Timeline of the Olympics
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708BC Lampis of Sparta won the pentathlon becoming the 1st Olympic winner in the long jump.
(NH, 6/03, p.12)
573BC Nemea, 70 miles from Athens, became the site for the Olympic games.
(SFC, 9/25/00, p.A6)
393 The ancient Olympic Games were held at intervals beginning in 776 BC until about 393 CE when they were abolished by Roman emperor Theodosius I after Greece lost its independence. The modern Olympic Games were started in 1896. [see 396CE]
(HNQ, 11/23/98)
396 The last Olympic Games were held under Emp. Theodosius I, who halted them due to increasing professionalism and corruption. [see 393CE] In 2004 Nigel Spivey authored “The Ancient Olympics."
(SFC, 7/14/96, p.T1)(WSJ, 8/13/04, p.W8)
1850 The Wenlock Olympian Games were set up by Dr. William Penny Brookes in Much Wenlock, England. A typical program of events featured running and leaping competitions and throwing a cricket ball, as well as non-athletic pursuits such as choir singing and awards for reading, arithmetic, knitting and sewing.
(AP, 7/1/11)
1890 Oct, Dr. William Penny Brookes (81) met Baron Pierre de Coubertin (27) of France, widely regarded as the founder of the modern Olympics, over several hours at the Raven Hotel in Much Wenlock. The two spoke about de Coubertin's wish to stage an international Olympic festival in Athens.
(AP, 7/1/11)
1893 Jun, Pierre de Coubertin convinced the General Assembly of the USFSA, an amateur sporting society, to host a congress in France that would examine the issue of amateurism in sports.
(ON, 8/07, p.3)
1894 Jun 16, In France 49 sporting societies from 12 countries participated in a Congress in Paris where delegates discussed amateurism in sports and the revival of the Greek olympics. By the end of the congress on June 23, Pierre de Coubertin won unanimous approval to revive the games.
(ON, 8/07, p.5)
1895 Feb, Georgios Averoff, a Greek philanthropist, agreed to pay for the rebuilding of the Panathenaic stadium in Athens for the upcoming revival of the Olympics.
(ON, 8/07, p.5)
1896 Mar 25, The 1st modern Olympic Games officially opened in Athens. Greece was on the old Julian calendar at this time. The revival was masterminded by Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France. [see Apr 6]
(Econ, 5/29/04, p.81)(www.forthnet.gr/olympics)
1896 Apr 6, The first modern Olympic Games formally opened in Athens, Greece after a lapse of 1,500 years. 8 nations participated. [see Mar 25]
(SFC, 7/14/96, p.T1)(AP, 4/6/97)
1896 Apr 6, James Connolly, a self-educated 27-year-old American, won the first gold medal at the 1896 Olympic games in Athens. Connolly‘s event, the triple jump, which was then called the hop, step, and jump, was the first final of the games. The U.S. Olympic team hadn’t realized that the Greeks followed the Hellenic calendar, so they arrived not days in advance but just a few hours before the opening ceremonies. Despite being hastily prepared, Connolly competed last and beat his opponents‘ distances by more than three feet. He went on to become a successful author of 25 novels. [see Mar 25]
(HNQ, 4/8/00)
1896 Apr 15, The first modern Olympic Games closed in Athens. 164 of the 241 competitors were from Greece. The remaining represented 13 countries, the largest international participation of any sporting event up to that time.
(ON, 8/07, p.5)
1900 May 14, The Olympic games opened in Paris, held as part of the 1900 World's Fair.
(AP, 5/14/07)
1900 Belgian horse rider Constant van Langhendonck (1870-1944) won an Olympic gold medal in Paris with a 6.1 meter jump in the equestrian long jump.
(Econ., 7/25/20, p.12)
1900 At the Olympics in Paris a Belgian sharpshooter killed 21 live pigeons. The event was abolished shortly thereafter. Separately the game of croquet was featured for the first and last time.
(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)
1900 The sport of Cricket was included at the Paris Olympics. France was the runner up to Britain.
(Econ, 5/9/15, p.16)
1904 May 14, The first Olympic games to be held in the United States opened in St. Louis. Some 1,500 athletes competed from 13 countries. The US won 80 of 100 gold medals. At the Olympics the game of golf was played for the last time due to lack of general appeal. The 3rd modern Olympics were held at the St. Louis World’s Fair. A separate competition was held for “uncivilized tribes" in what was billed as “Anthropology Days."
(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)(AP, 5/14/97)(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)(PCh, 1992, p.658)(WSJ, 8/11/04, p.B1)
1904 Archery debuted as an Olympic sport for women. Britons won the top 3 medals.
(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
1906 Apr 9, The third modern Olympic games opened in Athens and marked the 10th anniversary of the modern Olympics.
(HN, 4/9/98)
1908 The marathon of the Olympic Games was changed from 24 to 26 miles so that the finish line would fall in front of the Royal Box in England. The length was set at 26 miles 385 yards.
(SFEC, 1/9/00, Z1 p.2)(Econ, 5/29/04, p.81)
1908 The US won a gold medal in the men’s metric mile.
(WSJ, 9/12/00, p.A24)
1908 At the Olympic games in England, Russia objected to separate medal totals and flag-flying for athletes from Finland, die to its control over Finland. The Finns marched with no flag.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1912 Jul 6, The Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, opened in Stockholm, Sweden. The games closed on July 22.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912_Summer_Olympics)
1912 Jul 7, At the Stockholm Olympics Native American Jim Thorpe won a gold medal in the men's pentathlon. On July 15 Thorpe won another gold medal in the men's decathlon
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_at_the_1912_Summer_Olympics)
1912 Aug, NYC held a ticker tape parade for the victorious US Olympians.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ticker-tape_parades_in_New_York_City)
1920 Apr 20, The VII Olympiad opened in Belgium. The Olympic oath and flag showing 5 interlocking rings as a symbol of the 5 continents made their first appearance at the Antwerp Olympics. Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary were not invited and the new Soviet Union decided not to attend.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Summer_Olympics)
1920 Suzanne Lenglen of France, wearing a shockingly short skirt, won 2 gold medals in tennis at the Olympic games in Antwerp, Belgium.
(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
1920 Oscar Swahn (72) of Sweden won a silver medal for shooting in the Antwerp Olympics.
(WSJ, 3/31/08, p.A1)
1920 The Olympics dropped the tug-of-war event this year.
(Econ, 2/8/14, p.59)
1924 Jan 25, The 1st Winter Olympic games opened in Chamonix, France.
(http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-winter-olympics-begin-in-chamonix-france)(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A19)
1924 Feb 4, The 1st Winter Olympic games closed at Chamonix, France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_Winter_Olympics)
1924 May 4, At the Olympics in Paris the French rugby team beat the Rumanians 61-3.
(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1924 May 18, At the Olympics in Paris the American rugby team beat the French 17-3. Only France, Rumania and America fielded rugby teams. Rugby was dismissed from the Olympics after rival fans rioted following the American upset victory.
(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1924 Jul 27, The summer Olympics closed in Paris.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_Summer_Olympics)
1924 May, Benjamin Spock, a Yale medical student, won a gold medal as part of the men’s 8-man rowing team in the Paris Olympics.
(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)
1924 May, Helen Wills and Vincent Richards swept all 5 tennis titles. Tennis was dropped from the Olympic Games because the best players had turned pro.
(SFC, 2/5/00, p.B3)(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1924 May, Johnny Weissmuller (19) won gold in the 100-meter swimming event.
(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1924 May, Gertrude Ederle won a gold medal the summer Olympics in Paris as a member of the US 400-meter relay team.
(ON, 2/10, p.4)
1924 May, The US dominated the summer Olympics in Paris and Finland ranked a distant 2nd.
(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1928 Jul 28, The Olympics opened at Amsterdam. Track and field events opened for women for the 1st time despite objections from Pope Pius IX. Germany was allowed to participate for the 1st time since WWI.
(SC, 7/28/02)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1928 Aug 3, Ray Barbuti saved the US team from defeat in Amsterdam Olympics track events by winning 400 m (47.8 sec).
(SC, 8/3/02)
1928 Aug 10, The Univ. of California crew won the rowing championship at the Olympics in Holland.
(SFC, 8/8/03, p.E6)
1928 Aug 12, The 9th Olympic Games closed in Amsterdam. During the games several women collapsed at the end of the 800-meter run. This led to a 32-year ban on women running in Olympic races over 200 meters.
(SC, 8/12/02)(SSFC, 4/13/03, p.F1)
1928 The hockey team of the British colony of India won a gold medal.
(Reuters, 4/21/05)
1928 The Winter Olympic were held at St. Moritz, Switz.
(SSFC, 1/23/05, p.E14)
1932 Feb 4, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, N.Y.
(AP, 2/4/97)(HN, 2/4/99)
1932 Jul 30, The Summer Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles. The US won 41 gold medals, Italy was 2nd with less than a third of that. Bill Miller of Stanford won a gold medal in the pole vault when he cleared 14'-1 ¾". Later in the year he set a world record at 14'-1 7/8". Babe Didriksen (21) of Texas won 2 track gold medals and a silver. Track events in this summer’s Olympics were timed with manual stopwatches.
(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)(AP, 7/30/97)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)(WSJ, 8/23/04, p.C3)
1932 Aug 4, Luigi Beccali (1907-1990), Italian athlete, won Olympic gold in the 1500 meters. He gave a Fascist salute at the winners’ podium.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)(http://tinyurl.com/6al4up)
1932 Buster Crabbe (d.1983), US swimmer, won an Olympics gold medal in the 400m.
(MC, 4/23/02)
1936 Feb 6, Adolf Hitler opened the Fourth Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. 1061 athletes stood at attention half-hidden by a furious blizzard. Austrian and French athletes gave the Nazi salute in passing the revue stand.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Winter_Olympics)(SSFC, 2/6/11, p.42)
1936 Aug 1, The 11th Olympic games, dubbed "The Nazi Games," opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler. Jesse Owens won four gold medals including the 100-meter dash--becoming the world's fastest man. Owens also set new Olympic records in the long jump, the 200-meter dash and the 4 x 100-meter relay. It had been 36 years since a track-and-field athlete had won three gold medals in one Olympics. The games were filmed by Leni Riefenstahl and the torch relay was introduced by Joseph Geobbel’s Propaganda Ministry. Berlin’s homeless and itinerant Gypsies were sent into concentration camps. The game of Kabaddi was played as a demonstration sport.
(TMC, 1994, p.1936)(WSJ, 7/30/96, p.A12)(Hem, 6/96, p.104)(AP, 8/1/97)(HNPD, 8/1/98)
1936 Aug 5, Jesse Owens won his 3rd Olympic medal at the Berlin Olympics.
(MC, 8/5/02)
1936 Aug 12, Diver Marjorie Gestring became the youngest Olympic gold medalist (13y 268d).
(SC, 8/12/02)
1936 Aug 16, The 11th Olympic games closed in Berlin.
(MC, 8/16/02)
1937 Sep 2, Pierre de Coubertin (b.1863), French Baron and the major force behind the revival of the modern Olympics, died.
(ON, 8/07, p.5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Coubertin)
1938 Jul 16, Tokugawa Soyeshima sent a telegram to the Olympic Committee saying that Japan would not be able to host the 1940 Winter Olympics due to fighting with China.
(WSJ, 2/8/02, p.A1)
1938 Sep 3, The 1940 Olympic site was changed from Tokyo, Japan, to Helsinki, Finland.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1940 May 1, The 1940 Olympics were cancelled.
(MC, 5/1/02)
1948 Jul 29, Britain's King George VI opened the first Olympics since 1936 in London. Germany and Japan were not invited and the Soviet Union chose not to attend. Alice Coachman of the US was the first black woman to win a gold medal when she triumphed in the high jump. Audrey "Mickey" Patterson-Tyler (1927-1996) was the first black woman to win an Olympic medal. She won a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash.
(TMC, 1994, p.1948)(WSJ, 6/7/96, p.A1)(SFEC, 8/25/96, p.B5)(AP, 7/29/97)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1948 Aug 6, Victoria Manalo Draves (1924-2010) became the 1st woman to win 2 diving gold medals, and the 1st Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal.
(http://tinyurl.com/3ytlucx)(SFC, 6/3/05, p.F1)(SFC, 4/28/10, p.C4)
1948 Aug 6, Bob Mathias, later a US state representative, won the decathlon at the London Olympics. His unofficial title became "the world's greatest athlete." He won gold again in 1952.
(AP, 8/6/98)(SFC, 11/10/99, p.E7)(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)
1948 Aug 14, The summer Olympic games in London ended.
(AP, 8/14/08)
1948 Ann Curtis (1926-2012) of San Francisco won two gold medals and one silver in swimming at the London Olympics.
(SFC, 9/25/96, p.E10)(SFC, 1/31/15, p.C2)
1948 Owen Guinn Smith (d.2004), WW II pilot, won a gold medal in the pole vault. He used a bamboo pole on a windy and rainy London day and won at 14 feet, 1 ¼ inches.
(SFC, 1/23/04, p.A18)
1948 Runners broke through a cord that tripped an electric sensor to record time.
(WSJ, 8/23/04, p.C3)
1948 Marie Provaznikova, Czech athlete, became the first to defect from a Communist country during the Olympics in London.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)(www.sokolnewyork.org/history002.htm)
1948 Czech runner Emil Zatopek (1922-2000) won a gold and a silver medal at the Olympic games in London.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Z%C3%A1topek)(Econ, 6/11/16, p.84)
1948 In London, England, Joaquin Capilla (19) of Mexico won a bronze medal for platform diving.
(AP, 5/9/10)
1948 The Winter Olympic were held at St. Moritz, Switz., for a 2nd time.
(SSFC, 1/23/05, p.E14)
1952 Aug 3, The 15th Olympic Games concluded in Helsinki. US competitors won 40 gold medals.
(SFC, 8/2/02, p.E4)(SC, 8/3/02)
1952 Bob Mathias (1930-2006), US athlete from California, won his 2nd Olympic decathlon.
(SSFC, 9/3/06, p.A14)
1952 In the 15th Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, Joaquin Capilla (23) of Mexico won an Olympic silver medal, for platform diving.
(AP, 5/9/10)
1952 Czech runner Emil Zatopek (1922-2000) won three gold medals at the Olympic games in Helsinki.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Z%C3%A1topek)(Econ, 6/11/16, p.84)
1952 Yvette Williams (1930-2019) of New Zealand won the long jump gold medal at the Helsinki Olympics with a jump of 6.24m, an Olympic record and only 1 cm short of the world record then held by Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen. She set a new world mark of 6.29m in the New Zealand city of Gisborne in February, 1954.
(AP, 4/14/19)
1952-1972 Avery Brundage (1887-1975), American athlete and sports officials, served as president of the International Olympic Committee.
(Econ, 8/2/08, p.85)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avery_Brundage)
1956 Feb 2, Figure skater Tenley Albright became the first American woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy. She achieved this despite an ankle injury.
(NYT, 2/3/1956, p. 26)
1956 Nov 22, Melbourne, Australia, hosted this summer’s 16th Olympiad. 65 countries and 4,276 athletes competed. Closing ceremonies were held on Dec 8. The Netherlands and Spain withdrew from the Olympics in support of Hungary following Russia’s invasion. 45 athletes from Hungary defected during the games. Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq boycotted the games in protest over British and French actions over the Suez Canal. China boycotted protesting the inclusion of athletes from Taiwan.
(SFEC, 9/10/00, p.T8)(WSJ, 9/15/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1956 In Australia Joaquin Capilla (27) of Mexico won a bronze medal for springboard diving and a gold for platform diving.
(AP, 5/9/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn_Capilla)
1956 In Australia Murray Rose (1939-2012) became an Olympic champion winning the first of his three gold medals at the Melbourne Games in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
(AFP, 4/16/12)
1956 The Swim Eight-O-Matic Timer, the 1st semi-automatic swimming timer, was introduced.
(WSJ, 8/23/04, p.C3)
1959 Dec 21, Florence Griffith Joyner, runner (Olympic-3 gold-1988), was born in LA, Calif.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Griffith_Joyner)
1960 Feb 18, The Eighth Winter Olympic Games were formally opened in Squaw Valley, Calif., by Vice President Nixon. A drought of snow ended 2 days before the start of the games.
(AP, 2/18/98)(SSFC, 1/3/10, p.A13)
1960 Feb 26, USA's David Jenkins won the Olympics Gold for men's figure skating.
(SC, 2/26/02)
1960 Feb 27, The U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets, 3-2, at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.
(AP, 2/27/98)
1960 Feb 28, The Eighth Winter Olympic Games formally closed in Squaw Valley, Calif.
(SSFC, 1/3/10, p.A13)
1960 Aug 25, The 17th summer Olympics opened in Rome. Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994), was the first African American to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad. Her athleticism was remarkable since Rudolph contracted polio as a small child and spent six years in a steel brace. With therapy and hard work, Rudolph overcame her handicap to excel in basketball and track. As a celebrity, she worked to break many gender and racial barriers. Rudolph died of brain cancer.
(WSJ, 7/19/96, p.R6)(HN, 6/23/98)(chblue.com, 8/25/01)
1960 Aug 26, Knud Jensen (23), Danish cyclist, collapsed while riding in a 100-km team trial at the Olympics in Rome. He fractured his skull and died. An autopsy revealed amphetamines in his blood. His death would led the International Olympic Committee to begin a program of drug testing beginning with the 1968 Games held in Grenoble, France and Mexico City, Mexico.
(WSJ, 8/7/06, p.B1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knud_Enemark_Jensen)
1960 Aug, Rafer Johnson (1934-2020) carried the American flag into Rome’s Olympic Stadium as the first Black captain of a United States Olympic team. He went on to win gold in a memorable decathlon duel, bringing him acclaim as the world’s greatest all-around athlete.
(NY Times, 12/3/20)
1960 Sep 10, Abebe Bikila (1932-1973), barefoot runner from Ethiopia, won the Olympic marathon.
(HN, 8/7/98)(www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ZLB1-Ofyw)
1960 Sep 11, The 17th Summer Olympics closed in Rome. In 2008 David Maraniss authored “Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Summer_Olympics)
1964 Aug 18, South Africa was banned from Olympic Games because of apartheid policies.
(MC, 8/18/02)
1964 Oct 10, The XVIII Olympiad opened in Tokyo, Japan. The summer Olympics closing ceremonies were held on Oct 24.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Summer_Olympics)
1964 Japan completed the construction of the Yoyogi National Stadium, designed by architect Kenzo Tange, for the Tokyo Olympics.
(AP, 7/21/18)
1964 Bob Hayes (d.2002 at 59), sprinter, won gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics in the 100 meters and 4x100 relay.
(WSJ, 9/20/02, p.A1)(NW, 9/30/02, p.15)
1964 The Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck, Austria.
(StuAus, April '95, p.95)(WSJ, 7/19/96, p.R6)
1967 May, The Olympic Committee banned a number of substances including narcotics, steroids and amphetamines and announced that small-scale drug-testing would begin at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble and Mexico City.
(WSJ, 8/7/06, p.B1)(www.steroid.com/)
1968 Feb 6, Charles de Gaulle opened the 19th Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France.
(HN, 2/6/99)
1968 Feb 10, Peggy Fleming of the United States won the gold medal in women's figure skating at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France.
(AP, 2/10/97)
1968 Feb 26, Thirty-two African nations agreed to boycott the Olympics because of the presence of South Africa.
(HN, 2/26/98)
1968 Oct 2, Under Pres. Gustavo Diaz Ordaz soldiers with automatic weapons killed some 300 students in the Mexico City Tlatelolco massacre prior to the start of the summer Olympics. The government said only 50 students were killed during gunfire that lasted 5 hours. Luis Echeverria, later president, was the interior minister and the man in charge of public security. He was called before a congressional committee in 1998. Evidence in 1999 confirmed that pre-positioned soldiers fired on the students. In 2002 a special prosecutor said he has found no evidence to support historians' claims that some 300 people died when army troops opened fire on demonstrators in 1968. He put the number killed at 38.
(WUD, 1994, p.1687)(SFC, 9/1/96, p.A16)(SFEC, 4/6/97, p.C12)(WSJ, 8/13/97, p.A12)(SFC, 2/4/98, p.C2,14)(WSJ, 9/10/98, p.A1)(SFC, 6/28/99, p.A10)(AP, 8/5/02)
1968 Oct 12, The summer Games of the 19th Olympiad were officially opened in Mexico City by Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz.
(WUD, 1994, p.1687)(HN, 10/12/98)
1968 Oct 16, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos (23) sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving "black power" salutes during a victory ceremony after they'd won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race. In 2011 John Carlos with Dave Zirin authored “The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World."
(AP, 10/16/08)(SSFC, 10/9/11, p.G4)
1968 Oct 18, The US Olympic Committee suspended two black athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, for giving a black power salute as a protest during a victory ceremony in Mexico City. Bob Beamon soared 29 feet, 2 inches, to set a world record in the long jump. In 1976 Dick Schaap authored “The Perfect Jump."
(AP, 10/18/98)(WSJ, 8/9/08, p.W8)
1968 Oct 27, The 19th Olympic games closed at Mexico City, Mexico.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Summer_Olympics)
1968 Oct, Miloslava Rezkova-Hubnerovawon (1950-2014) won the gold medal for Czechoslovakia in women's high jump in Mexico City.
(AP, 10/20/14)
1968 The IOC introduced drug testing for Olympic athletes.
(Econ, 7/30/16, p.68)
1970 May 15, South Africa was excluded from Olympic play.
(http://tinyurl.com/4p3x2n)
1972 Aug 26, The XX Olympiad opened in Munich, Germany. The IOC had withdrawn Rhodesia’s invitation to the summer Olympics after several African nations threatened a boycott.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Summer_Olympics)
1972 Aug 31, Olga Korbut (b.1955) of Belarus, USSR, won Olympic gold medal in floor exercises and the balance beam.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Korbut)(AP, 8/31/02)
1972 Sep 2, Dave Wottle of the United States won the men's 800-meter race at the Munich Summer Olympics.
(AP, 9/2/02)
1972 Sep 4, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won a record seventh Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter relay at the Munich Summer Olympics.
(AP, 9/4/97)
1972 Sep 5, Terror struck the Munich Olympic games in West Germany as Arab guerrillas attacked the Israeli delegation. Palestinian terrorists killed 2 athletes and took 9 others and their coaches hostage. Eleven Israelis, five guerrillas and a police officer were killed in a 20-hour siege. The Palestinian commandos were linked to Carlos the Jackal, aka Ilich Ramirez Sanchez. In 1983 George Jonas authored “Vengeance," an account of an Israeli hit squad ordered to track down those responsible for the Munich attack. In 2000 the TV documentary "One Day in September" depicted the events. In 2005 Aaron J. Klein authored “Striking Back," and account of Israel’s response to the Munich attack. The 2005 the Stephen Spielberg film “Munich" was based on the book by George Jonas.
