What do the Olympic Games tell us about the 20th century?

Details of the individual Olympiads

Potential themes: who can find 12?

• Impact of war. No games 1916, 1940, 1944. Germany not invited to 1920 or 1924.

• Improving technology and communication.• Nationalism (1908)• Games used for propaganda/political

purposes (1972, 1980.1984 )• Racial tension (1936, 1968)• Affects of world economic crisis (1932, 2012

compared with 2008)

• Geographical changes (Germanies, Balkans former USSR etc)

• Political changes• Changing world order • Professionalism v Amateurism Chariots

of Fire v Ben Johnson• Cheating/drugs etc• Women’s role. • Equal rights: Paralympics• Consumerism• Shrinking world • Faster transport.

• And more…

Paris 1900

• The discus and hammer throwers often found that there wasn't enough room to throw, so their shots landed in the trees; the hurdles were made out of broken telephone poles; and the swimming events were conducted in the Seine River which had an extremely strong current.

• Women first participated as contestants.

1904 - St Louis

• Only 100 of the 681 who turned up came from Europe, about 500 were from the USA.

• Athletes from the USA had won 238 medals, among which 78 were gold, 83 silver and 77 bronze.

• Germany, the country that came second in the medal list, had won only 13 medals... 

1908 - London

• Britain's recent refusal to give Ireland its independence caused Irish athletes to boycott the Games and caused contestants from the U.S to not dip the American flag to the British royalty during the opening ceremony (a tradition the U.S. continues to this day).

1912 - Stockholm• The Games also benefited from the use of

electric timing devices and a public address system which were first used at these Olympic Games.

In 1912 Jim Thorpe, a Native American, became the only man to win both the decathlon and pentathlon in one year. Officials cancelled his record and took back his medals when they learned that he had played professional baseball

1916 No games

• During World War One

1920 - Antwerp• The world had seen much bloodshed. Should the

aggressors of the war be invited to the Olympic Games? The Olympic ideals stated that all countries should be allowed entrance into the Games. Though Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Hungary were not forbidden to come, they were also not sent an invitation by the Organizing Committee. These countries were again not invited to the 1924 Olympic Games. In addition, the newly formed Soviet Union decided not to attend. (Athletes from the Soviet Union did not reappear at the Olympics until 1952.)

1924 Paris• It was this Olympics that became

fictionalized in the Academy Award winning film Chariots of Fire in 1981.

• Germany returned to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1912, after being banned from the 1920 and 1924 Games. The German team finished second in the 1928 medal count.

1928 Amsterdam

1932-Los Angeles

• Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations and athletes were unable to pay for the trip to Los Angeles

• Italy came second in the medal table

1936-Berlin

•  Germany topped the medal table• Jesse Owens• By allowing only members of the

Aryan race to compete for Germany, Hitler further promoted his ideological belief of racial supremacy. At the same time, the party removed signs stating "Jews not wanted" and similar slogans from the city's main tourist attractions. In an attempt to "clean up" Berlin .

1940 & 1944 No games

• During World War Two

1948 - London

• Not much money after the war• It was agreed that the participants would

bring their own food. • London was the first Olympics to have a

political defection. Gold medal Czech gymnast refused to return home, because

Russia was now in control• No new facilities were built for these

Games

1952 - Helsinki

• West Germany got no gold medals, only fully recognised by IOC in 1951.

• USA 40 and USSR 22 dominated as super powers. Games became politicised

• Questions of who now went to the Olympics. West and East Germany,

• China Taiwan?

1956 - Melbourne

• First games that most athletes flew to.• USA and USSR still dominate. • Some countries boycotted because of way

the USSR put down a revolt in Hungary• Australia third in medal table.

1960 - Rome

• West Germany now fourth in medal table. USSR well ahead of USA. Space age Cold War rivalry between USA and USSR was seen in the games too.

• The 1960 Olympic Games were the first Olympics to be fully covered by television.

1964 - Tokyo

• The first time South Africa was barred from taking part due to its apartheid system in sports.

• Japan third in medal table just 20 year after the war.

• The games were telecast to the United States using the first geostationary communication satellite, and from there to Europe.

1968 Mexico

• Black Power American athletes Tommy Smith and John Carlos demonstrated against racial segregation in their country. As they stood on the podium to receive their medals for the 200 metres, they raised black-gloved fists and bowed their heads when the American flag was raised. This gesture was their way of showing their support for the “ Black Power ” movement. As a result, they were sent home.

1972 - Munich

• Largely overshadowed by what has come to be known as the Munich massacre. Arab-Israeli conflict leads to 12 Israeli athletes being shot by Palestinians.

• East and West Germany came 3rd and 4th

1976 -Montreal

• West Germany overhauled USAIn protest at a tour of South Africa by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby union team early in the year, Congo's officialled a boycott of 28 African nations as the IOC refused to bar the New Zealand team.

1980-Moscow

• No US presence. Boycott over USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan. Even Britain came close to boycotting.

• USSR and East Germany dominated.• "Third World" athletes qualified for more

events and took more medals than at any previous Olympics

1984 – Los Angeles

• No USSR presence. In response to the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, 14 Eastern Bloc countries and allies including the Soviet Union, Cuba and East Germany boycotted the Games

• China 4th in medal table• Eleven athletes failed drug tests at the Los

Angeles Games • First time Marathon for women.

1988 – Seoul S. Korea

• As of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the host city for the Olympics has also played host to the Paralympics.

• Ten athletes were disqualified after drug tests revealed steroid abuse

1992 Barcelona

• United Germany took part after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989

• South Africa was allowed to compete in the Olympics for the first time since the 1960 Games, after a long suspension for its apartheid policy.

1996 Atlanta

• For the first time, Olympic medals were won by the athletes from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burundi, Ecuador, Georgia, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mozambique, Slovakia, Tonga, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan

Coca-Cola, whose corporate headquarters is in Atlanta, received criticism for being the exclusive drink offered in Olympic venues.

Eleven of the ex-Soviet countries made their debut

2000 - Sydney• Torch bearer, and gold medal winner Cathy

Freeman was Aboriginal. • Marion Jones, winner of three gold and two

bronze medals for the United States, gave them back in October 2007 after confessing that she had taken drugs.

• Afghanistan did not participate in 2000, having been banned due to the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression of women and its prohibition of sports.

2004 - Athens

• For the first time, major broadcasters were allowed to serve video coverage of the Olympics over For the first time, major broadcasters were allowed to serve video coverage of the Olympics over the Internet

Also since 2000, Yugoslavia had changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro

2008 Bejing

• Largest ever medals tally in China's Olympic history and marking the first time China has ranked first.

• They had entered the biggest team into the Olympics with a huge number of over 600.

• Efforts to reduce air pollution in the Beijing region

2012 London

• What will the issues be then?