5 historical moments from the Olympics that changed the course of sports
Ever since their emergence in Ancient Greece, the Olympics have been an opportunity for athletes, sportspersons and everyone else alike to come together and celebrate sports. However, over the course of several decades, this international sporting event has undergone its fair share of controversies from boycotts and bans to unprecedented record-breaking moments. The most recent one was the proposed ban on the ongoing Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing, China. Here are a few more controversial yet memorable Olympic moments which changed the course of history in sports.
For the first time in history, female athletes participated in 1900
The Olympics held in Paris, France in the year 1900 marked a significant moment in women’s history and sports history, in general. For the very first time, women were allowed to compete in the event. However, their participation was only reserved for two sports, namely gold and tennis. Ever since then, the scope of women’s participation gradually kept on increasing in the Olympics.
Jesse Owens crushed Hitler’s myth of “Aryan supremacy” in 1936
Hitler saw an opportunity to further his ideology of Aryan supremacy when the Olympics were hosted in Berlin, Germany in the year 1936. However, Jesse Owens, an African-American track athlete went on to break records and win numerous gold medals, thus shattering Hitler’s narrow-minded Nazi ideology. Owens’ “lap of honour” with his German counterpart in the long jump, went down in history as a symbolic triumph of sportsmanship over the then prevailing Nazi ideology.
The emergence of the Paralympic Games in 1948
The World War II was an overwhelming time for the Allied Nations in all respects. Many of the young soldiers unfortunately ended up in wheelchairs as a consequence of this war. An English doctor, Ludwig Guttmann, saw this opportunity as a way to help these wounded veterans through sports therapy. For this, he initiated the International Wheelchair Games in London which witnessed, for the first time in history, athletes competing in wheelchairs. Eventually, this event came to be known as the Paralympic Games.
Peaceful civil rights protest at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968
The 60s were a revolutionary decade for the United States of America in terms of civil rights. Throughout the nation, African Americans, under the guidance of Martin Luther King, demanded their rights through protests. The 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City was seen as an opportunity for African-American athletes to take a stand by boycotting them. However, two African-American sprinters, John Carlos and Tommie Smith silently protested by raising their fists in a Black Power salute while the American national anthem played during the medal ceremony.
Terror hits the Olympics in 1972
The 1972 Olympics in Munich went down as a tragic moment in sports history. During the games, as many as 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists. Ever since then, the security at the Olympics was heightened. However, it tarnished the message of international peace that the Olympics were famous for spreading.