X-Nico

36 unusual facts about Olympic Games


Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany

In the weeks before and during the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympic Games held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berlin, respectively, the Nazi regime actually toned down much of its public anti-Jewish rhetoric and activities.

Antoine N'Gossan

He represented his country at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Barbados Olympic Association

Formed after the dissolution of the West Indies Federation in 1962, the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) first competed at Olympic level at the 1968 Summer Olympics and has continued to compete at every Olympics since excluding the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Bashar Abdullah

He was also in the Olympic team that reached the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Bouclier de Brennus

Charles Brennus sculpted the shield himself in 1892, based on an original design from his friend and fellow USFSA co-founder Pierre de Coubertin, the man who founded the modern Olympic Games.

Brad Schlegel

Schlegel also played for the Canadian National Team for many years, and was part of the Canadian Men's Hockey Teams that played in the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympic Games, and won the Silver Medal both times.

Bud Bruner

He was also matchmaker for the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Boxing Trials and for William H. King Promotions.

Cedar Crest College

Diane Moyer, former Olympic field hockey player, current chair of the psychology department

Crash 'N' The Boys: Street Challenge

While the original Japanese version represented the events as part a legit Olympic tournament, the backgrounds were changed in Street Challenge to go along with the urban setting.

Croatian Olympic Committee

The COC organizes Croatia's representatives at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Duluth Entertainment Convention Center

It is the largest curling venue in the United States, and has hosted two World Championships, the US Olympic Trials, and numerous National events.

Fred Rust Ice Arena

The Facility houses two ice sheets the main ice arena, the Fred Rust Ice Arena, is a 2,500-seat regulation Olympic sized ice arena on the UD campus.

Gord Sherven

At the time, professionals were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games, but full-time NHL players were not released from their club teams to play for their national teams.

Gre-No-Li

The three forwards led Sweden to Olympic gold at the 1948 Olympic tournament in London.

Greece at the team sports international competitions

The Greece at the team sports international competitions has achieved 12 victories at the Olympic Games (1), World Championship (3) and European Championships (8).

James Enright

After retiring in 1964 from a refereeing career that saw him officiate the 1954 NCAA tournament Final Four and the 1948 and 1952 Olympic basketball qualifying tournaments, Enright resumed a career he had abandoned for refereeing in 1930 and covered basketball and baseball for such publications as The Sporting News and the Chicago Evening American.

John M. Phillips

John M. Phillips is the attorney for Ishika Lay and her family, who was in a prolonged coma after collapsing in an Olympic qualifying tournament.

Kanley Track

The area features a 400 meter Olympic-style 8-lane track, an alumni building that offers storage facilities and postings of team records, and permanent lights.

Kendrys Morales

He was sent back to Cuba from Panama during the Olympic qualifying round in November 2003 for making contact with an agent.

Manon Rhéaume

An Olympic silver medalist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first and only woman ever to play in a National Hockey League exhibition game.

Mike Penner

Initially reporting on high school sports, Penner went on to cover a variety of national and international sporting events including the Olympics, Major League Baseball, tennis, and World Cup soccer.

Morten Frost

During his tenure as coach, the Danish national squad achieved over 20 major international wins, including an Olympic gold medal in 1996, six gold medals and three silver medals at the European Championships in 1996, the men's singles titles at the 1995 and 1996 All England Championships, and a gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the World Championships in 1995.

Nigeria Olympic Committee

The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) is the National Olympic Committee for Nigeria, responsible for co-ordinating and supporting Nigerian competitors in the Olympic Games.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley

Nikolai is the most capped Olyroos player representing Australia at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Norris McWhirter

McWhirter was also part of the BBC commentary team for their Olympic Games coverage between 1960 and 1976.

Olympic Charter

The Olympic Charter, last updated 9 September 2013, is a set of rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement.

Perspectives in Public Health

In March 2012 the journal published a special issue on the Olympic Legacy to explore some of the issues surrounding the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Ray Bourque

Bourque is also an Olympian and has become near-synonymous with the Boston Bruins franchise, for which he played 21 seasons and became its longest-serving captain.

