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| A Greek amphora showing Olympic Games action |
We all know that the Olympics has an incredible legacy and is famed around the world as the pinnacle of sporting achievements. Having said this, there is much to the Games that the average man on the street wouldn't have a clue about. So if you want to be able to impress your mates with some fascinating facts from the history of the Olympic Games then read on...
Carrying the calf
During the Ancient Olympic Games, which began way back in 776 B.C, there was a famous six-time Wrestling champion who went by the name of Milo. Originating from the Magna Graecian city of Croton in the south of Italy, Milo was renowned across the ancient world for his extreme strength. He was reputed to have trained by carrying a calf every day. As the calf grew older and bigger, Milo's strength would increase. It is even believed that he carried a fully grown bull, although that seems slightly far fetched. Regardless, he was clearly not the sort of Olympian it would be wise to mess with.
Banning the Games... sort of
So why exactly did the Olympic games cease to exist before the revitalisation in 1896? Well the responsibility lied with a Roman Emperor named Theodosius the Great. The last Olympic Games were played in Olympia in the year 393, two years after Theodosius had issued an edict to close all Pagan temples. This suppression of the pagan/Ancient Greek faith led to the decline of Ancient Greek traditions, which included the Olympics. Or did it? Just one of several 'Olympic Games' which continued away from Olympia was held at Antioch, modern Turkey. This continued until the year 521 when the illiterate Byzantine Emperor Justin I brought it to an end. Some people just don't like having fun do they?
Bringing it back
As with a lot of sports tournaments (I'm thinking Jules Rimet with the World Cup and Gabriel Hanot with the Champions League here) a Frenchman seemed to be the man with the plan to get things going. Pierre de Coubertin, a Parisian born on New Year's Day 1863, thought that the French soldiers lacked enough vigour when they were overrun by Germans in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. As he grew up, Coubertin studied the education systems in Germany, Great Britain and the USA and determined that sport was the missing ingredient for his nation. After forming a sports union in 1890, he pitched his idea to revive the Olympic Games two years later. He was shot down though, as the speech he delivered failed to rouse his fellow members of the sports union. But this was a determined man, and two years later he invited 79 delegates from 9 countries to an auditorium to convince them to bring back the Olympic Games. This time he didn't fail, and within four years Athens was hosting the first of the modern Olympic Games.
Carrying the calf
During the Ancient Olympic Games, which began way back in 776 B.C, there was a famous six-time Wrestling champion who went by the name of Milo. Originating from the Magna Graecian city of Croton in the south of Italy, Milo was renowned across the ancient world for his extreme strength. He was reputed to have trained by carrying a calf every day. As the calf grew older and bigger, Milo's strength would increase. It is even believed that he carried a fully grown bull, although that seems slightly far fetched. Regardless, he was clearly not the sort of Olympian it would be wise to mess with.
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| Ancient Greek Milo carried one of these each day |
Banning the Games... sort of
So why exactly did the Olympic games cease to exist before the revitalisation in 1896? Well the responsibility lied with a Roman Emperor named Theodosius the Great. The last Olympic Games were played in Olympia in the year 393, two years after Theodosius had issued an edict to close all Pagan temples. This suppression of the pagan/Ancient Greek faith led to the decline of Ancient Greek traditions, which included the Olympics. Or did it? Just one of several 'Olympic Games' which continued away from Olympia was held at Antioch, modern Turkey. This continued until the year 521 when the illiterate Byzantine Emperor Justin I brought it to an end. Some people just don't like having fun do they?
Bringing it back
As with a lot of sports tournaments (I'm thinking Jules Rimet with the World Cup and Gabriel Hanot with the Champions League here) a Frenchman seemed to be the man with the plan to get things going. Pierre de Coubertin, a Parisian born on New Year's Day 1863, thought that the French soldiers lacked enough vigour when they were overrun by Germans in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. As he grew up, Coubertin studied the education systems in Germany, Great Britain and the USA and determined that sport was the missing ingredient for his nation. After forming a sports union in 1890, he pitched his idea to revive the Olympic Games two years later. He was shot down though, as the speech he delivered failed to rouse his fellow members of the sports union. But this was a determined man, and two years later he invited 79 delegates from 9 countries to an auditorium to convince them to bring back the Olympic Games. This time he didn't fail, and within four years Athens was hosting the first of the modern Olympic Games.
