Richard Rothschild: Ranking the five best and five worst Summer Olympic Games | SI.com Ranking the five best and five worst Summer Olympic Games Share Richard Rothschild Friday July 27th, 2012 Rating Olympic Games is not a cut-and-dried exercise. Even those Games marred by tragedy and/or incompetence contain performances of brilliance that resound decades later. The 1972 Munich Olympics were darkened by the murder of 11 Israeli athletes and the botched ending to the Soviet Union-U.S. basketball final but also featured Mark Spitz, Olga Korbut and Frank Shorter. Olympics have fallen flat in a world-class city like Paris yet bloomed in smaller locales such as Helsinki and Barcelona. What were the best -- and worst -- summer Olympics? Here are a top and bottom five based on athletic performances, historic importance, aesthetics, organization and lasting impact. 1. Rome, 1960 No Olympics has better blended the modern with the ancient. Rome built sparkling new facilities for track and swimming but also recognized its ancient heritage.

Wrestling was held in the 2,000-year-old Basilica of Maxentius, gymnastics was conducted in the Baths of Caracalla and the marathon was run along parts of the ancient Appian Way and finished, at night, in front of the massive Arch of Constantine. These were the first Olympic Games televised in North America and viewers received a treasure trove of athletic excellence. Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Jerry Lucas led the greatest amateur basketball team in Olympic history as the U.S. devoured the competition, winning its nine games by an average of more than 40 points. Glamorous Wilma Rudolph, who overcame polio as a child, became the first U.S. black female Olympic sensation by winning the 100 and 200 meters and anchoring the 4x100 relay to another gold medal. The French called her "The Black Gazelle." One of Rudolph's many admirers was a gregarious 18-year-old boxer named Cassius Clay who talked up a storm while pounding opponents on his way to a light-heavyweight gold medal. He later changed his name to Muhammad Ali and became one of sport's transcendent figures.

Otis Davis of the U.S. broke the 45-second barrier in the 400 meters and Australia's Herb Elliot shattered his own 1,500 world record on the same day. In the decathlon world record holder Rafer Johnson of the U.S. went to the final strides of the 10th and final event, the 1,500 meters, before clinching the gold medal over his UCLA teammate Yang C.K. of Taiwan. The two great foes -- and friends -- walked wearily off the track together. Few had heard of Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila before the start of the marathon. Then he began running -- barefoot. Bikila strode through the streets of a darkening Rome, his path lit by thousands of candles and flashlights. He finished first at the Arch of Constantine in a world-best 2 hours 15 minutes 16.2 seconds, the first black African to win a gold medal. 2. Barcelona, 1992 These were the first summer Olympics held after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of apartheid in South Africa and the first not to be affected by boycotts since 1972.

A record 169 nations traveled to the Catalonian capital, which staged an artistic and athletic hit that revitalized Barcelona -- and the Olympics. Germany fielded its first unified Olympic team since 1964 and the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia sent their first squads since 1936. The diving events were held outdoors with the Sagrada Familia church serving as a spectacular backdrop. Twenty years after the Munich massacre of their countrymen, Yael Arad and Oren Smadja became the first Israeli athletes to win Olympic medals with a silver and bronze respectively in judo. The U.S. Dream Team of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird helped bring professional basketball to the Olympics and raised the profile of their sport around the world. So dominant was the U.S. that coach Chuck Daly never called a timeout. Equally dominant was gymnast Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus who won six gold medals, four in one day. Carl Lewis won his third of his four straight gold medals in the long jump and anchored the 4x100 relay to a world record 37.40 seconds with perhaps the most explosive 100 meters of his brilliant career.

Deratu Tulu of Ethiopia became the first black African woman to medal when she won the 10,000 meters, edging South Africa's Elana Meyer, a white runner. Meyer was the first South African medalist since her country's ban from the Olympics after 1960 due to its apartheid policy. The two shared a victory lap together, a show of solidarity for a new Africa. And in the men's 400 semifinals Derek Redmond of Great Britain tore his right hamstring near the midway point of the race. As he struggled to his feet a figure ran onto the track. It was Redmond's father, Jim, who would help his emotionally and physically shattered son remain upright and cross the finish line. The crowd of 65,000 didn't know whether to cry or applaud. Most did both. 3. Helsinki, 1952 Six decades after advertisers and additional events have combined to make the Olympics more grandiose than grand the Helsinki Games shine as a small-scale masterpiece.

Starting with the legendary Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi carrying the Olympic flame around the Olympic stadium track and culminating with an unprecedented 5,000-10,000-marathon triple by Emil Zatopek of Czecholsovakia, Helsinki produced a series of gems. The powerful Soviet Union team joined the Olympics for the first time and finished second in the medal count behind the U.S. The Soviets began a dynasty in women's gymnastics as Maria Gorochovskia and Nina Bocharova finished 1-2 in the first Olympic women's all-around competition and helped the USSR win the team event. A true U.S.-Soviet showdown came in the 3,000-meter steeplechase where FBI agent Horace Ashenfelter ran a world-record 8 minutes 45.4 seconds to defeat Vladimir Kazantsev, the previous record holder. U.S. journalists had fun describing the Soviet tailing the FBI agent in the only Olympic steeplechase title won by an American. The Games' seminal moment came July 27, the final day of track and field.

In the greatest relay in Olympic track history Jamaica's 4x400 team defeated the U.S. by one meter with a world record 3:03.9 that shattered the former mark by more than four seconds. Herb McKenley's dazzling third leg of 44.6 seconds (the 400 world record was 45.8) had given the Jamaicans their slight lead that anchorman George Rhoden barely maintained against Mal Whitfield of the U.S. As the Jamaicans celebrated, into the stadium strode Zatopek, well ahead of his fellow competitors in the marathon. When Zatopek, who later called the marathon "a very boring race," crossed the finish line in Olympic record time, the Jamaican team lifted him on their shoulders. They were athletes from very different cultures in very different events united by Olympic excellence. 4. Berlin, 1936 It is hard to praise any endeavor associated with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi henchmen, but the Berlin Olympics were a grand spectacle that featured one of the most exhilarating performances in the history of sport.

