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An Overview of Olympic History
Legacy of the 1996 Centennial Olympics
Games
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Today’s Focus• Olympic Summary• Evolution of the Games• The Munich Games – 1972• Impact of the Cold War - 1980• Legacy of the Centennial Games - 1996
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Olympic Summary – Size & Scale
• Equivalent of:– 5 Super Bowls every day for 17 days– 80,000 person corporation
• Absolute start and stop date – No flexibility• 14,000 athletes (Olympics and Paralympics)• Over 4.7 billion viewers watched the Beijing Games (2008)• 26 sports• 302 events• 205 nations
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• Pagan religious festival started by the Greeks in Olympia to honor Zeus in 776 BC
• Held every 4 years• Lasted just 1 day• Consisted of 1 event; the 200 yard run• More events added later• Men only competed; Women banned• Roman emperor Theodosius I banned
games in 393 AD
The Ancient Olympics
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The Modern Olympics
• Founded by Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin
• Held in 1896 in Athens, Greece• Participation
– 14 Countries– 241 Athletes– 43 Events
• First Olympic gold medal won by Harvard’s James Connelly
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1896 Olympic Games
• Cycling• Fencing• Gymnastics• Shooting• Swimming• Tennis• Weightlifting• Wrestling
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Paris - 1900• Olympics held as part of World Exhibition • Women allowed into Olympics for the
first time; golf, tennis and croquet• No real Olympic venues• Athletes not told they were in the
Olympics• Athletes given cups, trophies or paintings.
Thought to be more valuable
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1904 – St. Louis• First Olympics held outside of Europe• Organized as part of the World’s Fair• Chicago won Olympic bid; Forced to
move games to St. Louis to avoid conflict– Held as part of Louisiana purchase
exposition• De Coubertin boycotts games• Adolf Busch (Budweiser) quartered
German athletes
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1908 – London• Originally scheduled for Rome• Lasted 187 Days• First Olympics with dedicated Stadium• First Olympics with parade of nations• First summer games to include winter
sports• US Flag dipping controversy• Marathon distance changed to
accommodate King Edward VII
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1912– Stockholm• Japan becomes first Asian country to participate• Electronic timing introduced• PA System used for the first time• Last Olympics to issue solid gold medals to winners• Literature, painting, sculpting and music added to
Olympic program• George S. Patton finishes 5th in modern pentathlon• First Olympics to be organized within 2 months
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1914 & 1918
Olympics Cancelled
World War I
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1920 – Antwerp• Olympic flag flown for the first time• Rings symbolize five continents which
complete • Colors of Olympic rings are found in
every flag in the world• Ice hockey made its debut• Germany, other “war losers” not
invited
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1924 – Paris
• Games held in Paris to honor retiring de Coubertin
• Winter Olympics introduced in 1924
• Germany still not invited
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1928 – Amsterdam• Olympic flame lit for the first time in 1928• Amsterdam games ban women from running
distances longer than 200 meters; last 32 years• Coca Cola sold at Olympics for first time• Germany returns to Olympics• First to bear moniker “Summer” Olympic games• General Douglas MacArthur oversaw U.S. team
as President of the American Olympic Committee
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1932– Los Angeles• Depression games• First games to have an Olympic village• Three tiered podium introduced• Brazilian team’s creativity
– 69 athletes set sail from Brazil to LA– Each given 50,000 sacks of coffee to sell at ports
along the way– Only 24 members sold enough coffee to leave the
ship. The other athletes had to return home to Brazil
• First Olympics to turn a profit - $150,000
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1936– Berlin• Nazi party rises to power in Germany• Third Reich use games to promote its ideology• Nuremberg laws passed• American team threatens boycott
– Avery Brundage vs. Judge Jerry Maloney
• First live sports televised – 134 program hours• Torch relay started• Jesse Owens wins 4 gold medals• Basketball makes its Olympic debut
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1940 & 1944
Olympics Cancelled
World War II
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• Mexico City – 1968– First Olympics in Latin America; 3rd World– Controversies involving athletes– Overshadowed performance of Bob Beamon and
George Foreman• Montreal 1976
– Canada hosts for the the first time– Only time host nation doesn’t win gold– Poor financial planning– African countries boycott because of New Zealand
rugby tour
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• Games return to Germany, now a divided country - East and West– Munich, West Germany hosted
• Major rebranding initiative by Germans– Billed as “the happy games”
• Minimal security presence
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September 5, 1972• Terrorist storm Israeli apartments in athletes village• Two members of team immediately killed; 9 taken
hostage• Terrorist demand release of Palestinians jailed in
Israel• Negotiations fail; Demand passage to airport• Unprepared West German police botch rescue at
airport• Terrorists kill hostages
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The Aftermath• Israel withdrew delegation• Memorial held the next day for victims
– No Arab representation– Flags not flown at half mast
• Overshadowed performance of Mark Spitz– 7 gold medals, 7 world records– Asked to leave Munich immediately for own
safety• Olympic security now a paramilitary operation
handled by the Central Government
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1979• Three Mile Island nuclear accident• Soviet Union invades Afghanistan• Iranians seize American hostages• Operation Eagle Claw Failure• Nation’s morale is very low
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The Miracle on Ice• US men’s hockey team beats powerful Russian
team in semi finals– Beats Finland to win gold in finals
• Restored national pride• Considered the biggest achievement in US
sporting history, according to ESPN poll• Overshadowed the performance of speed skater
Eric Heiden– 5 Gold Medals– 4 Olympic records– 1 World record
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US leads Olympic boycott of 62 NationsMarks the Only time in Olympic History the United States has Failed to
send a Team to the Olympic Games
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Atlanta Olympic Bid/Announcement• Planning began in 1987• Long odds - 50 years since bid city won in its
debut• Atlanta as a city had limited global recognition • Two wins – Had to defeat USOC and IOC Bid Cities
– Minneapolis and San Francisco were runner up US Cities
• Announcement made September 18, 1990– Atlanta to host XXVI Olympiad
• Beat heavily favored Greece in final round of voting
• Mascot was Izzy
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Size / Scope• July 19th – August 4th, 1996• President Bill Clinton declared games open • Record 197 countries• 10, 322 athletes• 79 countries won medals• 59 won gold• New sports included:
– Women’s soccer– Softball– Mountain Biking– Beach Volleyball
• First Olympics to post results online
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Carl Lewis wins 4th Consecutive Long Jump
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Lindsay Davenport and Andre Agassi, Tennis
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Controversies / Challenges• Transportation issues• Technology glitches• Centennial Park bombing• Sponsorship model criticized• IOC President moderates praise
for Atlanta during closing remarks• Atlanta organizing officials failed
to tap into federal funding
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• Urban renewal downtown• Centennial Park - $2.2 billion infrastructure
– GA Aquarium– World of Coca Cola Museum
• University housing• Sporting structures
– Turner Field– GA International Horse Park in Conyers– GA Tech Aquatic Center
• Major events– The men’s and women’s final four– Super Bowl– Conferences and events
Games Legacy - Atlanta
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Going Forward• 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro,
brazil• Host city for 2020 games to be announced in
September– Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul are finalist
• USOC sent bids to 50 US cities, including Atlanta, towards 2024 Games
• The United States a virtual lock for the 2024 games
• $6 billion and counting – The IOC keeps rolling
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Thank you for your Attention
Idorenyin [email protected]
Facebook: Idy Uyoe
Twitter: @uyoelive