The water carrier
The first modern Olympics had just 245 entrants, over 200 of which were Greek, yet it was still the biggest international sporting event of all time up to that point. One of the biggest innovations was the staging of the first marathon. The idea belonged to yet another innovative Frenchman, this time the philologist and founder of modern semantics, Michel Breal. Breal was inspired by the ancient messenger Phidippides who, in 490 BC, had run over 140 miles from the town of Marathon to Athens to report on the Battle of Marathon. He suggested the idea to Coubertin and the first marathon event was set to go ahead. It took place on April 10th 1896 and much to the Greek public's delight, as none of their compatriots had yet won a track and field event, was won by Spyridon Louis, a water-carrier from Marousi. Louis stopped off en route for a glass of cognac which was given to him by his future father-in-law and was joined on the final stretch by two Greek princes, Constantine and George. The water-carrier instantly achieved national hero status, yet bizarrely was wrongly imprisoned for falsifying military documents in 1926 before being acquitted after a year behind bars. You win some, you lose some.
The first modern Olympics had just 245 entrants, over 200 of which were Greek, yet it was still the biggest international sporting event of all time up to that point. One of the biggest innovations was the staging of the first marathon. The idea belonged to yet another innovative Frenchman, this time the philologist and founder of modern semantics, Michel Breal. Breal was inspired by the ancient messenger Phidippides who, in 490 BC, had run over 140 miles from the town of Marathon to Athens to report on the Battle of Marathon. He suggested the idea to Coubertin and the first marathon event was set to go ahead. It took place on April 10th 1896 and much to the Greek public's delight, as none of their compatriots had yet won a track and field event, was won by Spyridon Louis, a water-carrier from Marousi. Louis stopped off en route for a glass of cognac which was given to him by his future father-in-law and was joined on the final stretch by two Greek princes, Constantine and George. The water-carrier instantly achieved national hero status, yet bizarrely was wrongly imprisoned for falsifying military documents in 1926 before being acquitted after a year behind bars. You win some, you lose some.
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| Like many Greeks before him, Louis was a water carrier |
Coming to a screen near you
The Olympics continued to expand with each edition held every four years, and by 1936 there were nearly 4000 athletes from 49 different nations competing. The Berlin Games are best remembered for the heroic Jesse Owens proving Adolf Hitler's theory of Aryan supremacy wrong by claiming four gold medals. Plenty has been written about that, but a lesser known aspect of the 1936 Games is that it was the first ever sporting event to be televised. The German firms Telefunken and Furseh screened over 72 hours of live footage which was broadcast in 'Public Television Offices' ,special viewing booths in Berlin and Potsdam. This set the precedent for the live sports coverage which is enjoyed by millions today, with this Olympics being the most extensively-televised tournament to date, broadcast over 24 BBC HD channels in the UK and even available in 3D.
Discarding the gold?
In the 1960 Rome Olympics, an 18-year-old American boxer named Cassius Clay claimed the gold medal in the light-heavyweight category. The icon later known as Muhammad Ali defeated the commentator-friendly Zbigniew Pietrzyskowski of Poland to top the podium and rise to the summit of amateur boxing. 15 years later, a story emerged in a biography of Ali, which was written by the boxer assisted by a writer called Richard Durham. The biography claimed that the world champion was so disgusted by racism when he was turned away from a whites-only restaurant in his hometown of Louisville that he threw his gold medal into the Ohio river. However, he seemed to discredit the story by answering at a press conference that 'he couldn't remember what he did with [the medal]'. His wife Lonnie claims he only ever talks about the subject when asked but always says that he did throw it in the river, or ignores the question, never denying it. Ali, who now suffers from Parkinson's disease, was awarded another medal to replace the first one at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The story surrounding the original medal seems as murky as the Ohio river water itself.
