Latest on MJJC
- Latest Michael Jackson News
- Click Here to Join Our Community
- Follow us on X
- Wanna talk Michael? Come join the chat rooms
- The Michael Jackson Chart Watch
- Become an MJJC Patron
- Join the Premium Member Group and Get Lot's of Extra's
- Major Love Prayer - Worldwide Monthly Prayer Every 25th
- MJJC Exclusive Q&A - We talk to the family and those in and around Michael
- Join us in the Chat Rooms
- Find us on Facebook
Beijing 2008
- Thread starter The One.
- Start date
L.J
Proud Member
There's always controversies when it comes to the games sadly but don't stress mkgenie, it always the same with the lead up to the games... but once they get started everyone forgets everything and it's all sport sport SPORT!! :wild:
L.J
Proud Member
Tomorrow the games will open! :bugeyed
So here is the final histories of the games :wild:
Olympic Games
History-1984
The Los Angeles Games: the boycotts continue
The Soviet Union-led boycott left a huge athletic gap as Soviet bloc sports powerhouses like East Germany and the Soviet Union stayed home
Victor Davis in action during the men's 200-metre breastroke final where he won a gold medal and set a world record. (Getty Images)
Like its predecessor in 1980, the 1984 Olympics may be remembered more for who didn't show up than for who did.
Fifty-two years after the 1932 Los Angeles Games, the Summer Games returned to American soil, and once again, Los Angeles was the host city. But this time, boycotts left their indelible mark.
The Soviet Union-led boycott, a retaliation for the absence of the U.S. and its allies four years earlier in Moscow, left a huge athletic gap as Soviet bloc sports powerhouses like East Germany and the Soviet Union stayed home. Romania was the only Warsaw Pact nation to attend and made the most of not being overshadowed by its more powerful allies, finishing third overall with 53 medals.
Nineteen countries boycotted the Games, not nearly as extensive as the 1980 boycott, but those 19 nations had accounted for 58 per cent of the medals in 1976. As a result, the host Americans benefited the way the Soviets did from the Western powers' absence in 1980; the U.S. raked in 174 medals, including 83 gold, 24 more medals than the second-place West Germans.
Indeed, the Cold War and the prospect of boycotts deterred many countries from vying for the hosting rights to the 1984 Games in the first place. Los Angeles was the only city to bid for the Olympics, and for the first time since 1896, no government funding was needed.
Corporate underwriting
The Memorial Coliseum -- the main stadium used in the 1932 Olympics -- was completely renovated and other venues were built around the Los Angeles area. Peter Ueberroth, the president of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee, ushered in a new era of corporate financing and full-blown commercialism at the Olympics.
The Los Angeles Games would be fully financed by the private sector and became a colossal merchandising opportunity with everything from soft drinks to computers prominently on sale The corporations' bottom line became more important than who crossed the finish line.
Whatever the misgivings of the corporate influence over the Games, Ueberroth's organization of the world's largest sporting event earned him Time magazine's Man of the Year, and more importantly, the Los Angeles Games recorded a profit of $150 million (US).
Profits were not the only thing that increased. Twelve women's events were added in Los Angeles, including the marathon, cycling road race, rhythmic gymnastics (won by Canadian Lori Fung) and synchronized swimming. Baseball and tennis were added as demonstration sports.
_________________________________________________
Olympic Games
History-1988
The Games Canada would sooner forget
Sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for steroids, just three days after he captured the heart of the nation by winning gold and shattering the world record in the Games' marquee event, the men's 100-metre race
Ben Johnson of Canada leads the field on his way to taking the 100m semi-final during the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. (Steve Powell/Getty Images)
The 1988 Seoul Olympics will forever be linked to one Canadian. Unfortunately.
Sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for steroids, just three days after he captured the heart of the nation by winning gold and shattering the world record in the Games' marquee event, the men's 100-metre race. Not only did he lose his gold medal to American Carl Lewis, but his record time of 9.79 seconds was also erased.
Johnson was not the first Olympian to be caught with performance enhancing drugs, but he was a tremendously popular athlete involved in the highest-profile event of the Olympics. Johnson's drug scandal stoked a media frenzy and gave rise to the Dubin Inquiry into steroid use by Canadian athletes. It also overshadowed a number of Canadian heroics at the Olympics.
Otherwise, a scandal-free Olympics
The Ben Johnson fiasco notwithstanding, the Seoul Olympics were relatively free of scandal, aside from a boxing tournament that appeared to be even more rigged by corrupt and otherwise incompetent judging than ever. Seoul also marked the first time in 26 years that the Summer Games were not tarnished by widespread boycotts. Neighbouring North Korea made overtures to host half of the Games, but was denied by the IOC. That sparked a boycott that fellow Communist state Cuba joined. But they were the only notable countries to pass on the Olympic invitation.
Given that Seoul lay close to the North Korean border and relations between the North and the South were so frosty, security was ramped up considerably. Armed personnel were on hand to ensure the Games were conducted without incident, and U.S. spy satellites monitored North Korean troops' every move.
South Korea was determined to be a gracious host, as the eyes of the world were fixed on it for 17 days, although some of its citizens might have other views on the subject. Measures went so far as to imprison people caught spitting on the street for 29 days. The organization of the Games proved to be virtually flawless and resulted in a record profit of $288 million (US).
Other records fell in the pool and on the track. East Germany's Kristin Otto won six gold medals in the swimming events, an Olympic record by a woman. The dominant male in the pool was American Matt Biondi, who won seven medals: five gold, one silver and one bronze.