(SFC,12/11/97, p.C2)(WSJ, 9/8/00, p.W4)(WSJ, 12/21/05, p.D10)(WSJ, 1/14/06, p.A9)
1972 Sep 6, The Summer Olympics resumed in Munich, West Germany, a day after the deadly hostage crisis that claimed the lives of 11 Israelis and five Arab abductors.
(AP, 9/6/97)
1972 Sep 8, The Int’l. Olympic Committee banned Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett from further competition for talking to each other on the victory stand in Munich during the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" after winning the gold and silver medals in the 400-meter run.
(AP, 9/8/02)
1972 Sep 10, At the Munich Summer Olympics, the US Olympic basketball team lost to the Soviets, 51-50, in a gold-medal match marked by controversy because officials ordered the final three seconds of the game replayed, enabling the Soviets to win. The US protested, to no avail. Frank Shorter of the United States won the men's marathon at the Munich Olympics.
(AP, 9/10/02)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Summer_Olympics)
1972 Sep 11, The troubled 20th Olympic games closed at Munich, German FR.
(AP, 9/11/00)
1975 The Olympic Committee banned steroids.
(WSJ, 8/7/06, p.B1)
1976 Feb 4, The Winter Olympics were again held in Innsbruck, Austria, after Colorado rejected hosting the games. Ice dancing joined the program for the 1st time.
(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A19)(SFC, 7/31/21, p.B4)
1976 May 4, Australian PM Malcolm Fraser announced that "Waltzing Matilda" would serve as his country's national anthem at the upcoming Olympic Games.
(AP, 5/4/06)
1976 Jul 17, The XX1 Olympiad, opened in Montreal. Closing ceremonies for the summer Olympics were held August 1. 26 African nations boycotted the games after the IOC failed to bann New Zealand after its rugby team toured South Africa. Taiwan withdrew after it was denied the right to compete as the Republic of China. In 1998 it was revealed that 143 members of the East German team had taken performance-enhancing drugs.
(WSJ, 7/15/96, p.B1)(WSJ, 10/21/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1976 Jul 25, Edwin Moses (b.1955), American track star, won an Olympic Gold Medal In Montreal in the 400-meter hurdles.
(http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016369.html)
1976 Jul 31, "Sugar" Ray Charles Leonard (b.1956), boxer, won an Olympic gold medal.
(http://dcboxing.blogspot.com/2008/03/1976-olympic-final-sugar-ray-leonard-vs.html)
1976 Nadia Comaneci of Romania scored 7 perfect 10s in gymnastics at the summer Olympics in Montreal.
(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
1976 Bruce Jenner of the USA won a gold medal in the decathlon at the Summer Olympics in Montreal.
(SSFC, 2/8/15, p.A12)
1976 Dorothy Hamill (b.1956), ice-skater, won an Olympic Gold Medal.
(MC, 7/26/02)
1980 Jan 20, President Jimmy Carter announced the US boycott of Olympics in Moscow.
(www.kipnotes.com/James%20E.%20Carter.htm)
1980 Feb 13, The opening ceremonies were held in Lake Placid, NY, for the 13th Winter Olympics.
(AP, 2/13/98)
1980 Feb 15, Eric Heiden (b.1958) skated to an Olympic record of 500m in 38.03 sec.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skating_at_the_1980_Winter_Olympics)
1980 Feb 16, Eric Heiden skated 5k in 7:02.29, an Olympic Record.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skating_at_the_1980_Winter_Olympics)
1980 Feb 23, Eric Heiden (21) won his 5th speed skating gold at the Lake Placid Olympics. He went on to become an orthopedic surgeon.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skating_at_the_1980_Winter_Olympics)(SSFC, 9/22/02, p.E1)
1980 Feb 24, The U.S. hockey team defeated Finland, 4-2, to clinch the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.
(AP, 2/24/98)
1980 Mar 21, President Carter announced to the US Olympic Team that they would not participate in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow as a boycott against Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.
(www.cnn.com/resources/video.almanac/1980/index.html)
1980 Apr 13, The US Olympic Committee voted to boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
(www.iviesinathens.com/olympic/games.aspx?ID=122)
1980 Jul 16, Juan Antonio Samaranch (b.1920) of Spain was elected president of the Int’l. Olympic Committee (IOC). His reign lasted 21 years.
(www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/ioc/presidents/samaranch_uk.asp)
1980 Jul 19, The Moscow Summer Olympics began, minus dozens of nations that were boycotting the games because of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
(AP, 7/19/00)
1980 Aug 3, Closing ceremonies were held in Moscow for the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, which had been boycotted by dozens of countries, including the United States.
(AP, 8/3/00)
1982 Oct 13, The IOC restored 2 gold medals post mortem from the 1912 Olympics to Jim Thorpe (1888-1953).
(http://nomas-nyc.com/2006/10/solid-gold.html)
1984 Feb 14, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean of Britain won the gold medal in ice dancing at the Sarajevo Olympics.
(AP, 2/14/04)
1984 May 8, USSR announced it would not participate in Summer Olympics planned for Los Angeles.
(HN, 5/8/98)
1984 Jul 28, The summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles for the second time. The Russians along with Cuba and Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 23rd modern Olympic games. Iran and Libya also boycotted the games. Taiwan returned under the name Chinese Taipei. China appeared for the first time since 1952. The US won 83 gold medals, Romania was 2nd with 20. Women were allowed to compete in the Olympic marathon for the 1st time. Joan Benolt of the US won. The 1st Olympic Guide was published this year by David Wallechinsky. The 5th edition came out in 2000.
(WSJ, 7/19/96, p.R6)(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)(WSJ, 7/28/00, p.W9)(SSFC, 4/13/03, p.F1)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1984 Aug 11, In LA, Ca., Carl Lewis (b.1961) duplicated Jesse Owens' 1936 feat with 4 Olympic track gold medals.
(www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/oldBios/1997/lewis.asp)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis)
1984 Aug 31, Edwin Moses (b.1958), track star, won Olympic Gold Medals.
(MC, 8/31/01)
1987 Apr 14, In South Korea displaced residents of Sanggyedong protested against the government of dictator Chun Doo-hwan for demolishing their houses in Seoul.
(AP, 3/11/18)
1988 Feb 13, The 15th winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
(AP, 2/13/98)
1988 Feb 14, Hours after learning that his sister had died of leukemia, American Dan Jansen (b.1965) lost his bid for a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, when he fell during the 500-meter speed-skating event.
(AP, 2/14/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Jansen)
1988 Feb 20, U.S. figure skater Brian Boitano won the gold medal in the men's competition at the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada, with Brian Orser of Canada placing second.
(AP, 2/19/98)
1988 Feb 27, Katarina Witt of East Germany won the gold medal in women's figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, with Elizabeth Manley of Canada placing second and Debi Thomas of the United States, third. Debi Thomas became the first African American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.
(AP, 2/27/98)(HN, 2/27/99)
1988 Sep 17, South Korea opened the XXIV Olympiad in Seoul. Closing ceremonies for the summer Olympics were held on October 2. North Korea refused to participate. Cuba and Nicaragua stayed away in solidarity.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Summer_Olympics)
1988 Sep 18, The Soviet Union won the first gold medal of the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, in the women's air rifle event, while U.S. divers picked up silver and bronze medals in women's platform.
(AP, 9/18/98)
1988 Sep 19, Swimmer Janet Evans gave the United States its first gold medal of the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, by winning the 400-meter individual medley.
(AP, 9/19/98)
1988 Sep 20, Greg Louganis of the United States won the gold medal in springboard diving at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, a day after he injured his head on the board in the preliminary round.
(AP, 9/20/98)
1988 Sep 24, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the men's 100-meter dash in 9.79 seconds at the Seoul Summer Olympics. He was disqualified three days later for using anabolic steroids.
(AP, 9/24/98)(Econ, 8/2/08, SR p.15)
1988 Sep 29, Florence Griffith Joyner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the U.S. won their second gold medals of the Seoul Olympics, in the 200-meter and the long jump, respectively.
(AP, 9/29/98)
1988 Oct 2, The Summer Olympic Games concluded in Seoul, South Korea. The USSR won 55 gold medals, E. Germany won 37, and the US won 36.
(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)(HN, 10/2/98)
1988 Oct 2, An Olympic scandal involved American boxer Roy Jones, who was robbed of a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul, when he lost a split decision to South Korea's Park Si-Hun despite outpunching his opponent 86-32. Three judges who voted for the Korean were later suspended.
(AP, 9/23/11)(http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=T-8IS94GFyY)
1988 In South Korea Elena Shushunova (1969-2018), a Soviet gymnast, won the women's all-around gold medal at the Seoul Olympics.
(AP, 8/16/18)
1989 A report from Seoul National University estimated that 48,000 buildings housing 720,000 people were destroyed during the five years preceding the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
(AP, 3/11/18)
1991 Jul 9, The International Olympic Committee readmitted South Africa.
(AP, 7/9/97)
1992 Feb 13, Donna Weinbrecht of the United States won the gold medal in women's freestyle skiing moguls at the Olympic games in Albertville, France.
(AP, 2/13/02)
1992 Feb 14, American speed skater Bonnie Blair won her second gold medal of the Albertville Olympics, in the 1,000 meters event.
(AP, 2/14/02)
1992 Feb 22, At the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, American speedskater Cathy Turner won the women's 500-meter race.
(AP, 2/22/02)
1992 Feb 23, The XVI Winter Olympic Games ended in Albertville, France.
(AP, 2/23/02)
1992 Jul 25, Opening ceremonies were held in Barcelona, Spain, for the 25th Summer Olympics.
(AP, 7/25/97)
1992 Jul 25, A 68-foot high Mistos (Match-Cover) by Claes Oldenburg was built for the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, in reference to the Olympic Torch. In the Olympics the Unified team of the former Soviet Union won 45 gold medals and the US won 37.
(Smith., Aug. 1995, p.81)(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)
1992 Jul 25, Greg Spiers created the Lithuanian Basketball Team’s tie-died shirt featuring the Grateful Dead’s skeleton slam-dunking. He later sued for a share of the profits on the shirts.
(SFEC, 8/18/96, DB p.44)
1992 Jul 27, At the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the U.S. men's volleyball team was stripped of its victory over Japan the day before in an opening-round game.
(AP, 7/27/97)
1992 Jul 28, At the Barcelona Olympics, the U.S. women's 400-meter freestyle relay team won the gold medal.
(AP, 7/28/97)
1992 Jul 29, The U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team won the gold medal at the Barcelona Summer Olympics.
(AP, 7/29/97)
1992 Jul 31, Summer Sanders became the first American athlete to win four medals at the Barcelona Olympics as she won the gold in the women's 200-meter butterfly.
(AP, 7/31/97)
1992 Aug 1, Gail Devers won the women's 100 meters and Linford Christie the men's 100 meters at the Barcelona Summer Olympics.
(AP, 8/1/97)
1992 Aug 7, Jennifer Capriati won the gold medal in tennis at the Barcelona Olympics, beating Steffi Graf.
(AP, 8/7/02)
1992 Aug 8, The U.S. basketball "Dream Team" clinched the gold at the Barcelona Summer Olympics, defeating Croatia 117-85.
(AP, 8/8/97)
1992 Aug 9, Closing ceremonies were held for the Barcelona Summer Olympics, with the Unified Team of former Soviet republics winning 112 medals to 108 for the United States.
(AP, 8/9/97)
1992 Scan-O-Vision was introduced at the track in Albertville, France, using video cameras to reproduce a photo finish.
(SFC, 8/23/04, p.C3)
1994 Feb 12, The XVII Winter Olympic Games opened in Lillehammer, Norway. The official song was "Fire in Your Heart."
(SFEC, 10/5/97, p.A17)(WSJ, 3/12/98, p.A16)(AP, 2/12/99)
1994 Feb 13, At the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, American Tommy Moe won the men's downhill, defeating local hero Kjetil Andre Aamodt by 0.004 seconds.
(AP, 2/13/99)
1994 Feb 14, At the Winter Olympics in Norway, speedskater Dan Jansen slipped and fell during the 500 meters race.
(AP, 2/14/99)
1994 Feb 18, At the Winter Olympic Games in Norway, speedskater Dan Jansen finally won a gold medal, breaking the world record in the 1,000 meters.
(AP, 2/18/99)
1994 Feb 19, American speedskater Bonnie Blair won the fourth Olympic gold medal of her career as she won the 500-meter race in Lillehammer, Norway.
(AP, 2/19/99)
1994 Feb 23, Nancy Kerrigan led the women's figure skating short program at the Winter Olympics in Norway, while Tonya Harding placed tenth.
(AP, 2/23/99)
1994 Feb 25, At the Winter Olympics in Norway, Oksana Baiul of Ukraine won the gold medal in ladies' figure skating while Nancy Kerrigan won the silver and Chen Lu of China the bronze; Tonya Harding came in eighth.
(AP, 2/25/99)
1994 Feb 27, The Winter Olympic Games ended in Lillehammer, Norway.
(AP, 2/27/99)
1994 Olav Koss announced that he would donate Olympic awards from the Norwegian government, totaling over $100,000, to an organization called Olympic Aid, dedicated to helping children worldwide.
(SFC, 2/14/06, p.A11)
1996 Mar 30, The Olympic torch was lit in Greece and began its journey to the games in Atlanta, USA. The games will run 17 days from 7/19-8/4.
(WSJ, 4/1/96, p.A-1)
1996 Jul 19, The 26th summer Olympics opening ceremonies began in Atlanta, Georgia. The photo finish was computerized and in color for track and field events. Beach volleyball was inaugurated as an Olympic sport.
(WSJ, 7/19/96, p.A1)(AP, 7/19/97)(SFC, 8/23/04, p.C3)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
1996 Jul 20, At the Atlanta Olympics, Renata Mauer of Poland won the Games' first gold, in the 10-meter air rifle.
(AP, 7/20/97)
1996 Jul 21, At the Atlanta Olympics, swimmer Tom Dolan gave the United States its first gold, in the 400-meter individual medley. The men's 800-meter freestyle relay team also won.
(AP, 7/21/97)
1996 Jul 23, At the Atlanta Olympics, Kerri Strug made a heroic final vault despite torn ligaments in her left ankle as the US women gymnasts clinched their first-ever Olympic team gold medal.
(AP, 7/23/01)
1996 Jul 26, Amy Van Dyken became the first American woman to win four gold medals at a single Olympics as she captured the 50-meter freestyle in Atlanta.
(AP, 7/26/97)
1996 Jul 27, American Gail Devers won the women's 100-meter dash.
(AP, 7/27/97)
1996 Jul 27, A pipe bomb was set off at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. One person, Alice Stubbs Hawthorne (44), was killed and 111 injured. Eric Rudolph was later charged with the bombing. He was arrested May 31, 2003.
(WSJ, 7/29/96, p.A1,3)(WSJ, 8/9/96, p.A10)(AP, 7/27/97)(SSFC, 6/1/03, p.A1)
1996 Jul 28, Federal investigators reported "very good leads" in the hunt for the Olympic bomber, a day after the explosion in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. President Clinton, addressing a veterans convention in New Orleans, called on Congress to pass expanded anti-terrorism measures.
(AP, 7/28/97)
1996 Jul 29, At the Atlanta Olympics, Carl Lewis won the gold medal in the long jump, becoming only the fifth Olympian to win gold medals in four straight games. Michael Johnson won the 400-meter dash, Allen Johnson the 110-meter hurdles.
(AP, 7/29/97)
1996 Jul, In Atlanta Australian equestrian Gillian Rolton (1956-2017) broke multiple bones during a cross-country ride, but remounted following two falls to finish the competition and help her team win a gold medal.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tXL9atLwAo)(SSFC, 12/10/17, p.C11)
1996 Jul, Shabana Akhtar was the 1st-ever Pakistani athlete to compete in the Olympics.
(AFP, 9/5/04)
1996 Aug 1, At the Atlanta Olympics, Michael Johnson broke his world track record by more than three-tenths of a second, winning the 200 meters in 19.32 seconds.
(AP, 8/1/97)
1996 Aug 3, At the Atlanta Olympics, the U.S. men's 400-meter relay, without Carl Lewis, failed to win the gold medal, finishing behind Canada. The American women's 400 and 1,600 relay teams, and the men's 1,600, all won gold. The U.S. men's basketball team beat Yugoslavia 95-69 to win the gold.
(AP, 8/3/97)
1997 Sep 5, Athens, Greece, won the competition to host the 2004 Summer Olympics.
(WSJ, 9/8/97, p.A16)
1998 Feb 7, The Winter Olympic Games opened in Nagano, Japan.
(AP, 2/7/99)
1998 Feb 8, Olga Danilova of Russia won the first gold medal of the Nagano Winter Games in 15-kilometer classical cross-country skiing.
(AP, 2/8/99)
1998 Feb 9, At the Nagano Games, German Georg Hackl won the men's luge for the third consecutive Olympics.
(AP, 2/9/99)
1998 Feb 10, Speedskater Hiroyasu Shimizu won Japan's first gold medal of the Nagano Olympics, in the 500-meter event.
(AP, 2/10/99)
1998 Feb 11, Skier Jonny Moseley won the first U.S. gold medal at Nagano, in men's moguls freestyle; Picabo Street won the women's super-G. Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati was stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for marijuana. His medal was later reinstated.
(AP, 2/11/99)
1998 Feb 12, At Nagano, Norwegian Bjorn Daehlie became the first man to win six Winter Olympic gold medals, as he placed first in the 10-kilometer classical cross-country race.
(AP, 2/12/99)
1998 Feb 14, Russia's Ilya Kulik won the men's figure skating gold medal at the Nagano Olympics.
(AP, 2/14/99)
1998 Feb 15, Two Japanese ski jumpers, Kazuyoshi Funaki and Masahiko Harada, leapt to gold and bronze medals in the 120-meter event at the Nagano Olympics.
(AP, 2/15/99)
1998 Feb 16, Skier Hermann Maier of Austria won the Super-G and Katja Seizinger of Germany won the women's downhill at the Nagano Olympics; Russia's Pasha Grishuk and Yeggeny Platov won the ice dancing event.
(AP, 2/16/08)
1998 Feb 17, The U.S. women's hockey team won the gold medal at Nagano, Japan, defeating Canada 3-1.
(AP, 2/17/99)
1988 Feb 18, The American hockey team in Nagano lost to the Czechs. Members of the team that night trashed their quarters in the Olympic Village, drained a fire extinguisher and tossed it out their 5th story window.
(SFC, 2/20/98, p.A1,16)
1998 Feb 19, At the Nagano Olympics, Austrian Hermann Maier won the men's giant slalom while Hilde Gerg of Germany won the women's slalom.
(AP, 2/19/99)
1998 Dec 12, Marc Hodler (1919-2006), Swiss lawyer and International Olympics Committee official, unleashed a series of corruption allegations that included systemic buying and selling of votes in Olympic bidding, particularly for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
(SFC, 10/21/06, p.B6)
1999 Mar 17, The Int'l. Olympic Committee expelled 6 members in the wake of a bribery scandal, but gave a vote of confidence to IOC pres. Juan Antonio Samaranch.
(SFC, 3/18/99, p.A1)(AP, 3/17/00)
2000 Jul 20, A federal grand jury indicted two former Utah Olympic officials for their alleged roles in paying one million dollars in cash and gifts to help bring the 2002 games to Salt Lake City.
(AP, 7/20/01)
2000 Sep 23, At the Sydney Olympics, Marion Jones won the women's 100-meter final in 10.7 seconds; Maurice Greene took the men's 100 in 9.87 seconds.
(AP, 9/23/01)
2000 Sep 26, At the Sydney Olympics, the U.S. softball team completed a stunning comeback by edging Japan 2-to-1 in extra innings to win its second straight gold medal.
(AP, 9/26/01)
2000 Sep 27, Venus Williams became only the second player to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Olympics in the same year with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Elena Dementieva. The first was Steffi Graf, in 1988.
(AP, 9/27/01)
2000 Sep 30, In Sydney, Australia, Marion Jones won Olympic gold in the U.S. women's 1,600-meter relay and bronze with the 400-meter squad, making her the only woman to win five track medals at one Olympics. In 2007 the IOC stripped Jones of her 5 medals due to use of steroids.
(AP, 9/30/01)(WSJ, 12/13/07, p.A1)
2002 Feb 8, Pres. Bush opened the 19th Winter Olympic Games as part of a 3-hour ceremony at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the Univ. of Utah campus, which included an emotional tribute to America's heroes, from the pioneers of the West to past Olympic champions to the thousands who perished on Sept. 11, 2001.
(SFC, 2/9/02, p.A1)(AP, 2/8/03)
2002 Feb 11, Gold medals for the Olympics free-style skating event went to Russians Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya. French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne later admitted to being pressured to support the Russian team. On Feb 15 Olympic officials awarded a 2nd gold medal to Canadians David Pelletier and Jamie Sale for their performance.
(SFC, 2/16/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 13, In a startling development at the Salt Lake City winter games, the head of the French Olympic team said the French figure skating judge had been pressured to "act in a certain way" before she voted to give the gold medal to the Russians in pairs.
(AP, 2/13/03)
2002 Feb 18, France's Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat narrowly won the Olympic ice dancing gold medal.
(AP, 2/18/07)
2002 Feb 19, In Salt Lake City, a win by bobsledders Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers gave the United States 21 medals in the Winter Games; Flowers became the first black athlete ever to strike gold at the Winter Olympics.
(AP, 2/19/07)
2002 Feb 20, At the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Jim Shea won the men's skeleton race, finishing the two runs at Utah Olympic Park in one minute, 41.96 seconds. The victory was the culmination of an emotional two months for Shea, whose 91-year-old grandfather, Olympic gold medal speedskater Jack Shea, died four weeks earlier. American speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno won the 1,500 meters after South Korean Kim Dong-sung, who had crossed the finish line ahead of him, was disqualified.
(SFC, 2/21/02, p.A1)(AP, 2/20/07)
2002 Feb 21, In Salt Lake City Sarah Hughes (16) of Great neck, NY, won 1st place in the Olympics women’s free skate competition, leaving teammate Michelle Kwan to settle for a bronze.
(SFC, 2/22/02, p.A1)(AP, 2/21/07)
2006 Feb 23, Japan's Shizuka Arakawa stunned favorites Sasha Cohen of the United States and Irina Slutskaya of Russia to claim the women's figure skating gold medal at the Turin Winter Olympics.
(AP, 2/23/07)
2002 Feb 24, The XIX Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City came to a close. In one of the last events Canada beat the US hockey team 5-2 for the gold. Cross-country skiers from Spain and Russia were stripped of gold medals for failing drug tests.
(SFC, 2/25/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 2/25/02, p.A1)
2002 Jul 31, Court papers alleged that Russia's Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov used his influence with members of the Russian and French skating federations to fix the outcome of the pairs and ice dancing competitions at the Olympics last February.