This was the first Olympics with a torch relay, the first to have an official Olympic film (director Leni Riefenstahl had a brief but passionate romance with decathlon gold medalist Glenn Morris) and the first to be televised -- on large outdoor TV screens around Berlin. The telecast of Hitler's opening of the Games on Aug. 1, 1936, was later included in the science fiction movie Contact . Basketball made its Olympic debut and U.S. diver Marjorie Gestring, 13, became the youngest female gold medalist in Olympic history. But it was the performance of U.S. black athletes that highlighted the Games and threw Hitler's toxic ideas of racial superiority right back in the Fuhrer's face. First was Cornelius Johnson, who won the high jump at an Olympic record 6-feet, 8 inches. Hitler had personally congratulated the day's first two winners but left the Olympic stadium before Johnson received his gold medal. The IOC told Hitler, who referred to U.S. athletes of color as "black auxiliaries," that he must greet all winners or none. He greeted no more -- at least not publicly.

Archie Williams then won the 400 meters and John Woodruff rallied to win the 800, but the Olympic performance for the ages came from Ohio State's Jesse Owens. Owens won the 100 meters, set an Olympic record in winning the 200 (Jackie Robinson's brother Mack finished second), set another Olympic mark in the long jump that lasted until 1960 and ran the leadoff leg on the world record 4x100 relay team that included fellow black Ralph Metcalfe. 5. 1912, Stockholm Just as the eight-game 1912 classic between the Boston Red Sox and New York Giants unveiled the dramatic potential of the World Series, the '12 Games showcased an Olympics with superior organization and performances that were, in a word, Olympian. Jim Thorpe didn't hurt, either. After a positive start in Athens in 1896, the modern Olympic Games nearly tumbled into oblivion. The disastrous 1900 Paris and 1904 St. Louis Olympics were paired with world's fairs and became sideshows.

The 1908 London Games steadied the Olympic brand although the host nation added British-centric events like motorboat racing and tug-of-war to help it dominate the medal count. Stockholm boosted the Olympics to another level as a record-tying 28 nations journeyed to Sweden including Japan, the first Asian nation to compete in the Games. Cycling, fencing, soccer, tennis, rowing, shooting, yachting and women's swimming joined the program as did the multi-discipline modern pentathlon. The top American pentathlete was George S. Patton, the future World War II general, who finished fifth. A public address system was used for the first time and there were even separate competitions for literature, sculpture, painting, architecture and music. Duke Kahanamoku, later known as the father of modern surfing, won the 100 meters in swimming, and Hannes Kolehmainen started Finland's distance running dynasty with wins in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters as well as cross country. Ted Meredith of the U.S. set a world record in the 800 and Michigan's Ralph Craig swept the 100 and 200.

But above all the athletic excellence at Stockholm towered Thorpe, whose Native American name was "Bright Path." After placing fourth in the high jump and seventh in the long jump, the former All-America football star dominated the multi-event competitions, first winning the five-event pentathlon (discontinued after 1924) and then the decathlon. His world record point total in the decathlon was so far ahead of its time it would have won a silver medal at the 1948 London Olympics. Sweden's King Gustav V greeted Thorpe by saying, "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world." Thorpe's simple response: "Thanks, King." Honorable mention: Los Angeles, 1932; Melbourne, 1956; Tokyo, 1964; Los Angeles, 1984; Sydney, 2000. 1. Munich, 1972 The Munich Olympics did not lack for outstanding performances. Mark Spitz won a record seven gold medals in swimming, the charismatic Soviet teenager Olga Korbut helped make gymnastics a sport with mass appeal and U.S.

wrestler Dan Gable won gold at 141 pounds without surrendering a single point. Frank Shorter became the first American to win the Olympic marathon in 64 years and Lasse Viren resurrected Finnish dominance in the distance events, winning the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, the latter in world record time. But these were the Games when Palestinian terrorists killed two Israelis in the Olympic Village, kidnapped nine more and murdered those athletes during a shootout with German police at the Munich airport. Sports Illustrated headlined the story on the tragic events: "A Sanctuary Violated." There also was highly questionable officiating. In the gold medal basketball game, officials twice put time back on the clock in the final seconds, allowing the Soviet Union to score a buzzer-beating basket for a 51-50 victory and end the Americans' Olympic unbeaten streak at 62 games. U.S. swimmer Rick DeMont lost his gold medal in the 400 meters when it turned out U.S. swim team doctors were unaware he was using a banned asthma medication even though DeMont had listed it on his medical form.

In track, befuddled IAAF officials went back and forth debating whether pole vaulters could use a new pole that had been introduced at the beginning of the season. The officials ultimately banned the poles just two days before the Olympic competition and gave defending Olympic champion Bob Seagren a pole he had never used before. Seagren finished second to East Germany's Wolfgang Nordwig who had only vaulted with the old pole and was unaffected by the ban. Two American 100-meter competitors were eliminated before the quarterfinals because their coach had misread the schedule and did not get them to the track on time. And in an ominous sign of doping controversies to come, East Germany's Renate Stecher, who looked more like a linebacker than a sprinter, won the women's 100 and 200 meters. Nearly a quarter-century later it was revealed Stecher had been given an anabolic steroid for two years before the Munich Games. 2. St. Louis, 1904 For starters, St. Louis wasn't even supposed to have the Olympics. The Games had been awarded to Chicago but St.

Louis, then the nation's fourth largest city, threatened to hold its own athletic competition in conjunction with the 1904 World's Fair that marked the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. President Theodore Roosevelt entered the debate and chose St. Louis. It was not one of Roosevelt's better decisions as the fair's popularity overwhelmed the Olympics. Barely a dozen national teams showed up in St. Louis, a difficult destination for most of the world to reach in the days before planes and paved highways. Even modern Olympics founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin didn't make the trip from France. Most embarrassing was the finish of the men's marathon where American Ed Lorz entered the stadium first and was considered the winner. Right before the medal ceremony, however, the truth came out: Lorz had actually stopped running after nine miles, hitched a car ride back to the stadium and had run the final miles after the car broke down (this was 1904, after all). The actual winner was another American, Thomas Hicks. Today Hicks would have been disqualified for receiving doses of strychnine sulfate and sips of brandy during the race from his trainers.

Spread over 4 ½ months the Games played second fiddle to the hubbub of the world's fair, which drew 50 more nations than the Olympics. The fair, which helped popularize the ice cream cone and was immortalized by the song "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis" was a hit. Not so the Olympics. 3. Paris, 1900 A dry run for the St. Louis debacle took place four years earlier when the Olympics were held the same time as the 1900 Paris World's Fair. De Coubertin was given a secondary role in planning, and fair organizers spread the Games over 5 ½ months between May 14 and Oct. 28. It was hard to tell what was an Olympic event and what was part of the fair. Olympic historian David Wallechinsky wrote: "Many athletes died without ever knowing that they had participated in the Olympics." There were no closing ceremonies and no medals. About the only positives were that 28 nations competed, double the number at Athens four years earlier, and that women participated for the first time.