Diver Greg Louganis would become the first man to repeat as double gold medallist in the platform and springboard events, despite hitting his head on the springboard. He bloodied the pool a bit, but underwent repairs and came back to post the win. It later came out that Louganis was HIV-positive at the time.
On the track, two American sisters-in-law proved successful. The late Florence Griffith-Joyner rewrote the women's sprinting record book with three golds in the 100 metres and 200m, and 4X100m relay. The flamboyant FloJo added a silver in the 4 x 400-metre relay. Her sister-in-law, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, won gold in the heptathlon and long jump.
Two sports were added to the Seoul Games. Tennis returned to the Olympic line-up after a 64-year absence and had a least one gold medallist with megastar appeal -- women's singles winner and Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf of Germany. Another racquet sport, table tennis, also made its debut.
_______________________________________________________
Olympic Games
History-1992
One of the most efficient events in the history of the Games
Barcelona demonstrated what a well-planned Olympics can do: transform a city almost overnight into one of the world's premier destinations
Canadian rower Silken Laumann rows to a bronze medal after badly injuring her leg weeks before the Olympic women's single scull competition. (Ron Poling/Canadian Press)
By the beginning of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the world's political landscape had drastically changed. The Soviet Union no longer existed, East and West Germany were reunited, and apartheid had ended in South Africa. The first Olympics of the post-Cold War era would signal hope for renewed harmony in international relations.
Barcelona, the birthplace of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, would welcome 169 nations, the largest total to that point. The Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia were once again independent, but the former Soviet republics competed together for one year as the Commonwealth of Independent States, or Unified Team. Germany competed as one nation, and South Africa returned to the Olympics after a 32-year exile.
Turmoil, though, gripped the former Yugoslavia, and that was reflected in Barcelona. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia had split from Yugoslavia, while Serbia and Macedonia competed under the umbrella of Independent Olympic Participants.
Barcelona's coming out party
The city on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea had to wait more than 50 years to host the Olympics, after being denied the Games on two previous occasions. The 1924 Olympics had been promised to Barcelona, but Games founder Pierre de Coubertin reneged, and awarded them to Paris. Again, in 1936, with civil war about to erupt in Spain, the ambitions of the Spanish port city were thwarted.
The long wait may have been worth it. The stadium intended for the 1936 Olympics was renovated, and the waterfront area underwent major transformations. A total of (US) $8 billion went into revamping the city, and many have called the Barcelona Summer Games the best-organized in Olympic history.
Already a city known for its vibrant culture and unique architectural heritage, Barcelona demonstrated what a well-planned Olympics can do: transform a city almost overnight into one of the world's premier destinations.
_________________________________________________________________
Olympic Games
History: 1996
Violence and commercialism wrack Atlanta Games
On day nine of the Games a bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park leaving two dead and more than 100 injured
Canada's Donovan Bailey defeats Frankie Fredericks of Nambia and Dennis Mitchell of the USA for the gold medal in the 100-metre final at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. (Michael Cooper/Getty Images)
The 1996 Olympics were meant to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics. Instead, terrorism, logistical nightmares and over-the-top commercialism marred the event.
What took place in the early morning hours of July 27 left a lasting memory on the Atlanta Games. For the first time in 24 years, terrorism reared its ugly head at the Olympics.
Not since the 1972 murders of 11 Israeli athletes had there been such violence at the event hailed as a symbol of world peace.
On day nine of the Atlanta Olympics, a bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, leaving two people dead and more than a hundred injured. Richard Jewell, a security officer at the Games, who had found the bomb, was wrongfully fingered as a suspect, and became the target of a media witch-hunt for the culprit.
Flush with money and mistakes
While lax security measures in Atlanta were not fully to blame for the bombing, the same cannot be said for the rest of the Olympic organization.
The transportation system was overcrowded and chaotic. Bus drivers — who were brought in from around the country — were not properly trained, resulting in many athletes being shuttled to the wrong venues and others showing up for their events with only minutes to spare. There were stories of buses breaking down and countless delays for athletes and media personnel.
The computer system caused further glitches. The computerized scoring system was slow in releasing results and failed frequently. In one instance, the $40-million system incorrectly awarded records to all the weightlifters in one event, including the two athletes who failed the lift.
The organizers' blunders couldn't be blamed on lack of money. Previous Olympics had enjoyed corporate funding, but Atlanta ushered in a new era. The world's largest sporting event was turned into the world's biggest marketing tool. Multinational corporations' products and logos where omnipresent throughout the Games, with Coca-Cola — whose head office is in Atlanta — leading the way.
Atlanta featured other, more positive firsts, too. Mountain biking and beach volleyball were included as full-medal sports, along with lightweight rowing, and women's soccer and football.
Perhaps the Olympiad's signature moment came before any event began. Former Olympic boxing champion, Muhammad Ali (named Cassius Clay when he won in 1960), lit the Olympic cauldron, his hand trembling as a result of Parkinson's disease, as the crowd roared.
American athletes would harvest the most medals in Atlanta with a haul of 101. Carl Lewis won the long jump to become only the third person in history to win the same individual event four times. Michael Johnson won the 200 metres and 400m, as did France's Marie-Jose Perec, marking the first time that feat occurred in a non-boycotted Olympics.