(Reuters, 7/31/02)
2004 May 17, Transsexuals were cleared to compete in the Olympics for the first time.
(AP, 5/17/05)
2004 Aug 13, The Olympics opened In Athens. A sea of athletes under 202 flags parted to let a Greek windsurfing champion jog across the stadium and climb to the Olympic cauldron, which dipped on its slender 102-foot arm to receive the spark from his torch. Women’s wrestling debuted as an Olympic sport.
(AP, 8/14/04)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
2004 Aug 17, At the Athens games, Romania won its second straight Olympic gold medal in women's gymnastics; the United States took silver while Russia won the bronze.
(AP, 8/17/05)
2004 Aug 18, In Athens Paul Hamm won the men's gymnastics all-around Olympic gold medal by the closest margin ever in the event; controversy followed after it was discovered a scoring error might have cost Yang Tae-young of South Korea the title.
(AP, 8/18/05)
2004 Aug 19, Carly Patterson won gymnastics' premier event at the Olympics in Athens, becoming the first U.S. woman to win the all-around title since Mary Lou Retton in 1984.
(AP, 8/19/05)
2004 Aug 21, The International Gymnastics Federation ruled that South Korean Yang Tae-young was unfairly docked a tenth of a point in the all-around gymnastics final at the Athens Olympics, costing him the gold medal that ended up going to Paul Hamm of the United States; however, the ruling did not change the final result.
(AP, 8/21/05)
2004 Aug 22, In the Olympics Justin Gatlin of the US won the 10-meter dash in 9.85 sec.
(SFC, 8/23/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 25, Israel captured its 1st ever gold medal with a win by Gal Fridman in wind surfing.
(WSJ, 8/26/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 26, At the Athens Olympics, the US women's soccer team won the gold medal by beating Brazil, 2-1, in overtime; Shawn Crawford led a U.S. sweep of the 200 meters.
(AP, 8/26/05)
2004 Aug 27, Liu Xiang (b.1983), Chinese hurdler, set a record and won Olympic gold in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 12.91 seconds equaling the 1993 time of Colin Jackson.
(www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-08/28/content_369582.htm)
2004 Aug 29, Closing ceremonies were held in Athens, Greece, for the 28th Olympiad. During one of the final events, lead marathon runner Vanderlie Lima of Brazil was pushed into the crowd by an intruder, but managed to finish 3rd behind Stefano Baldini of Italy.
(SFC, 8/30/04, p.D1)
2004 Elena Votsi, Greek artist, designed the 2004 Olympic medal. It was the 1st re-design in 76 years.
(AM, 7/04, p.25)(http://olympic-museum.de/w_medals/wmed2004.htm)
2004 Radar guns were added to check on beach volleyball.
(SFC, 8/23/04, p.C3)
2005 Jul 6, London was awarded the 2012 Olympics, upsetting European rival Paris in the final round of voting to take the games back to the British capital for the first time since 1948. Costs for the 2112 Olympics were originally estimated at £2.4 billion. By 2006 the costs rose to £4.7 billion.
(AP, 7/6/05)(Econ, 11/25/06, p.57)
2006 Feb 11, American Chad Hedrick won the 5,000 meters in speedskating at the Olympics in Turin, Italy.
(AP, 2/11/07)
2006 Feb 13, Joey Cheek (26), American speedskater, won a gold medal in the 500-meter sprint in Turin, Italy, and announced that he would donate his $25,000 award from the US Olympic Committee Olympic Aid, founded by Olav Koss in 1994 and direct it to a refugee program in Chad. Hannah Teter won gold and Gretchen Bleiler won silver in the halfpipe. Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin won the gold medal in pairs figure skating, extending Russia's four-decade dominance of the event.
(SFC, 2/14/06, p.A1)(AP, 2/13/07)
2006 Feb 14, At Turin, American Ted Ligety won Olympic gold in men's combined skiing, while Bode Miller was disqualified for straddling a gate.
(AP, 2/14/07)
2006 Feb 16, Russia's Evgeni Plushenko beat world champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland by an unfathomable 27.12 points to win the gold medal in men's figure skating at the Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
(AP, 2/16/07)
2006 Feb 18, In Italy Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway outwaited the weather and outran the field to successfully defend the men's super-G title for his record eighth Olympic Alpine medal. American Shani Davis won the men's 1,000-meter speedskating in Turin, becoming the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history.
(AP, 2/18/06)(AP, 2/18/07)
2006 Feb 20, At the Turin Olympics, Tanith Belbin and partner Ben Agosto snapped the US medals drought in figure skating with a silver; Russians Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov won the gold.
(AP, 2/20/07)
2006 Feb 24, Julia Mancuso won gold in the women's giant slalom at the Turin Olympics.
(AP, 2/24/07)
2006 Feb 25, Apolo Anton Ohno upset favored South Korean Ahn Hyun-soo to win the gold in the 500-meter short track speedskating event at the Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
(AP, 2/25/07)
2006 Feb 26, On the final day of the Turin Winter Olympics, Sweden beat Finland 3-2 to win the men's hockey gold. Germany led the gold medal count with 29. The US won 25 medals including 9 gold, Canada won 24, Austria 23 and Russia 22. Drew Lachey leaped to victory with professional partner Cheryl Burke on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." Shizuka Arakawa won a gold medal for Japan in figure skating.
(SFC, 2/27/06, p.A1)(SFC, 2/27/06, p.A1)(AP, 2/26/07)
2007 Jul 4, The Black Sea resort of Sochi was elected the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, taking the Winter Games to Russia for the first time. Russia proposed to spend $12 million to stage the games at Sochi. Costs ended at $50 billion.
(AP, 7/4/08)(Econ, 7/13/13, p.45)(Econ, 11/22/14, p.22)
2007 Aug 8, Beijing began the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, acknowledged that Beijing's air pollution could force the postponement of outdoor events during next year's Olympics.
(AP, 8/7/07)(AP, 8/8/07)
2008 Apr 8, China denounced protesters who upstaged Olympic Games torch relays in London and Paris and asked the United States to ensure the next leg in San Francisco avoids similar mayhem. Olympic chiefs raised the prospect for the first time of abandoning the international legs of the Beijing Games torch relay, amid a wave of protests targeting the flame overseas.
(AP, 4/8/08)
2008 Apr 9, In SF officials rerouted the rout of the Beijing Olympic torch at the last minute avoiding most protestors and spectators.
(SFC, 4/10/08, p.A1)
2008 Apr 11, Runners surrounded by rows of security carried the Olympic flame past thousands of jubilant Argentines in the most trouble-free torch relay in nearly a week.
(AP, 4/11/08)
2008 Apr 14, The Olympic torch arrived in Oman amid tight security and expectations of a smooth relay on the Middle Eastern leg of the flame's round-the-world tour.
(AP, 4/14/08)
2008 Apr 16, In Pakistan runners carried the Olympic flame around the outside of a sports stadium, an invitation-only event in front of an elite, sparse crowd with heavy security to deter any anti-China protesters or terrorist attacks.
(AP, 4/16/08)
2008 Apr 17, In India runners carried the Olympic flame along a heavily guarded route through central New Delhi, protected by about 15,000 police who kept Tibetan exiles and other anti-China protesters from disrupting the ceremony. Tens of thousands of pro-Tibetan demonstrators gathered across India to protest the torch relay.
(AP, 4/17/08)(SFC, 4/18/08, p.A16)
2008 Apr 21, Malaysia's leg of the Olympic torch relay passed off largely without incident with a heavy police presence netting just five protesters and thousands of well-wishers braving torrential rain.
(AP, 4/21/08)
2008 Apr 27, A North Korean defector tried to set himself on fire to halt the Olympic torch relay through Seoul, while thousands of police guarded the flame from protesters blasting China's treatment of North Korean refugees. A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea for the first time in a decade across the heavily fortified border dividing the countries.
(AP, 4/27/08)(AP, 4/28/08)
2008 Apr 30, The Olympic torch returned to Chinese soil after a turbulent 20-nation tour, landing in the bustling financial capital of Hong Kong where officials deported at least seven activists before the flame's arrival.
(AP, 4/30/08)
2008 Jul 29, The International Olympic Committee agreed to allow Iraq to participate in the Beijing games, reversing itself after Baghdad pledged to ensure the independence of its national Olympics.
(AP, 7/30/08)
2008 Aug 6, The US said it will protest to China over its decision to revoke the visa of Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek, an activist on the African region of Darfur where China is accused of failing to help end the crisis. Speedskater Cheek is co-founder of Team Darfur, an international coalition of athletes campaigning to draw world attention to the humanitarian crisis there.
(Reuters, 8/6/08)
2008 Aug 8, In Beijing, China, the 29th Olympic Games, costing an estimated 40 billion dollars and shrouded by political controversies, burst into life with a spectacular opening ceremony. The official slogan for the games this year was “One world, one dream." Actress activist Mia Farrow began Web-casting her own "Darfur Olympics" from a refugee camp on the barren Sudan-Chad border, aiming to shame China into using its influence with Khartoum to end the Darfur conflict. Construction before the games forced more than 1m people from their homes.
(AP, 8/8/08)(AP, 8/7/08)(Econ, 8/2/08, p.28)(Econ, 7/30/16, p.68)
2008 Aug 9, Tang Yongming (47), a knife-wielding Chinese man, attacked two relatives of a coach for the US Olympic men's volleyball team at a tourist site in Beijing, killing Todd Bachman (62) and injuring his wife on the first day of the Olympics. Yongming then committed suicide by throwing himself from the second story of the site, the 13th century Drum Tower just five miles from the main Olympics site.
(AP, 8/9/08)(SFC, 8/11/08, p.A12)
2008 Aug 10, Welshwoman Nicole Cooke handed Britain their first gold of the Beijing Olympic Games when she won the women's cycling road race.
(AP, 8/10/08)
2008 Aug 10, Japan's Masato Uchishiba has won his second straight Olympic gold medal, pinning France's Benjamin Darbelet just seconds into their final match in the men's 66-kilogram division and bringing Japan its first judo gold of the Beijing Games.
(AP, 8/10/08)
2008 Aug 11, In China the US remained third in the medals table at the end of the third day of Olympic competition with three gold medals behind hosts China with nine after the completion of 34 events, and South Korea with four. Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to ever win a solo gold medal at the Olympic Games after winning the men's 10m air rifle title.
(AP, 8/11/08)(www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/14/olympicgames.shooting)
2008 Aug 13, Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals, and 5 world records in 5 events at the Beijing Games.
(AP, 8/13/08)
2008 Aug 13, A Chinese team beat the United States and clinched China's first women's team Olympic gold in gymnastics, amid allegations that at least one member, He Kexin, of the Chinese team was under age.
(AP, 8/14/08)
2008 Aug 15, In Beijing 2 positive dope tests by Asian athletes overshadowed Singapore's first medal in 48 years and a podium for Malaysia with a North Korean shooter and a Vietnamese gymnast exposed as cheats.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 16, Carol Huynh, whose parents fled communist Vietnam in the 1970s, won Canada's first gold of the Olympics in the women's 48 kg freestyle wrestling. Usain Bolt of Jamaica was crowned the world's fastest man when he raced to victory in the Olympic men's 100 meters final in a world record time of 9.69 sec.
(AP, 8/16/08)(AFP, 8/16/08)
2008 Aug 17, In Beijing Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal as team mate Jason Lezak brought it home for a world record in the 400-meter medley relay.
(AP, 8/17/08)
2008 Aug 18, State media reported that Chinese authorities have not approved any of the 77 applications they received from people who wanted to hold protests during the Beijing Olympics.
(AP, 8/18/08)
2008 Aug 20, In Beijing Rohullah Nikpai of Afghanistan won a bronze medal in taekwondo. This was Afghanistan’s first Olympic medal ever.
(http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/news/story?id=3544339)
2008 Aug 22, Two Beijing grandmothers remained defiant and in good spirits despite being sentenced to one year of reeducation through labor for applying to protest during the Olympics.
(AFP, 8/22/08)
2008 Aug 23, In Beijing Angel Matos, a Cuban taekwondo athlete, and his coach Leudis Gonzalez were banned for life after Matos kicked the referee in the face following his bronze-medal match disqualification.
(AP, 8/23/08)
2008 Aug 24, The Beijing Olympics, played out against a background of political intrigue and featuring 16 days of compelling and controversial action, drew to a spectacular close. China's haul of 51 gold medals was the largest since the Soviet Union won 55 in Seoul in 1988. The US won 36 gold medals and Russia came in 3rd with 23. Jamaica ended up with 11 medals including 6 gold. Cuba took home 24 medals, but only 2 gold.
(AP, 8/24/08)(Econ, 8/30/08, p.38)
2008 Aug 24, In London some 40,000 people, including record-breaking swimmer Michael Phelps, gathered to celebrate 2012 host London taking over from Beijing as the Olympic city.
(AP, 8/24/08)
2008 Aug 24, Kenya took home 14 medals from the Beijing Olympics, 5 of them gold.
(Econ, 9/6/08, p.55)
2008 Aug 29, In Zimbabwe power-sharing talks over a unity government resumed as Mugabe's government made good on a promise to allow aid agencies to resume operations. Mugabe announced cash awards for Zimbabwe’s Olympic winners. He called Kirsty Coventry, who won three silvers and a gold at the Beijing games, Zimbabwe's "golden girl" and gave her $100,000.
(AP, 8/29/08)(AP, 8/30/08)
2008 Sep 17, A packed "Bird's Nest" National stadium witnessed the formal end of the Beijing Paralympic Games, bringing down the curtain on a glittering 12-day sports extravaganza.
(AP, 9/17/08)
2009 Oct 2, In Denmark the IOC opened a meeting hearing the cases led by government leaders and kings to win the right to stage the 2016 Olympic Games. US Pres. Obama spoke for Chicago, Japan's new PM Yukio Hatoyama spoke for Tokyo, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva spoke for Rio de Janeiro, and Spain's King Juan Carlos and PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero spoke for Spain. Brazil won the bid.
(AFP, 10/2/09)(AP, 10/3/09)
2010 Feb 12, The XXI Olympic Winter Games began in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the Olympics' first-ever indoor opening ceremony. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a horrific crash on a training run, casting a shadow as Vancouver opened the Winter Olympic Games with a daredevil snowboarder, an aboriginal welcome, and Wayne Gretzky lighting the cauldron.
(AP, 2/12/10)(Reuters, 2/13/10)(SFC, 2/22/10, p.A1)
2010 Feb 13, In Canada on the opening day of Olympic competition Vancouver police in riot gear confronted more than 200 masked protesters who hurled newspaper boxes through display windows of a popular department store selling Olympic souvenirs. Guillame Joseph-Marc Beaulieu (27) led a group of about 100 black-masked anarchists who spray-painted vehicles and smashed storefront windows as they marched. On Feb 16 police reported his arrest. Beaulieu, charged with mischief, had also led a group that blocked a street and forced organizers to re-route a relay transporting the Olympic flame to the opening ceremonies.
(AP, 2/13/10)(Reuters, 2/16/10)
2010 Feb 14, In Canada Alexandre Bilodeau, skiing under huge pressure, finally won Canada's first Olympic gold on Cypress Mountain when he snatched victory in a thrilling finale to the men's freestyle moguls.
(Reuters, 2/14/10)
2010 Feb 16, In Canada Maelle Ricker thrilled a rowdy hometown crowd and easily won the women's Olympic snowboard cross title, bagging the first gold for a Canadian woman on home soil.
(AP, 2/17/10)
2010 Feb 18, Speed skater Christine Nesbitt of Canada mounted a gutsy charge to the finish line to claim gold in the women's 1,000 meters at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
(Reuters, 2/18/10)
2010 Feb 21, In Canada US skier Bode Miller snatched his first Olympic gold medal and US ice hockey goalkeeper Ryan Miller stopped Canada in a heartbreaking loss for the hockey-crazed host nation.
(Reuters, 2/22/10)
2010 Feb 25, In Canada Kim Yu-Na (19) of South Korea, achieved her country's first Olympic figure skating title with a resounding victory in the Pacific Coliseum.
(AFP, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 25, Canada's ice hockey women celebrated a gold medal win by taking to the ice afterwards drinking beer and smoking cigars.
(Reuters, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 26, Canada won the Olympic men's short track 5,000 meters relay with Charles Hamelin picking up his second gold of the day.
(Reuters, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 27, Canada bagged another three gold medals on the penultimate day of the Winter Olympics to ensure they will finish top of the medal standings, triggering wild celebrations across the country.
(Reuters, 2/27/10)
2010 Feb 28, Canada beat the USA in an extraordinary men's ice hockey final to capture a record 14th gold medal and end the Vancouver Winter Olympics on top of the world. The victory at a single Winter Games surpassed the previous mark of 13 jointly held by the Soviet Union (Innsbruck, 1976) and Norway (Salt Lake City, 2002). The USA also set a record for the most overall medals at a single Winter Olympics with 37, one more than Germany in 2002.
(Reuters, 2/28/10)
2010 Apr 15, In Canada the city of Vancouver released documents indicating it spent more than C$554 million ($554 million) as host of this year's Winter Olympics, much of it related to building the athletes village. The federal government and the province of British Columbia also paid the C$585 million cost to build and refurbish competition venues in Vancouver, and at the nearby mountain resort of Whistler.
(Reuters, 4/16/10)
2010 Apr 23, In Russia two-time Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion Natalia Lavrova (25) was killed with her sister in a car accident. Lavrova was Russia's only rhythmic gymnast to win two Olympic gold medals, in team competitions at the Sydney and Athens Olympics in 2000 and 2004.
(AP, 4/23/10)
2010 Apr 28, The International Olympic Committee, acting on evidence that Dong Fangxiao was only 14 at the 2000 Games in Sidney, stripped China of the women's team bronze medal. China was ordered to give the medal back, allowing the United States to claim it instead.
(AP, 4/28/10)
2010 Aug 14, In Singapore the inaugural Youth Olympic Games officially opened in a spectacular blaze of color, with Jacques Rogge hailing it as a new chapter in the Olympic movement. The Games, which feature athletes aged 14 to 18, are a project Rogge has championed since becoming IOC chief in 2001.
(AFP, 8/14/10)
2010 Dec 15, Australia signed an agreement with Brazil to share knowledge on putting on the Olympics to help preparations with Rio's hosting of the 2016 Games.
(AFP, 12/16/10)
2011 Jun 7, NBC won a fierce bidding war over exclusive television coverage of the Olympics, outbidding Fox and ESPN. NBC signed a deal which cost $4.38 billion, and gave the network US broadcasting rights to the four Olympic Games from 2014 until 2020.
(Reuters, 6/7/11)
2011 Sep 23, The tarnished image of Olympic boxing faced fresh scrutiny over allegations that multi-million dollar bribes were paid to ensure fighters from Azerbaijan won gold medals at the 2012 Games in London. The championships were moved to the Azeri capital after being originally awarded to the South Korean port city of Busan.
(AP, 9/23/11)
2012 Apr 4, A Saudi official reiterated a position he announced late last year, confirming that Saudi Arabia will be fielding only male athletes in London. Prince Nawaf bin Faisal said, however, that Saudi women taking part on their own are free to do so and the kingdom's Olympic authority would "only help in ensuring that their participation does not violate the Islamic sharia law."
(AFP, 4/5/12)
2012 May 5, More than 40,000 spectators watched as a cascade of white balloons was released to open London's Olympic stadium, before the Games begin on July 27.
(AFP, 5/5/12)
2012 May 10, The Olympic flame was lit in Ancient Olympia in Greece, in a solemn ceremony filled with mystery and tradition that signals the final countdown to the start of this year's summer Games in London.
(AFP, 5/10/12)
2012 Jul 25, The Olympics kicked off with a women's football match between Britain and New Zealand in Cardiff. The match in the Welsh capital comes two days before the July 27 opening ceremony at the main London stadium but marks the competitive sporting debut for the Games.
(Reuters, 7/25/12)
2012 Jul 26, In India about 100 disabled children took part in the "Bhopal Special Olympics" at a muddy sports ground in the shadow of the Union Carbide factory responsible for the 1984 world's worst industrial accident.
(AFP, 7/26/12)
2012 Jul 27, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II declared the London Olympics open after playing a cameo role in a dizzying ceremony designed to highlight the grandeur and eccentricities of the nation that invented modern sport. More than 10,000 athletes from 204 countries will compete in 26 sports over 17 days of competition in the only city to have staged the modern Games three times.
(Reuters, 7/28/12)
2012 Jul 30, In London Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte, claimed as an "adopted Brit," became the youngest winner of the Olympic event at 15 years and 133 days when she won the 100m breaststroke final over American world champion Rebecca Soni. She became Lithuania's first Olympic swimming champion.
(AFP, 8/1/12)
2012 Aug 1, Eight badminton players were dramatically disqualified from Olympic competition after a scandal over "throwing" matches left the sport in uproar. Four pairs in the women's doubles competition, one from China, one from Indonesia and two from South Korea, were barred after being hit by disciplinary charges.
(AFP, 8/1/12)
2012 Aug 8, A spokeswoman for London’s Olympics organizers (LOCOG) confirmed that 7 competitors from Cameroon have gone missing at the London Olympics and British police have been informed.
(AFP, 8/8/12)
2012 Aug 11, The International Boxing Association (AIBA) said it has begun legal action after the BBC repeated the previous evening that boxing medals could be bought at London 2012. The BBC had repeated an allegation first made in a Newsnight documentary last September that around $10m had been paid from Azerbaijan to boxing authorities in return for two golds.
(AFP, 8/11/12)
2012 Aug 11, Jubilant Mexicans celebrated their 2-1 Olympic gold medal soccer win over powerhouse Brazil, marking Mexico's first ever Olympic soccer gold medal.
(AP, 8/11/12)
2012 Aug 12, Marathon man Stephen Kiprotich delivered Uganda's second ever Olympics gold medal, celebrating victory in the shadow of Buckingham Palace as the curtain slowly dropped on the 2012 Games. Uganda’s last gold medal came 40 years ago when 400m hurdler John Akii-Bua struck gold at the Munich Games. The closing ceremony was billed as a diverse "Symphony of British Music."
(AFP, 8/12/12)
2012 Aug 13, The Olympic flag touched down on Brazilian soil, marking the start of four years of preparations ahead of the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.
(AP, 8/13/12)
2012 Aug 13, CongoDRC’s sports ministry said a judoka and three coaches from its Olympic delegation have gone missing after leaving the Athletes' Village at the London Games.
(AFP, 8/13/12)
2012 Aug 29, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the London Paralympic Games at a showpiece ceremony involving more than 3,000 volunteer and professional performers.
(AFP, 8/30/12)
2012 Aug 30, The first day of competition at the London Paralympics got under way.
(AFP, 8/30/12)
2013 Feb 12, IOC leaders meeting in Switzerland dropped wrestling from the Olympic program, a surprise decision that removes one of the oldest Olympic sports from the 2020 Games.
(AP, 2/12/13)
2013 Feb 12, G4S settled a months-long dispute with the organizers of the London Olympics, having failed to supply enough security guards for the 2012 Games, and said it will take a 70 million pound loss on the contract.
