Politics in the Olympics

There are numerous examples of politics in the Olympic Games. This was not the original intent. The Olympic Games were created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin for two reasons:

1) A way for the countries of the globe to become more connected.
2) It was a reason for men to become more "vigoureux" or vigorous. (This was in answer to the Franco-Prussian War in which Germany defeated France)

However in the years to come this began to change. In 1900, the Olympics became a great honor for countries who took part.

1916

Main article: 1916 Summer Olympics

The 1916 Summer Olympics were to have been held in Berlin, but was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I.

1920 & 1924

Main articles: 1920 Summer Olympics and 1924 Summer Olympics

Budapest had initially been selected to host the Games over Amsterdam and Lyon, but as the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been a German ally in World War I, the French-dominated International Olympic Committee transferred the Games to Antwerp in April 1919. Hungary, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey were also banned from competing in the Games. Germany remained banned until 1925, and instead hosted a series of games called Deutsche Kampfspiele, starting with the winter edition of 1922 (which predated the first Winter Olympics).

1936

Main article: 1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin, were controversial due to the Nazi regime that came to power after the city's selection. Adolf Hitler regarded it as his Olympics and he took them as a chance to show off the post-First World War Germany. In 1936, a number of prominent politicians and organizations called for a boycott of the 1936 Summer Olympics, which had been awarded to Germany before the Nazi regime came to power. The Popular Front government of Spain decided to boycott the games and organized the People's Olympiad as an altermative with labour and socialist groups around the world sending athletes to the effort. However the Spanish Civil War broke out just as the games were about to begin. The United States considered boycotting the games, but ultimately decided to participate. Nazi propaganda promoted concepts of "Aryan racial superiority," however African-American athlete Jesse Owens, winner of four medals during the games, did not face segregation and discrimination in Germany that were normal in the United States at the time.

French Olympians gave what appeared to be the Hitler salute at the opening ceremony, although they may have been performing the Olympic salute, which is similar. Both are based on the Roman salute.

American sprinters Sam Stoller and Marty Glickman, the only two Jewish athletes on the U.S. Olympic team, were pulled from the 4 × 100 relay team on the day of the competition, leading to accusations of anti-Semitism on the part of the United States Olympic Committee.

1940 & 1944

Main articles: 1940 Summer Olympics, 1940 Winter Olympics, 1944 Winter Olympics, and 1944 Summer Olympics

All Olympic events in 1940 and 1944 were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II. Great Britain that hosted the first post-war Olympics in 1948 and Nazi Germany hosted the last pre-war Olympics in 1936. Both countries were major players in the war and were at war with each other during this period. In addition, Japan was slated to host both events in 1940 (Winter in Sapporo and Summer in Tokyo) but both were cancelled due to war outbreak in the Pacific.

1956

The 1956 Summer Olympics, held in Melbourne, were affected by numerous boycotts. Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon boycotted in protest of the Israeli invasion of Egypt. The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland boycotted in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary during the Hungarian Uprising.

The political frustrations between the Soviet Union and Hungary boiled over at the games themselves when the two mens water polo teams met for the semi-final. The players became increasingly violent towards each other as the game progressed, while many Hungarian-Australian spectators were prevented from rioting only with the sudden appearance of the police. The match became known as the Blood in the Water match.

1968

The 1968 Summer Olympics were held in Mexico City. At these games Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medalists, gave the black power salute during the Star Spangled Banner. The action was deemed to be against the principles of the Olympic Games and the two athletes were expelled from the Olympics.

See also: 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute

Students in Mexico City tried to make use of the media attention for their country to protest against the authoritarian character of the Mexican government. The Mexican government reacted with violence, culminating in the Tlatelolco Massacre of October 2 in which more than two hundred protesters were gunned down by government forces.

1972

The 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany, were probably the most negatively affected games. Eleven Israeli athletes were kidnapped and ultimately killed by Palestinian terrorists. The terrorists demanded the release of 234 Palestinians.

See also: Munich Massacre

1976

Held in Montreal, the 1976 Summer Olympics were marred with boycotts as well as accusations against the East Germans of steroid use. The boycotts were held out by 26 African countries because New Zealand's national rugby team toured South Africa.

Neither the Republic of China (Taiwan) or the People's Republic of China (mainland) competed.

Canada incurred $1.5 billion in debt, which they finished paying off in 19 December 2006.

1980

Main article: 1980 Summer Olympics boycott

Moscow's 1980 Summer Olympics was the year of the largest boycott in Olympic history. The boycott included the USA and 61 other countries in response to the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan. The 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York stirred controversy because of plans to convert the Olympic athletes' dormitory facilities into a state prison afterwards. This made legal history when the National Moratorium on Prison Construction won a court ruling allowing its use of the Olympic symbol on a poster as protected speech.

1984

Main article: 1984 Summer Olympics boycott

Allegedly in retaliation of the 1980 boycott, the USSR, East Germany, Cuba and 14 other countries boycotted the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics.

This was also the first time the People's Republic of China participated, having protested the Republic of China's presence in previous Olympics.

1988

North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, as it was still technically at war with South Korea. Albania, Cuba, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nicaragua, and Seychelles also followed suit. [1]

2008

Since the beginning of 2008, especially during the protests of the torch relay of 2008 Summer Olympics, the prospect of boycotting the 2008 games in Beijing grew. The protesters' aims are not only the human rights of Mainland China, but also the independent campaign and violence of Tibet. Another major factor was the Chinese support for the regime in Sudan, which is accused of committing genocide in the Darfur region; this issue led to Steven Spielberg pulling out as artistic director of the games. U.S. president George W. Bush committed to attending the opening ceremonies. Ultimately, no nations boycotted the games; however, several prominent world leaders such as Angela Merkel and Gordon Brown did not attend the opening ceremony.

The political issues in 2008 were not simply limited to issues involving China. Russia was embroiled in controversy as the Second South Ossetian War started around the same time as the games. This lent extra weight to the victory of the Georgia Women's Beach Volleyball Team over their Russian opponents (although the two players, Cristine Santanna and Andrezza Martins, were originally from Brazil).[2]

External links

• Multimedia timeline on the history of politics and the olympics from the Council on Foreign Relations.