The Numbers
Number of nations: 197
Number of athletes: 10,138 (3,512 women, 6,806 men)
Number of sports: 26
Number of events: 271
Number of media: 15,108
Number of nations winning gold medals: 53
First athlete to win the same event four straight times: Carl Lewis, U.S. (Long jump)
First athlete to compete in nine Olympics: Hubert Raudaschl, Austria (Sailing)
________________________________________
Olympic Games
History-2000
'When something seems too good to be true, it is'
Marion Jones later admits she was using performance enhancing drugs when she won 3 golds and two bronze
Ian Thorpe of Australia in action on his way to winning the Gold medal in the Mens 400m Freestyle Final in a new world record of 3:40.59 during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. (Darren England/ALLSPORT)
American sprint queen Marion Jones set herself the target of winning five gold medals at Sydney 2000 and fell only marginally short of that goal by winning three gold and two bronze medals. Seven years later she admitted she took performance enhancing drugs. She returned all her medals.
As Dick Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said when she was sentenced in Janurary, 2008, “When something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Thorpe achieves greatness
Such was not the case for Australian swim sensation Ian Thorpe with his size 17 flipper-feet. He fell short of his goal, but had a magnificent Games, winning five medals. He was only seventeen.
"Thorpedo" as he became known, was unexpectedly blasted out of the water by Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands, who won the 100-metre and 200-metre freestyle golds.
Thorpe's only individual gold came in his favoured 400 freestyle event, but he also left with two team golds and two silvers.
Great champions and great upsets
There were many other great Olympians in action too. Motor-mouthed American speed king Maurice Greene fullfilled his promise by winning the 100, Britain's Jonathan Edwards won the triple jump, and Cuba's Ivan Pedroso took the long-jump.
In one of the most exciting moments of the Games, and Olympic history, Cathy Freeman won the 400 in front of a home crowd. Freeman, an Australian Aborigine, was seen as a symbol of the plight faced by the persecuted indigenous peoples of Australia. After the race, the cheering crowd watched her collapse to the track and break down in tears. She then ran an elated victory lap with the Australian and Aboriginal flags.
Before Sydney, a Greek man had not won an Olympic medal in running since the first modern Games in 1896. Konstadinos Kenteris, a virtual unknown before the Olympics, burst out of the blocks and into the record books in the 200, ending the Greek drought.
Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie was once more crowned 10,000 king when he caught Kenyan runner Paul Tergat just before the finish line— and the Czech Republic's Jan Zelezny won his third javelin gold.
The Netherlands had a good Games with cyclist Leontien van Moorsel-Zijlaard and swimmer Inge de Bruijn both winning three gold medals.
In the judo competition French heavweight David Douillet confirmed his dominance of the sport with a third consecutive gold.
British rowing veteran Steven Redgrave needed no such confirmation but went ahead and won a gold medal at his fifth consecutive Games and swore when climbing from his boat to never again step foot in one again.
Holding a world record proved no guarantee of Olympic success as Morocco's 1500m man Hicham El-Gerrouj discovered. Denmark's Kenyan-born Wilson Kipketer held the 800m record, but he too was beaten in his specialty.
It also seemed it would be a disappointing Olympics for the U.S. women's softball team after they lost three straight games. They then turned things around, however, by beating each of the teams to which they had lost, and capturing gold.
Prior to Sydney, wrestling was dominated by the legendary Alexander Karelin, a 287-pound giant from Serbia who had not lost a match since 1987. Karelin met 29-year-old Rulon Gardner of the United States. Karelin had beat Gardner in 1997, and was fully expected to do the same in 2000 for his fourth consecutive titale. Then, at the beginning of round two, Karelin made a mistake and released a lock he had on Gardner. Gardner capitalized to win the match in what was one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history.
Turkish weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu was also chasing his fourth consecutive gold medal in Sydney. The 1.47-metre tall Suleymanoglu, also known as "The Pocket Hercules", tried three times to snatch 145kg, but failed and went home empty-handed.
Canoeing superstar Birgit Fischer of Germany became the first woman to ever win Olympic medals 20 years apart when she won two golds in Sydney. These also gave her the distinction of being the first woman to win seven gold medals.
The anti-doping campaign at Sydney was stringent to the point of injustice as Romanian gymnast Andrea Raducan found out when stripped of her all-round gold medal after testing positive due to a cold remedy.
The Games were mostly well-organized, with a few exceptions. The medals were supposed to have a traditional Greek design, but instead were presented with a picture of the Roman Coliseum. Heavy winds at the archery, athletics and rowing events caused a stir and the media had a frenzy over the possibility of shark attacks on triathlon competitors.
Despite these minor glitches, the Sydney Games were widely viewed as a resounding success. Australia is a nation which holds sporting endeavour in the highest regard and after the commercial orgy at Atlanta the Olympic movement could not have chosen a host more dedicated purely to sport rather than the money flushing round it.
:im_so_happy:
The numbers
Number of nations: 200
Number of athletes: 10,651 (4,069 women, 6,582 men)
Number of sports: 28
Number of events: 300
Number of countries winning at least one medal: 80
Number of media: 16,033
So here is the final histories of the games :wild:
Olympic Games
History-1984
The Los Angeles Games: the boycotts continue
The Soviet Union-led boycott left a huge athletic gap as Soviet bloc sports powerhouses like East Germany and the Soviet Union stayed home
Victor Davis in action during the men's 200-metre breastroke final where he won a gold medal and set a world record. (Getty Images)
Like its predecessor in 1980, the 1984 Olympics may be remembered more for who didn't show up than for who did.
Fifty-two years after the 1932 Los Angeles Games, the Summer Games returned to American soil, and once again, Los Angeles was the host city. But this time, boycotts left their indelible mark.
The Soviet Union-led boycott, a retaliation for the absence of the U.S. and its allies four years earlier in Moscow, left a huge athletic gap as Soviet bloc sports powerhouses like East Germany and the Soviet Union stayed home. Romania was the only Warsaw Pact nation to attend and made the most of not being overshadowed by its more powerful allies, finishing third overall with 53 medals.
