against including bodybuilding in the Olympics is the subjectivity of judges and the fact that there is often no clear winner. Even though other Olympic sports like ice skating are also in this category, the majority of Olympic sporting events feature clear winners, either by time, distance, height or lifting weight. No one can argue that judging mistakes have been made when a competitor clearly wins an event.

Although the jury is still out on bodybuilding and Olympics, it seems for the time being at least, that the Olympic Committee has no intention of including bodybuilding as an Olympic sport. Despite the fact that the bodybuilding fraternity is ready and willing to take the step to Olympic level, it looks like they will be waiting for some time yet.