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LEARN HOW TO MAKE OUR TYPE LARGER

Olympic fever
Published September/October 2000

By CYN LoPINTO
Editor-in-chief, gerontologist

With the hundreds of television channels available to us today, there aren’t many nights in which the world sits down and watches the same programming. Perhaps a popular awards show, a championship sporting match or a special movie premier will result in people around the globe watching the same thing. A tragic news event (such as the death of Princess Diana or a devastating plane crash), will also draw people to their television sets. Most of these situations involve people from a particular country with the rest of the world “peeking” in.

There aren’t too many instances in which countries come together and share global viewing time - that is, except for the Olympics.

Ever since the first modern Olympics took place in Athens, Greece in 1896, people from all over the world are fascinated with the idea of “friendly” competition between opposing countries. The Olympic Games give us all a chance to set aside political and religious differences and enjoy the display of true human spirit. We learn about people who are unlike us in a lot of ways, but at the same time, not all that different. It teaches us tolerance and educates us in a way a history class never could. It also brings us together as a country. Watching the Olympics on television is an escape from all the negativity we experience in the information age we live in. It is pure and simple.

Summer Olympics 2000 begins Sept. 15 in Sydney, Australia. There are already compelling stories being reported about participating athletes and their families. We are seeing pictures out of Australia and preparation footage. Olympic fever is definitely in the air. It is time to reconnect with friends and neighbors and join the world for this important occasion. What was important to our ancestors is still of great significance today. Keep the tradition alive.

We all have special memories from past Olympic games. Certain poignant moments played on TV really stand out. These events sparked great discussions and enabled us to share our joys and disappointments with the people around us. Some of these unforgettable moments are mentioned here for you to experience again.

1960 - Rome, Italy

USA runner Wilma Rudolph was honored as the “fastest woman in the world” in newspapers across the globe. She started out in life wearing a brace on her left leg up until the age of 11. By age 20 she had gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter events as well as in the relay race. When she first got to Rome, a major mishap occurred. The day before her qualifying race in the 100-meter event, Wilma tripped over a water pipe and sprained her ankle. She was able to compete but had to keep her ankle taped up all throughout the games. Winning three gold medals under such difficult circumstances earns Wilma Rudolph the title of a true champion.

1972 - Munich, Germany

During the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Germany, one of the most tragic massacres in Olympic history took place. On the morning of Sept. 5, 1972, a Palestinian terrorist group calling itself "Black September" stormed into the Israeli quarters at Munich's Olympic Village. Terrorists tied up and held 11 athletes, coaches and referees as hostages. A weightlifting coach and wrestling coach were killed during the initial struggle. The captors demanded the release of 200 imprisoned Arab terrorists.

Later that night, the Palestinians agreed to fly out of Germany along with their hostages to an Arab country. They were transported out of Olympic Village aboard two helicopters that landed at a nearby German military airport. Bavarian police tried to free the hostages after the helicopters landed, but they were unsuccessful. Gunfire broke out and the nine remaining Israeli hostages were killed.

The rest of Israel's Olympic team left Munich, but competition resumed the following day. There was a memorial service for the murdered Olympians, but no other country joined Israel's plea to leave the Games. Many people all over the world felt the Olympic Committee should have canceled the rest of the Games out of respect for those who had lost their lives.

1972 - Munich, Germany

Who could forget the charismatic gymnast Olga Korbut from the Soviet Union? This 17-year-old warmed our hearts with her larger than life smile. And when she messed up on the uneven bars and cried to the television cameras, the whole world felt bad. By the media playing her disappointment over and over again, Olga became the focus of the 1972 games. She came back and won two gold and one silver medal in the individual events. Because of all this attention, the gymnastics portion of the summer games went on to become one of the most highly viewed events.

1972 Munich, Germany

One of the most controversial Olympic moments occurred during the final basketball game between the United States and the Soviet Union in the summer of 1972. America was leading 50 to 49 when the Soviets asked for a time out. Even though they didn’t have any legal time outs left, the referee blew the whistle with one second left on the clock and allowed play to continue. The Soviets missed the basket and the Americans celebrated their victory. The Soviets argued with the scorers’ table that when they had asked for a time out, there were three seconds remaining, not one. The officials agreed and put another three seconds on the clock resulting in a basket and a 51 to 50 victory for the Soviet Union. The Americans were completely devastated. When it came time for the awards ceremony, the United States never showed up to receive their silver medals.

