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Questions tagged [olympics]

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Why did China and some other communist countries boycot the 1980 Summer Olympics?

The 1980 Summer Olympics was held in Moscow, Soviet Union. Many countries boycotted the games initiated by the United States for Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. But there were some communist ...
Etack Sxchange's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
427 views

What were the names of these two Ancient Greek boxing/pankration legends?

Does anyone know the name of — and hopefully references — the two following ancient Greek boxing legends, mentioned in this video by MMA coach Ramsey Dewey? A boxer who, in sudden-death overtime, ...
psygo's user avatar
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-5 votes
3 answers
315 views

Did the Olympic Comittee consider cancelling the 1936 games in protest?

Did the IOC consider cancelling the Olympic Games in Germany at the time in protest of developments in Germany?
Mozibur Ullah's user avatar
42 votes
3 answers
12k views

When was drinking water recognized as crucial in marathon running?

The winner, John Hayes, of the first modern marathon in 1908 said that he thought drinking water during a marathon was a grave mistake, saying: "I merely bathed my face with florida water, and gargled ...
HaskellElephant's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
684 views

What is the correct timeline of events for the boycott of the Olympic Games 1980 in Moscow

Coming from the recent question of How did the US government manage to enforce the 1980 boycott of the Olympic Games in Russia? and a comment in that thread I kept wondering. Who was the first and ...
LаngLаngС's user avatar
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17 votes
2 answers
4k views

How did the US government manage to enforce the 1980 boycott of the Olympic Games in Russia?

The 1980 Olympics was famously boycotted by the US and a sixty five other countries. However it's not clear to me how the US government was able to prevent their athletes from participating, given ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
708 views

What time of day was Hitler's opening speech of the 1936 Summer Olympics?

In the movie Contact, aliens from the Vega system contact humans by retransmitting Hitler's August 1st opening speech of the 1936 Summer Olympics, popularly held to be the first radio transmission to ...
geometrian's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
598 views

Are there registers of the scores and participation in ancient Olympic games?

There are sources listing who (i.e. which country) participated in each Modern Olympic Game and the scores achieved by them. Does such data exist for the Ancient Olympic Games? Are there information ...
Seninha's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
514 views

Disqualifications in the ancient olympics

What are the recorded cases of disqualification in the ancient olympics and what was the reason for each case? PS: Don't get into the details about the Hellanodikai, I am very well aware of their ...
Midas's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Did any black athletes other than Jesse Owens win any medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics?

When looking over the famous 1936 Berlin Olympics, I found out that Hitler did not snub Jesse Owens, but did other Olympic winners (though I don't doubt that Jesse would've been snubbed by him in the ...
Jacob Blaustein's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
717 views

Why have North and South Korea stopped marching together at the Olympics?

In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, we saw the teams of North and South Korea marching together. This was repeated for the 2004 and 2006 (Winter) Olympics. This didn't happen in 2008 (and we can understand ...
hawkeye's user avatar
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6 votes
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1k views

Why did the Australian IOC deny that Peter Norman was excluded from the 1972 Olympics for supporting racial equality?

There was an Australian Sprinter Peter Norman who came second in the 1968 Olympics. Peter Norman known for his support of John Carlos and Tommie Smith when they made their famous raised-fist gesture ...
hawkeye's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
100 views

How to collate the available contemporary press coverage of the 1936 US olympic hockey team?

This question is essentially asking how to go about searching as many mid-1930s newspapers and magazines as is feasible. I don't even know where to begin. Some major papers that are still in business ...
rjt_jr's user avatar
  • 183
5 votes
1 answer
499 views

Why was only the Silver medal awarded for music at the 1932s Olympics?

At the 1932s Olympics, Chzechoslovakian composer Josef Suk won the Silver medal in the music category: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Suk_(composer) I'm wondering why no gold or bronze medal was ...
Davio's user avatar
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12 votes
1 answer
12k views

Which have been the most and least successful Olympics in terms of economic impact?

When discussing the Olympics, politicians are always keen to stress the economic benefits that will flow to the host city. A number of commentators in the media, though, have suggested that the bulk ...
lins314159's user avatar
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15 votes
2 answers
7k views

Did the Olympics make the Star Spangled Banner the US national anthem?

A long, long time ago, I remember watching a TV miniseries about the first Olympics of the modern era in 1896. One of the amusing substories I remember involved the USA's National Anthem and the ...
T.E.D.'s user avatar
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