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 At the Olympics 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)
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 James Francis Thorpe
(b.1888), American athlete, won an Olympic gold medal.
(HN, 5/28/99)(MC, 5/28/02)
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)
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 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)
1924 The 1st Winter Olympic
games were held.
(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A19)
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 won a silver
and 2 Olympic gold medals for swimming.
(SFC, 9/25/96, p.E10)
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 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)
1952-1972 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 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 The Swim Eight-O-Matic
Timer, the 1st semi-automatic swimming timer, was introduced.
(WSJ, 8/23/04, p.C3)
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)
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 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 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)
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 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 The Winter Olympics were
again held in Innsbruck, Austria. Ice dancing joined the program for
the 1st time.
(StuAus, April '95, p.95)(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A19)
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)
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 David Jansen
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)
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)
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 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)
1996 Jul, Shabana Akhtar was
the 1st-ever Pakistani athlete to compete in the Olympics.
(AFP, 9/5/04)
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.
(AP, 7/4/08)
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.
(AP, 8/8/08)(AP, 8/7/08)(Econ, 8/2/08, p.28)
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)
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