Paris did redeem itself with the superbly organized 1924 Olympics, the Games made famous by the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire . 4. Moscow, 1980 The U.S.-led boycott of the Games to protest the Soviet Union's ongoing invasion of Afghanistan resulted in 65 nations staying home from the only summer Olympics ever held behind the Iron Curtain. Eighty nations arrived at the Soviet capital, the lowest number since the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia. Use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs continued as East German athletes ran up big medal totals in women's swimming and track and field. There was also evidence of cheating by Soviet bloc officials, particularly in the men's triple jump. Phantom fouls were called on Brazilian world record holder Joao Carlos de Oliveira and on Australian Ian Campbell, who appeared to have the longest jump of the competition. The fouls cleared the way for Soviets Jaak Uudmae and three-time Olympic champion Victor Saneyev to finish 1-2. And in the javelin, an apparent foul by the USSR's Dainis Kula was ruled a fair throw by Soviet officials, allowing Kula to reach the final round and ultimately win the gold medal.

5. Montreal, 1976 The Olympics that featured Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, Cuban track star Alberto Juantorena and a powerhouse U.S. men's swim team are best remembered for what went wrong: a boycott by more than 20 African nations; tainted medals in women's swimming by a steroid-addled East German team; and financial disaster for the host city. Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, whose quarter century of leadership oversaw a collapsed economy and political corruption, called for his fellow African nations to boycott the Montreal Games after New Zealand's rugby team had visited South Africa. That nation's apartheid policies were anathema to the rest of the continent. Even though rugby was not an Olympic sport, Nyerere agitated for New Zealand's ouster from the Games. When the International Olympic Committee rightly argued that it had no jurisdiction over rugby and that New Zealand was welcome, the Africans stayed home, including Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania's Flibert Bayi, world-record holder in the 1,500 meters. Four years earlier at Munich, East German female swimmers had failed to win one gold medal. At Montreal they dominated, winning 11 of 13 events.

Their huge bodies and deep voices raised questions to which one East German Fraulein answered: "We're here to swim, not sing." After German unification two decades later, documents proved the systematic use of performance enhancing drugs by East German athletes in a variety of sports, including women's swimming. The legacy of the Montreal Olympics did not end with the closing ceremonies. Poor financial planning and budget overruns saddled Montreal and Quebec residents with more than 30 years of debts totaling $1 billion. And the white elephant of an Olympic stadium stands empty after the departure of the Montreal Expos in 2005. Honorable mention: Olympic Games | Olympics Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Main article: Summer Olympic Games After the initial success, the Olympics struggled. The celebrations in Paris (1900) and St. Louis (1904) were overshadowed by the World's Fair exhibitions in which they were included. The 1906 Intercalated Games (so-called because of their off-year status, as 1906 is not divisible by four) were held in Athens, as the first of an alternating series of Athens-held Olympics.

Although originally the IOC recognised and supported these games, they are currently not recognised by the IOC as Olympic Games, which has given rise to the explanation that they were intended to mark the 10th anniversary of the modern Olympics. The 1906 Games again attracted a broad international field of participants—in 1904, 80% had been American—and great public interest, thereby marking the beginning of a rise in popularity and size of the Games. From the 241 participants from 14 nations in 1896, the Games grew to nearly 11,100 competitors from 202 countries at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens . The number of competitors at the Winter Olympics is much smaller than at the Summer Games; at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin Italy, 2,633 athletes from 80 countries competed in 84 events. The Olympics are one of the largest media events. In Sydney in 2000, there were over 16,000 broadcasters and journalists, and an estimated 3.8 billion viewers watched the games on television.

The growth of the Olympics is one of the largest problems the Olympics face today. Although allowing professional athletes and attracting sponsorships from major international companies solved financial problems in the 1980s, the large number of athletes, media and spectators makes it difficult and expensive for host cities to organize the Olympics. For example, the 2012 Olympics (which were held in London), is based on an updated budget of over £9bn—one of the biggest budgets for an Olympics to date. Even if sponsorships do lighten the load in terms of the debt that these countries take on, one of the biggest problems faced is how their economies will cope with the extra financial burdens put on them. Despite the Olympics usually being associated with one host city, most of the Olympics have had events held in other cities, especially the football and sailing events. There were two Olympics where some events were held in a different country: during the 1920 Antwerp Olympics two sailing races were held in the Netherlands; and during the Melbourne Olympics equestrian events were held in Sweden.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics marked the third time that Olympic events have been held in the territories of two different NOC 's: at the 2008 Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong (which competes separately from mainland China.) 203 countries currently participate in the Olympics. This is a noticeably higher number than the number of countries belonging to the United Nations, which is only 193. The International Olympic Committee allows nations to compete which do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that many other international organizations demand. As a result, many colonies and dependencies are permitted to host their own Olympic teams and athletes even if such competitors hold the same citizenship as another member nation. Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico , Bermuda , and Hong Kong , all of which compete as separate nations despite being legally a part of another country. Also, since 1980, Taiwan has competed under the name " Chinese Taipei ", and under a flag specially prepared by the IOC. Prior to that year the People's Republic of China refused to participate in the Games because Taiwan had been competing under the name "Republic of China".

The Republic of the Marshall Islands was recognised as a nation by the IOC on February 9, 2006, and competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing . [9] Youth Olympic Games Main article: Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) [10] are planned to be a "junior" version of the Games, complementing the current "senior" Games, [11] and will feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18. [12] The idea for such an event was envisioned in 2001 by IOC president Jacques Rogge , [13] and at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City in July 2007, the IOC approved the Games. [14] The Youth Games versions will be shorter: the summer version will last at most twelve days; the winter version will last a maximum of nine days. [15] [16] The IOC will allow a maximum of 3,500 athletes and 875 officials to participate at the summer games, while 970 athletes and 580 officials are expected at the winter games.

