-
While the Olympic games go back to ancient history, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally organised the first modern Olympic Games in 1896; hosted in Athens, Greece. Image: http://orangecountysportsclub.com/blog/olympic-fever-u2026fun-facts-about-the-programming-the-world-is-watching/
-
In 1900, the first female athletes competed in the Olympic games. Helene de Pourtales became the first female Olympic champion as a member of the Swedish 2-3 ton yacht group. However, it was not until 2012 that every competing country included a woman. Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne_de_Pourtal%C3%A8s
-
Jesse Owens went on to 4 gold medals. His dominance sent waves as Hitler intended to use this Olympics as proof of the "perfect Aryan race". Image: http://publicvigil.blogspot.com/2010/05/jesse-owens-and-american-eugenics.html
-
The Summer Games of 1936 were the first to be televised. However, they were only locally televised. The event would not be internationally televised for another 20 years. Image: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/society/politics-policy-people/sociology/family-vs-technology
-
While not officially a part of the Olympics, a series of events called the Stoke Mandeville Games was established in 1948 to help encourage those damaged from WWII reintegrate into society. The Paralympics would be officially declared a segment of the Olympics in 1960. Image: https://www.womenfitness.net/paralympics-athletes/
-
The Suez Crisis pushed Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq to boycott the Olympics as a form of protesting the Israeli occupation the Sinai Peninsula. A Soviet invasion of Hungary also sparked Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland to boycott the games as well. Image: https://clancytucker.blogspot.com/2017/10/4-october-2017-suez-crisis.html
-
After competing in the 200M Sprint, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, donned black gloves and raised their fists in protest of the treatment of African-Americans in the US. Both men were promptly banned by the IOC. Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute
-
Palestinian terrorists attacked and kidnapped many of the Israeli athletes in order to negotiate the release of over 200 Palestinian prisoners. After a failed rescue mission of the hostages 11 Israeli athletes, 5 Palestinian terrorists, and 1 German police officer were dead. Image: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2015/09/26/olympics/munich-72-and-beyond-chronicles-aftermath/#.Wo4BNKjwaUk
-
In the height of the Cold War, the 1980 Olympics were to be held in Moscow. The tension between the US and the USSR prompted President Jimmy Carter to declare a boycott on the games and instead hosted an alternative event in the US. Image: https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/1980-us-boycotted-the-moscow-olympics-because-russia-invaded-afghanistan/
-
At the 2000 Olympics, North and South Korea walked together as one group for the first time as a sign of unity between the 2 conflicting nations. They would again display this unity at the opening ceremonies in 2018. Image: http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=23448
-
While countless people were displaced from their homes due to the conflicts in the middle east, many athletes were not able to compete under the flag of a nation. This led to the first a group of refugee athletes who would compete under a neutral flag. Image: http://www.humnews.com/humnewscom/tag/refugees