Nineteen countries boycotted the Games, not nearly as extensive as the 1980 boycott, but those 19 nations had accounted for 58 per cent of the medals in 1976. As a result, the host Americans benefited the way the Soviets did from the Western powers' absence in 1980; the U.S. raked in 174 medals, including 83 gold, 24 more medals than the second-place West Germans.
Indeed, the Cold War and the prospect of boycotts deterred many countries from vying for the hosting rights to the 1984 Games in the first place. Los Angeles was the only city to bid for the Olympics, and for the first time since 1896, no government funding was needed.
Corporate underwriting
The Memorial Coliseum -- the main stadium used in the 1932 Olympics -- was completely renovated and other venues were built around the Los Angeles area. Peter Ueberroth, the president of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee, ushered in a new era of corporate financing and full-blown commercialism at the Olympics.
The Los Angeles Games would be fully financed by the private sector and became a colossal merchandising opportunity with everything from soft drinks to computers prominently on sale The corporations' bottom line became more important than who crossed the finish line.
Whatever the misgivings of the corporate influence over the Games, Ueberroth's organization of the world's largest sporting event earned him Time magazine's Man of the Year, and more importantly, the Los Angeles Games recorded a profit of $150 million (US).
Profits were not the only thing that increased. Twelve women's events were added in Los Angeles, including the marathon, cycling road race, rhythmic gymnastics (won by Canadian Lori Fung) and synchronized swimming. Baseball and tennis were added as demonstration sports.
_________________________________________________
Olympic Games
History-1988
The Games Canada would sooner forget
Sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for steroids, just three days after he captured the heart of the nation by winning gold and shattering the world record in the Games' marquee event, the men's 100-metre race
Ben Johnson of Canada leads the field on his way to taking the 100m semi-final during the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. (Steve Powell/Getty Images)
The 1988 Seoul Olympics will forever be linked to one Canadian. Unfortunately.
Sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for steroids, just three days after he captured the heart of the nation by winning gold and shattering the world record in the Games' marquee event, the men's 100-metre race. Not only did he lose his gold medal to American Carl Lewis, but his record time of 9.79 seconds was also erased.
Johnson was not the first Olympian to be caught with performance enhancing drugs, but he was a tremendously popular athlete involved in the highest-profile event of the Olympics. Johnson's drug scandal stoked a media frenzy and gave rise to the Dubin Inquiry into steroid use by Canadian athletes. It also overshadowed a number of Canadian heroics at the Olympics.
Otherwise, a scandal-free Olympics
The Ben Johnson fiasco notwithstanding, the Seoul Olympics were relatively free of scandal, aside from a boxing tournament that appeared to be even more rigged by corrupt and otherwise incompetent judging than ever. Seoul also marked the first time in 26 years that the Summer Games were not tarnished by widespread boycotts. Neighbouring North Korea made overtures to host half of the Games, but was denied by the IOC. That sparked a boycott that fellow Communist state Cuba joined. But they were the only notable countries to pass on the Olympic invitation.
Given that Seoul lay close to the North Korean border and relations between the North and the South were so frosty, security was ramped up considerably. Armed personnel were on hand to ensure the Games were conducted without incident, and U.S. spy satellites monitored North Korean troops' every move.
South Korea was determined to be a gracious host, as the eyes of the world were fixed on it for 17 days, although some of its citizens might have other views on the subject. Measures went so far as to imprison people caught spitting on the street for 29 days. The organization of the Games proved to be virtually flawless and resulted in a record profit of $288 million (US).
Other records fell in the pool and on the track. East Germany's Kristin Otto won six gold medals in the swimming events, an Olympic record by a woman. The dominant male in the pool was American Matt Biondi, who won seven medals: five gold, one silver and one bronze.
Diver Greg Louganis would become the first man to repeat as double gold medallist in the platform and springboard events, despite hitting his head on the springboard. He bloodied the pool a bit, but underwent repairs and came back to post the win. It later came out that Louganis was HIV-positive at the time.
On the track, two American sisters-in-law proved successful. The late Florence Griffith-Joyner rewrote the women's sprinting record book with three golds in the 100 metres and 200m, and 4X100m relay. The flamboyant FloJo added a silver in the 4 x 400-metre relay. Her sister-in-law, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, won gold in the heptathlon and long jump.
Two sports were added to the Seoul Games. Tennis returned to the Olympic line-up after a 64-year absence and had a least one gold medallist with megastar appeal -- women's singles winner and Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf of Germany. Another racquet sport, table tennis, also made its debut.
_______________________________________________________
Olympic Games
History-1992
One of the most efficient events in the history of the Games
Barcelona demonstrated what a well-planned Olympics can do: transform a city almost overnight into one of the world's premier destinations
Canadian rower Silken Laumann rows to a bronze medal after badly injuring her leg weeks before the Olympic women's single scull competition. (Ron Poling/Canadian Press)
By the beginning of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the world's political landscape had drastically changed. The Soviet Union no longer existed, East and West Germany were reunited, and apartheid had ended in South Africa. The first Olympics of the post-Cold War era would signal hope for renewed harmony in international relations.
Barcelona, the birthplace of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, would welcome 169 nations, the largest total to that point. The Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia were once again independent, but the former Soviet republics competed together for one year as the Commonwealth of Independent States, or Unified Team. Germany competed as one nation, and South Africa returned to the Olympics after a 32-year exile.