Robert Gerard

He is a Founder Member of the Quarter Club, which raises over $250,000 per annum for Australian Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games athletes.

Saad Attiya

Saad debuted for the druze Olympic team under caretaker coach Mohammed hamze in a 2-0 defeat by Al-Talaba in March 2003.

Salih Sadir

The talented player from the southern city of Najaf, is one of Iraq's most gifted individuals, who excelled playing for the Olympic team in the qualifying rounds – his performances compensated for the absence of Nashat Akram in Iraq's midfield.

Scot Hollonbeck

At the 2004 Olympic Games, he finished 4th in the demonstration sport of Men's 1500m wheelchair.

Syracuse Crunch

It is not retired, as it would later be worn by former US Olympian Darby Hendrickson and Serge Aubin.

Thomas Cup

For many they trump major tournaments for individual competitors such as the venerable All-England Championships, the BWF World Championships, and even the badminton competitions at the Olympic Games.

Thorolf Rafto

His father, Robert Rafto was an Olympic gymnast and the winner of the Norwegian decathlon championships in 1918.

Tony Gubba

His first Olympic Games as a commentator with the BBC was in 1972, and he covered every World Cup tournament from 1974 to 2006.


2008 Hammer Throw Year Ranking

The main event during this season were the Olympic Games in Beijing, PR China, where the final of the men's competition was held on August 17, 2008.

Alexander Petrovskiy

: 8th Olympic Games (Team pursuit with Alexei Markov, Alexander Serov, and Nikolay Trusov), Beijing (CHN)

Ali Adnan

He was due to be the first person to represent Iraq in archery at the Olympic Games, having qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but the entire Iraqi delegation was banned from the Games by the International Olympic Committee due to Iraqi government interference in the Iraqi national Olympic Committee.

Aryan Games

The Aryan Games were a proposed replacement for the Olympic Games by the National Socialist (Nazi) government of the Third Reich, to be housed permanently in Nuremberg at the German Stadium that was designed, but never built, by Albert Speer.

Australia–India relations

Australia has found success mainly since the late 1970s, with the men's and women's teams winning gold medals at Olympic Games, World Cup, Champion's Trophy and Commonwealth Games meets.

Australian Sailing magazine

She has helmed 18 ft skiffs, completed 15 Sydney to Hobart races and written about all major yacht races including the Olympic Games.

Belgrave Harriers

The club's membership contains several of Britain's leading athletes, including Olympic silver medallist and World Champion Phillips Idowu, Goldie Sayers, Dwain Chambers and Chicago Marathon winner Paul Evans as well as GB & NI 110m Hurdler William Sharman.

Benny Prasad

He has performed before presidents and parliaments, before the crowds of 2007 military world games, 2006 FIFA world cup and the 2004 olympic games.

Bike boom

In the United Kingdom, 2012 is cited by the British press as a bike boom period, fuelled by the successes of the Tour de France and the Olympic Games by its cyclists.

Billy Richardson

At the end of that season, he represented Ireland in the Olympic Games against Holland at Portsmouth.

Byron Lars

In 2012, Lars designed dresses for Olympic gold medalists Sanya Richards-Ross, Carmelita Jeter, and Allyson Felix.

Canton Jones

The club performed for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Dr. Bobby Jones and Ray Charles, as well as performing at high profile events such as the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games and at the first gospel concert ever held at the US Pentagon.

Chicago Yacht Club

Among those who have sailed for the club is Robert Halperin, who won an Olympic bronze medal in 1960 and a Pan American Games gold medal in 1963 in yachting, and who was also a football player at Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and in the NFL, one of Chicago's most-decorated World War II heroes, and Chairman of Commercial Light Co.

Daly Cherry-Evans

Cherry-Evans was named after one of his English-born mother's favourite British athletes, 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games Decathlon Gold Medallist Daley Thompson.

Figure skating at the 1924 Winter Olympics

The events held at this Games were not the first figure skating events contested at the Olympic Games, as the sport had also been on the programme at the 1908 and 1920 Summer Olympics.

