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)
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, 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 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, 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 Victoria Manalo Draves became
the 1st woman to win 2 diving gold medals, and the 1st Asian American
woman to win an Olympic medal.
(SFC, 6/3/05, p.F1)
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 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)
1952-1972 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)
1960 Feb 18, The Eighth Winter
Olympic Games were formally opened in Squaw Valley, Calif., by Vice
President Nixon.
(AP, 2/18/98)
1960 Feb 26, USA's David Jenkins
won the Olympics Gold for men's figure skating.
(SC, 2/26/02)
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 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.
(AP, 10/16/08)
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)
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 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)
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Subject = Olympics
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