[14] Each participating country would send at least four athletes. The sports contested at these games will be the same as those scheduled for the traditional Games, [13] but with a limited number of disciplines and events, and including some with special appeal to youth. Education and culture are also key components for this Youth edition. Estimated cost for the game are currently $30 million for the summer and $15–$20 million for winter games. [17] It has been stated the IOC will "foot the bill" for the Youth Games. The first host city will be Singapore in 2010; the first Winter Olympics is in 2012 in Innsbruk . Olympic problems Edit The 1956 Melbourne Olympics were the first Olympics to be boycotted. The Netherlands , Spain , and Switzerland refused to attend because of the repression of the Hungarian Uprising by the Soviet Union ; additionally, Cambodia , Egypt , Iraq , and Lebanon , boycotted the games due to the Suez Crisis.

[18] In 1972 and 1976 , a large number of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott, to force them to ban South Africa , Rhodesia , and New Zealand . The IOC conceded in the first two cases, but refused in 1976 because the boycott was prompted by a New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa, and rugby was not an Olympic sport. The countries withdrew their teams after the games had started; some African athletes had already competed. A lot of sympathy was felt for the athletes forced by their governments to leave the Olympic Village; there was little sympathy outside Africa for the governments' attitude. Twenty-two countries ( Guyana was the only non-African nation) boycotted the Montreal Olympics because New Zealand was not banned. [19] Also in 1976, due to pressure from the People's Republic of China ( PRC ), Canada told the team from the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) that it could not compete at the Montreal Summer Olympics under the name "Republic of China" despite a compromise that would have allowed Taiwan to use the ROC flag and anthem .

The Republic of China refused and as a result did not participate again until 1984, when it returned under the name " Chinese Taipei " and used a special flag. [20] In 1980 and 1984, the Cold War opponents boycotted each other's games. Sixty-five nations refused to compete at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but 16 nations from Western Europe did compete at the Moscow Olympics. The boycott reduced the number of nations participating to only 81, the lowest number of nations to compete since 1956. The Soviet Union and 14 of its Eastern Bloc partners (except Romania ) countered by skipping the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 , arguing the safety of their athletes could not be guaranteed there and "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria are being whipped up in the United States". [21] The 1984 boycotters staged their own Friendship Games in July-August.

[22] [23] There have been growing calls for boycotts of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in protest of China's poor human rights record and response to the recent disturbances in Tibet, Darfur, and Taiwan. There are also campaigns calling for Chinese goods to be boycotted. [24] [25] [26] Olympic Problems Edit One of the main problems facing the Olympics (and international sports in general) is doping , or performance enhancing drugs. In the early 20th century, many Olympic athletes began using drugs to enhance their performance. For example, the winner of the marathon at the 1904 Games , Thomas J. Hicks , was given strychnine and brandy by his coach, even during the race. As these methods became more extreme, gradually the awareness grew that this was no longer a matter of health through sports. In the mid-1960s, sports federations put a ban on doping, and the IOC followed suit in 1967. The first and so far only Olympic death caused by doping occurred in 1960.

At the cycling road race in Rome the Danish rider Knud Enemark Jensen fell from his bicycle and later died. A coroner's inquiry found that he was under the influence of amphetamines. The first Olympic athlete to test positive for doping use was Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall , a Swedish pentathlete at the 1968 Summer Olympics , who lost his bronze medal for alcohol use. Seventy-three athletes followed him over the next 38 years, several medal winners among them. The most publicised doping-related disqualification was that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson , who won the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics , but tested positive for stanozolol. Despite the testing, many athletes continued to use doping without getting caught. In 1990, documents were revealed that showed many East German female athletes had been unknowingly administered anabolic steroids and other drugs by their coaches and trainers as a government policy. In the late 1990s, the IOC took initiative in a more organised battle against doping, leading to the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999.

The recent 2000 Summer Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics have shown that this battle is not nearly over, as several medalists in weightlifting and cross-country skiing were disqualified due to doping offences. One innocent victim of the anti-doping movement at the Olympics was the Romanian gymnast Andreea Răducan who was stripped of her gold medal-winning performance in the All-Around Competition of the 2000 Sydney games. Test results indicated the presence of the banned-stimulant pseudophedrine which had been prescribed to her by an Olympic doctor. Raducan had been unaware of the presence of the illegal substance in the medicine that had been prescribed to her for a cold she had during the games. During the 2006 Winter Olympics , only one athlete failed a drug test and had a medal revoked. The only other case involved 12 members with high levels of haemoglobin and their punishment was a five day suspension for health reasons. The International Olympic Committee introduced blood testing for the first time during these games.

Politics Main article: Politics in the Olympics Politics interfered with the Olympics on several occasions, the most well-known of which was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , where the games were used as propaganda by the German Nazis. At this Olympics, a true Olympic spirit was shown by Luz Long , who helped Jesse Owens (a black athlete) to win the long jump, at the expense of his own silver medal. [27] The Soviet Union did not participate in the Olympic Games until the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki . Instead, the Soviets organized an international sports event called Spartakiads, from 1928 onward. Many athletes from Communist organizations or close to them chose not to participate or were even barred from participating in Olympic Games, and instead participated in Spartakiads. [28] A political incident on a smaller scale occurred at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City . Two American track-and-field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos , performed the Black Power salute on the victory stand of the 200-meter track and field race.

In response, the IOC's autocratic president Avery Brundage told the USOC to either send the two athletes home, or withdraw the complete track and field team. The USOC opted for the former. [29] The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran specifically orders its athletes not to compete in any olympic heat, semi-final, or finals that includes athletes from Israel . At the 2004 Olympics, an Iranian judoka who had otherwise earned his place, did not compete in a heat against an Israeli judoka. [30] Violence Edit Despite what Coubertin had hoped for, the Olympics did not bring total peace to the world. In fact, three Olympiads had to pass without Olympics because of war: due to World War I the 1916 Games were cancelled, and the summer and winter games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled because of World War II. During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, a massacre of 11 members from the Israeli Olympic team occurred. The team members were taken hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, by the Palestinian group Black September.

During the Summer Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta , a bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park killed two and injured 111 others. The bomb was set by Eric Robert Rudolph, an conservative American domestic terrorist, who is currently serving a life sentence. [31] The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were the first Olympic Games since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Olympic Games since then have required an extremely high degree of security due to the fear of possible terrorist activities. [32] There have been pro-Tibet / pro-human rights protests during the Beijing Olympic Games Torch Relay, some of which included violent incidents Olympic Movement Edit A number of organizations are involved in organizing the Olympic Games. Together they form the Olympic Movement. The rules and guidelines by which these organizations operate are outlined in the Olympic Charter . At the heart of the Olympic Movement is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), currently headed by Jacques Rogge . It can be seen as the government of the Olympics, as it takes care of the daily problems and makes all important decisions, such as choosing the host city of the Games, and the programme of the Olympics.