(AP, 2/12/13)
2013 Sep 7, The International Olympic Committee selected Tokyo for the 2020 Games.
(AP, 9/7/13)
2014 Jan 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin reversed a blanket ban on protests at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, bowing to pressure from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
(AFP, 1/4/14)
2014 Jan 7, Russia launched the largest security operation in Olympic history with one month to go before Vladimir Putin kicks off the Winter Games in Sochi amid renewed fears of suicide bombings.
(AFP, 1/7/14)
2014 Jan 10, Russia designated a park in the town of Khosta as a protest zone for the Winter Olympics. Khosta is 7 miles away from there the athletes will compete in Sochi.
(SFC, 1/11/14, p.A2)
2014 Jan 17, It was reported that Sochi residents are blaming the Olympic Games for ecological damage. Environmental experts said that Russia’s Olympic construction, which has consisted of pouring soil into lowland swamps, helped cause the flooding that created a state of emergency in the area in September and could increase the risk for more flooding.
(Reuters, 1/17/14)
2014 Jan 27, Russian anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny launched an interactive website painting a vivid picture of the suspected cost overruns and conflicts of interest at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
(AP, 1/27/14)
2014 Feb 3, A pest control company which has been killing stray dogs in Sochi for years said that it has a contract to exterminate more of the animals throughout the Olympics.
(AP, 2/3/14)
2014 Feb 7, Russia opened the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Police arrested four gay rights activists protesting in St. Petersburg.
(AP, 2/7/14)
2014 Feb 23, The Winter Olympics In Sochi, Russia, ended after 17 days with a handoff to the next Winter Games host city, Pyeongchang in South Korea. Russian athletes claimed 33 medals, their largest haul ever.
(AP, 2/24/14)
2014 Feb 28, Latvia's Olympic Committee secretary general said a second player on its national men's ice hockey team is suspected to have tested positive for a banned substance at the Sochi Winter Games.
(AP, 3/1/14)
2015 Jul 17, Japan scrapped the design of the Olympic stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Games because of soaring costs and said it will reopen bidding for a new plan, in a stunning reversal that leaves the 2019 Rugby World Cup without a main venue. The $13.6 billion design by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid was likened to a giant turtle.
(Econ, 6/20/15, p.38)(AP, 7/17/15)
2015 Jul 31, Beijing was awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics, capitalizing on its previous 2008 Summer Games experience and defying concerns about its air quality and lack of natural snow.
(CSM, 7/31/15)
2015 Aug 8, In Brazil at least 30 boats of all sizes paraded across Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay to protest contamination in the waters where sailing events will be held next year during the Olympic Games.
(AP, 8/8/15)
2015 Nov 7, The World Anti-Doping Agency said Russia had sabotaged the 2012 London Olympic Games by running a state-sponsored doping program.
(SSFC, 11/15/15, p.A25)
2015 Nov 10, Russia rejected explosive accusations of doping and corruption and promised a rapid response to avoid suspension from the 2016 Olympics due to the scandal that threatens to spread far beyond the borders of Russia and athletics.
(AFP, 11/10/15)
2015 Nov 18, Russia set up a taskforce to wipe out the "infection" of doping in track and field as the country faces being banned from next year's Olympic competition.
(AP, 11/18/15)
2015 Andrew Zimbalist authored “Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup."
(Econ., 2/28/15, p.74)
2016 May 12, French prosecutors said that $2 million tied to Tokyo's winning bid for the 2020 Olympics was apparently paid to an account linked to Papa Massata Diack (50), the son of disgraced former IAAF president Lamine Diack, in the months immediately before and after the Japanese capital won the games.
(AP, 5/12/16)
2016 May 15, Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko apologized for the doping scandal that threatens the athletic superpower's participation in the Rio Olympics.
(AFP, 5/15/16)
2016 May 17, The International Olympic Committee opened disciplinary proceedings against the 31 unidentified athletes from 12 countries who competed in Beijing and were planning to take part in the Rio de Janeiro Games in August. They were caught in the retesting of drug samples from the 2008 Beijing Games.
(AP, 5/17/16)
2016 May 27, The International Olympic Committee said that 23 athletes from five sports and six countries had positive findings in retests with improved techniques on 265 samples from the 2012 London Games, adding to the more than 30 already caught in retesting from the 2008 Beijing Games.
(AP, 5/27/16)
2016 May 28, The World Health Organization said there is "no public health justification" for postponing or canceling the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of the Zika outbreak.
(AP, 5/28/16)
2016 May, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of a Moscow lab, told the NY Times of a system of swapping out urine samples at the 2014 Sochi Olympics to avoid positive tests.
(http://tinyurl.com/ja976aa)(Econ, 7/23/16, p.41)
2016 Jun 17, Russia's track and field athletes were banned from competing for their country at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because the country has failed to do enough to clean up a deep-rooted doping system that tainted athletes who may be clean.
(AP, 6/17/16)
2016 Jul 1, Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova was cleared by track and field's world governing body to compete as a neutral athlete in the European championships and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The 800-meter runner had provided evidence to the World Anti-Doping Agency of widespread cheating in Russia that led the IAAF to bar the country's track and field athletes from international competition, including the Rio Games.
(AP, 7/1/16)
2016 Jul 18, An independent Canadian investigator said Russia operated a state-dictated doping system during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and other events, in a report likely to lead to demands for Russia to be completely banned from the Rio Games.
(AFP, 7/18/16)
2016 Jul 21, Russia lost its appeal against the Olympic ban on its track and field athletes, a decision which could add pressure on the IOC to exclude the country entirely from next month's games in Rio de Janeiro.
(AP, 7/21/16)
2016 Jul 24, In Switzerland the International Olympic Committee held showdown talks on whether to ban Russia from the Rio Games over state-run doping. The IOC said it was up to each international sports federation to decide if Russians could take part in Rio.
(AFP, 7/24/16)(AFP, 7/25/16)
2016 Aug 2, In Brazil Olympics chief Thomas Bach called for a complete overhaul of the anti-doping system after revelations of state-backed cheating by Russia rocked preparations for the Rio Games.
(AFP, 8/2/16)
2016 Aug 5, Brazilian police arrested Moroccan boxer Hassan Saada (22) for allegedly sexually assaulting two female cleaners on August 3 in Rio’s Olympic Village.
(AFP, 8/5/16)
2016 Aug 5, Rio de Janeiro hosted a glittering Olympics opening ceremony party, hoping to draw a line under a turbulent seven-year build-up dogged by recession, drugs scandals, crime and infrastructure stumbles.
(AFP, 8/5/16)
2016 Aug 12, The Chinese Swimming Association said Chen Xinyi tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide after she finished fourth in the women's 100-meter butterfly in the Rio Olympics on August 7, missing a bronze medal by nine-hundredths of a second.
(AP, 8/12/16)
2016 Aug 12, Fiji's men's sevens rugby team won the country’s first ever Olympic medal with a 43-7 victory over Great Britain.
(AP, 8/12/16)(http://tinyurl.com/j2mcajn)
2016 Aug 13, Singapore exploded in celebration after homegrown swimming hero Joseph Schooling beat US legend Michael Phelps in the 100m butterfly in Rio to win the tiny republic's first ever Olympic gold.
(AFP, 8/13/16)
2016 Aug 14, In Brazil American swimmer Ryan Lochte said he, Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and James Feigen were held at gunpoint and robbed several hours after the last Olympic swimming races ended. That claim started unraveling when police said that investigators could not find evidence to substantiate it. Police later said the men, while intoxicated, vandalized a gas station bathroom and were questioned by armed guards before they paid for the damage and left.
(AP, 8/19/16)
2016 Aug 15, Brazil’s Thiago Braz won an unexpected gold medal and set an Olympic record in pole vaulting.
(Econ, 8/20/16, p.25)
2016 Aug 18, Brazilian cyclist Kleber Ramos and Chinese swimmer Chen Xinyi were disqualified from the Olympic Games for having failed doping tests. Ramos tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO Cera while Chen took the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.
(AFP, 8/18/16)
2016 Aug 18, Kimia Alizadeh won the first ever Olympic medal by an Iranian woman after claiming taekwondo bronze in Rio.
(AFP, 8/18/16)
2016 Aug 19, In Brazil Cheick Sallah Cisse was the toast of the Ivory Coast as he won their first ever Olympic gold medal with a killer kick in the last second of the men's under-80kg taekwondo final.
(AFP, 8/20/16)
2016 Aug 19, In Brazil Usain Bolt of Jamaica won his 9th gold medal in the 4x100 relay. Three Olympics, three races at each, three gold medals every time.
(AP, 8/20/16)
2016 Aug 19, US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte apologized for his behavior surrounding an incident at a Rio de Janeiro gas station, saying he should have been more "careful and candid" about how he described what happened after a night of partying with his teammates.
(AP, 8/20/16)
2016 Aug 20, Brazil claimed its first Olympic gold in soccer with a win over Germany.
(AP, 8/21/16)
2016 Aug 21, In Brazil the curtain descended on two weeks of high drama at the Rio Games as Tokyo took up the baton and promised to go one better in 2020.
(AFP, 8/22/16)
2016 Aug 21, The Rio police force executed search warrants to seize passports and evidence from Ireland team leader Kevin Kilty, chief executive Stephen Martin and secretary general Dermot Henihan, who are accused of illegally selling Olympic tickets.
(AP, 8/21/16)
2016 Aug 26, In Kenya Francis Paul, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), was arrested as investigators probed allegations of mismanagement and corruption at the Rio Games. His deputy James Chicha and Stephen Ara Sou, who headed the Kenyan delegation to Rio, were both arrested at Nairobi airport on their return from the Brazil Games.
(AFP, 8/27/16)
2016 Aug 30, Vera Caslavska (74), a seven-time Olympic gymnastics gold medalist who stood up against the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, died in Prague.
(AP, 8/31/16)
2016 Sep 6, A German court dismissed appeals by 84 Russian athletes seeking to compete at the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Another 10 Russians had a similar application rejected a day earlier as punishment for state-backed doping in the country.
(AP, 9/6/16)
2016 Sep 8, In Brazil the 2016 Paralympic Games opened in Rio de Janeiro. The theme of the opening was: “The heart knows no limits; everybody has a heart."
(CSM, 9/8/16)
2016 Dec 11, Tokyo held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $1.5 billion National Stadium to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
(AP, 12/11/16)
2016 Richard Askwith authored “Today We Die a Little! The Inimitable Emil Zatopek, the Greatest Runner of All Time." The Czech runner won four golds and one silver at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic games in 1948 and 1952.
(Econ, 6/11/16, p.84)
2016 David Goldblatt authored “The Games: A Global History of the Olympics."
(Econ, 7/30/16, p.67)
2017 Jan 25, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt lost one of his nine Olympic gold medals when the International Olympic Committee stripped Jamaica of their 4x100m relay win at the 2008 Beijing Games after relay teammate Nesta Carter, who ran the first leg of the race, was found to have tested positive for banned substance Methylhexanamine.
(AFP, 1/25/17)
2017 Mar 7, National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) executives, led by two-time Olympic champion Kip Keino, defied the IOC at a meeting and refused to make changes to their constitution.
(AP, 3/9/17)
2017 Mar 10, The International Olympic Committee said it has frozen all cash funding for sport in Kenya as it battles the national Olympic body over its governance.
(AP, 3/10/17)
2017 Jun 24, South Korean President Moon Jae-in invited North Korea to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, saying sports could serve as a peace maker.
(AFP, 6/24/17)
2017 Oct 4, The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo organizing committee wrapped up a two-day project review vowing to cut costs for the 2020 Games and address concerns over water pollution in Tokyo Bay.
(AP, 10/4/17)
2017 Oct 5, The president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, Carlos Nuzman, was arrested amid an investigation into a vote-buying scheme to bring last year's Olympics to Rio de Janeiro. According to investigators Nuzman's net worth increased 457 percent in the last 10 years as Brazilian Olympic Committee president.
(AP, 10/5/17)
2017 Oct 5, FIFA expelled Equatorial Guinea from the 2019 Women's World Cup for using fake documents and selecting at least 10 ineligible players in its Olympic team.
(AP, 10/5/17)
2017 Oct 6, Brazilian Olympic Committee president Carlos Nuzman (75) was suspended by the IOC, a day after being arrested in Rio de Janeiro and accused of storing gold bars in Switzerland.
(AP, 10/6/17)
2017 Nov 9, Four more Russian cross-country skiers were found guilty of doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, including three-time silver medalist Maxim Vylegzhanin, and were banned from all future Olympics. President Vladimir Putin disputed the bans, saying that United States interests were trying to use doping scandals to discredit his government and influence the country's presidential election in March.
(AP, 11/9/17)
2017 Nov 18, Naim Suleymanoglu (50), a Bulgarian-born Turkish weightlifter who won three Olympic gold medals and was known as "Pocket Hercules," died following a liver transplant last month. He won three straight Olympic gold medals for Turkey between 1988 and 1996.
(AP, 11/18/17)
2017 Nov 22, Two more Russian athletes were stripped of their Olympic medals from the 2014 Sochi Games, leaving the United States as the country with the most medals.
(AP, 11/22/17)
2017 Dec 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his government will allow Russians to compete as neutral athletes at the upcoming games in South Korea. The International Olympic Committee has banned the Russian team from games as punishment for doping violations at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
(AP, 12/6/17)
2018 Jan 15, The two Koreas met for the second time in a week as they try to hammer out details for the North's participation in next month's Games. The two sides agreed that North Korea's delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea will include a 140-member art troupe, while discussions continued over fielding a joint women's hockey team.
(AP, 1/15/18)
2018 Jan 17, The rival Koreas agreed to form their first unified Olympic team and have their athletes parade together for the first time in 11 years during the opening ceremony of next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea.
(AP, 1/17/18)
2018 Jan 20, The International Olympic Committee North Korea will send 22 athletes to next month's Winter Games in the South, approving a landmark deal between two nations still officially at war.
(AFP, 1/20/18)
2018 Jan 21, Hyon Song Wol, the head of a hugely popular North Korean girl band, crossed the heavily fortified border into South Korea as part of an official delegation, triggering a media frenzy as she checked potential venues for performances during next month's Winter Olympics.
(AP, 1/21/18)
2018 Jan 25, Female hockey players from the rival Koreas were paired up with each other to form their first-ever Olympic squad during next month's Pyeongchang Winter Games.
(AP, 1/25/18)
2018 Feb 9, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister took her place among dignitaries from around the world, including US Vice President Mike Pence, at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in an unprecedented visit to South Korea.
(AP, 2/9/18)
2018 Feb 10, In South Korea the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said a summit between her brother and South Korean President Moon Jae-in would pave the way for a fast improvement in ties that would make "yesterday seem like a long time ago." The Koreans suffered an 8-0 shutout by Switzerland in Pyeongchang as around 200 of North Korea's famed "army of beauties" charmed a crowd of 3,600 besotted locals with nostalgic oldies -- and even broke out a Mexican wave. Lim Hyo-jun won the men's 1,500-meter final, giving South Korea its first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Games.
(AP, 2/10/18)(AFP, 2/10/18)
2018 Feb 19, In South Korea a doping case involving a medal-winning Russian curler rocked the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Alexander Krushelnitsky's failed drug test came to light a week after he won mixed doubles bronze with his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalova.
(AFP, 2/19/18)
2018 Feb 22, North Korea's 22 athletes wrapped up their competition at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics without a finish higher than 13th.
(AP, 2/22/18)
2018 Feb 25, In South Korea the overtly political 2018 Winter Olympics closed very much as they began, with humanity's finest athletes marching exuberantly across the world stage.
(AP, 2/25/18)
2018 Feb 25, In South Korea Russian hockey players won their first hockey gold medal since 1992 with a 4-3 win over Germany.
(AP, 2/25/18)
2018 Feb 28, The Int’l Olympic Committee (IOC) lifted Russia's ban from the Olympic movement despite two failed doping tests by its athletes at the Pyeongchang winter games.
(AP, 2/28/18)
2018 Mar 18, The Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics closed with a dazzling ceremony featuring light shows, dancing and music.
(AFP, 3/18/18)
2018 Mar 30, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach met with Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang and said the North Korean leader is committed to having his country participate in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and the Beijing Winter Games in 2022.
(AP, 3/31/18)
2018 Apr 28, The Australian Olympic Committee awarded a posthumous Order of Merit to Peter Norman, a record-holding sprinter who supported two Americans in their famous Black Power salute at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
(AP, 4/27/18)
2018 Jun 10, In Switzerland an Olympic hosting bid was sunk by a public vote against expected high costs. Voters in the region of Valais refused to pledge financial support for a 2026 Winter Games hosting bid centered on the town of Sion.
(AP, 6/10/18)
2018 Sep 1, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said Indonesia will bid to host the 2032 Olympics following the success of the Asian Games held there over the past two weeks.
(AP, 9/1/18)
2018 Oct 15, Running great Kip Keino was given more time to report to police in Kenya after being one of seven former Olympic and government officials accused of corruption relating to the misappropriation of more than $545,000 around the time of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
(AP, 10/15/18)
2018 Oct 19, In Kenya running great Kip Keino (78) said that charges against him in a Kenyan Olympic corruption case have been dropped and he has been released.
(AP, 10/19/18)
2019 Jan 11, A French judicial source said the president of Japan's Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, is under formal investigation in France for suspected corruption related to Japan's successful bid for the 2020 Olympic Games.
(Reuters, 1/11/19)
2019 Mar 19, Tsunekazu Takeda (71) said he is stepping down as the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee amid a vote-buying scandal that French investigators suspect helped Tokyo land next year's Olympics. He again denied corruption allegations against him.
(AP, 3/19/19)
2019 Mar 28, Pres. Donald Trump announced that he was backing off a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics following days of criticism for the proposed cut.
(SFC, 3/29/19, p.A5)
2019 Apr 13, Yvette Williams (89), New Zealand's first female Olympic gold medalist (1952) and holder of the world long jump record, died.
(AP, 4/14/19)
2019 Dec 9, The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russian athletes from competing in the Olympics and other major sporting events under the country’s flag after it found Russia tampering with key doping test data. WADA banned Russia from hosting or participating in any major sporting events for a four-year period.
(Benzinga, 12/10/19)
2020 Mar 22, The Canadian Olympic Committee said it won't send athletes to the Tokyo Games unless they're postponed for a year.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Japan's Olympics organizers were reported to be drawing up plans for possible delay, even as the government says a postponement is not an option.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 23, Japan's PM Shinzo Abe suggested that the Summer Olympics in Tokyo might need to be postponed, hours after Canada and Australia threatened to boycott the Games.
(NY Times, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 24, Japan’s NHK public television reported that PM Shinzo Abe will propose a one-year postponement for the Tokyo Olympics during talks with IOC President Thomas Bach.
(AP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee joined growing demands to postpone the Tokyo Olympics.
(NY Times, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 30, Japanese organizers announced that the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo has been rescheduled for July 23, 2021.
(Good Morning America, 3/30/20)
2020 Dec 17, A Swiss court cut Russia’s four-year doping ban from global sports in half. Russia’s teams will still miss the 2021 and 2022 Olympics.
(NY Times, 12/17/20)
2021 Mar 15, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah in a public letter urged American spectators, companies and diplomats to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, to punish China for its human rights abuses. He favored that approach over an athlete boycott.
(NY Times, 3/15/21)
2021 Mar 20, The International Olympic Committee and local organizers announced that foreign spectators will not be allowed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to begin July 23, because of coronavirus restrictions.
(AP, 3/20/21)
2021 Mar 25, The Olympic torch relay started in Japan, though questions linger about whether the Games should go ahead.
(NY Times, 3/24/21)
2021 Mar 25, North Korea decided not to participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was made public on April 6.
(NY Times, 4/6/21)
2021 Jun 19, A member of Uganda's Olympic squad became the first to test positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Japan for the competition due to start on 23 July. The unnamed Ugandan was part of a nine-member squad that had been fully vaccinated.
(BBC, 6/20/21)
2021 Jul 8, Olympic organizers said they would not allow spectators at most events as the games are set to open in two weeks in Japan in response to a sudden spike in coronavirus cases.
(NY Times, 7/8/21)
2021 Jul 23, The Olympic opening ceremony with all the usual pomp and tradition played out in Tokyo in front of a nearly empty stadium.
(AP, 7/23/21)
2021 Jul 29, In Japan Sunisa Lee became the fifth consecutive American to win the women’s all-around gymnastics competition.
(NY Times, 7/29/21)
2021 Jul 31, In Japan Thompson-Herah ran 100 meters in 10.61 seconds in Tokyo, breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner’s record set 33 years ago by 12-hundredths of a second. It was a Jamaican sweep of the medals: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took silver with a time of 10.74 seconds, and Shericka Jackson won bronze.
(NY Times, 7/31/21)
2021 Aug 1, In Japan Kristina Timanovskaya (24), a Belarusian Olympic sprinter, sought protection at a Tokyo airport as her nation tried to forcibly send her home from the Summer Games. Ms. Timanovskaya had said she feared for her safety in Belarus after she criticized her coaches and the country’s national committee for registering her for a relay event for which she had not trained. Timanovskaya entered the Polish Embassy in Tokyo on Aug. 2 and arrived in Warsaw on Aug. 4.
(NY Times, 8/2/21)(AP, 8/5/21)
2021 Aug 1, In Japan Artem Dolgopyat (24) won Israel’s second-ever gold medal and its first in artistic gymnastics. The gold medalist is not Jewish according to Jewish law and was not allowed to legally marry in Israel.
(AP, 8/3/21)
2021 Aug 2, In Japan Laurel Hubbard (43), a weight lifter from New Zealand, became the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Olympics. She had won junior titles in men’s competitions before her transition. Hubbard did not make the podium, after failing to advance to the final.
(NY Times, 8/3/21)
2021 Aug 3, In Japan Mensah-Stock (28), a Texas native, became the first Black woman to win a wrestling gold medal.
(NY Times, 8/3/21)
2021 Aug 7, In Japan Allyson Felix won her 11th medal, which made her the most decorated American track-and-field athlete in Olympic history.
(NY Times, 8/8/21)
2021 Aug 7, Top-ranked Japan prevailed over the US, 2-0, to win its first gold medal in baseball in the six trips to the Olympics since 1992.
(AP, 8/7/21)
2021 Aug 8, In Japan Eliud Kipchoge, 36, of Kenya won his second consecutive Olympic marathon in 2 hours 8 minutes 38 seconds, reaffirming his status as the greatest runner in history over the distance of 26.2 miles.
(NY Times, 8/8/21)
2021 Aug 8, In Japan the Olympic cauldron was extinguished, ending a Summer Games like no other. The US won 113 medals, more than any other country. China finished second with 88.
(NY Times, 8/8/21)(NY Times, 8/9/21)
Go to http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = Olympics
End of file
Return to home
708BC Lampis of Sparta won the pentathlon becoming the 1st Olympic winner in the long jump.