Turmoil, though, gripped the former Yugoslavia, and that was reflected in Barcelona. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia had split from Yugoslavia, while Serbia and Macedonia competed under the umbrella of Independent Olympic Participants.
Barcelona's coming out party
The city on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea had to wait more than 50 years to host the Olympics, after being denied the Games on two previous occasions. The 1924 Olympics had been promised to Barcelona, but Games founder Pierre de Coubertin reneged, and awarded them to Paris. Again, in 1936, with civil war about to erupt in Spain, the ambitions of the Spanish port city were thwarted.
The long wait may have been worth it. The stadium intended for the 1936 Olympics was renovated, and the waterfront area underwent major transformations. A total of (US) $8 billion went into revamping the city, and many have called the Barcelona Summer Games the best-organized in Olympic history.
Already a city known for its vibrant culture and unique architectural heritage, Barcelona demonstrated what a well-planned Olympics can do: transform a city almost overnight into one of the world's premier destinations.
_________________________________________________________________
Olympic Games
History: 1996
Violence and commercialism wrack Atlanta Games
On day nine of the Games a bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park leaving two dead and more than 100 injured
Canada's Donovan Bailey defeats Frankie Fredericks of Nambia and Dennis Mitchell of the USA for the gold medal in the 100-metre final at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. (Michael Cooper/Getty Images)
The 1996 Olympics were meant to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics. Instead, terrorism, logistical nightmares and over-the-top commercialism marred the event.
What took place in the early morning hours of July 27 left a lasting memory on the Atlanta Games. For the first time in 24 years, terrorism reared its ugly head at the Olympics.
Not since the 1972 murders of 11 Israeli athletes had there been such violence at the event hailed as a symbol of world peace.
On day nine of the Atlanta Olympics, a bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, leaving two people dead and more than a hundred injured. Richard Jewell, a security officer at the Games, who had found the bomb, was wrongfully fingered as a suspect, and became the target of a media witch-hunt for the culprit.
Flush with money and mistakes
While lax security measures in Atlanta were not fully to blame for the bombing, the same cannot be said for the rest of the Olympic organization.
The transportation system was overcrowded and chaotic. Bus drivers — who were brought in from around the country — were not properly trained, resulting in many athletes being shuttled to the wrong venues and others showing up for their events with only minutes to spare. There were stories of buses breaking down and countless delays for athletes and media personnel.
The computer system caused further glitches. The computerized scoring system was slow in releasing results and failed frequently. In one instance, the $40-million system incorrectly awarded records to all the weightlifters in one event, including the two athletes who failed the lift.
The organizers' blunders couldn't be blamed on lack of money. Previous Olympics had enjoyed corporate funding, but Atlanta ushered in a new era. The world's largest sporting event was turned into the world's biggest marketing tool. Multinational corporations' products and logos where omnipresent throughout the Games, with Coca-Cola — whose head office is in Atlanta — leading the way.
Atlanta featured other, more positive firsts, too. Mountain biking and beach volleyball were included as full-medal sports, along with lightweight rowing, and women's soccer and football.
Perhaps the Olympiad's signature moment came before any event began. Former Olympic boxing champion, Muhammad Ali (named Cassius Clay when he won in 1960), lit the Olympic cauldron, his hand trembling as a result of Parkinson's disease, as the crowd roared.
American athletes would harvest the most medals in Atlanta with a haul of 101. Carl Lewis won the long jump to become only the third person in history to win the same individual event four times. Michael Johnson won the 200 metres and 400m, as did France's Marie-Jose Perec, marking the first time that feat occurred in a non-boycotted Olympics.
The Numbers
Number of nations: 197
Number of athletes: 10,138 (3,512 women, 6,806 men)
Number of sports: 26
Number of events: 271
Number of media: 15,108
Number of nations winning gold medals: 53
First athlete to win the same event four straight times: Carl Lewis, U.S. (Long jump)
First athlete to compete in nine Olympics: Hubert Raudaschl, Austria (Sailing)
________________________________________
Olympic Games
History-2000
'When something seems too good to be true, it is'
Marion Jones later admits she was using performance enhancing drugs when she won 3 golds and two bronze
Ian Thorpe of Australia in action on his way to winning the Gold medal in the Mens 400m Freestyle Final in a new world record of 3:40.59 during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. (Darren England/ALLSPORT)
American sprint queen Marion Jones set herself the target of winning five gold medals at Sydney 2000 and fell only marginally short of that goal by winning three gold and two bronze medals. Seven years later she admitted she took performance enhancing drugs. She returned all her medals.
As Dick Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said when she was sentenced in Janurary, 2008, “When something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Thorpe achieves greatness
Such was not the case for Australian swim sensation Ian Thorpe with his size 17 flipper-feet. He fell short of his goal, but had a magnificent Games, winning five medals. He was only seventeen.
"Thorpedo" as he became known, was unexpectedly blasted out of the water by Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands, who won the 100-metre and 200-metre freestyle golds.
Thorpe's only individual gold came in his favoured 400 freestyle event, but he also left with two team golds and two silvers.
Great champions and great upsets
There were many other great Olympians in action too. Motor-mouthed American speed king Maurice Greene fullfilled his promise by winning the 100, Britain's Jonathan Edwards won the triple jump, and Cuba's Ivan Pedroso took the long-jump.
In one of the most exciting moments of the Games, and Olympic history, Cathy Freeman won the 400 in front of a home crowd. Freeman, an Australian Aborigine, was seen as a symbol of the plight faced by the persecuted indigenous peoples of Australia. After the race, the cheering crowd watched her collapse to the track and break down in tears. She then ran an elated victory lap with the Australian and Aboriginal flags.
