Beijing Games
The modern Olympics have showcased some of the best qualities in an athlete: superb physical conditioning, mental toughness, ambition, determination, perseverance and skill. We've also seen self-promotion, dishonesty and poor sportsmanship. Throughout time, each Olympic Games has had its ups and downs and controversy—sometimes of olympic proportions. It was 1936, and the Olympics were in Berlin, Germany. The Nazis were in power, as Hitler anticipated the Olympics as an opportunity to show the world the dominance of his Aryan race. The Olympics had been awarded to Berlin before Hitler came into power, and although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had doubts about allowing Berlin to host the Olympics, the games did take place as scheduled. Although some countries considered boycotting the games, in the end, only Spain did not attend because its own civil war. During the opening ceremonies, some teams gave the Nazi salute. Jesse Owens, an African American and grandson of a slave, demolished Hitler' assertion of racial dominance when Owens decidedly won four gold medals in track and field. Owens' German competitor who lost to him in the long jump was the first to congratulate Owens. Hitler refused to personally present Owens with his medals.
1968 was a time of controversy in the United States, with controversy over Vietnam and civil rights. During the awards ceremony for the 200-meter race, two African American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, stood on the podium as winners of the gold and bronze medals respectively. With eyes closed and heads bowed, each man raised a gloved hand in the air as a symbol of black power. Although intended to be a non-violent protest of racial conditions, its political statement was seen as an affront. The two men were suspended from the U.S. national team and were banned from the Olympic Village. The1972 Olympics in Munich remains the most tragic Olympic Games in history. A terrorist attack from the Palestinian group Black September targeted the Israeli men's team, killing two athletes and took nine others hostage. During an attempted rescue, all of the hostages, five of the eight gunmen and one policeman were killed. Although the remaining members of the Israeli team returned home, the Olympic Games resumed as scheduled. Moscow, Russia was anticipating the 1980 Olympic Games. As the first country under communist rule to host the Games, they were eager to have their athletes compete with the rest of the world. The year before, Moscow had invaded Afghanistan, and because of that, Japan, West Germany and 62 other countries led by the United States boycotted the Games. Four years later, when the Olympics were hosted by Los Angeles, the Soviet Union returned the favor. This leads us to the 2008 Olympics, in Beijing, China. The Beijing Games are being criticized as being as hypocritical as the ones held in 1936. Although the slogan is 'One World, One Dream,' China has been taken to task for its record in human rights, animal rights and environmental issues. Whether this influences countries to boycott or people to skip buying tickets remains to be seen.