(NH, 6/03, p.12)
573BC Nemea, 70 miles from Athens, became the site for the Olympic games.
(SFC, 9/25/00, p.A6)
393 The ancient Olympic Games were held at intervals beginning in 776 BC until about 393 CE when they were abolished by Roman emperor Theodosius I after Greece lost its independence. The modern Olympic Games were started in 1896. [see 396CE]
(HNQ, 11/23/98)
396 The last Olympic Games were held under Emp. Theodosius I, who halted them due to increasing professionalism and corruption. [see 393CE] In 2004 Nigel Spivey authored “The Ancient Olympics."
(SFC, 7/14/96, p.T1)(WSJ, 8/13/04, p.W8)
1850 The Wenlock Olympian Games were set up by Dr. William Penny Brookes in Much Wenlock, England. A typical program of events featured running and leaping competitions and throwing a cricket ball, as well as non-athletic pursuits such as choir singing and awards for reading, arithmetic, knitting and sewing.
(AP, 7/1/11)
1890 Oct, Dr. William Penny Brookes (81) met Baron Pierre de Coubertin (27) of France, widely regarded as the founder of the modern Olympics, over several hours at the Raven Hotel in Much Wenlock. The two spoke about de Coubertin's wish to stage an international Olympic festival in Athens.
(AP, 7/1/11)
1893 Jun, Pierre de Coubertin convinced the General Assembly of the USFSA, an amateur sporting society, to host a congress in France that would examine the issue of amateurism in sports.
(ON, 8/07, p.3)
1894 Jun 16, In France 49 sporting societies from 12 countries participated in a Congress in Paris where delegates discussed amateurism in sports and the revival of the Greek olympics. By the end of the congress on June 23, Pierre de Coubertin won unanimous approval to revive the games.
(ON, 8/07, p.5)
1895 Feb, Georgios Averoff, a Greek philanthropist, agreed to pay for the rebuilding of the Panathenaic stadium in Athens for the upcoming revival of the Olympics.
(ON, 8/07, p.5)
1896 Mar 25, The 1st modern Olympic Games officially opened in Athens. Greece was on the old Julian calendar at this time. The revival was masterminded by Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France. [see Apr 6]
(Econ, 5/29/04, p.81)(www.forthnet.gr/olympics)
1896 Apr 6, The first modern Olympic Games formally opened in Athens, Greece after a lapse of 1,500 years. 8 nations participated. [see Mar 25]
(SFC, 7/14/96, p.T1)(AP, 4/6/97)
1896 Apr 6, James Connolly, a self-educated 27-year-old American, won the first gold medal at the 1896 Olympic games in Athens. Connolly‘s event, the triple jump, which was then called the hop, step, and jump, was the first final of the games. The U.S. Olympic team hadn’t realized that the Greeks followed the Hellenic calendar, so they arrived not days in advance but just a few hours before the opening ceremonies. Despite being hastily prepared, Connolly competed last and beat his opponents‘ distances by more than three feet. He went on to become a successful author of 25 novels. [see Mar 25]
(HNQ, 4/8/00)
1896 Apr 15, The first modern Olympic Games closed in Athens. 164 of the 241 competitors were from Greece. The remaining represented 13 countries, the largest international participation of any sporting event up to that time.
(ON, 8/07, p.5)
1900 May 14, The Olympic games opened in Paris, held as part of the 1900 World's Fair.
(AP, 5/14/07)
1900 Belgian horse rider Constant van Langhendonck (1870-1944) won an Olympic gold medal in Paris with a 6.1 meter jump in the equestrian long jump.
(Econ., 7/25/20, p.12)
1900 At the Olympics in Paris a Belgian sharpshooter killed 21 live pigeons. The event was abolished shortly thereafter. Separately the game of croquet was featured for the first and last time.
(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)
1900 The sport of Cricket was included at the Paris Olympics. France was the runner up to Britain.
(Econ, 5/9/15, p.16)
1904 May 14, The first Olympic games to be held in the United States opened in St. Louis. Some 1,500 athletes competed from 13 countries. The US won 80 of 100 gold medals. At the Olympics the game of golf was played for the last time due to lack of general appeal. The 3rd modern Olympics were held at the St. Louis World’s Fair. A separate competition was held for “uncivilized tribes" in what was billed as “Anthropology Days."
(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)(AP, 5/14/97)(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)(PCh, 1992, p.658)(WSJ, 8/11/04, p.B1)
1904 Archery debuted as an Olympic sport for women. Britons won the top 3 medals.
(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
1906 Apr 9, The third modern Olympic games opened in Athens and marked the 10th anniversary of the modern Olympics.
(HN, 4/9/98)
1908 The marathon of the Olympic Games was changed from 24 to 26 miles so that the finish line would fall in front of the Royal Box in England. The length was set at 26 miles 385 yards.
(SFEC, 1/9/00, Z1 p.2)(Econ, 5/29/04, p.81)
1908 The US won a gold medal in the men’s metric mile.
(WSJ, 9/12/00, p.A24)
1908 At the Olympic games in England, Russia objected to separate medal totals and flag-flying for athletes from Finland, die to its control over Finland. The Finns marched with no flag.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1912 Jul 6, The Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, opened in Stockholm, Sweden. The games closed on July 22.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912_Summer_Olympics)
1912 Jul 7, At the Stockholm Olympics Native American Jim Thorpe won a gold medal in the men's pentathlon. On July 15 Thorpe won another gold medal in the men's decathlon
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_at_the_1912_Summer_Olympics)
1912 Aug, NYC held a ticker tape parade for the victorious US Olympians.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ticker-tape_parades_in_New_York_City)
1920 Apr 20, The VII Olympiad opened in Belgium. The Olympic oath and flag showing 5 interlocking rings as a symbol of the 5 continents made their first appearance at the Antwerp Olympics. Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary were not invited and the new Soviet Union decided not to attend.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Summer_Olympics)
1920 Suzanne Lenglen of France, wearing a shockingly short skirt, won 2 gold medals in tennis at the Olympic games in Antwerp, Belgium.
(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
1920 Oscar Swahn (72) of Sweden won a silver medal for shooting in the Antwerp Olympics.
(WSJ, 3/31/08, p.A1)
1920 The Olympics dropped the tug-of-war event this year.
(Econ, 2/8/14, p.59)
1924 Jan 25, The 1st Winter Olympic games opened in Chamonix, France.
(http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-winter-olympics-begin-in-chamonix-france)(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A19)
1924 Feb 4, The 1st Winter Olympic games closed at Chamonix, France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_Winter_Olympics)
1924 May 4, At the Olympics in Paris the French rugby team beat the Rumanians 61-3.
(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1924 May 18, At the Olympics in Paris the American rugby team beat the French 17-3. Only France, Rumania and America fielded rugby teams. Rugby was dismissed from the Olympics after rival fans rioted following the American upset victory.
(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1924 Jul 27, The summer Olympics closed in Paris.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_Summer_Olympics)
1924 May, Benjamin Spock, a Yale medical student, won a gold medal as part of the men’s 8-man rowing team in the Paris Olympics.
(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)
1924 May, Helen Wills and Vincent Richards swept all 5 tennis titles. Tennis was dropped from the Olympic Games because the best players had turned pro.
(SFC, 2/5/00, p.B3)(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1924 May, Johnny Weissmuller (19) won gold in the 100-meter swimming event.
(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1924 May, Gertrude Ederle won a gold medal the summer Olympics in Paris as a member of the US 400-meter relay team.
(ON, 2/10, p.4)
1924 May, The US dominated the summer Olympics in Paris and Finland ranked a distant 2nd.
(Ind, 2/16/02, 6A)
1928 Jul 28, The Olympics opened at Amsterdam. Track and field events opened for women for the 1st time despite objections from Pope Pius IX. Germany was allowed to participate for the 1st time since WWI.
(SC, 7/28/02)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1928 Aug 3, Ray Barbuti saved the US team from defeat in Amsterdam Olympics track events by winning 400 m (47.8 sec).
(SC, 8/3/02)
1928 Aug 10, The Univ. of California crew won the rowing championship at the Olympics in Holland.
(SFC, 8/8/03, p.E6)
1928 Aug 12, The 9th Olympic Games closed in Amsterdam. During the games several women collapsed at the end of the 800-meter run. This led to a 32-year ban on women running in Olympic races over 200 meters.
(SC, 8/12/02)(SSFC, 4/13/03, p.F1)
1928 The hockey team of the British colony of India won a gold medal.
(Reuters, 4/21/05)
1928 The Winter Olympic were held at St. Moritz, Switz.
(SSFC, 1/23/05, p.E14)
1932 Feb 4, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, N.Y.
(AP, 2/4/97)(HN, 2/4/99)
1932 Jul 30, The Summer Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles. The US won 41 gold medals, Italy was 2nd with less than a third of that. Bill Miller of Stanford won a gold medal in the pole vault when he cleared 14'-1 ¾". Later in the year he set a world record at 14'-1 7/8". Babe Didriksen (21) of Texas won 2 track gold medals and a silver. Track events in this summer’s Olympics were timed with manual stopwatches.
(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)(AP, 7/30/97)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)(WSJ, 8/23/04, p.C3)
1932 Aug 4, Luigi Beccali (1907-1990), Italian athlete, won Olympic gold in the 1500 meters. He gave a Fascist salute at the winners’ podium.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)(http://tinyurl.com/6al4up)
1932 Buster Crabbe (d.1983), US swimmer, won an Olympics gold medal in the 400m.
(MC, 4/23/02)
1936 Feb 6, Adolf Hitler opened the Fourth Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. 1061 athletes stood at attention half-hidden by a furious blizzard. Austrian and French athletes gave the Nazi salute in passing the revue stand.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Winter_Olympics)(SSFC, 2/6/11, p.42)
1936 Aug 1, The 11th Olympic games, dubbed "The Nazi Games," opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler. Jesse Owens won four gold medals including the 100-meter dash--becoming the world's fastest man. Owens also set new Olympic records in the long jump, the 200-meter dash and the 4 x 100-meter relay. It had been 36 years since a track-and-field athlete had won three gold medals in one Olympics. The games were filmed by Leni Riefenstahl and the torch relay was introduced by Joseph Geobbel’s Propaganda Ministry. Berlin’s homeless and itinerant Gypsies were sent into concentration camps. The game of Kabaddi was played as a demonstration sport.
(TMC, 1994, p.1936)(WSJ, 7/30/96, p.A12)(Hem, 6/96, p.104)(AP, 8/1/97)(HNPD, 8/1/98)
1936 Aug 5, Jesse Owens won his 3rd Olympic medal at the Berlin Olympics.
(MC, 8/5/02)
1936 Aug 12, Diver Marjorie Gestring became the youngest Olympic gold medalist (13y 268d).
(SC, 8/12/02)
1936 Aug 16, The 11th Olympic games closed in Berlin.
(MC, 8/16/02)
1937 Sep 2, Pierre de Coubertin (b.1863), French Baron and the major force behind the revival of the modern Olympics, died.
(ON, 8/07, p.5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Coubertin)
1938 Jul 16, Tokugawa Soyeshima sent a telegram to the Olympic Committee saying that Japan would not be able to host the 1940 Winter Olympics due to fighting with China.
(WSJ, 2/8/02, p.A1)
1938 Sep 3, The 1940 Olympic site was changed from Tokyo, Japan, to Helsinki, Finland.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1940 May 1, The 1940 Olympics were cancelled.
(MC, 5/1/02)
1948 Jul 29, Britain's King George VI opened the first Olympics since 1936 in London. Germany and Japan were not invited and the Soviet Union chose not to attend. Alice Coachman of the US was the first black woman to win a gold medal when she triumphed in the high jump. Audrey "Mickey" Patterson-Tyler (1927-1996) was the first black woman to win an Olympic medal. She won a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash.
(TMC, 1994, p.1948)(WSJ, 6/7/96, p.A1)(SFEC, 8/25/96, p.B5)(AP, 7/29/97)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1948 Aug 6, Victoria Manalo Draves (1924-2010) became the 1st woman to win 2 diving gold medals, and the 1st Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal.
(http://tinyurl.com/3ytlucx)(SFC, 6/3/05, p.F1)(SFC, 4/28/10, p.C4)
1948 Aug 6, Bob Mathias, later a US state representative, won the decathlon at the London Olympics. His unofficial title became "the world's greatest athlete." He won gold again in 1952.
(AP, 8/6/98)(SFC, 11/10/99, p.E7)(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A6)
1948 Aug 14, The summer Olympic games in London ended.
(AP, 8/14/08)
1948 Ann Curtis (1926-2012) of San Francisco won two gold medals and one silver in swimming at the London Olympics.
(SFC, 9/25/96, p.E10)(SFC, 1/31/15, p.C2)
1948 Owen Guinn Smith (d.2004), WW II pilot, won a gold medal in the pole vault. He used a bamboo pole on a windy and rainy London day and won at 14 feet, 1 ¼ inches.
(SFC, 1/23/04, p.A18)
1948 Runners broke through a cord that tripped an electric sensor to record time.
(WSJ, 8/23/04, p.C3)
1948 Marie Provaznikova, Czech athlete, became the first to defect from a Communist country during the Olympics in London.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)(www.sokolnewyork.org/history002.htm)
1948 Czech runner Emil Zatopek (1922-2000) won a gold and a silver medal at the Olympic games in London.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Z%C3%A1topek)(Econ, 6/11/16, p.84)
1948 In London, England, Joaquin Capilla (19) of Mexico won a bronze medal for platform diving.
(AP, 5/9/10)
1948 The Winter Olympic were held at St. Moritz, Switz., for a 2nd time.
(SSFC, 1/23/05, p.E14)
1952 Aug 3, The 15th Olympic Games concluded in Helsinki. US competitors won 40 gold medals.
(SFC, 8/2/02, p.E4)(SC, 8/3/02)
1952 Bob Mathias (1930-2006), US athlete from California, won his 2nd Olympic decathlon.
(SSFC, 9/3/06, p.A14)
1952 In the 15th Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, Joaquin Capilla (23) of Mexico won an Olympic silver medal, for platform diving.
(AP, 5/9/10)
1952 Czech runner Emil Zatopek (1922-2000) won three gold medals at the Olympic games in Helsinki.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Z%C3%A1topek)(Econ, 6/11/16, p.84)
1952 Yvette Williams (1930-2019) of New Zealand won the long jump gold medal at the Helsinki Olympics with a jump of 6.24m, an Olympic record and only 1 cm short of the world record then held by Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen. She set a new world mark of 6.29m in the New Zealand city of Gisborne in February, 1954.
(AP, 4/14/19)
1952-1972 Avery Brundage (1887-1975), American athlete and sports officials, served as president of the International Olympic Committee.
(Econ, 8/2/08, p.85)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avery_Brundage)
1956 Feb 2, Figure skater Tenley Albright became the first American woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy. She achieved this despite an ankle injury.
(NYT, 2/3/1956, p. 26)
1956 Nov 22, Melbourne, Australia, hosted this summer’s 16th Olympiad. 65 countries and 4,276 athletes competed. Closing ceremonies were held on Dec 8. The Netherlands and Spain withdrew from the Olympics in support of Hungary following Russia’s invasion. 45 athletes from Hungary defected during the games. Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq boycotted the games in protest over British and French actions over the Suez Canal. China boycotted protesting the inclusion of athletes from Taiwan.
(SFEC, 9/10/00, p.T8)(WSJ, 9/15/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1956 In Australia Joaquin Capilla (27) of Mexico won a bronze medal for springboard diving and a gold for platform diving.
(AP, 5/9/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn_Capilla)
1956 In Australia Murray Rose (1939-2012) became an Olympic champion winning the first of his three gold medals at the Melbourne Games in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
(AFP, 4/16/12)
1956 The Swim Eight-O-Matic Timer, the 1st semi-automatic swimming timer, was introduced.
(WSJ, 8/23/04, p.C3)
1959 Dec 21, Florence Griffith Joyner, runner (Olympic-3 gold-1988), was born in LA, Calif.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Griffith_Joyner)
1960 Feb 18, The Eighth Winter Olympic Games were formally opened in Squaw Valley, Calif., by Vice President Nixon. A drought of snow ended 2 days before the start of the games.
(AP, 2/18/98)(SSFC, 1/3/10, p.A13)
1960 Feb 26, USA's David Jenkins won the Olympics Gold for men's figure skating.
(SC, 2/26/02)
1960 Feb 27, The U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets, 3-2, at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.
(AP, 2/27/98)
1960 Feb 28, The Eighth Winter Olympic Games formally closed in Squaw Valley, Calif.
(SSFC, 1/3/10, p.A13)
1960 Aug 25, The 17th summer Olympics opened in Rome. Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994), was the first African American to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad. Her athleticism was remarkable since Rudolph contracted polio as a small child and spent six years in a steel brace. With therapy and hard work, Rudolph overcame her handicap to excel in basketball and track. As a celebrity, she worked to break many gender and racial barriers. Rudolph died of brain cancer.
(WSJ, 7/19/96, p.R6)(HN, 6/23/98)(chblue.com, 8/25/01)
1960 Aug 26, Knud Jensen (23), Danish cyclist, collapsed while riding in a 100-km team trial at the Olympics in Rome. He fractured his skull and died. An autopsy revealed amphetamines in his blood. His death would led the International Olympic Committee to begin a program of drug testing beginning with the 1968 Games held in Grenoble, France and Mexico City, Mexico.
(WSJ, 8/7/06, p.B1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knud_Enemark_Jensen)
1960 Aug, Rafer Johnson (1934-2020) carried the American flag into Rome’s Olympic Stadium as the first Black captain of a United States Olympic team. He went on to win gold in a memorable decathlon duel, bringing him acclaim as the world’s greatest all-around athlete.
(NY Times, 12/3/20)
1960 Sep 10, Abebe Bikila (1932-1973), barefoot runner from Ethiopia, won the Olympic marathon.
(HN, 8/7/98)(www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ZLB1-Ofyw)
1960 Sep 11, The 17th Summer Olympics closed in Rome. In 2008 David Maraniss authored “Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Summer_Olympics)
1964 Aug 18, South Africa was banned from Olympic Games because of apartheid policies.
(MC, 8/18/02)
1964 Oct 10, The XVIII Olympiad opened in Tokyo, Japan. The summer Olympics closing ceremonies were held on Oct 24.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Summer_Olympics)
1964 Japan completed the construction of the Yoyogi National Stadium, designed by architect Kenzo Tange, for the Tokyo Olympics.
(AP, 7/21/18)
1964 Bob Hayes (d.2002 at 59), sprinter, won gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics in the 100 meters and 4x100 relay.
(WSJ, 9/20/02, p.A1)(NW, 9/30/02, p.15)
1964 The Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck, Austria.
(StuAus, April '95, p.95)(WSJ, 7/19/96, p.R6)
1967 May, The Olympic Committee banned a number of substances including narcotics, steroids and amphetamines and announced that small-scale drug-testing would begin at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble and Mexico City.
(WSJ, 8/7/06, p.B1)(www.steroid.com/)
1968 Feb 6, Charles de Gaulle opened the 19th Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France.
(HN, 2/6/99)
1968 Feb 10, Peggy Fleming of the United States won the gold medal in women's figure skating at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France.
(AP, 2/10/97)
1968 Feb 26, Thirty-two African nations agreed to boycott the Olympics because of the presence of South Africa.
(HN, 2/26/98)
1968 Oct 2, Under Pres. Gustavo Diaz Ordaz soldiers with automatic weapons killed some 300 students in the Mexico City Tlatelolco massacre prior to the start of the summer Olympics. The government said only 50 students were killed during gunfire that lasted 5 hours. Luis Echeverria, later president, was the interior minister and the man in charge of public security. He was called before a congressional committee in 1998. Evidence in 1999 confirmed that pre-positioned soldiers fired on the students. In 2002 a special prosecutor said he has found no evidence to support historians' claims that some 300 people died when army troops opened fire on demonstrators in 1968. He put the number killed at 38.
(WUD, 1994, p.1687)(SFC, 9/1/96, p.A16)(SFEC, 4/6/97, p.C12)(WSJ, 8/13/97, p.A12)(SFC, 2/4/98, p.C2,14)(WSJ, 9/10/98, p.A1)(SFC, 6/28/99, p.A10)(AP, 8/5/02)
1968 Oct 12, The summer Games of the 19th Olympiad were officially opened in Mexico City by Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz.
(WUD, 1994, p.1687)(HN, 10/12/98)
1968 Oct 16, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos (23) sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving "black power" salutes during a victory ceremony after they'd won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race. In 2011 John Carlos with Dave Zirin authored “The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World."
(AP, 10/16/08)(SSFC, 10/9/11, p.G4)
1968 Oct 18, The US Olympic Committee suspended two black athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, for giving a black power salute as a protest during a victory ceremony in Mexico City. Bob Beamon soared 29 feet, 2 inches, to set a world record in the long jump. In 1976 Dick Schaap authored “The Perfect Jump."
(AP, 10/18/98)(WSJ, 8/9/08, p.W8)
1968 Oct 27, The 19th Olympic games closed at Mexico City, Mexico.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Summer_Olympics)
1968 Oct, Miloslava Rezkova-Hubnerovawon (1950-2014) won the gold medal for Czechoslovakia in women's high jump in Mexico City.
(AP, 10/20/14)
1968 The IOC introduced drug testing for Olympic athletes.
(Econ, 7/30/16, p.68)
1970 May 15, South Africa was excluded from Olympic play.
(http://tinyurl.com/4p3x2n)
1972 Aug 26, The XX Olympiad opened in Munich, Germany. The IOC had withdrawn Rhodesia’s invitation to the summer Olympics after several African nations threatened a boycott.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Summer_Olympics)
1972 Aug 31, Olga Korbut (b.1955) of Belarus, USSR, won Olympic gold medal in floor exercises and the balance beam.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Korbut)(AP, 8/31/02)
1972 Sep 2, Dave Wottle of the United States won the men's 800-meter race at the Munich Summer Olympics.
(AP, 9/2/02)
1972 Sep 4, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won a record seventh Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter relay at the Munich Summer Olympics.
(AP, 9/4/97)
1972 Sep 5, Terror struck the Munich Olympic games in West Germany as Arab guerrillas attacked the Israeli delegation. Palestinian terrorists killed 2 athletes and took 9 others and their coaches hostage. Eleven Israelis, five guerrillas and a police officer were killed in a 20-hour siege. The Palestinian commandos were linked to Carlos the Jackal, aka Ilich Ramirez Sanchez. In 1983 George Jonas authored “Vengeance," an account of an Israeli hit squad ordered to track down those responsible for the Munich attack. In 2000 the TV documentary "One Day in September" depicted the events. In 2005 Aaron J. Klein authored “Striking Back," and account of Israel’s response to the Munich attack. The 2005 the Stephen Spielberg film “Munich" was based on the book by George Jonas.
