Five Times the Olympics Made the World a Better Place
For the past 120 years the Olympics have endured despite war, hostage taking, economic depressions, the death and birth of countries, and the occasional boycott. Here are the top five instances when the Olympics’ triumphed over conflict:
5. Berlin, 1936
Often referred to as the “Nazi Olympics,” the Berlin Olympics provided a world stage for Hitler to showcase Aryan supremacy. Jesse Owens, an African-American athlete, had other plans, winning four gold medals in track and field. One of the Owen’s gold medals was for the long jump, where he out-jumped Germany’s Lutz Long (Long earned the Silver Medal). The two became life long friends. Later in life Owens said:
“It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler. You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.”
German spectators cheered loudly for “Yesseh Oh-vens” or just “Oh-vens.” Owens was a celebrity in Berlin, mobbed by autograph seekers to the point that he complained about all the attention. Owens’ reception by the German crowds in Nazi Berlin was greater than any other he ever experienced.
(Sadly, not everyone is Jesse Owens, or Lutz Long.)
4. Sydney, 2000
North and South Korea united in a short-lived moment of solidarity. The two Koreas marched together for the first time in the Olympics in Sydney’s opening ceremony. Instead of carrying their respective flags, the North and South Korean teams (in identical uniforms) joined hands and waved a unification flag featuring a blue map of Korea. The countries repeated the unified march in 2004 in Athens and 2006 in Turin, but competed separately.
3. Munich, 1972
The Murder of 11 Israeli athletes by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September was arguably the darkest moment in Olympic history. The attack occurred after just the first week of the games.
The Olympic Committee debated about ending the games, ultimately deciding the right thing to do was to continue. IOC President Avery Brundage said at the time:
“The Games must go on, and we must … and we must continue our efforts to keep them clean, pure and honest.”
The controversial decision was endorsed by the Israeli government, although the teams from the Philippines and Algeria decided to leave the games, as did members of the Dutch and Norwegian teams.
2. Modern Olympics, 1896 -2016
Since the reprise of the ancient Greek Olympic Games in 1896, the games have only been cancelled three times. For a world event this is pretty darn impressive. The 1916 Summer Olympics in Berlin were canceled because of WWI. The 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, as well as the 1944 Summer Olympics in London, were canceled because of WWII. Every successive Olympics has had more countries participating. The 2012 London games saw a record 206 nations participating (interestingly only Greece, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, and Australia have competed in all modern Olympics).
Which leads to the Rio 2016 games and the #1 way the Olympics have triumphed over geopolitics…
1. Rio, 2016
The International Olympic Committee, recognizing the unprecedented numbers of displaced people worldwide, has named a Refugee Team for the first time in the history of the games. Team ROA will compete under the Olympic flag. The six male and four female athletes will walk into the opening ceremony, ahead of host country Brazil.
“These refugees have no home, no team, no flag, no national anthem,” IOC president Thomas Bach said. “We will offer them a home in the Olympic Village together with all the athletes of the world. The Olympic anthem will be played in their honor and the Olympic flag will lead them into the stadium.”
Team ROA has members from Syria, Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Congo.
Yusra Mardini, a young Syrian swimmer on the newly formed Olympic team, along with her sister Sarah and another woman, jumped off the sinking inflatable boat they used to try to reach Greece last summer. Twenty refugees were on a boat made to hold seven. The three women were the only ones who could swim. They got into the water, pushing and pulling the dinghy for hours until they reached the shore. In an interview Yusra said, “I thought it would be a real shame if I drowned in the sea, because I am a swimmer.” A year later she will be swimming in the Olympics!