Fletcher Gilders

Fletcher Gilders is the older brother of Barbara Gilders-Dudeck, a 1956 Olympic Games finalist in the three-meter springboard diving event; she finished a half-point from the bronze medal.

Ingrid Becker

Ingrid Mickler-Becker (née Ingrid Becker; born September 26, 1942 in Geseke, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a former West German athlete and a double Olympic champion.

Jared Connaughton

He finished 3rd in the 200m at the Drake Relays with a time of 21.10 into a headwind of 1.1 m/s behind World and Olympic Champion Jeremy Wariner and Jamaican Richardo Williams.

Jimmy Shea

Shea also was chosen by fellow athletes to recite the Athlete's Oath during the Opening Ceremonies.

K-Zone

There are also temporary categories for special events, such as the Olympic Games, Australian Idol, Celebrity Idols, etc.

Lázaro Vargas

Lázaro Vargas Álvarez (born January 18, 1964, in San Miguel del Padrón) is a Cuban baseball player and Olympic gold medalist.

Liberia at the Olympics

Liberia (LBR) has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games held since 1956 with the exception of 1968, 1976 and 1992, although the country has never won an Olympic medal.

McDull

After realizing his dream, McDull set himself another target: to become an Olympic champion just like female windsurfer Lee Lai Shan.

Mieke Buchan

SPORTS - Throughout her career Buchan has covered events including the Olympic Games, the US Open, and French Open tennis tournaments (for Tennis Channel), Australian Open Tennis (for Triple M) World Cup Soccer (SBS), the Super Bowl, Formula One, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship (Fox Sports America), the Crown Australian Poker Championship (Aussie Millions), Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Noel-Baker Community School

It is named after the late Philip Noel-Baker, Olympic athlete, Derby South MP and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Olympic Spirit Toronto

Olympic Spirit Toronto was an Olympic-themed attraction featuring the moments of high drama and emotion experienced by Olympians and fans throughout Canada’s history with the Olympic Games.

Papua New Guinea at the Olympics

Papua New Guinea first participated at the Olympic Games in 1976, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Paul Elvstrøm

He competed in eight Olympic Games from 1948 to 1988, being one of only four persons ever (the others are sailor Ben Ainslie and athletes Carl Lewis in the long jump and Al Oerter in the discus) to win four consecutive individual gold medals (1948, '52, '56, '60), first time in a Firefly, subsequently in Finns.

Peter Harburn

A few days later he was mistakenly named in the Great Britain squad preparing for the Olympic Games, for which, as a professional, he was ineligible.

Power Balance

On October 28, 2010 Olympic champion gymnast Dominique Dawes, working for Yahoo Weekend News and Independent Investigations Group (IIG), tested Power Balance bracelets for their claim that they improve balance, flexibility and strength.

Reuben Jones

Reuben (Ben) Jones (born 19 October 1932 in Newport, Shropshire, England; died 3 January 1990 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire) was an Olympic equestrian rider who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Ron Roddan

Speaking in a High Court libel hearing in 1998, Roddan told the jury that a magazine article by John McVicar alleging Linford Christie took drugs to get to the top was a "fairy story", describing a suggestion that the Olympic gold medallist's impressive physique may have been due to taking steroids or other performance-enhancing banned substances as "ridiculous".

Salford Triathlon

The event was not held in 2008 because of its proximity to the Olympic Games, the absence of BBC Sport coverage, and major building work (part of MediaCityUK) close to the area usually used for transition.

The Loneliest Runner

Ten years later, John Curtis (played by Landon himself) is an Olympic marathon runner and a gold-medal-winner.

W. A. Hewitt

Hewitt was honorary team manager of three consecutive Olympic gold medal winning hockey teams, the Winnipeg Falcons (1920), Toronto Granites (1924), and Toronto Varsity Grads (1928).

Wu Wen-chien

Wu Wen-Chien (吳文騫 born June 9, 1977) is a Taiwanese Olympic long-distance runner that represented Chinese Taipei in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics in the marathon.