An Olympic Respite

” I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match”

– Mia Hamm, Double Olympic champion, soccer  

We hope you have been enjoying the Olympics this week as much as we are and perhaps using it (as we have) as a respite from the nonstop pollical discussions and inevitable “gaslighting.” In particular, the coverage of sports that one does not see on a regular basis has been outstanding. This year’s games began July 26, 2024, and will run through to August 11, 2024.

To that end, here are some interesting facts about the Olympic Games:

Olympic Origins & End:

The Olympics began in ancient Greece around 776 BC in the sanctuary of Olympia. These games were part of a religious festival held in honor of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. The ancient Olympic Games featured various athletic competitions, including running, wrestling, boxing, and chariot racing. Only freeborn Greek men were allowed to participate, and the games were held every four years, a tradition that inspired the modern Olympics’ four-year cycle, known as an Olympiad. The ancient games ended in 393AD when the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius banned the games which he considered a pagan festival.

The modern Olympic Games were revived in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator and historian, who aimed to promote international understanding and peace through sports. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, and featured athletes from 14 countries competing in 43 events.

Notable Moments:

· Women compete for the first time in 1900: Many a notable woman athlete has made a name for herself on the Olympic stage, but that was not possible prior to 1900. The 1900 Olympics, held in Paris like this year’s games, marked the first-time women athletes were allowed to compete. Though women athletes’ participation was limited to lawn and tennis and golf in 1900, the barrier was officially broken, and women athletes may find it especially meaningful to compete in the City of Light this summer.

· Jesse Owens dominates at the 1936 Summer Olympics: Tension surrounded the 1936 Games in Berlin, Germany, where the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, also known as the Nazi Party, ruled over the country. Known for its racist, anti-Semitic ideology, the Nazi Party lent an air of tension to the Games, as the party’s official newspaper argued that Jewish and Black athletes should not be allowed to participate in the Games. Party leaders, including Adolf Hitler, ultimately relented when other nations threatened to boycott the Games altogether. Against that backdrop, American track and field star Jesse Owens, who was Black, won four gold medals in Berlin, a feat no one would repeat for almost half a century.

· Wilma Rudolph inspires anew in 1960: American sprinter Wilma Rudolph overcame childhood polio to compete in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, where the sixteen-year-old earned a bronze medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay. But Melbourne proved to be just a preview of what was to come, as Rudolph, whose left leg was briefly paralyzed as a child, returned to compete in the 1960 Games in Rome, where she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Games.

· Tragedy looms over the 1972 Games: The Summer Olympics are intended to be a celebration of competitions and competitors, but issues far away from the arena of sports have often cast a shadow over the Games. Such was the case in 1972, when members of a Palestinian militant organization infiltrated the Olympic village in Munich, Germany and killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team before taking nine others hostage. Before the situation was resolved, the nine athletes and coaches initially taken as hostages were killed.

· Michael Phelps sets the record for gold medals in 2008: Among the most accomplished athletes of all time, American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the Beijing Games in 2008, breaking fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz’s record for gold medals earned during any single Games. Perhaps fittingly, Phelps earned his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Games by setting a world record in the 200-meter individual medley.

Enjoy the rest of the games.