The dirty truth
Some people may consider Olympic athletes to be a pure-bred, clean and celibate bunch, but that couldn't be further from the truth. At least according to American target shooter Josh Lakatos. The 1996 silver medallist claims that after his tournament finished and his team left halfway through the Sydney Games in 2000, his house turned into an Olympic village 'brothel'. With all his team-mates gone, Lakatos claimed one room to himself and left the others open to all-comers. The next morning he claims that ' the entire women's 4x100 relay team of some Scandinavian-looking country walks out of the house, followed by boys from our side. And I'm just going "Holy crap, we'd watched these girls run the night before!".' The house became known as 'Shooter's House' and Lakatos oversaw many Olympians coming and going from his house throughout the rest of the games. 'I've never seen so much debauchery in my life', he later exclaimed. It appears there is much more going on behind the Olympic scenes than the public have any idea about. As three-time Gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte puts it, 'My last Olympics, I had a girlfriend. Big mistake. Now I'm single, so London should be really good. I'm excited.'
The Olympics continued to expand with each edition held every four years, and by 1936 there were nearly 4000 athletes from 49 different nations competing. The Berlin Games are best remembered for the heroic Jesse Owens proving Adolf Hitler's theory of Aryan supremacy wrong by claiming four gold medals. Plenty has been written about that, but a lesser known aspect of the 1936 Games is that it was the first ever sporting event to be televised. The German firms Telefunken and Furseh screened over 72 hours of live footage which was broadcast in 'Public Television Offices' ,special viewing booths in Berlin and Potsdam. This set the precedent for the live sports coverage which is enjoyed by millions today, with this Olympics being the most extensively-televised tournament to date, broadcast over 24 BBC HD channels in the UK and even available in 3D.
Discarding the gold?
In the 1960 Rome Olympics, an 18-year-old American boxer named Cassius Clay claimed the gold medal in the light-heavyweight category. The icon later known as Muhammad Ali defeated the commentator-friendly Zbigniew Pietrzyskowski of Poland to top the podium and rise to the summit of amateur boxing. 15 years later, a story emerged in a biography of Ali, which was written by the boxer assisted by a writer called Richard Durham. The biography claimed that the world champion was so disgusted by racism when he was turned away from a whites-only restaurant in his hometown of Louisville that he threw his gold medal into the Ohio river. However, he seemed to discredit the story by answering at a press conference that 'he couldn't remember what he did with [the medal]'. His wife Lonnie claims he only ever talks about the subject when asked but always says that he did throw it in the river, or ignores the question, never denying it. Ali, who now suffers from Parkinson's disease, was awarded another medal to replace the first one at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The story surrounding the original medal seems as murky as the Ohio river water itself.
The dirty truth
Some people may consider Olympic athletes to be a pure-bred, clean and celibate bunch, but that couldn't be further from the truth. At least according to American target shooter Josh Lakatos. The 1996 silver medallist claims that after his tournament finished and his team left halfway through the Sydney Games in 2000, his house turned into an Olympic village 'brothel'. With all his team-mates gone, Lakatos claimed one room to himself and left the others open to all-comers. The next morning he claims that ' the entire women's 4x100 relay team of some Scandinavian-looking country walks out of the house, followed by boys from our side. And I'm just going "Holy crap, we'd watched these girls run the night before!".' The house became known as 'Shooter's House' and Lakatos oversaw many Olympians coming and going from his house throughout the rest of the games. 'I've never seen so much debauchery in my life', he later exclaimed. It appears there is much more going on behind the Olympic scenes than the public have any idea about. As three-time Gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte puts it, 'My last Olympics, I had a girlfriend. Big mistake. Now I'm single, so London should be really good. I'm excited.'
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| Shooter Lakatos spilled the beans on Olympic Village antics |
Whatever happens on the tracks, pitches and rings of London 2012, it is certain that many more stories of intrigue will write themselves outside of the sporting arena too.
Don't forget to follow James on Twitter @TSFE2012 and return to the blog on Friday 27th July where the first 'Friday Feeling' feature will appear.
Don't forget to follow James on Twitter @TSFE2012 and return to the blog on Friday 27th July where the first 'Friday Feeling' feature will appear.
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