1976 - Montreal, Canada

Another foreign gymnast made us take notice in the summer of 1976. Nadia Comaneci, a 13-year-old gymnast from Romania, kept audiences glued to their television sets. When she performed a flawless routine on the uneven parallel bars, the world looked on in amazement. She scored a perfect 10, but because the scoreboard was never programmed for a 10, viewers saw the number 1 flash on the screen. The crowd gasped in disbelief until they realized it was just a mistake. Nadia went on to earn multiple perfect scores and walked away with three gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. She became the first gymnast from Romania to receive an Olympic gold medal.

1976 - Montreal, Canada

The 1976 Summer Olympics also saw its share of controversy. Before these games took place, New Zealand’s rugby team played in racially discriminated South Africa. South Africa had been barred form the Olympics because of their discrimination policies. The other 32 nations in Africa looked for the Olympic committee (IOC) to punish New Zealand. When the IOC did not, these nations decided to boycott the 1976 Summer Games. One of the many heartbreaks that resulted from this boycott was with Kenya’s runner Mike Boit. In pre-Olympic trials, Boit lead the rest of the athletes in the 1.000-meter race. The 800-meter event was supposed to be a tight race with Juantorena from Cuba, Wohlhuter from the United States, and Boit. Because of political issues, this much anticipated competition never took place. Boit was actually sitting in the stands when Cuba’s Juantorena won the race. If Boit was racing, the outcome may have been the same or it could have been completely different. We will never know.

1980 - Moscow, USSR

Another political controversy took place with the 1980 Summer Olympics. Prior to the games, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on Dec. 27, 1979. A boycott involving 64 nations was led by the United States in protest of this invasion. Because of the vast number of countries involved in this boycott, the level of competition was greatly affected.

1984 - Los Angeles, USA

During the 1984 Summer Games, another boycott was led by the USSR and consisted of 14 Eastern Bloc nations. They protested that the attitude of the American government was anti-Soviet, that there was inadequate security in the USA and that the Olympic Games were over commercialized. Most believed this boycott was actually retaliation for the 1980 boycott.

1984 - Los Angeles, USA

In 1984, 16-year-old gymnast Mary Lou Retton became the first American to win the individual all-around women’s gymnastic title. This consisted of four events (uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercises and the vault). Going into the final vault portion of the compe- tition, Mary Lou was trailing behind Romania’s Ecaterina Szabo by only 5 hundredths of a point. Retton had already received two scores of 10 in the previous events but needed another 10 in the vault to win the gold medal. When she did her routine, the stadium was completely quiet. Mary Lou’s performance was perfect. There was a slight delay in the showing of her score, but when a 10 appeared on the scoreboard, the crowd went wild. The fact that she won the title in her own country made it even more spectacular.

1988 - Seoul, S. Korea

Another famous Olympic moment played on televisions throughout the world was American diver Greg Louganis’s accident. While competing in the 1988 springboard eliminations, Greg hit his head on the end of the diving board. It looked a lot worse than it was and luckily, Greg was able to qualify. He had broken an Olympic record in the springboard event in the 1984 Olympics with his famous 3.5 reverse somersault called “the Dive of Death.” He needed to once again perform this dive to beat China’s Xiong Ni, who was leading Louganis by three points. Louganis went on to win gold medals in both the springboard and diving events.

1992 - Barcelona, Spain

Perhaps one of the greatest testimonies of human strength and endurance, was displayed by Great Britain’s runner Derek Redmond during the 1992 Summer Olympics. He had won preliminary races against Steve Lewis of the United States and was expected to medal in the 400-meter race. All the runners took off uneventfully at the start of the race. But just before the halfway point, Redmond heard a pop. It was the hamstring in his right leg. He was in tremendous pain while the other racers passed him. His father ran out on the track in support to ensure that his son would not have to continue. Derek was determined to finish the race, so his father told him that they would do so together. The crowd looked on as father and son crossed the finish line arm in arm. It was a moment that moved audiences around the world.

1996 - Atlanta, USA

Although the Olympic Village bombing cast a doom over the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, there were still plenty of positive sports moments. The most inspiring story began when United States team member Dominique Moceanu fell on both of her tries during the final vault event. Fellow member Kerri Strug needed a score of 9.2 or greater to clinch the gold medal. On her first attempt, Kerri fell and tore a ligament in her left ankle. She only scored a 9.162. She knew she had to perform her second attempt in pain in order for her team to have a chance at the team gold. She performed beautifully and was able to put weight on both of her ankles long enough to secure the gold medal for her team. Her coach Bela Karolyi carried her to the awards ceremony while fellow teammates Moceanu and Shannon Miller helped her up on the platform. There wasn’t a dry eye in the arena. While the other members on the team all worked together to help win this medal, Strug will be remembered for her remarkable courage.

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