Three groups of organisations operate on a more specialised level: International Federations (IFs), the governing bodies of a sport (e.g. FIFA , the IF for football (soccer) , and the FIVB , the international governing body for volleyball .) National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which regulate the Olympic Movement within each country (eg. USOC , the NOC of the United States ) Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs), which take care of the organisation of a specific celebration of the Olympics. At present, 202 NOCs and 35 IFs are part of the Olympic Movement. OCOGs are dissolved after the celebration of each Games, once all subsequent paperwork has been completed. More broadly speaking, the term Olympic Movement is sometimes also meant to include everybody and everything involved in the Olympics, such as national sport governing bodies, athletes, media, and sponsors of the Olympic Games. Criticism Edit Most Olympic Games have been held in European and North American cities; only a few games have been held in other places, and all bids by countries in South America and Africa have failed. Many believe the games should expand to include locations in poorer regions.

Economists point out that the massive infrastructure investments could springboard cities into earning higher GDP after the games. However, many host cities regret the high costs associated with hosting the games as a poor investment [33] . In the past, the IOC has often been criticised for being a monolithic organisation, with several members remaining a member at old age, or even until their deaths. The leadership of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch especially has been strongly criticised. Under his presidency, the Olympic Movement made great progress, but has been seen as autocratic and corrupt. Samaranch's ties with the Franco's regime in Spain and his long term as a president (21 years, until he was 81 years old) have also been points of critique. In 1998, it became known that several IOC members had taken bribes from the organising committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah , in exchange for a vote on the city at the election of the host city. The IOC started an investigation, which led to four members resigning and six being expelled. The scandal set off further reforms, changing the way in which host cities are elected to avoid further bribes.

Also, more active and former athletes were allowed in the IOC, and the membership terms have been limited. The same year (1998), four European groups organized the International Network Against Olympic Games and Commercial Sports to oppose their cities' bids for future Olympic Games. Also, an Anti-Olympic Alliance had formed in Sydney to protest the hosting of the 2000 Games. Later, a similar movement in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia organized to protest the hosting of the 2010 Winter Games. These movements were particularly concerned about adverse local economic impact and dislocation of people to accommodate the hosting of the Olympics. A BBC documentary aired in August 2004, entitled Panorama: "Buying the Games", investigated the taking of bribes in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics . The documentary claimed it is possible to bribe IOC members into voting for a particular candidate city. In an airborne television interview on the way home, the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë , specifically accused the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the London Bid Committee (headed by former Olympic athlete Sebastian Coe ) of breaking the bid rules with flagrant financial and sexual bribes.

He cited French President Jacques Chirac as a witness but President Chirac gave rather more guarded interviews. In particular, Bulgaria 's member Ivan Slavkov, and Muttaleb Ahmad from the Olympic Council of Asia, were implicated. They have denied the allegations. Mayor Delanoë never mentioned the matter again. Others have alleged that the 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Turin because officials bribed the IOC and so Turin got the games and Sion, Switzerland (which was the favorite) did not. The Olympic Movement has been accused of being overprotective of its symbolism (in particular, it claims an exclusive and monopolistic copyright over any arrangement of five rings and the term "olympics"), and have taken action against things unrelated to sport, such as the role-playing game Legend of the Five Rings. It was accused of homophobia in 1982 when it successfully sued the Gay Olympics, an event now known as the Gay Games, to ban it from using the term "olympics" in its name. [34] Olympic symbols Main article: Olympic symbols The Olympic movement uses many symbols, most of them representing Coubertin's ideas and ideals.

The Olympic Rings are the most widely used symbol. The five colored rings on a white field form the Olympic Flag . The colors, white, red, blue, green, yellow, and black, were chosen such that each nation has at least one of these colors in its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914, but the first Games at which it was flown were Antwerp, 1920 . It is hoisted at each celebration of the Games. The Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius", a Latin phrase meaning "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". Coubertin's ideals are probably best illustrated by the Olympic Creed : "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." Prior to each Games, the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay. There it plays an important role in the opening ceremonies.

Though the torch fire has been around since 1928 , the relay was introduced in 1936 as part of the then German government's attempt to promote their National Socialist ideology. The Olympic mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country, was introduced in 1968 . It has played an important part of the games since 1980 with the debut of Misha , a Russian bear. French and English are the official languages of the Olympic movement. Olympic ceremonies Edit Apart from the traditional elements, the host nation ordinarily presents artistic displays of dance and theatre representative of that country. [35] Various traditional elements frame the opening ceremonies of a celebration of the Olympic Games. The ceremonies typically start with the hoisting of the host country's flag and the performing of its national anthem.{{ safesubst:ifsubst |{{subst:Unsubst|Citation needed| name|¬|reason|¬| date|October 2007 }}| Template:Fix The traditional part of the ceremonies starts with a "parade of nations" (or of athletes), during which most participating athletes march into the stadium, country by country.

One honoured athlete, typically a top competitor, from each country carries the flag of his or her nation, leading the entourage of other athletes from that country. Traditionally (starting at the 1928 Summer Olympics ) Greece marches first, because of its historical status as the origin of the Olympics, while the host nation marches last. (In 2004, when the Games were held in Athens, Greece marched last as host nation rather than first, although the flag of Greece was carried in first.) Between these two nations, all other participating nations march in alphabetical order of the dominant language of the host country,{{ safesubst:ifsubst |{{subst:Unsubst|Citation needed| name|¬|reason|¬| date|November 2007 }}| Template:Fix or in French or English alphabetical order if the host country does not write its dominant language in an alphabet which has a set order. In the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona , both Spanish and Catalan were official languages of the games, but due to politics surrounding the use of Catalan, the nations entered in French alphabetical order.

The XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan saw nations entering in English alphabetical order since the Japanese language grouped both China and Chinese Taipei together in the Parade of Nations. After all nations have entered, the president of the host country's Olympic Organising Committee makes a speech, followed by the IOC president who, at the end of his speech introduces the representative of the host country who declares the Games open by reciting the formula: «I declare open the Games of ... (name of the host city) celebrating the ... (number of the Olympiad) Olympiad of the modern era.» [36] (There is a similar recital for the Winter Games.) Before 1936, the Opener often used to make a short Speech of Welcome before declaring the Games open. However, since 1936 when Adolf Hitler opened both the Garmisch Partenkirchen Winter Olympics and the Berlin Summer Olympics, the Openers have unswervingly stuck to that formula. The only exception was in 1984, when U.S. President Ronald Reagan opened the Summer Olympics that year in Los Angeles when he said: Celebrating the XXIII Olympiad of the modern era, I declare open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles.

[37] Despite the Games having been awarded to a particular city and not to the country in general, the Olympic Charter presently requires the Opener to be the host country's head of state . [36] However, there have been many cases where someone other than the host country's head of state opened the Games. The first example was at the Games of the II Olympiad in Paris in 1900, when there wasn't even an Opening Ceremony. There are five examples from the United States alone where the Games were not opened by the head of state. [38] Next, the Olympic Flag is carried horizontally (since the 1960 Summer Olympics ) into the stadium and hoisted as the Olympic Anthem is played. The flag bearers of all countries circle a rostrum , where one athlete (since the 1920 Summer Olympics ) and one judge (since the 1972 Summer Olympics ) speak the Olympic Oath , declaring they will compete and judge according to the rules.

[36] Finally, the Torch is brought into the stadium, passed from athlete to athlete, until it reaches the last carrier of the Torch, often a well-known athlete from the host nation, who lights the fire in the stadium's cauldron. [36] The Olympic Flame has been lit since the 1928 Summer Olympics , but the torch relay did not start until the 1936 Summer Olympics . Beginning at the post- World War I 1920 Summer Olympics , the lighting of the Olympic Flame was for 68 years followed by the release of doves , symbolizing peace. [36] This gesture was discontinued after several doves were burned alive in the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony of the 1988 Summer Olympics . [39] However, some Opening Ceremonies have continued to include doves in other forms; for example, the 2002 Winter Olympics featured skaters holding kite-like cloth dove puppets. Opening ceremonies have been held outdoors, usually on the main athletics stadium, but those for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be the first to be held indoors, at the BC Place Stadium .

[40] Closing Edit After medals are awarded and presented for a particular event, the flags of the nations of the three medalists are raised. The flag of the gold medalist's country is in the center and always raised the highest while the flag of the silver medalist's country is on the left facing the flags and the flag of the bronze medalist's country is on the right, both at lower elevations to the gold medalist's country's flag. The flags are all raised while the national anthem of the gold medalist's country plays. This format of medal presentation is also seen in other multi-sporting events such as the Southeast Asian Games , the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games , as well as some motor racing events including Formula 1 and MotoGP Olympic sports Main article: Olympic sports Currently, the Olympic program consists of 35 different sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events. The Summer Olympics includes 28 sports with 38 disciplines and the Winter Olympics includes 7 sports with 15 disciplines.

[43] Nine sports were on the original Olympic programme in 1896: athletics , cycling , fencing , gymnastics , weightlifting , shooting , swimming , tennis , and wrestling . If the 1896 rowing events had not been cancelled due to bad weather, they would have been included in this list as well. [44] At the most recent Winter Olympics, 15 disciplines in seven sports were featured. Of these, cross country skiing , figure skating , ice hockey , Nordic combined , ski jumping , and speed skating have been featured on the programme at all Winter Olympics. In addition, figure skating and ice hockey also have been contested as part of the Summer Games before the introduction of separate Winter Olympics. In recent years, the IOC has added several new sports to the programme to attract attention from young spectators. Examples of such sports include snowboarding and beach volleyball . The growth of the Olympics also means that some less popular ( modern pentathlon ) or expensive (white water canoeing ) sports may lose their place on the Olympic programme. The IOC decided to discontinue baseball and softball beginning in 2012.

Cricket and Rugby union used to be in the Olympic Games but were discontinued; a revival is now seen as possible. Rule 48.1 of the Olympic Charter requires that there be a minimum of 15 Olympic sports at each Summer Games. Following its 114th Session (Mexico 2002), the IOC also decided to limit the programme of the Summer Games to a maximum of 28 sports, 301 events, and 10,500 athletes. The Olympic sports are defined as those governed by the International Federations listed in Rule 46 of the Olympic Charter. A two-thirds vote of the IOC is required to amend the Charter to promote a Recognised Federation to Olympic status and therefore make the sports it governs eligible for inclusion on the Olympic programme. Rule 47 of the Charter requires that only Olympic sports may be included in the programme. The IOC reviews the Olympic programme at the first Session following each Olympiad. A simple majority is required for an Olympic sport to be included in the Olympic programme. Under the current rules, an Olympic sport not selected for inclusion in a particular Games remains an Olympic sport and may be included again later with a simple majority.

At the 117th IOC Session , 26 sports were included in the programme for London 2012. Until 1992, the Olympics also often featured demonstration sports . The objective was for these sports to reach a larger audience; the winners of these events are not official Olympic champions. These sports were sometimes sports popular only in the host nation, but internationally known sports have also been demonstrated. Some demonstration sports eventually were included as full-medal events. Amateurism and professionalism Edit Template:See The ethos of English public schools greatly influenced Pierre de Coubertin. The public schools had a deep involvement in the development of many team sports including all British codes of football as well as cricket and hockey . The English public schools of the second half of the 19th century had a major influence on many sports. The schools contributed to the rules and influenced the governing bodies of those sports out of all proportion to their size. They subscribed to the Ancient Greek and Roman belief that sport formed an important part of education, an attitude summed up in the saying: mens sana in corpore sano – a sound mind in a healthy body.

In this ethos, taking part has more importance than winning, because society expected gentlemen to become all-rounders and not the best at everything. Class prejudice against "trade" reinforced this attitude. The house of the parents of a typical public schoolboy would have a tradesman 's entrance, because tradesmen did not rank as the social equals of gentlemen. Apart from class considerations there was the typically English concept of "fairness," in which practicing or training was considered as tantamount to cheating; it meant that you considered it more important to win than to take part. Those who practiced a sport professionally were considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a "hobby." In Coubertin's vision, athletes should be gentlemen. Initially, only amateurs were considered such; professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. A short-lived exception was made for professional fencing instructors. [45] This exclusion of professionals has caused several controversies throughout the history of the modern Olympics. 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion, Jim Thorpe , was disqualified when it was discovered that he played semi-professional baseball prior to winning his medals. He was restored as champion on compassionate grounds by the IOC in 1983.

Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter Olympics in support of their skiing teachers, who were not allowed to compete because they earned money with their sport and were considered professionals. It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated, not least because the self-financed amateurs of Western countries often were no match for the state-sponsored "full-time amateurs" of Eastern bloc countries. Nevertheless, the IOC, led by President Avery Brundage , held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism. In the 1970s, after Brundage left, amateurism requirements were dropped from the Olympic Charter, leaving decisions on professional participation to the international federation for each sport. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team , composed of well-paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992.

As of 2004 , the only sport in which no professionals compete is boxing (though even this requires a definition of amateurism based on fight rules rather than on payment, as some boxers receive cash prizes from their National Olympic Committees); in men's football (soccer) , the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team. Advertisement regulations are still very strict, at least on the actual playing field, although "Official Olympic Sponsors" are common. Athletes are only allowed to have the names of clothing and equipment manufacturers on their outfits. The sizes of these markings are limited. Olympic champions and medalists See also: List of multiple Olympic gold medalists The athletes (or teams) who place first, second, or third in each event receive medals. The winners receive "gold medals". (Though they were solid gold until 1912, they are now made of gilded silver.) The runners-up receive silver medals, and the third-place athletes bronze medals. In some events contested by a single-elimination tournament (most notably boxing ), third place might not be determined, in which case both semi-final losers receive bronze medals.

The practice of awarding medals to the top three competitors was introduced in 1904; at the 1896 Olympics only the first two received a medal, silver and bronze, while various prizes were awarded in 1900 . However, the 1904 Olympics also awarded silver trophies for first place, which makes Athens 1906 the first games that awarded the three medals only. In addition, from 1948 onward athletes placing fourth, fifth and sixth have received certificates which became officially known as "victory diplomas;" since 1976 the medal winners have received these also, and in 1984 victory diplomas for seventh- and eighth-place finishers were added, presumably to ensure that all losing quarter-finalists in events using single-elimination formats would receive diplomas, thus obviating the need for consolation (or officially, "classification") matches to determine fifth through eighth places (though interestingly these latter are still contested in many elimination events anyway). Certificates were awarded also at the 1896 Olympics, but there they were awarded in addition to the medals to first and second place.

Commemorative medals and diplomas — which differ in design from those referred to above — are also made available to participants finishing lower than third and eighth respectively. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the first three were given wreaths as well as their medals. Because the Olympics are held only once every four years, the public and athletes often consider them as more important and valuable than world championships and other international tournaments, which are often held annually. Many athletes have become celebrities or heroes in their own country, or even world-wide, after becoming Olympic champions. The diversity of the sports, and the great differences between the Olympic Games in 1896 and today make it difficult to decide which athlete is the most successful Olympic athlete of all time. This is further complicated since the IOC no longer recognises the Intercalated Games which it originally organised. When measuring by the number of titles won at the Modern Olympic Games, the following athletes may be considered the most successful. Athlete Edit The IOC does not publish lists of medals per country, but the media often does.

A comparison between countries would be unfair to countries with fewer inhabitants, so some have made calculations of medals per number of inhabitants, such as [1] for the 2004 Olympics and [2] for a few more. A problem here is that for a very small country, gaining just one medal could mean the difference between the very top and the very bottom of the list (a point illustrated by the Bahamas ' per capita number one position in 2004). On the other hand, a large country may not be able to send a number of athletes that is proportional to its size because a limit is set for the number of participants per country for a specific sport. A comparison of the total number of medals over time is further complicated by the fact that the number of times that countries have participated is not equal, and that many countries have gained and lost territories where medal-winning athletes come from. A case in point is the USSR , which not only participated relatively rarely (18 times, versus 45 times for the UK ), but also ceased to exist in 1991. The resulting Russian Federation is largely, but not entirely equal to the former USSR. Also, one would have to use population statistics at the time.

The IOC medal tally chart is based on the number of gold medals for country. Where states are equal, the number of silver medals (and then bronze medals) are counted to determine rankings. Since 1996, the only countries that have appeared in the top 10 medal tallies for summer Olympics have been the Russian Federation , United States , China , France , Germany , Australia and Italy . Since 1994, the only countries that have appeared in the top 10 medal tallies for winter Olympics have been Norway , the Russian Federation , the United States , Canada , Germany , Austria , South Korea , Switzerland , France and Italy . Olympic Games host cities Main article: List of Olympic host cities By 2014, the Olympic Games were hosted by 42 cities in 22 countries. The upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London, and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Soshi. The number in parentheses following the city/country denotes how many times that city/country had then hosted the games, with said exclusions.

This table does not include the "Olympic Games" organized by Evangelos Zappas prior to the IOC's creation in 1894. It does list the "Intercalated Games" of 1906 , but it is not included in the counts as the IOC no longer considers them to be official Olympic Games. Olympic Games host cities 1 Originally awarded to Chicago , but moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair 2 Cancelled due to World War I 3 Cancelled due to World War II 4 Equestrian events were held in Stockholm , Sweden . Stockholm had to bid for the equestrian competition separately; it received its own Olympic flame and had its own formal invitations and opening & closing ceremonies, just like the regular Summer Olympics. [46] 5 Equestrian events to be held in China's Hong Kong SAR . Although Hong Kong's separate NOC is conducting the equestrian competition, it is an integral part of the Beijing Games; it is not being conducted under a separate bid, flame, etc., as was the 1956 Stockholm equestrian competition. The IOC website lists only Beijing as the host city [47] .

See also Munich Massacre: Photos From the Terror Attack at the 1972 Olympics On the anniversary of the 'Munich Massacre' at the 1972 Summer Olympics, LIFE.com presents photos that capture the fear and tension that defined those 21 hours. “They’re all gone.” For millions of people who recall the slaughter unleashed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics in Munich , those words are indelible. They were spoken by ABC’s Jim Mckay—the man behind the famous “thrill of victory, agony of defeat” introduction to the network’s long-running show, Wide World of Sports—when he learned that Israeli athletes and coaches taken hostage by terrorists from the group Black September had been murdered. McKay, a sportscaster who assumed the duties of a news anchor as one of the most shocking events of the 1970s unfolded on live TV, acquitted himself with unforgettable grace and intelligence as the story grew more abominable with each passing hour.