Before Sydney, a Greek man had not won an Olympic medal in running since the first modern Games in 1896. Konstadinos Kenteris, a virtual unknown before the Olympics, burst out of the blocks and into the record books in the 200, ending the Greek drought.
Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie was once more crowned 10,000 king when he caught Kenyan runner Paul Tergat just before the finish line— and the Czech Republic's Jan Zelezny won his third javelin gold.
The Netherlands had a good Games with cyclist Leontien van Moorsel-Zijlaard and swimmer Inge de Bruijn both winning three gold medals.
In the judo competition French heavweight David Douillet confirmed his dominance of the sport with a third consecutive gold.
British rowing veteran Steven Redgrave needed no such confirmation but went ahead and won a gold medal at his fifth consecutive Games and swore when climbing from his boat to never again step foot in one again.
Holding a world record proved no guarantee of Olympic success as Morocco's 1500m man Hicham El-Gerrouj discovered. Denmark's Kenyan-born Wilson Kipketer held the 800m record, but he too was beaten in his specialty.
It also seemed it would be a disappointing Olympics for the U.S. women's softball team after they lost three straight games. They then turned things around, however, by beating each of the teams to which they had lost, and capturing gold.
Prior to Sydney, wrestling was dominated by the legendary Alexander Karelin, a 287-pound giant from Serbia who had not lost a match since 1987. Karelin met 29-year-old Rulon Gardner of the United States. Karelin had beat Gardner in 1997, and was fully expected to do the same in 2000 for his fourth consecutive titale. Then, at the beginning of round two, Karelin made a mistake and released a lock he had on Gardner. Gardner capitalized to win the match in what was one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history.
Turkish weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu was also chasing his fourth consecutive gold medal in Sydney. The 1.47-metre tall Suleymanoglu, also known as "The Pocket Hercules", tried three times to snatch 145kg, but failed and went home empty-handed.
Canoeing superstar Birgit Fischer of Germany became the first woman to ever win Olympic medals 20 years apart when she won two golds in Sydney. These also gave her the distinction of being the first woman to win seven gold medals.
The anti-doping campaign at Sydney was stringent to the point of injustice as Romanian gymnast Andrea Raducan found out when stripped of her all-round gold medal after testing positive due to a cold remedy.
The Games were mostly well-organized, with a few exceptions. The medals were supposed to have a traditional Greek design, but instead were presented with a picture of the Roman Coliseum. Heavy winds at the archery, athletics and rowing events caused a stir and the media had a frenzy over the possibility of shark attacks on triathlon competitors.
Despite these minor glitches, the Sydney Games were widely viewed as a resounding success. Australia is a nation which holds sporting endeavour in the highest regard and after the commercial orgy at Atlanta the Olympic movement could not have chosen a host more dedicated purely to sport rather than the money flushing round it.
:im_so_happy:
The numbers
Number of nations: 200
Number of athletes: 10,651 (4,069 women, 6,582 men)
Number of sports: 28
Number of events: 300
Number of countries winning at least one medal: 80
Number of media: 16,033
L.J
Proud Member
___________________________________________________
Olympic Games
History-2004
Olympic Games return to classic Greek origins
Fear of terrorist attack prompts huge security budget and police presence
Adam van Koeverden of Canada celebrates his win during the men's K-1 500-metre final during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
The Olympic Games returned to their classic Greek origins on August 13, 2004. More than 10,000 athletes from 201 countries descended upon Athens to compete for global athletic supremacy in a world dizzy with post-9/11 madness.
There were well-founded fears of terrorist attacks, so much so that the host country’s budget for security climbed to $1.2 billion (US). Some 70,000 police officers patrolled Athens and the Olympic venues, with NATO and the European Union on call if needed.
Despite the foreboding, the Athens Olympics began with an extravagant, almost hallucinatory, opening ceremony designed by avant-garde choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou. A flaming arrow launched from a video screen soared into a pool that erupted into a burning image of the Olympic rings. Young lovers chased each other under the hovering god Eros, and there was a topless Minoan priestess (with breasts digitally pixelated as NBC was still reeling from Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl).
Unruly marathon interruption
It was a fine setting for the much-anticipated Olympic marathon, which showcased many of the greatest sites in the Greek capital. It was set on the same path covered by Pheidippedes, the legendary war messenger whose 26-mile run to Athens to bring the news of a Greek victory over the Persians in 490 BC inspired the marathon.
Nearing the end of the run, with five kilometres to go, a spectator grabbed the leader, Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil, and pulled him into the crowd. De Lima managed to pull himself away and, favouring his right leg, managed to finish the marathon for a bronze medal.
The unruly spectator later was identified as Cornelius Horan, a defrocked Irish priest. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, presented de Lima with the Pierre de Coubertin medal, awarded for exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values.
Canada was involved in an odious judging scandal similar to the one involving figure skating at the Salt Lake City Winter Games. It involved gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt in the men’s vault. He failed to make the podium even though the eventual bronze medallist Marian Dragulescu flubbed his landing on his second of two vaults.
Canada protested against the judge’s ruling, arguing that Dragulescu received a mathematically impossible score, but the results stood.
The Numbers
Number of nations: 201
Number of athletes: 10,625 (4,329 women, 6,296 men)
Number of Canadian athletes: 302
Number of sports: 28
Number of events: 301
Number of media: 21, 500
First athlete to win two medals in each of 5 olympics: Birgit Fischer (GER) in canoeing
So tomorrow they start!!! :wild:
Are you ready? :woohoo:
Get your pride on with a smilie!