(SFC,12/11/97, p.C2)(WSJ, 9/8/00, p.W4)(WSJ, 12/21/05, p.D10)(WSJ, 1/14/06, p.A9)
1972 Sep 6, The Summer Olympics resumed in Munich, West Germany, a day after the deadly hostage crisis that claimed the lives of 11 Israelis and five Arab abductors.
(AP, 9/6/97)
1972 Sep 8, The Int’l. Olympic Committee banned Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett from further competition for talking to each other on the victory stand in Munich during the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" after winning the gold and silver medals in the 400-meter run.
(AP, 9/8/02)
1972 Sep 10, At the Munich Summer Olympics, the US Olympic basketball team lost to the Soviets, 51-50, in a gold-medal match marked by controversy because officials ordered the final three seconds of the game replayed, enabling the Soviets to win. The US protested, to no avail. Frank Shorter of the United States won the men's marathon at the Munich Olympics.
(AP, 9/10/02)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Summer_Olympics)
1972 Sep 11, The troubled 20th Olympic games closed at Munich, German FR.
(AP, 9/11/00)
1975 The Olympic Committee banned steroids.
(WSJ, 8/7/06, p.B1)
1976 Feb 4, The Winter Olympics were again held in Innsbruck, Austria, after Colorado rejected hosting the games. Ice dancing joined the program for the 1st time.
(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A19)(SFC, 7/31/21, p.B4)
1976 May 4, Australian PM Malcolm Fraser announced that "Waltzing Matilda" would serve as his country's national anthem at the upcoming Olympic Games.
(AP, 5/4/06)
1976 Jul 17, The XX1 Olympiad, opened in Montreal. Closing ceremonies for the summer Olympics were held August 1. 26 African nations boycotted the games after the IOC failed to bann New Zealand after its rugby team toured South Africa. Taiwan withdrew after it was denied the right to compete as the Republic of China. In 1998 it was revealed that 143 members of the East German team had taken performance-enhancing drugs.
(WSJ, 7/15/96, p.B1)(WSJ, 10/21/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1976 Jul 25, Edwin Moses (b.1955), American track star, won an Olympic Gold Medal In Montreal in the 400-meter hurdles.
(http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016369.html)
1976 Jul 31, "Sugar" Ray Charles Leonard (b.1956), boxer, won an Olympic gold medal.
(http://dcboxing.blogspot.com/2008/03/1976-olympic-final-sugar-ray-leonard-vs.html)
1976 Nadia Comaneci of Romania scored 7 perfect 10s in gymnastics at the summer Olympics in Montreal.
(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
1976 Bruce Jenner of the USA won a gold medal in the decathlon at the Summer Olympics in Montreal.
(SSFC, 2/8/15, p.A12)
1976 Dorothy Hamill (b.1956), ice-skater, won an Olympic Gold Medal.
(MC, 7/26/02)
1980 Jan 20, President Jimmy Carter announced the US boycott of Olympics in Moscow.
(www.kipnotes.com/James%20E.%20Carter.htm)
1980 Feb 13, The opening ceremonies were held in Lake Placid, NY, for the 13th Winter Olympics.
(AP, 2/13/98)
1980 Feb 15, Eric Heiden (b.1958) skated to an Olympic record of 500m in 38.03 sec.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skating_at_the_1980_Winter_Olympics)
1980 Feb 16, Eric Heiden skated 5k in 7:02.29, an Olympic Record.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skating_at_the_1980_Winter_Olympics)
1980 Feb 23, Eric Heiden (21) won his 5th speed skating gold at the Lake Placid Olympics. He went on to become an orthopedic surgeon.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skating_at_the_1980_Winter_Olympics)(SSFC, 9/22/02, p.E1)
1980 Feb 24, The U.S. hockey team defeated Finland, 4-2, to clinch the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.
(AP, 2/24/98)
1980 Mar 21, President Carter announced to the US Olympic Team that they would not participate in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow as a boycott against Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.
(www.cnn.com/resources/video.almanac/1980/index.html)
1980 Apr 13, The US Olympic Committee voted to boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
(www.iviesinathens.com/olympic/games.aspx?ID=122)
1980 Jul 16, Juan Antonio Samaranch (b.1920) of Spain was elected president of the Int’l. Olympic Committee (IOC). His reign lasted 21 years.
(www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/ioc/presidents/samaranch_uk.asp)
1980 Jul 19, The Moscow Summer Olympics began, minus dozens of nations that were boycotting the games because of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
(AP, 7/19/00)
1980 Aug 3, Closing ceremonies were held in Moscow for the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, which had been boycotted by dozens of countries, including the United States.
(AP, 8/3/00)
1982 Oct 13, The IOC restored 2 gold medals post mortem from the 1912 Olympics to Jim Thorpe (1888-1953).
(http://nomas-nyc.com/2006/10/solid-gold.html)
1984 Feb 14, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean of Britain won the gold medal in ice dancing at the Sarajevo Olympics.
(AP, 2/14/04)
1984 May 8, USSR announced it would not participate in Summer Olympics planned for Los Angeles.
(HN, 5/8/98)
1984 Jul 28, The summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles for the second time. The Russians along with Cuba and Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 23rd modern Olympic games. Iran and Libya also boycotted the games. Taiwan returned under the name Chinese Taipei. China appeared for the first time since 1952. The US won 83 gold medals, Romania was 2nd with 20. Women were allowed to compete in the Olympic marathon for the 1st time. Joan Benolt of the US won. The 1st Olympic Guide was published this year by David Wallechinsky. The 5th edition came out in 2000.
(WSJ, 7/19/96, p.R6)(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)(WSJ, 7/28/00, p.W9)(SSFC, 4/13/03, p.F1)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)
1984 Aug 11, In LA, Ca., Carl Lewis (b.1961) duplicated Jesse Owens' 1936 feat with 4 Olympic track gold medals.
(www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/oldBios/1997/lewis.asp)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis)
1984 Aug 31, Edwin Moses (b.1958), track star, won Olympic Gold Medals.
(MC, 8/31/01)
1987 Apr 14, In South Korea displaced residents of Sanggyedong protested against the government of dictator Chun Doo-hwan for demolishing their houses in Seoul.
(AP, 3/11/18)
1988 Feb 13, The 15th winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
(AP, 2/13/98)
1988 Feb 14, Hours after learning that his sister had died of leukemia, American Dan Jansen (b.1965) lost his bid for a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, when he fell during the 500-meter speed-skating event.
(AP, 2/14/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Jansen)
1988 Feb 20, U.S. figure skater Brian Boitano won the gold medal in the men's competition at the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada, with Brian Orser of Canada placing second.
(AP, 2/19/98)
1988 Feb 27, Katarina Witt of East Germany won the gold medal in women's figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, with Elizabeth Manley of Canada placing second and Debi Thomas of the United States, third. Debi Thomas became the first African American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.
(AP, 2/27/98)(HN, 2/27/99)
1988 Sep 17, South Korea opened the XXIV Olympiad in Seoul. Closing ceremonies for the summer Olympics were held on October 2. North Korea refused to participate. Cuba and Nicaragua stayed away in solidarity.
(WSJ, 4/12/08, p.R2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Summer_Olympics)
1988 Sep 18, The Soviet Union won the first gold medal of the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, in the women's air rifle event, while U.S. divers picked up silver and bronze medals in women's platform.
(AP, 9/18/98)
1988 Sep 19, Swimmer Janet Evans gave the United States its first gold medal of the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, by winning the 400-meter individual medley.
(AP, 9/19/98)
1988 Sep 20, Greg Louganis of the United States won the gold medal in springboard diving at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, a day after he injured his head on the board in the preliminary round.
(AP, 9/20/98)
1988 Sep 24, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the men's 100-meter dash in 9.79 seconds at the Seoul Summer Olympics. He was disqualified three days later for using anabolic steroids.
(AP, 9/24/98)(Econ, 8/2/08, SR p.15)
1988 Sep 29, Florence Griffith Joyner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the U.S. won their second gold medals of the Seoul Olympics, in the 200-meter and the long jump, respectively.
(AP, 9/29/98)
1988 Oct 2, The Summer Olympic Games concluded in Seoul, South Korea. The USSR won 55 gold medals, E. Germany won 37, and the US won 36.
(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)(HN, 10/2/98)
1988 Oct 2, An Olympic scandal involved American boxer Roy Jones, who was robbed of a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul, when he lost a split decision to South Korea's Park Si-Hun despite outpunching his opponent 86-32. Three judges who voted for the Korean were later suspended.
(AP, 9/23/11)(http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=T-8IS94GFyY)
1988 In South Korea Elena Shushunova (1969-2018), a Soviet gymnast, won the women's all-around gold medal at the Seoul Olympics.
(AP, 8/16/18)
1989 A report from Seoul National University estimated that 48,000 buildings housing 720,000 people were destroyed during the five years preceding the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
(AP, 3/11/18)
1991 Jul 9, The International Olympic Committee readmitted South Africa.
(AP, 7/9/97)
1992 Feb 13, Donna Weinbrecht of the United States won the gold medal in women's freestyle skiing moguls at the Olympic games in Albertville, France.
(AP, 2/13/02)
1992 Feb 14, American speed skater Bonnie Blair won her second gold medal of the Albertville Olympics, in the 1,000 meters event.
(AP, 2/14/02)
1992 Feb 22, At the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, American speedskater Cathy Turner won the women's 500-meter race.
(AP, 2/22/02)
1992 Feb 23, The XVI Winter Olympic Games ended in Albertville, France.
(AP, 2/23/02)
1992 Jul 25, Opening ceremonies were held in Barcelona, Spain, for the 25th Summer Olympics.
(AP, 7/25/97)
1992 Jul 25, A 68-foot high Mistos (Match-Cover) by Claes Oldenburg was built for the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, in reference to the Olympic Torch. In the Olympics the Unified team of the former Soviet Union won 45 gold medals and the US won 37.
(Smith., Aug. 1995, p.81)(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.4)
1992 Jul 25, Greg Spiers created the Lithuanian Basketball Team’s tie-died shirt featuring the Grateful Dead’s skeleton slam-dunking. He later sued for a share of the profits on the shirts.
(SFEC, 8/18/96, DB p.44)
1992 Jul 27, At the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the U.S. men's volleyball team was stripped of its victory over Japan the day before in an opening-round game.
(AP, 7/27/97)
1992 Jul 28, At the Barcelona Olympics, the U.S. women's 400-meter freestyle relay team won the gold medal.
(AP, 7/28/97)
1992 Jul 29, The U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team won the gold medal at the Barcelona Summer Olympics.
(AP, 7/29/97)
1992 Jul 31, Summer Sanders became the first American athlete to win four medals at the Barcelona Olympics as she won the gold in the women's 200-meter butterfly.
(AP, 7/31/97)
1992 Aug 1, Gail Devers won the women's 100 meters and Linford Christie the men's 100 meters at the Barcelona Summer Olympics.
(AP, 8/1/97)
1992 Aug 7, Jennifer Capriati won the gold medal in tennis at the Barcelona Olympics, beating Steffi Graf.
(AP, 8/7/02)
1992 Aug 8, The U.S. basketball "Dream Team" clinched the gold at the Barcelona Summer Olympics, defeating Croatia 117-85.
(AP, 8/8/97)
1992 Aug 9, Closing ceremonies were held for the Barcelona Summer Olympics, with the Unified Team of former Soviet republics winning 112 medals to 108 for the United States.
(AP, 8/9/97)
1992 Scan-O-Vision was introduced at the track in Albertville, France, using video cameras to reproduce a photo finish.
(SFC, 8/23/04, p.C3)
1994 Feb 12, The XVII Winter Olympic Games opened in Lillehammer, Norway. The official song was "Fire in Your Heart."
(SFEC, 10/5/97, p.A17)(WSJ, 3/12/98, p.A16)(AP, 2/12/99)
1994 Feb 13, At the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, American Tommy Moe won the men's downhill, defeating local hero Kjetil Andre Aamodt by 0.004 seconds.
(AP, 2/13/99)
1994 Feb 14, At the Winter Olympics in Norway, speedskater Dan Jansen slipped and fell during the 500 meters race.
(AP, 2/14/99)
1994 Feb 18, At the Winter Olympic Games in Norway, speedskater Dan Jansen finally won a gold medal, breaking the world record in the 1,000 meters.
(AP, 2/18/99)
1994 Feb 19, American speedskater Bonnie Blair won the fourth Olympic gold medal of her career as she won the 500-meter race in Lillehammer, Norway.
(AP, 2/19/99)
1994 Feb 23, Nancy Kerrigan led the women's figure skating short program at the Winter Olympics in Norway, while Tonya Harding placed tenth.
(AP, 2/23/99)
1994 Feb 25, At the Winter Olympics in Norway, Oksana Baiul of Ukraine won the gold medal in ladies' figure skating while Nancy Kerrigan won the silver and Chen Lu of China the bronze; Tonya Harding came in eighth.
(AP, 2/25/99)
1994 Feb 27, The Winter Olympic Games ended in Lillehammer, Norway.
(AP, 2/27/99)
1994 Olav Koss announced that he would donate Olympic awards from the Norwegian government, totaling over $100,000, to an organization called Olympic Aid, dedicated to helping children worldwide.
(SFC, 2/14/06, p.A11)
1996 Mar 30, The Olympic torch was lit in Greece and began its journey to the games in Atlanta, USA. The games will run 17 days from 7/19-8/4.
(WSJ, 4/1/96, p.A-1)
1996 Jul 19, The 26th summer Olympics opening ceremonies began in Atlanta, Georgia. The photo finish was computerized and in color for track and field events. Beach volleyball was inaugurated as an Olympic sport.
(WSJ, 7/19/96, p.A1)(AP, 7/19/97)(SFC, 8/23/04, p.C3)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
1996 Jul 20, At the Atlanta Olympics, Renata Mauer of Poland won the Games' first gold, in the 10-meter air rifle.
(AP, 7/20/97)
1996 Jul 21, At the Atlanta Olympics, swimmer Tom Dolan gave the United States its first gold, in the 400-meter individual medley. The men's 800-meter freestyle relay team also won.
(AP, 7/21/97)
1996 Jul 23, At the Atlanta Olympics, Kerri Strug made a heroic final vault despite torn ligaments in her left ankle as the US women gymnasts clinched their first-ever Olympic team gold medal.
(AP, 7/23/01)
1996 Jul 26, Amy Van Dyken became the first American woman to win four gold medals at a single Olympics as she captured the 50-meter freestyle in Atlanta.
(AP, 7/26/97)
1996 Jul 27, American Gail Devers won the women's 100-meter dash.
(AP, 7/27/97)
1996 Jul 27, A pipe bomb was set off at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. One person, Alice Stubbs Hawthorne (44), was killed and 111 injured. Eric Rudolph was later charged with the bombing. He was arrested May 31, 2003.
(WSJ, 7/29/96, p.A1,3)(WSJ, 8/9/96, p.A10)(AP, 7/27/97)(SSFC, 6/1/03, p.A1)
1996 Jul 28, Federal investigators reported "very good leads" in the hunt for the Olympic bomber, a day after the explosion in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. President Clinton, addressing a veterans convention in New Orleans, called on Congress to pass expanded anti-terrorism measures.
(AP, 7/28/97)
1996 Jul 29, At the Atlanta Olympics, Carl Lewis won the gold medal in the long jump, becoming only the fifth Olympian to win gold medals in four straight games. Michael Johnson won the 400-meter dash, Allen Johnson the 110-meter hurdles.
(AP, 7/29/97)
1996 Jul, In Atlanta Australian equestrian Gillian Rolton (1956-2017) broke multiple bones during a cross-country ride, but remounted following two falls to finish the competition and help her team win a gold medal.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tXL9atLwAo)(SSFC, 12/10/17, p.C11)
1996 Jul, Shabana Akhtar was the 1st-ever Pakistani athlete to compete in the Olympics.
(AFP, 9/5/04)
1996 Aug 1, At the Atlanta Olympics, Michael Johnson broke his world track record by more than three-tenths of a second, winning the 200 meters in 19.32 seconds.
(AP, 8/1/97)
1996 Aug 3, At the Atlanta Olympics, the U.S. men's 400-meter relay, without Carl Lewis, failed to win the gold medal, finishing behind Canada. The American women's 400 and 1,600 relay teams, and the men's 1,600, all won gold. The U.S. men's basketball team beat Yugoslavia 95-69 to win the gold.
(AP, 8/3/97)
1997 Sep 5, Athens, Greece, won the competition to host the 2004 Summer Olympics.
(WSJ, 9/8/97, p.A16)
1998 Feb 7, The Winter Olympic Games opened in Nagano, Japan.
(AP, 2/7/99)
1998 Feb 8, Olga Danilova of Russia won the first gold medal of the Nagano Winter Games in 15-kilometer classical cross-country skiing.
(AP, 2/8/99)
1998 Feb 9, At the Nagano Games, German Georg Hackl won the men's luge for the third consecutive Olympics.
(AP, 2/9/99)
1998 Feb 10, Speedskater Hiroyasu Shimizu won Japan's first gold medal of the Nagano Olympics, in the 500-meter event.
(AP, 2/10/99)
1998 Feb 11, Skier Jonny Moseley won the first U.S. gold medal at Nagano, in men's moguls freestyle; Picabo Street won the women's super-G. Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati was stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for marijuana. His medal was later reinstated.
(AP, 2/11/99)
1998 Feb 12, At Nagano, Norwegian Bjorn Daehlie became the first man to win six Winter Olympic gold medals, as he placed first in the 10-kilometer classical cross-country race.
(AP, 2/12/99)
1998 Feb 14, Russia's Ilya Kulik won the men's figure skating gold medal at the Nagano Olympics.
(AP, 2/14/99)
1998 Feb 15, Two Japanese ski jumpers, Kazuyoshi Funaki and Masahiko Harada, leapt to gold and bronze medals in the 120-meter event at the Nagano Olympics.
(AP, 2/15/99)
1998 Feb 16, Skier Hermann Maier of Austria won the Super-G and Katja Seizinger of Germany won the women's downhill at the Nagano Olympics; Russia's Pasha Grishuk and Yeggeny Platov won the ice dancing event.
(AP, 2/16/08)
1998 Feb 17, The U.S. women's hockey team won the gold medal at Nagano, Japan, defeating Canada 3-1.
(AP, 2/17/99)
1988 Feb 18, The American hockey team in Nagano lost to the Czechs. Members of the team that night trashed their quarters in the Olympic Village, drained a fire extinguisher and tossed it out their 5th story window.
(SFC, 2/20/98, p.A1,16)
1998 Feb 19, At the Nagano Olympics, Austrian Hermann Maier won the men's giant slalom while Hilde Gerg of Germany won the women's slalom.
(AP, 2/19/99)
1998 Dec 12, Marc Hodler (1919-2006), Swiss lawyer and International Olympics Committee official, unleashed a series of corruption allegations that included systemic buying and selling of votes in Olympic bidding, particularly for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
(SFC, 10/21/06, p.B6)
1999 Mar 17, The Int'l. Olympic Committee expelled 6 members in the wake of a bribery scandal, but gave a vote of confidence to IOC pres. Juan Antonio Samaranch.
(SFC, 3/18/99, p.A1)(AP, 3/17/00)
2000 Jul 20, A federal grand jury indicted two former Utah Olympic officials for their alleged roles in paying one million dollars in cash and gifts to help bring the 2002 games to Salt Lake City.
(AP, 7/20/01)
2000 Sep 23, At the Sydney Olympics, Marion Jones won the women's 100-meter final in 10.7 seconds; Maurice Greene took the men's 100 in 9.87 seconds.
(AP, 9/23/01)
2000 Sep 26, At the Sydney Olympics, the U.S. softball team completed a stunning comeback by edging Japan 2-to-1 in extra innings to win its second straight gold medal.
(AP, 9/26/01)
2000 Sep 27, Venus Williams became only the second player to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Olympics in the same year with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Elena Dementieva. The first was Steffi Graf, in 1988.
(AP, 9/27/01)
2000 Sep 30, In Sydney, Australia, Marion Jones won Olympic gold in the U.S. women's 1,600-meter relay and bronze with the 400-meter squad, making her the only woman to win five track medals at one Olympics. In 2007 the IOC stripped Jones of her 5 medals due to use of steroids.
(AP, 9/30/01)(WSJ, 12/13/07, p.A1)
2002 Feb 8, Pres. Bush opened the 19th Winter Olympic Games as part of a 3-hour ceremony at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the Univ. of Utah campus, which included an emotional tribute to America's heroes, from the pioneers of the West to past Olympic champions to the thousands who perished on Sept. 11, 2001.
(SFC, 2/9/02, p.A1)(AP, 2/8/03)
2002 Feb 11, Gold medals for the Olympics free-style skating event went to Russians Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya. French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne later admitted to being pressured to support the Russian team. On Feb 15 Olympic officials awarded a 2nd gold medal to Canadians David Pelletier and Jamie Sale for their performance.
(SFC, 2/16/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 13, In a startling development at the Salt Lake City winter games, the head of the French Olympic team said the French figure skating judge had been pressured to "act in a certain way" before she voted to give the gold medal to the Russians in pairs.
(AP, 2/13/03)
2002 Feb 18, France's Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat narrowly won the Olympic ice dancing gold medal.
(AP, 2/18/07)
2002 Feb 19, In Salt Lake City, a win by bobsledders Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers gave the United States 21 medals in the Winter Games; Flowers became the first black athlete ever to strike gold at the Winter Olympics.
(AP, 2/19/07)
2002 Feb 20, At the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Jim Shea won the men's skeleton race, finishing the two runs at Utah Olympic Park in one minute, 41.96 seconds. The victory was the culmination of an emotional two months for Shea, whose 91-year-old grandfather, Olympic gold medal speedskater Jack Shea, died four weeks earlier. American speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno won the 1,500 meters after South Korean Kim Dong-sung, who had crossed the finish line ahead of him, was disqualified.
(SFC, 2/21/02, p.A1)(AP, 2/20/07)
2002 Feb 21, In Salt Lake City Sarah Hughes (16) of Great neck, NY, won 1st place in the Olympics women’s free skate competition, leaving teammate Michelle Kwan to settle for a bronze.
(SFC, 2/22/02, p.A1)(AP, 2/21/07)
2006 Feb 23, Japan's Shizuka Arakawa stunned favorites Sasha Cohen of the United States and Irina Slutskaya of Russia to claim the women's figure skating gold medal at the Turin Winter Olympics.
(AP, 2/23/07)
2002 Feb 24, The XIX Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City came to a close. In one of the last events Canada beat the US hockey team 5-2 for the gold. Cross-country skiers from Spain and Russia were stripped of gold medals for failing drug tests.
(SFC, 2/25/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 2/25/02, p.A1)
2002 Jul 31, Court papers alleged that Russia's Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov used his influence with members of the Russian and French skating federations to fix the outcome of the pairs and ice dancing competitions at the Olympics last February.