In fact, the simple, unadorned way that McKay reported the news that the Israeli hostages had, in fact, been killed still resonates today, four decades after the event: “When I was a kid,” McKay began, in a strangely, comfortingly conversational tone, when he got word of what had happened, “my father used to say, ‘Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.’ Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were eleven hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight.

They’re all gone.” 1972 München Summer Games | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com 1972 München Summer Games Host City: München, West Germany (August 26, 1972 to September 11, 1972) Opening Ceremony: August 26, 1972 (opened by President Gustave Heinemann) Takers of the Olympic Oath: Heidi Schüller (athlete) and Heinz Pollay (official) Closing Ceremony: September 11, 1972 Events: 193 in 23 sports Participants: 7,113 (6,052 men and 1,060 women) from 121 countries Youngest Participant: Werner Grieshofer (12 years, 188 days) Oldest Participant: Lorna Johnstone (70 years, 4 days) Most Medals (Athlete): Soviet Union (99 medals) Overview The Munich Olympics began beneath the warm summer sun of a Bavarian afternoon and ended in the cool autumn twilight of a German evening.

They began as The Games of Peace and Joy, in which the West German government attempted to atone for the militaristic Nazi image so associated with the [1936 Berlin Games]. They ended as The Games of Terror and Tragedy. » Click to show/hide rest of overview Prior to the 1972 Olympics, the major controversy concerned the Rhodesian Olympic team. At its [71st Session] in 1971, the IOC ruled that Rhodesian athletes could compete, but only using British uniforms, the Union Jack as the flag, and with the British anthem. But shortly before the 1972 Munich Olympics, the African nations threatened a mass boycott if Rhodesia, which was still white-controlled, was allowed to compete. Two days before the Opening Ceremony, the IOC voted (36-31 with three abstentions) to withdraw the invitation to Rhodesia for the 1972 Olympic Games. But when the Games opened the incident seemed lost in the beauty of the Olympics. The first eleven days of the 1972 Olympics were perhaps the most beautiful celebrations of Olympia ever seen.

But on the morning of 5 September, the Games were interrupted when eight Arab terrorists, representing the militant Black September group, entered the Olympic Village and took hostage eleven members of the Israel Olympic team. While the world watched on television and waited, the terrorists occupied the building of Connollystraße 31, and demanded freedom for several Arabs held in Israel prisons. The Israel government refused this as a day of tense negotiations ensued. Late in the evening of 5 September, the terrorists took their hostages to Fürstenfeldbruck, an Army air base near Munich. There, in a few quick minutes of fighting as the Germans tried to save them, all the Israelis were murdered by a bomb the terrorists had set in the helicopter which was to take them to freedom. Several of the terrorists were killed, but most escaped. A few were later captured, and a few were killed by Israeli hit squads, but none ever came to trial. The American public watched the tragedy via ABC Television and saw host Jim McKay detail the events for most of the day.

After the tragedy at Fürstenfeldbruck he summed up the incident in just a few sad words, "They're all gone." There were some marvelous athletic performances at the 1972 Olympics, notably [Mark Spitz] winning seven gold medals, and setting seven world records, but they seemed of little consequence. The Games were halted for one day as a memorial service was held for the Israelis. At the memorial, IOC President [Avery Brundage] angered many when he compared the Israeli murders to the Rhodesian incident, and made one of his most famous comments when he declared, "The Games must go on." The Olympic Games did go on, but they would never again be the same. Country Medal Leaders A Sports Reference Site : About SR/Olympics | Privacy Statement | Conditions & Terms of Service | Use of Data Data provided by OlyMADMen , led by Hilary Evans, Arild Gjerde, Jeroen Heijmans, and Bill Mallon.

Members: David Foster, Martin Frank, Jørn Jensen, Carl-Johan Johansson, Taavi Kalju, Martin Kellner, George Masin, Stein Opdahl, Wolf Reinhardt, Ralf Regnitter, Paul Tchir, Magne Teigen, Christian Tugnoli, Morten Aarlia Torp, and Ralf Schlüter. Sports Reference LLC and are not sponsored by or affiliated with the Olympics, the United States Olympic Committee or the International Olympic Committee. Trademarks featured or referred to on this website are the property of their respective trademark holders and not Sports Reference LLC or . Part of the Where Is The Next Winter Olympics? Facts About The 2018 Games Where Is The Next Winter Olympics? Facts About The 2018 Games 02/24/14 AT 3:33 PM Close The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics came to an end with the closing ceremony on Sunday. No country was as successful as Russia, as the host nation led the way with 13 gold medals and 33 total top three finishes. With this year’s event over, it’s never too early to look at the next Games.

The 2018 Winter Olympics are set to take place in South Korea. Pyeongchang will be the host city, becoming the second Asian city to do so. The Winter Olympics were held in Japan in 1972 and 1998. In 1988, South Korea was home to the Summer Olympics. It’s the eighth country to host both the Winter and Summer Games. Pyeongchang won the bid on July 6, 2011. The city was selected by the International Olympic Committee over Munich, Germany and Annecy, France. Of the 95 votes cast, Pyeongchang was the overwhelming winner with 63. Munich received 25 votes, and Annecy got just seven. Pyeongchang’s bid came after losing out to Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014. Pyeongchang won the bid for the Winter Olympics after three tries. Photo: Feb. 9, 2018 marks day of the Opening Ceremony, and the Games are scheduled to officially end on Feb. 25, 2018. Competition will start Saturday Feb.

10 with luge, ice hockey and speed skating, among other sports. Eighty-eight gold medals are currently scheduled to be awarded. The cost of the 2018 Games are not expected to come close to the Olympics in Sochi. Over $50 billion was reportedly spent by Russia for the two and a half week event. The large price tag was due to the fact that most of the buildings did not exist before the country won the bid for the 2014 Olympics. Pyeongchang won’t encounter that problem, considering much of the infrastructure is already in place. The estimated cost for the infrastructure of the next Winter Olympics is $7 billion. Construction on the Olympic Stadium has begun, and the Alpensia Ski Resort will be used for the event. No venue will be more than 30 minutes from the stadium. South Korea will have trouble coming close to matching the success that Russia had as the host nation. This year, the country totaled eight medals, including three golds.

Question: In what year where the Summer Olympic Games hosted in Munich?
Answer: 1972