Olympic Games
History-2004
Olympic Games return to classic Greek origins
Fear of terrorist attack prompts huge security budget and police presence
Adam van Koeverden of Canada celebrates his win during the men's K-1 500-metre final during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
The Olympic Games returned to their classic Greek origins on August 13, 2004. More than 10,000 athletes from 201 countries descended upon Athens to compete for global athletic supremacy in a world dizzy with post-9/11 madness.
There were well-founded fears of terrorist attacks, so much so that the host country’s budget for security climbed to $1.2 billion (US). Some 70,000 police officers patrolled Athens and the Olympic venues, with NATO and the European Union on call if needed.
Despite the foreboding, the Athens Olympics began with an extravagant, almost hallucinatory, opening ceremony designed by avant-garde choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou. A flaming arrow launched from a video screen soared into a pool that erupted into a burning image of the Olympic rings. Young lovers chased each other under the hovering god Eros, and there was a topless Minoan priestess (with breasts digitally pixelated as NBC was still reeling from Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl).
Unruly marathon interruption
It was a fine setting for the much-anticipated Olympic marathon, which showcased many of the greatest sites in the Greek capital. It was set on the same path covered by Pheidippedes, the legendary war messenger whose 26-mile run to Athens to bring the news of a Greek victory over the Persians in 490 BC inspired the marathon.
Nearing the end of the run, with five kilometres to go, a spectator grabbed the leader, Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil, and pulled him into the crowd. De Lima managed to pull himself away and, favouring his right leg, managed to finish the marathon for a bronze medal.
The unruly spectator later was identified as Cornelius Horan, a defrocked Irish priest. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, presented de Lima with the Pierre de Coubertin medal, awarded for exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values.
Canada was involved in an odious judging scandal similar to the one involving figure skating at the Salt Lake City Winter Games. It involved gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt in the men’s vault. He failed to make the podium even though the eventual bronze medallist Marian Dragulescu flubbed his landing on his second of two vaults.
Canada protested against the judge’s ruling, arguing that Dragulescu received a mathematically impossible score, but the results stood.
The Numbers
Number of nations: 201
Number of athletes: 10,625 (4,329 women, 6,296 men)
Number of Canadian athletes: 302
Number of sports: 28
Number of events: 301
Number of media: 21, 500
First athlete to win two medals in each of 5 olympics: Birgit Fischer (GER) in canoeing
So tomorrow they start!!! :wild:
Are you ready? :woohoo:
Get your pride on with a smilie!
L.J
Proud Member
___________________________________________________
Olympic Games
History-2004
Olympic Games return to classic Greek origins
Fear of terrorist attack prompts huge security budget and police presence
Adam van Koeverden of Canada celebrates his win during the men's K-1 500-metre final during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
The Olympic Games returned to their classic Greek origins on August 13, 2004. More than 10,000 athletes from 201 countries descended upon Athens to compete for global athletic supremacy in a world dizzy with post-9/11 madness.
There were well-founded fears of terrorist attacks, so much so that the host country’s budget for security climbed to $1.2 billion (US). Some 70,000 police officers patrolled Athens and the Olympic venues, with NATO and the European Union on call if needed.
Despite the foreboding, the Athens Olympics began with an extravagant, almost hallucinatory, opening ceremony designed by avant-garde choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou. A flaming arrow launched from a video screen soared into a pool that erupted into a burning image of the Olympic rings. Young lovers chased each other under the hovering god Eros, and there was a topless Minoan priestess (with breasts digitally pixelated as NBC was still reeling from Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl).
Unruly marathon interruption
It was a fine setting for the much-anticipated Olympic marathon, which showcased many of the greatest sites in the Greek capital. It was set on the same path covered by Pheidippedes, the legendary war messenger whose 26-mile run to Athens to bring the news of a Greek victory over the Persians in 490 BC inspired the marathon.
Nearing the end of the run, with five kilometres to go, a spectator grabbed the leader, Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil, and pulled him into the crowd. De Lima managed to pull himself away and, favouring his right leg, managed to finish the marathon for a bronze medal.
The unruly spectator later was identified as Cornelius Horan, a defrocked Irish priest. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, presented de Lima with the Pierre de Coubertin medal, awarded for exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values.
Canada was involved in an odious judging scandal similar to the one involving figure skating at the Salt Lake City Winter Games. It involved gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt in the men’s vault. He failed to make the podium even though the eventual bronze medallist Marian Dragulescu flubbed his landing on his second of two vaults.
Canada protested against the judge’s ruling, arguing that Dragulescu received a mathematically impossible score, but the results stood.
The Numbers
Number of nations: 201
Number of athletes: 10,625 (4,329 women, 6,296 men)
Number of Canadian athletes: 302
Number of sports: 28
Number of events: 301
Number of media: 21, 500
First athlete to win two medals in each of 5 olympics: Birgit Fischer (GER) in canoeing
So tomorrow they start!!! :wild:
Are you ready? :woohoo:
Get your pride on with a smilie!
Olympic Games
History-2004
Olympic Games return to classic Greek origins
Fear of terrorist attack prompts huge security budget and police presence
Adam van Koeverden of Canada celebrates his win during the men's K-1 500-metre final during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
The Olympic Games returned to their classic Greek origins on August 13, 2004. More than 10,000 athletes from 201 countries descended upon Athens to compete for global athletic supremacy in a world dizzy with post-9/11 madness.
There were well-founded fears of terrorist attacks, so much so that the host country’s budget for security climbed to $1.2 billion (US). Some 70,000 police officers patrolled Athens and the Olympic venues, with NATO and the European Union on call if needed.