(Reuters, 7/31/02)
2004 May 17, Transsexuals were cleared to compete in the Olympics for the first time.
(AP, 5/17/05)
2004 Aug 13, The Olympics opened In Athens. A sea of athletes under 202 flags parted to let a Greek windsurfing champion jog across the stadium and climb to the Olympic cauldron, which dipped on its slender 102-foot arm to receive the spark from his torch. Women’s wrestling debuted as an Olympic sport.
(AP, 8/14/04)(NG, 8/04, Geographica)
2004 Aug 17, At the Athens games, Romania won its second straight Olympic gold medal in women's gymnastics; the United States took silver while Russia won the bronze.
(AP, 8/17/05)
2004 Aug 18, In Athens Paul Hamm won the men's gymnastics all-around Olympic gold medal by the closest margin ever in the event; controversy followed after it was discovered a scoring error might have cost Yang Tae-young of South Korea the title.
(AP, 8/18/05)
2004 Aug 19, Carly Patterson won gymnastics' premier event at the Olympics in Athens, becoming the first U.S. woman to win the all-around title since Mary Lou Retton in 1984.
(AP, 8/19/05)
2004 Aug 21, The International Gymnastics Federation ruled that South Korean Yang Tae-young was unfairly docked a tenth of a point in the all-around gymnastics final at the Athens Olympics, costing him the gold medal that ended up going to Paul Hamm of the United States; however, the ruling did not change the final result.
(AP, 8/21/05)
2004 Aug 22, In the Olympics Justin Gatlin of the US won the 10-meter dash in 9.85 sec.
(SFC, 8/23/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 25, Israel captured its 1st ever gold medal with a win by Gal Fridman in wind surfing.
(WSJ, 8/26/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 26, At the Athens Olympics, the US women's soccer team won the gold medal by beating Brazil, 2-1, in overtime; Shawn Crawford led a U.S. sweep of the 200 meters.
(AP, 8/26/05)
2004 Aug 27, Liu Xiang (b.1983), Chinese hurdler, set a record and won Olympic gold in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 12.91 seconds equaling the 1993 time of Colin Jackson.
(www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-08/28/content_369582.htm)
2004 Aug 29, Closing ceremonies were held in Athens, Greece, for the 28th Olympiad. During one of the final events, lead marathon runner Vanderlie Lima of Brazil was pushed into the crowd by an intruder, but managed to finish 3rd behind Stefano Baldini of Italy.
(SFC, 8/30/04, p.D1)
2004 Elena Votsi, Greek artist, designed the 2004 Olympic medal. It was the 1st re-design in 76 years.
(AM, 7/04, p.25)(http://olympic-museum.de/w_medals/wmed2004.htm)
2004 Radar guns were added to check on beach volleyball.
(SFC, 8/23/04, p.C3)
2005 Jul 6, London was awarded the 2012 Olympics, upsetting European rival Paris in the final round of voting to take the games back to the British capital for the first time since 1948. Costs for the 2112 Olympics were originally estimated at £2.4 billion. By 2006 the costs rose to £4.7 billion.
(AP, 7/6/05)(Econ, 11/25/06, p.57)
2006 Feb 11, American Chad Hedrick won the 5,000 meters in speedskating at the Olympics in Turin, Italy.
(AP, 2/11/07)
2006 Feb 13, Joey Cheek (26), American speedskater, won a gold medal in the 500-meter sprint in Turin, Italy, and announced that he would donate his $25,000 award from the US Olympic Committee Olympic Aid, founded by Olav Koss in 1994 and direct it to a refugee program in Chad. Hannah Teter won gold and Gretchen Bleiler won silver in the halfpipe. Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin won the gold medal in pairs figure skating, extending Russia's four-decade dominance of the event.
(SFC, 2/14/06, p.A1)(AP, 2/13/07)
2006 Feb 14, At Turin, American Ted Ligety won Olympic gold in men's combined skiing, while Bode Miller was disqualified for straddling a gate.
(AP, 2/14/07)
2006 Feb 16, Russia's Evgeni Plushenko beat world champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland by an unfathomable 27.12 points to win the gold medal in men's figure skating at the Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
(AP, 2/16/07)
2006 Feb 18, In Italy Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway outwaited the weather and outran the field to successfully defend the men's super-G title for his record eighth Olympic Alpine medal. American Shani Davis won the men's 1,000-meter speedskating in Turin, becoming the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history.
(AP, 2/18/06)(AP, 2/18/07)
2006 Feb 20, At the Turin Olympics, Tanith Belbin and partner Ben Agosto snapped the US medals drought in figure skating with a silver; Russians Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov won the gold.
(AP, 2/20/07)
2006 Feb 24, Julia Mancuso won gold in the women's giant slalom at the Turin Olympics.
(AP, 2/24/07)
2006 Feb 25, Apolo Anton Ohno upset favored South Korean Ahn Hyun-soo to win the gold in the 500-meter short track speedskating event at the Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
(AP, 2/25/07)
2006 Feb 26, On the final day of the Turin Winter Olympics, Sweden beat Finland 3-2 to win the men's hockey gold. Germany led the gold medal count with 29. The US won 25 medals including 9 gold, Canada won 24, Austria 23 and Russia 22. Drew Lachey leaped to victory with professional partner Cheryl Burke on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." Shizuka Arakawa won a gold medal for Japan in figure skating.
(SFC, 2/27/06, p.A1)(SFC, 2/27/06, p.A1)(AP, 2/26/07)
2007 Jul 4, The Black Sea resort of Sochi was elected the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, taking the Winter Games to Russia for the first time. Russia proposed to spend $12 million to stage the games at Sochi. Costs ended at $50 billion.
(AP, 7/4/08)(Econ, 7/13/13, p.45)(Econ, 11/22/14, p.22)
2007 Aug 8, Beijing began the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, acknowledged that Beijing's air pollution could force the postponement of outdoor events during next year's Olympics.
(AP, 8/7/07)(AP, 8/8/07)
2008 Apr 8, China denounced protesters who upstaged Olympic Games torch relays in London and Paris and asked the United States to ensure the next leg in San Francisco avoids similar mayhem. Olympic chiefs raised the prospect for the first time of abandoning the international legs of the Beijing Games torch relay, amid a wave of protests targeting the flame overseas.
(AP, 4/8/08)
2008 Apr 9, In SF officials rerouted the rout of the Beijing Olympic torch at the last minute avoiding most protestors and spectators.
(SFC, 4/10/08, p.A1)
2008 Apr 11, Runners surrounded by rows of security carried the Olympic flame past thousands of jubilant Argentines in the most trouble-free torch relay in nearly a week.
(AP, 4/11/08)
2008 Apr 14, The Olympic torch arrived in Oman amid tight security and expectations of a smooth relay on the Middle Eastern leg of the flame's round-the-world tour.
(AP, 4/14/08)
2008 Apr 16, In Pakistan runners carried the Olympic flame around the outside of a sports stadium, an invitation-only event in front of an elite, sparse crowd with heavy security to deter any anti-China protesters or terrorist attacks.
(AP, 4/16/08)
2008 Apr 17, In India runners carried the Olympic flame along a heavily guarded route through central New Delhi, protected by about 15,000 police who kept Tibetan exiles and other anti-China protesters from disrupting the ceremony. Tens of thousands of pro-Tibetan demonstrators gathered across India to protest the torch relay.
(AP, 4/17/08)(SFC, 4/18/08, p.A16)
2008 Apr 21, Malaysia's leg of the Olympic torch relay passed off largely without incident with a heavy police presence netting just five protesters and thousands of well-wishers braving torrential rain.
(AP, 4/21/08)
2008 Apr 27, A North Korean defector tried to set himself on fire to halt the Olympic torch relay through Seoul, while thousands of police guarded the flame from protesters blasting China's treatment of North Korean refugees. A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea for the first time in a decade across the heavily fortified border dividing the countries.
(AP, 4/27/08)(AP, 4/28/08)
2008 Apr 30, The Olympic torch returned to Chinese soil after a turbulent 20-nation tour, landing in the bustling financial capital of Hong Kong where officials deported at least seven activists before the flame's arrival.
(AP, 4/30/08)
2008 Jul 29, The International Olympic Committee agreed to allow Iraq to participate in the Beijing games, reversing itself after Baghdad pledged to ensure the independence of its national Olympics.
(AP, 7/30/08)
2008 Aug 6, The US said it will protest to China over its decision to revoke the visa of Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek, an activist on the African region of Darfur where China is accused of failing to help end the crisis. Speedskater Cheek is co-founder of Team Darfur, an international coalition of athletes campaigning to draw world attention to the humanitarian crisis there.
(Reuters, 8/6/08)
2008 Aug 8, In Beijing, China, the 29th Olympic Games, costing an estimated 40 billion dollars and shrouded by political controversies, burst into life with a spectacular opening ceremony. The official slogan for the games this year was “One world, one dream." Actress activist Mia Farrow began Web-casting her own "Darfur Olympics" from a refugee camp on the barren Sudan-Chad border, aiming to shame China into using its influence with Khartoum to end the Darfur conflict. Construction before the games forced more than 1m people from their homes.
(AP, 8/8/08)(AP, 8/7/08)(Econ, 8/2/08, p.28)(Econ, 7/30/16, p.68)
2008 Aug 9, Tang Yongming (47), a knife-wielding Chinese man, attacked two relatives of a coach for the US Olympic men's volleyball team at a tourist site in Beijing, killing Todd Bachman (62) and injuring his wife on the first day of the Olympics. Yongming then committed suicide by throwing himself from the second story of the site, the 13th century Drum Tower just five miles from the main Olympics site.
(AP, 8/9/08)(SFC, 8/11/08, p.A12)
2008 Aug 10, Welshwoman Nicole Cooke handed Britain their first gold of the Beijing Olympic Games when she won the women's cycling road race.
(AP, 8/10/08)
2008 Aug 10, Japan's Masato Uchishiba has won his second straight Olympic gold medal, pinning France's Benjamin Darbelet just seconds into their final match in the men's 66-kilogram division and bringing Japan its first judo gold of the Beijing Games.
(AP, 8/10/08)
2008 Aug 11, In China the US remained third in the medals table at the end of the third day of Olympic competition with three gold medals behind hosts China with nine after the completion of 34 events, and South Korea with four. Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to ever win a solo gold medal at the Olympic Games after winning the men's 10m air rifle title.
(AP, 8/11/08)(www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/14/olympicgames.shooting)
2008 Aug 13, Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals, and 5 world records in 5 events at the Beijing Games.
(AP, 8/13/08)
2008 Aug 13, A Chinese team beat the United States and clinched China's first women's team Olympic gold in gymnastics, amid allegations that at least one member, He Kexin, of the Chinese team was under age.
(AP, 8/14/08)
2008 Aug 15, In Beijing 2 positive dope tests by Asian athletes overshadowed Singapore's first medal in 48 years and a podium for Malaysia with a North Korean shooter and a Vietnamese gymnast exposed as cheats.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 16, Carol Huynh, whose parents fled communist Vietnam in the 1970s, won Canada's first gold of the Olympics in the women's 48 kg freestyle wrestling. Usain Bolt of Jamaica was crowned the world's fastest man when he raced to victory in the Olympic men's 100 meters final in a world record time of 9.69 sec.
(AP, 8/16/08)(AFP, 8/16/08)
2008 Aug 17, In Beijing Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal as team mate Jason Lezak brought it home for a world record in the 400-meter medley relay.
(AP, 8/17/08)
2008 Aug 18, State media reported that Chinese authorities have not approved any of the 77 applications they received from people who wanted to hold protests during the Beijing Olympics.
(AP, 8/18/08)
2008 Aug 20, In Beijing Rohullah Nikpai of Afghanistan won a bronze medal in taekwondo. This was Afghanistan’s first Olympic medal ever.
(http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/news/story?id=3544339)
2008 Aug 22, Two Beijing grandmothers remained defiant and in good spirits despite being sentenced to one year of reeducation through labor for applying to protest during the Olympics.
(AFP, 8/22/08)
2008 Aug 23, In Beijing Angel Matos, a Cuban taekwondo athlete, and his coach Leudis Gonzalez were banned for life after Matos kicked the referee in the face following his bronze-medal match disqualification.
(AP, 8/23/08)
2008 Aug 24, The Beijing Olympics, played out against a background of political intrigue and featuring 16 days of compelling and controversial action, drew to a spectacular close. China's haul of 51 gold medals was the largest since the Soviet Union won 55 in Seoul in 1988. The US won 36 gold medals and Russia came in 3rd with 23. Jamaica ended up with 11 medals including 6 gold. Cuba took home 24 medals, but only 2 gold.
(AP, 8/24/08)(Econ, 8/30/08, p.38)
2008 Aug 24, In London some 40,000 people, including record-breaking swimmer Michael Phelps, gathered to celebrate 2012 host London taking over from Beijing as the Olympic city.
(AP, 8/24/08)
2008 Aug 24, Kenya took home 14 medals from the Beijing Olympics, 5 of them gold.
(Econ, 9/6/08, p.55)
2008 Aug 29, In Zimbabwe power-sharing talks over a unity government resumed as Mugabe's government made good on a promise to allow aid agencies to resume operations. Mugabe announced cash awards for Zimbabwe’s Olympic winners. He called Kirsty Coventry, who won three silvers and a gold at the Beijing games, Zimbabwe's "golden girl" and gave her $100,000.
(AP, 8/29/08)(AP, 8/30/08)
2008 Sep 17, A packed "Bird's Nest" National stadium witnessed the formal end of the Beijing Paralympic Games, bringing down the curtain on a glittering 12-day sports extravaganza.
(AP, 9/17/08)
2009 Oct 2, In Denmark the IOC opened a meeting hearing the cases led by government leaders and kings to win the right to stage the 2016 Olympic Games. US Pres. Obama spoke for Chicago, Japan's new PM Yukio Hatoyama spoke for Tokyo, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva spoke for Rio de Janeiro, and Spain's King Juan Carlos and PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero spoke for Spain. Brazil won the bid.
(AFP, 10/2/09)(AP, 10/3/09)
2010 Feb 12, The XXI Olympic Winter Games began in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the Olympics' first-ever indoor opening ceremony. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a horrific crash on a training run, casting a shadow as Vancouver opened the Winter Olympic Games with a daredevil snowboarder, an aboriginal welcome, and Wayne Gretzky lighting the cauldron.
(AP, 2/12/10)(Reuters, 2/13/10)(SFC, 2/22/10, p.A1)
2010 Feb 13, In Canada on the opening day of Olympic competition Vancouver police in riot gear confronted more than 200 masked protesters who hurled newspaper boxes through display windows of a popular department store selling Olympic souvenirs. Guillame Joseph-Marc Beaulieu (27) led a group of about 100 black-masked anarchists who spray-painted vehicles and smashed storefront windows as they marched. On Feb 16 police reported his arrest. Beaulieu, charged with mischief, had also led a group that blocked a street and forced organizers to re-route a relay transporting the Olympic flame to the opening ceremonies.
(AP, 2/13/10)(Reuters, 2/16/10)
2010 Feb 14, In Canada Alexandre Bilodeau, skiing under huge pressure, finally won Canada's first Olympic gold on Cypress Mountain when he snatched victory in a thrilling finale to the men's freestyle moguls.
(Reuters, 2/14/10)
2010 Feb 16, In Canada Maelle Ricker thrilled a rowdy hometown crowd and easily won the women's Olympic snowboard cross title, bagging the first gold for a Canadian woman on home soil.
(AP, 2/17/10)
2010 Feb 18, Speed skater Christine Nesbitt of Canada mounted a gutsy charge to the finish line to claim gold in the women's 1,000 meters at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
(Reuters, 2/18/10)
2010 Feb 21, In Canada US skier Bode Miller snatched his first Olympic gold medal and US ice hockey goalkeeper Ryan Miller stopped Canada in a heartbreaking loss for the hockey-crazed host nation.
(Reuters, 2/22/10)
2010 Feb 25, In Canada Kim Yu-Na (19) of South Korea, achieved her country's first Olympic figure skating title with a resounding victory in the Pacific Coliseum.
(AFP, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 25, Canada's ice hockey women celebrated a gold medal win by taking to the ice afterwards drinking beer and smoking cigars.
(Reuters, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 26, Canada won the Olympic men's short track 5,000 meters relay with Charles Hamelin picking up his second gold of the day.
(Reuters, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 27, Canada bagged another three gold medals on the penultimate day of the Winter Olympics to ensure they will finish top of the medal standings, triggering wild celebrations across the country.
(Reuters, 2/27/10)
2010 Feb 28, Canada beat the USA in an extraordinary men's ice hockey final to capture a record 14th gold medal and end the Vancouver Winter Olympics on top of the world. The victory at a single Winter Games surpassed the previous mark of 13 jointly held by the Soviet Union (Innsbruck, 1976) and Norway (Salt Lake City, 2002). The USA also set a record for the most overall medals at a single Winter Olympics with 37, one more than Germany in 2002.
(Reuters, 2/28/10)
2010 Apr 15, In Canada the city of Vancouver released documents indicating it spent more than C$554 million ($554 million) as host of this year's Winter Olympics, much of it related to building the athletes village. The federal government and the province of British Columbia also paid the C$585 million cost to build and refurbish competition venues in Vancouver, and at the nearby mountain resort of Whistler.
(Reuters, 4/16/10)
2010 Apr 23, In Russia two-time Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion Natalia Lavrova (25) was killed with her sister in a car accident. Lavrova was Russia's only rhythmic gymnast to win two Olympic gold medals, in team competitions at the Sydney and Athens Olympics in 2000 and 2004.
(AP, 4/23/10)
2010 Apr 28, The International Olympic Committee, acting on evidence that Dong Fangxiao was only 14 at the 2000 Games in Sidney, stripped China of the women's team bronze medal. China was ordered to give the medal back, allowing the United States to claim it instead.
(AP, 4/28/10)
2010 Aug 14, In Singapore the inaugural Youth Olympic Games officially opened in a spectacular blaze of color, with Jacques Rogge hailing it as a new chapter in the Olympic movement. The Games, which feature athletes aged 14 to 18, are a project Rogge has championed since becoming IOC chief in 2001.
(AFP, 8/14/10)
2010 Dec 15, Australia signed an agreement with Brazil to share knowledge on putting on the Olympics to help preparations with Rio's hosting of the 2016 Games.
(AFP, 12/16/10)
2011 Jun 7, NBC won a fierce bidding war over exclusive television coverage of the Olympics, outbidding Fox and ESPN. NBC signed a deal which cost $4.38 billion, and gave the network US broadcasting rights to the four Olympic Games from 2014 until 2020.
(Reuters, 6/7/11)
2011 Sep 23, The tarnished image of Olympic boxing faced fresh scrutiny over allegations that multi-million dollar bribes were paid to ensure fighters from Azerbaijan won gold medals at the 2012 Games in London. The championships were moved to the Azeri capital after being originally awarded to the South Korean port city of Busan.
(AP, 9/23/11)
2012 Apr 4, A Saudi official reiterated a position he announced late last year, confirming that Saudi Arabia will be fielding only male athletes in London. Prince Nawaf bin Faisal said, however, that Saudi women taking part on their own are free to do so and the kingdom's Olympic authority would "only help in ensuring that their participation does not violate the Islamic sharia law."
(AFP, 4/5/12)
2012 May 5, More than 40,000 spectators watched as a cascade of white balloons was released to open London's Olympic stadium, before the Games begin on July 27.
(AFP, 5/5/12)
2012 May 10, The Olympic flame was lit in Ancient Olympia in Greece, in a solemn ceremony filled with mystery and tradition that signals the final countdown to the start of this year's summer Games in London.
(AFP, 5/10/12)
2012 Jul 25, The Olympics kicked off with a women's football match between Britain and New Zealand in Cardiff. The match in the Welsh capital comes two days before the July 27 opening ceremony at the main London stadium but marks the competitive sporting debut for the Games.
(Reuters, 7/25/12)
2012 Jul 26, In India about 100 disabled children took part in the "Bhopal Special Olympics" at a muddy sports ground in the shadow of the Union Carbide factory responsible for the 1984 world's worst industrial accident.
(AFP, 7/26/12)
2012 Jul 27, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II declared the London Olympics open after playing a cameo role in a dizzying ceremony designed to highlight the grandeur and eccentricities of the nation that invented modern sport. More than 10,000 athletes from 204 countries will compete in 26 sports over 17 days of competition in the only city to have staged the modern Games three times.
(Reuters, 7/28/12)
2012 Jul 30, In London Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte, claimed as an "adopted Brit," became the youngest winner of the Olympic event at 15 years and 133 days when she won the 100m breaststroke final over American world champion Rebecca Soni. She became Lithuania's first Olympic swimming champion.
(AFP, 8/1/12)
2012 Aug 1, Eight badminton players were dramatically disqualified from Olympic competition after a scandal over "throwing" matches left the sport in uproar. Four pairs in the women's doubles competition, one from China, one from Indonesia and two from South Korea, were barred after being hit by disciplinary charges.
(AFP, 8/1/12)
2012 Aug 8, A spokeswoman for London’s Olympics organizers (LOCOG) confirmed that 7 competitors from Cameroon have gone missing at the London Olympics and British police have been informed.
(AFP, 8/8/12)
2012 Aug 11, The International Boxing Association (AIBA) said it has begun legal action after the BBC repeated the previous evening that boxing medals could be bought at London 2012. The BBC had repeated an allegation first made in a Newsnight documentary last September that around $10m had been paid from Azerbaijan to boxing authorities in return for two golds.
(AFP, 8/11/12)
2012 Aug 11, Jubilant Mexicans celebrated their 2-1 Olympic gold medal soccer win over powerhouse Brazil, marking Mexico's first ever Olympic soccer gold medal.
(AP, 8/11/12)
2012 Aug 12, Marathon man Stephen Kiprotich delivered Uganda's second ever Olympics gold medal, celebrating victory in the shadow of Buckingham Palace as the curtain slowly dropped on the 2012 Games. Uganda’s last gold medal came 40 years ago when 400m hurdler John Akii-Bua struck gold at the Munich Games. The closing ceremony was billed as a diverse "Symphony of British Music."
(AFP, 8/12/12)
2012 Aug 13, The Olympic flag touched down on Brazilian soil, marking the start of four years of preparations ahead of the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.
(AP, 8/13/12)
2012 Aug 13, CongoDRC’s sports ministry said a judoka and three coaches from its Olympic delegation have gone missing after leaving the Athletes' Village at the London Games.
(AFP, 8/13/12)
2012 Aug 29, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the London Paralympic Games at a showpiece ceremony involving more than 3,000 volunteer and professional performers.
(AFP, 8/30/12)
2012 Aug 30, The first day of competition at the London Paralympics got under way.
(AFP, 8/30/12)
2013 Feb 12, IOC leaders meeting in Switzerland dropped wrestling from the Olympic program, a surprise decision that removes one of the oldest Olympic sports from the 2020 Games.
(AP, 2/12/13)
2013 Feb 12, G4S settled a months-long dispute with the organizers of the London Olympics, having failed to supply enough security guards for the 2012 Games, and said it will take a 70 million pound loss on the contract.
