Good morning my fellow Rotarians. As the 2012 Olympics wind down I wanted to share a few fun facts about the history of the games.
In Ancient Greece all athletes were expected to participate in the nude. Thus, no married women could be spectators, or they would be put to death. Unmarried women were welcome!
At the 1904 Paris Games the winners were awarded paintings instead of medals as the French believed that they would be more valuable.
The 1936 Berlin Games were the first to be televised but it wasn't until 1960 that they were first covered by American TV, CBS.
The last time that solid gold medals were awarded to Olympic champions was at the 1912 Stockholm Games.
The Olympic Torch Relay from Olympia, Greece to the Olympic Stadium host city is not an ancient tradition. The idea was actually first introduced at the 1936 Berlin Games during the early years of the Third Reich.
Some of the events that have been dropped from the Olympic Games over the years include the Tug-of-War, Cricket, Polo, Baseball and the shooting of live pigeons.
Jamaica really did enter a bob-sledding team in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. They were the inspiration for the film 'Cool Runnings' starring John Candy as the coach. In reality, the team competed again in France and in Norway and finally won a Gold medal at the 2000 World Games held in Monaco.
The very first champion winner of the Modern Olympics was James Brendan Connolly, a college student. He dropped out of Harvard when they refused to grant him a leave of absence to participate. 52 years later he was offered an honorary doctorate by Harvard and he turned it down flat.
And finally, what do you think the Olympics
cost? Typically, $2.5 to $4
billion. The IOC estimated $9 billion
for London. BUT, they shot way low. Final cost this year will run over $15
BILLION! London had to invest heavily in the Olympic venues and
other infrastructure expenses. Hmmm, I wonder who pays for those overruns?
My salute to the 2012
games – they always stir a sense of pride and patriotism. GO Team USA! And that
is the Bottom
of our News on this Friday, August 10, 2012.
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