Despite the foreboding, the Athens Olympics began with an extravagant, almost hallucinatory, opening ceremony designed by avant-garde choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou. A flaming arrow launched from a video screen soared into a pool that erupted into a burning image of the Olympic rings. Young lovers chased each other under the hovering god Eros, and there was a topless Minoan priestess (with breasts digitally pixelated as NBC was still reeling from Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl).
Unruly marathon interruption
It was a fine setting for the much-anticipated Olympic marathon, which showcased many of the greatest sites in the Greek capital. It was set on the same path covered by Pheidippedes, the legendary war messenger whose 26-mile run to Athens to bring the news of a Greek victory over the Persians in 490 BC inspired the marathon.
Nearing the end of the run, with five kilometres to go, a spectator grabbed the leader, Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil, and pulled him into the crowd. De Lima managed to pull himself away and, favouring his right leg, managed to finish the marathon for a bronze medal.
The unruly spectator later was identified as Cornelius Horan, a defrocked Irish priest. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, presented de Lima with the Pierre de Coubertin medal, awarded for exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values.
Canada was involved in an odious judging scandal similar to the one involving figure skating at the Salt Lake City Winter Games. It involved gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt in the men’s vault. He failed to make the podium even though the eventual bronze medallist Marian Dragulescu flubbed his landing on his second of two vaults.
Canada protested against the judge’s ruling, arguing that Dragulescu received a mathematically impossible score, but the results stood.
The Numbers
Number of nations: 201
Number of athletes: 10,625 (4,329 women, 6,296 men)
Number of Canadian athletes: 302
Number of sports: 28
Number of events: 301
Number of media: 21, 500
First athlete to win two medals in each of 5 olympics: Birgit Fischer (GER) in canoeing
So tomorrow they start!!! :wild:
Are you ready? :woohoo:
Get your pride on with a smilie!
Last edited:
The One.
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2006
- Messages
- 7,405
- Points
- 0
Tomorroww yaaaayyyyy!!! :wild:
Goo Finland!!
Sadly I heard that in the opening ceremony there will only be like 20 athletics from our team and the rest are just managers and other persons..
And I got cold But I will be watching the ceremony from the beginning under a shawl and with a hot cup of hot chocolate ^_^
Mm I can't wait.
Goo Finland!!
Sadly I heard that in the opening ceremony there will only be like 20 athletics from our team and the rest are just managers and other persons..
And I got cold
But I will be watching the ceremony from the beginning under a shawl and with a hot cup of hot chocolate ^_^Mm I can't wait.
L.J
Proud Member
aww here's hoping you're cold goes away quickly :flowers:
I think Australia is having 200 atheletes walk out but I might have heard it wrong
I can't wait to see what the Chinese do with the opening ceremony
I think Australia is having 200 atheletes walk out
but I might have heard it wrong I can't wait to see what the Chinese do with the opening ceremony
tinker*bell
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 386
- Points
- 0
Yaaaay!!
I loooove the Olympics!!! :wub:
Can't wait to watch the opening ceremony tomorrow...
And my team won today on Men's first round of Football!! Yaaay!!
I loooove the Olympics!!! :wub:
Can't wait to watch the opening ceremony tomorrow...
And my team won today on Men's first round of Football!! Yaaay!!
L.J
Proud Member
L.J
Proud Member
I thought there was green in your flag
which flag is that then
:blush:
which flag is that then
:blush:
L.J
Proud Member
I could only find this one:
MJMThriller
Proud Member
Wow the countdown! :wild:
L.J
Proud Member
The 2008 Drummers!!
wow!!
OMG the Rings!!!
AMAZING!!!!!
wow!!
OMG the Rings!!!
AMAZING!!!!!
MJMThriller
Proud Member
Wouldn't want to get your bum spanked with those paddles! :mello:
L.J
Proud Member
I'll say
Thriller_MJ
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 4,842
- Points
- 63
I'm watching the opening Ceromony now and it looks amazing everyone looks so Happy dispite the amount of shit this olympics has caused for China and Tibet
L.J
Proud Member
This is all very exciting!! :wild:
there's always political drama but it get's forgotten once those athletes come out! :wild:
there's always political drama but it get's forgotten once those athletes come out! :wild:
Thriller_MJ
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 4,842
- Points
- 63
^ did you see George Bush waveing his flag hahahaha he looked so Happy like a big child
L.J
Proud Member
ahaha yeah it's such an awesome moment to watch your team come out.
Nothing unites the world better than a sporting event
Nothing unites the world better than a sporting event
raingirl
Proud Member
Dear people of China. Will you please change your time zone to GMT so that us Europeans could watch the games during day time. Now we have to get up at night if we want to see something live. Thank you.
L.J
Proud Member
ahahaha
Oh I'm so excited I can't wait to watch EVERYTHING!!!! :wild:
Oh I'm so excited I can't wait to watch EVERYTHING!!!! :wild:
browneyedgirl
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 583
- Points
- 0
All this crazy timing! :bugeyed We get to see the ceremony in like 8 hours!
Aww, I love how everyone roots for their country like their life depends on it. :lol:
GO AMERICA GO! :wild:
Aww, I love how everyone roots for their country like their life depends on it. :lol:
GO AMERICA GO! :wild:
Thriller_MJ
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 4,842
- Points
- 63
What an amazing opening Ceromony the guy running around the Stadium to light the torch was amazing the Stadium looked so colorful at night
the guy running around the Stadium to light the torch was amazing the Stadium looked so colorful at night