(AP, 2/12/13)
2013 Sep 7, The International Olympic Committee selected Tokyo for the 2020 Games.
(AP, 9/7/13)
2014 Jan 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin reversed a blanket ban on protests at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, bowing to pressure from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
(AFP, 1/4/14)
2014 Jan 7, Russia launched the largest security operation in Olympic history with one month to go before Vladimir Putin kicks off the Winter Games in Sochi amid renewed fears of suicide bombings.
(AFP, 1/7/14)
2014 Jan 10, Russia designated a park in the town of Khosta as a protest zone for the Winter Olympics. Khosta is 7 miles away from there the athletes will compete in Sochi.
(SFC, 1/11/14, p.A2)
2014 Jan 17, It was reported that Sochi residents are blaming the Olympic Games for ecological damage. Environmental experts said that Russia’s Olympic construction, which has consisted of pouring soil into lowland swamps, helped cause the flooding that created a state of emergency in the area in September and could increase the risk for more flooding.
(Reuters, 1/17/14)
2014 Jan 27, Russian anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny launched an interactive website painting a vivid picture of the suspected cost overruns and conflicts of interest at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
(AP, 1/27/14)
2014 Feb 3, A pest control company which has been killing stray dogs in Sochi for years said that it has a contract to exterminate more of the animals throughout the Olympics.
(AP, 2/3/14)
2014 Feb 7, Russia opened the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Police arrested four gay rights activists protesting in St. Petersburg.
(AP, 2/7/14)
2014 Feb 23, The Winter Olympics In Sochi, Russia, ended after 17 days with a handoff to the next Winter Games host city, Pyeongchang in South Korea. Russian athletes claimed 33 medals, their largest haul ever.
(AP, 2/24/14)
2014 Feb 28, Latvia's Olympic Committee secretary general said a second player on its national men's ice hockey team is suspected to have tested positive for a banned substance at the Sochi Winter Games.
(AP, 3/1/14)
2015 Jul 17, Japan scrapped the design of the Olympic stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Games because of soaring costs and said it will reopen bidding for a new plan, in a stunning reversal that leaves the 2019 Rugby World Cup without a main venue. The $13.6 billion design by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid was likened to a giant turtle.
(Econ, 6/20/15, p.38)(AP, 7/17/15)
2015 Jul 31, Beijing was awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics, capitalizing on its previous 2008 Summer Games experience and defying concerns about its air quality and lack of natural snow.
(CSM, 7/31/15)
2015 Aug 8, In Brazil at least 30 boats of all sizes paraded across Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay to protest contamination in the waters where sailing events will be held next year during the Olympic Games.
(AP, 8/8/15)
2015 Nov 7, The World Anti-Doping Agency said Russia had sabotaged the 2012 London Olympic Games by running a state-sponsored doping program.
(SSFC, 11/15/15, p.A25)
2015 Nov 10, Russia rejected explosive accusations of doping and corruption and promised a rapid response to avoid suspension from the 2016 Olympics due to the scandal that threatens to spread far beyond the borders of Russia and athletics.
(AFP, 11/10/15)
2015 Nov 18, Russia set up a taskforce to wipe out the "infection" of doping in track and field as the country faces being banned from next year's Olympic competition.
(AP, 11/18/15)
2015 Andrew Zimbalist authored “Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup."
(Econ., 2/28/15, p.74)
2016 May 12, French prosecutors said that $2 million tied to Tokyo's winning bid for the 2020 Olympics was apparently paid to an account linked to Papa Massata Diack (50), the son of disgraced former IAAF president Lamine Diack, in the months immediately before and after the Japanese capital won the games.
(AP, 5/12/16)
2016 May 15, Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko apologized for the doping scandal that threatens the athletic superpower's participation in the Rio Olympics.
(AFP, 5/15/16)
2016 May 17, The International Olympic Committee opened disciplinary proceedings against the 31 unidentified athletes from 12 countries who competed in Beijing and were planning to take part in the Rio de Janeiro Games in August. They were caught in the retesting of drug samples from the 2008 Beijing Games.
(AP, 5/17/16)
2016 May 27, The International Olympic Committee said that 23 athletes from five sports and six countries had positive findings in retests with improved techniques on 265 samples from the 2012 London Games, adding to the more than 30 already caught in retesting from the 2008 Beijing Games.
(AP, 5/27/16)
2016 May 28, The World Health Organization said there is "no public health justification" for postponing or canceling the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of the Zika outbreak.
(AP, 5/28/16)
2016 May, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of a Moscow lab, told the NY Times of a system of swapping out urine samples at the 2014 Sochi Olympics to avoid positive tests.
(http://tinyurl.com/ja976aa)(Econ, 7/23/16, p.41)
2016 Jun 17, Russia's track and field athletes were banned from competing for their country at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because the country has failed to do enough to clean up a deep-rooted doping system that tainted athletes who may be clean.
(AP, 6/17/16)
2016 Jul 1, Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova was cleared by track and field's world governing body to compete as a neutral athlete in the European championships and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The 800-meter runner had provided evidence to the World Anti-Doping Agency of widespread cheating in Russia that led the IAAF to bar the country's track and field athletes from international competition, including the Rio Games.
(AP, 7/1/16)
2016 Jul 18, An independent Canadian investigator said Russia operated a state-dictated doping system during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and other events, in a report likely to lead to demands for Russia to be completely banned from the Rio Games.
(AFP, 7/18/16)
2016 Jul 21, Russia lost its appeal against the Olympic ban on its track and field athletes, a decision which could add pressure on the IOC to exclude the country entirely from next month's games in Rio de Janeiro.
(AP, 7/21/16)
2016 Jul 24, In Switzerland the International Olympic Committee held showdown talks on whether to ban Russia from the Rio Games over state-run doping. The IOC said it was up to each international sports federation to decide if Russians could take part in Rio.
(AFP, 7/24/16)(AFP, 7/25/16)
2016 Aug 2, In Brazil Olympics chief Thomas Bach called for a complete overhaul of the anti-doping system after revelations of state-backed cheating by Russia rocked preparations for the Rio Games.
(AFP, 8/2/16)
2016 Aug 5, Brazilian police arrested Moroccan boxer Hassan Saada (22) for allegedly sexually assaulting two female cleaners on August 3 in Rio’s Olympic Village.
(AFP, 8/5/16)
2016 Aug 5, Rio de Janeiro hosted a glittering Olympics opening ceremony party, hoping to draw a line under a turbulent seven-year build-up dogged by recession, drugs scandals, crime and infrastructure stumbles.
(AFP, 8/5/16)
2016 Aug 12, The Chinese Swimming Association said Chen Xinyi tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide after she finished fourth in the women's 100-meter butterfly in the Rio Olympics on August 7, missing a bronze medal by nine-hundredths of a second.
(AP, 8/12/16)
2016 Aug 12, Fiji's men's sevens rugby team won the country’s first ever Olympic medal with a 43-7 victory over Great Britain.
(AP, 8/12/16)(http://tinyurl.com/j2mcajn)
2016 Aug 13, Singapore exploded in celebration after homegrown swimming hero Joseph Schooling beat US legend Michael Phelps in the 100m butterfly in Rio to win the tiny republic's first ever Olympic gold.
(AFP, 8/13/16)
2016 Aug 14, In Brazil American swimmer Ryan Lochte said he, Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and James Feigen were held at gunpoint and robbed several hours after the last Olympic swimming races ended. That claim started unraveling when police said that investigators could not find evidence to substantiate it. Police later said the men, while intoxicated, vandalized a gas station bathroom and were questioned by armed guards before they paid for the damage and left.
(AP, 8/19/16)
2016 Aug 15, Brazil’s Thiago Braz won an unexpected gold medal and set an Olympic record in pole vaulting.
(Econ, 8/20/16, p.25)
2016 Aug 18, Brazilian cyclist Kleber Ramos and Chinese swimmer Chen Xinyi were disqualified from the Olympic Games for having failed doping tests. Ramos tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO Cera while Chen took the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.
(AFP, 8/18/16)
2016 Aug 18, Kimia Alizadeh won the first ever Olympic medal by an Iranian woman after claiming taekwondo bronze in Rio.
(AFP, 8/18/16)
2016 Aug 19, In Brazil Cheick Sallah Cisse was the toast of the Ivory Coast as he won their first ever Olympic gold medal with a killer kick in the last second of the men's under-80kg taekwondo final.
(AFP, 8/20/16)
2016 Aug 19, In Brazil Usain Bolt of Jamaica won his 9th gold medal in the 4x100 relay. Three Olympics, three races at each, three gold medals every time.
(AP, 8/20/16)
2016 Aug 19, US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte apologized for his behavior surrounding an incident at a Rio de Janeiro gas station, saying he should have been more "careful and candid" about how he described what happened after a night of partying with his teammates.
(AP, 8/20/16)
2016 Aug 20, Brazil claimed its first Olympic gold in soccer with a win over Germany.
(AP, 8/21/16)
2016 Aug 21, In Brazil the curtain descended on two weeks of high drama at the Rio Games as Tokyo took up the baton and promised to go one better in 2020.
(AFP, 8/22/16)
2016 Aug 21, The Rio police force executed search warrants to seize passports and evidence from Ireland team leader Kevin Kilty, chief executive Stephen Martin and secretary general Dermot Henihan, who are accused of illegally selling Olympic tickets.
(AP, 8/21/16)
2016 Aug 26, In Kenya Francis Paul, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), was arrested as investigators probed allegations of mismanagement and corruption at the Rio Games. His deputy James Chicha and Stephen Ara Sou, who headed the Kenyan delegation to Rio, were both arrested at Nairobi airport on their return from the Brazil Games.
(AFP, 8/27/16)
2016 Aug 30, Vera Caslavska (74), a seven-time Olympic gymnastics gold medalist who stood up against the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, died in Prague.
(AP, 8/31/16)
2016 Sep 6, A German court dismissed appeals by 84 Russian athletes seeking to compete at the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Another 10 Russians had a similar application rejected a day earlier as punishment for state-backed doping in the country.
(AP, 9/6/16)
2016 Sep 8, In Brazil the 2016 Paralympic Games opened in Rio de Janeiro. The theme of the opening was: “The heart knows no limits; everybody has a heart."
(CSM, 9/8/16)
2016 Dec 11, Tokyo held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $1.5 billion National Stadium to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
(AP, 12/11/16)
2016 Richard Askwith authored “Today We Die a Little! The Inimitable Emil Zatopek, the Greatest Runner of All Time." The Czech runner won four golds and one silver at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic games in 1948 and 1952.
(Econ, 6/11/16, p.84)
2016 David Goldblatt authored “The Games: A Global History of the Olympics."
(Econ, 7/30/16, p.67)
2017 Jan 25, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt lost one of his nine Olympic gold medals when the International Olympic Committee stripped Jamaica of their 4x100m relay win at the 2008 Beijing Games after relay teammate Nesta Carter, who ran the first leg of the race, was found to have tested positive for banned substance Methylhexanamine.
(AFP, 1/25/17)
2017 Mar 7, National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) executives, led by two-time Olympic champion Kip Keino, defied the IOC at a meeting and refused to make changes to their constitution.
(AP, 3/9/17)
2017 Mar 10, The International Olympic Committee said it has frozen all cash funding for sport in Kenya as it battles the national Olympic body over its governance.
(AP, 3/10/17)
2017 Jun 24, South Korean President Moon Jae-in invited North Korea to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, saying sports could serve as a peace maker.
(AFP, 6/24/17)
2017 Oct 4, The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo organizing committee wrapped up a two-day project review vowing to cut costs for the 2020 Games and address concerns over water pollution in Tokyo Bay.
(AP, 10/4/17)
2017 Oct 5, The president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, Carlos Nuzman, was arrested amid an investigation into a vote-buying scheme to bring last year's Olympics to Rio de Janeiro. According to investigators Nuzman's net worth increased 457 percent in the last 10 years as Brazilian Olympic Committee president.
(AP, 10/5/17)
2017 Oct 5, FIFA expelled Equatorial Guinea from the 2019 Women's World Cup for using fake documents and selecting at least 10 ineligible players in its Olympic team.
(AP, 10/5/17)
2017 Oct 6, Brazilian Olympic Committee president Carlos Nuzman (75) was suspended by the IOC, a day after being arrested in Rio de Janeiro and accused of storing gold bars in Switzerland.
(AP, 10/6/17)
2017 Nov 9, Four more Russian cross-country skiers were found guilty of doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, including three-time silver medalist Maxim Vylegzhanin, and were banned from all future Olympics. President Vladimir Putin disputed the bans, saying that United States interests were trying to use doping scandals to discredit his government and influence the country's presidential election in March.
(AP, 11/9/17)
2017 Nov 18, Naim Suleymanoglu (50), a Bulgarian-born Turkish weightlifter who won three Olympic gold medals and was known as "Pocket Hercules," died following a liver transplant last month. He won three straight Olympic gold medals for Turkey between 1988 and 1996.
(AP, 11/18/17)
2017 Nov 22, Two more Russian athletes were stripped of their Olympic medals from the 2014 Sochi Games, leaving the United States as the country with the most medals.
(AP, 11/22/17)
2017 Dec 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his government will allow Russians to compete as neutral athletes at the upcoming games in South Korea. The International Olympic Committee has banned the Russian team from games as punishment for doping violations at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
(AP, 12/6/17)
2018 Jan 15, The two Koreas met for the second time in a week as they try to hammer out details for the North's participation in next month's Games. The two sides agreed that North Korea's delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea will include a 140-member art troupe, while discussions continued over fielding a joint women's hockey team.
(AP, 1/15/18)
2018 Jan 17, The rival Koreas agreed to form their first unified Olympic team and have their athletes parade together for the first time in 11 years during the opening ceremony of next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea.
(AP, 1/17/18)
2018 Jan 20, The International Olympic Committee North Korea will send 22 athletes to next month's Winter Games in the South, approving a landmark deal between two nations still officially at war.
(AFP, 1/20/18)
2018 Jan 21, Hyon Song Wol, the head of a hugely popular North Korean girl band, crossed the heavily fortified border into South Korea as part of an official delegation, triggering a media frenzy as she checked potential venues for performances during next month's Winter Olympics.
(AP, 1/21/18)
2018 Jan 25, Female hockey players from the rival Koreas were paired up with each other to form their first-ever Olympic squad during next month's Pyeongchang Winter Games.
(AP, 1/25/18)
2018 Feb 9, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister took her place among dignitaries from around the world, including US Vice President Mike Pence, at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in an unprecedented visit to South Korea.
(AP, 2/9/18)
2018 Feb 10, In South Korea the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said a summit between her brother and South Korean President Moon Jae-in would pave the way for a fast improvement in ties that would make "yesterday seem like a long time ago." The Koreans suffered an 8-0 shutout by Switzerland in Pyeongchang as around 200 of North Korea's famed "army of beauties" charmed a crowd of 3,600 besotted locals with nostalgic oldies -- and even broke out a Mexican wave. Lim Hyo-jun won the men's 1,500-meter final, giving South Korea its first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Games.
(AP, 2/10/18)(AFP, 2/10/18)
2018 Feb 19, In South Korea a doping case involving a medal-winning Russian curler rocked the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Alexander Krushelnitsky's failed drug test came to light a week after he won mixed doubles bronze with his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalova.
(AFP, 2/19/18)
2018 Feb 22, North Korea's 22 athletes wrapped up their competition at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics without a finish higher than 13th.
(AP, 2/22/18)
2018 Feb 25, In South Korea the overtly political 2018 Winter Olympics closed very much as they began, with humanity's finest athletes marching exuberantly across the world stage.
(AP, 2/25/18)
2018 Feb 25, In South Korea Russian hockey players won their first hockey gold medal since 1992 with a 4-3 win over Germany.
(AP, 2/25/18)
2018 Feb 28, The Int’l Olympic Committee (IOC) lifted Russia's ban from the Olympic movement despite two failed doping tests by its athletes at the Pyeongchang winter games.
(AP, 2/28/18)
2018 Mar 18, The Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics closed with a dazzling ceremony featuring light shows, dancing and music.
(AFP, 3/18/18)
2018 Mar 30, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach met with Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang and said the North Korean leader is committed to having his country participate in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and the Beijing Winter Games in 2022.
(AP, 3/31/18)
2018 Apr 28, The Australian Olympic Committee awarded a posthumous Order of Merit to Peter Norman, a record-holding sprinter who supported two Americans in their famous Black Power salute at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
(AP, 4/27/18)
2018 Jun 10, In Switzerland an Olympic hosting bid was sunk by a public vote against expected high costs. Voters in the region of Valais refused to pledge financial support for a 2026 Winter Games hosting bid centered on the town of Sion.
(AP, 6/10/18)
2018 Sep 1, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said Indonesia will bid to host the 2032 Olympics following the success of the Asian Games held there over the past two weeks.
(AP, 9/1/18)
2018 Oct 15, Running great Kip Keino was given more time to report to police in Kenya after being one of seven former Olympic and government officials accused of corruption relating to the misappropriation of more than $545,000 around the time of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
(AP, 10/15/18)
2018 Oct 19, In Kenya running great Kip Keino (78) said that charges against him in a Kenyan Olympic corruption case have been dropped and he has been released.
(AP, 10/19/18)
2019 Jan 11, A French judicial source said the president of Japan's Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, is under formal investigation in France for suspected corruption related to Japan's successful bid for the 2020 Olympic Games.
(Reuters, 1/11/19)
2019 Mar 19, Tsunekazu Takeda (71) said he is stepping down as the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee amid a vote-buying scandal that French investigators suspect helped Tokyo land next year's Olympics. He again denied corruption allegations against him.
(AP, 3/19/19)
2019 Mar 28, Pres. Donald Trump announced that he was backing off a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics following days of criticism for the proposed cut.
(SFC, 3/29/19, p.A5)
2019 Apr 13, Yvette Williams (89), New Zealand's first female Olympic gold medalist (1952) and holder of the world long jump record, died.
(AP, 4/14/19)
2019 Dec 9, The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russian athletes from competing in the Olympics and other major sporting events under the country’s flag after it found Russia tampering with key doping test data. WADA banned Russia from hosting or participating in any major sporting events for a four-year period.
(Benzinga, 12/10/19)
2020 Mar 22, The Canadian Olympic Committee said it won't send athletes to the Tokyo Games unless they're postponed for a year.
(AP, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 22, Japan's Olympics organizers were reported to be drawing up plans for possible delay, even as the government says a postponement is not an option.
(Reuters, 3/22/20)
2020 Mar 23, Japan's PM Shinzo Abe suggested that the Summer Olympics in Tokyo might need to be postponed, hours after Canada and Australia threatened to boycott the Games.
(NY Times, 3/23/20)
2020 Mar 24, Japan’s NHK public television reported that PM Shinzo Abe will propose a one-year postponement for the Tokyo Olympics during talks with IOC President Thomas Bach.
(AP, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 24, The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee joined growing demands to postpone the Tokyo Olympics.
(NY Times, 3/24/20)
2020 Mar 30, Japanese organizers announced that the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo has been rescheduled for July 23, 2021.
(Good Morning America, 3/30/20)
2020 Dec 17, A Swiss court cut Russia’s four-year doping ban from global sports in half. Russia’s teams will still miss the 2021 and 2022 Olympics.
(NY Times, 12/17/20)
2021 Mar 15, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah in a public letter urged American spectators, companies and diplomats to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, to punish China for its human rights abuses. He favored that approach over an athlete boycott.
(NY Times, 3/15/21)
2021 Mar 20, The International Olympic Committee and local organizers announced that foreign spectators will not be allowed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to begin July 23, because of coronavirus restrictions.
(AP, 3/20/21)
2021 Mar 25, The Olympic torch relay started in Japan, though questions linger about whether the Games should go ahead.
(NY Times, 3/24/21)
2021 Mar 25, North Korea decided not to participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was made public on April 6.
(NY Times, 4/6/21)
2021 Jun 19, A member of Uganda's Olympic squad became the first to test positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Japan for the competition due to start on 23 July. The unnamed Ugandan was part of a nine-member squad that had been fully vaccinated.
(BBC, 6/20/21)
2021 Jul 8, Olympic organizers said they would not allow spectators at most events as the games are set to open in two weeks in Japan in response to a sudden spike in coronavirus cases.
(NY Times, 7/8/21)
2021 Jul 23, The Olympic opening ceremony with all the usual pomp and tradition played out in Tokyo in front of a nearly empty stadium.
(AP, 7/23/21)
2021 Jul 29, In Japan Sunisa Lee became the fifth consecutive American to win the women’s all-around gymnastics competition.
(NY Times, 7/29/21)
2021 Jul 31, In Japan Thompson-Herah ran 100 meters in 10.61 seconds in Tokyo, breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner’s record set 33 years ago by 12-hundredths of a second. It was a Jamaican sweep of the medals: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took silver with a time of 10.74 seconds, and Shericka Jackson won bronze.
(NY Times, 7/31/21)
2021 Aug 1, In Japan Kristina Timanovskaya (24), a Belarusian Olympic sprinter, sought protection at a Tokyo airport as her nation tried to forcibly send her home from the Summer Games. Ms. Timanovskaya had said she feared for her safety in Belarus after she criticized her coaches and the country’s national committee for registering her for a relay event for which she had not trained. Timanovskaya entered the Polish Embassy in Tokyo on Aug. 2 and arrived in Warsaw on Aug. 4.
(NY Times, 8/2/21)(AP, 8/5/21)
2021 Aug 1, In Japan Artem Dolgopyat (24) won Israel’s second-ever gold medal and its first in artistic gymnastics. The gold medalist is not Jewish according to Jewish law and was not allowed to legally marry in Israel.
(AP, 8/3/21)
2021 Aug 2, In Japan Laurel Hubbard (43), a weight lifter from New Zealand, became the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Olympics. She had won junior titles in men’s competitions before her transition. Hubbard did not make the podium, after failing to advance to the final.
(NY Times, 8/3/21)
2021 Aug 3, In Japan Mensah-Stock (28), a Texas native, became the first Black woman to win a wrestling gold medal.
(NY Times, 8/3/21)
2021 Aug 7, In Japan Allyson Felix won her 11th medal, which made her the most decorated American track-and-field athlete in Olympic history.
(NY Times, 8/8/21)
2021 Aug 7, Top-ranked Japan prevailed over the US, 2-0, to win its first gold medal in baseball in the six trips to the Olympics since 1992.
(AP, 8/7/21)
2021 Aug 8, In Japan Eliud Kipchoge, 36, of Kenya won his second consecutive Olympic marathon in 2 hours 8 minutes 38 seconds, reaffirming his status as the greatest runner in history over the distance of 26.2 miles.
(NY Times, 8/8/21)
2021 Aug 8, In Japan the Olympic cauldron was extinguished, ending a Summer Games like no other. The US won 113 medals, more than any other country. China finished second with 88.
(NY Times, 8/8/21)(NY Times, 8/9/21)
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Subject = Olympics
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