Sasha Ushakova

11 A

school 1289

The history of the Olympic games in London

Contens

1.Introduction:

2.The main part

3.Conclusion

London Olympics

London hosted the Olympic Games in 1908, 1948 and 2012. The 2012 Summer Olympics made London the first city to have hosted the modern Games of three Olympiads. London is the only city in the United Kingdom to have ever hosted the Olympics; the United States is the only country to have hosted Summer Olympics on more occasions than the UK.

British participation in Olympic events, both as a competitor and as a host, is the responsibility of the British Olympic Association.

Copy of the official poster advertising the 1948 London Olympics

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics (the Games of the IV Olympiad) were the fourth modern Olympic Games and the third to be hosted outside of Athens, Greece. The International Olympic Committee considers them the fourth Olympic Games, discounting the intercalated 1906 Summer Olympics. The 1908 Olympic Games were scheduled to take place in Rome, but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 7 April 1906 required the Italian government to redirect funds away from the Olympics. The events took place between 27 April 1908 and 31 October 1908, with 22 nations participating in 110 events. The British team easily topped the unofficial medal count, finishing with three times as many medals as the second-place United States.

1944 Summer Olympics

The 1944 Summer Olympics (the Games of the XIII Olympiad) were scheduled to be held in London. Awarded in 1939, they were, however, cancelled due to World War II. These Games would have celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Modern Olympiad.

1948 Summer Olympics

The 1948 Summer Olympics (the Games of the XIV Olympiad) were the first to be held after World War II, with the 1944 Summer Olympics having been cancelled due to the war. Showing a collective unity after the war, 59 nations competed in 136 different events between 29 July 1948 and 14 August 1948. Germany and Japan were not invited to the games due to security reasons. Unlike the last time the UK hosted the Olympics, the British athletes did not have a high medal count, finishing 12th in the unofficial medal count with only 23 medals.

2012 Summer Olympics

The 2012 Summer Olympics (the Games of the XXX Olympiad) took place between 27 July 2012 and 12 August 2012. The London 2012 Olympic bid was announced as the winner of the bidding process on 6 July 2005, following unsuccessful bid attempts for previous Olympics by Manchester and Birmingham. Team GB finished 3rd with 29 Gold medals, and 65 total medals, representing their best medal haul since London first hosted the Olympics in 1908.

2012 Summer Paralympic Games

The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games were the fourteenth Paralympics and took place between 29 August 2012 and 9 September 2012 at the Summer Olympics venues in London.

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome, but were re-located due to volcanic eruption. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic Games. However, the Athens Games of 1906 have since been downgraded by the International Olympic Committee and the 1908 Games are seen as the start of the Fourth Olympiad, in keeping with the now-accepted four-year cycle. The IOC president for these Games was Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Lasting a total of 187 days, or 6 months and 4 days, these games were the longest in modern Olympics history.

Games of the IV Olympiad

Host city: London, United Kingdom

Nations participating: 22

Athletes participating: 2,008

(1,971 men, 37 women)[1]

Events: 110 in 22 sports

Opening ceremony: April 27

Closing ceremony: October 31

Officially opened by: King Edward VII

Stadium White City Stadium

Background

The selection process for the 1908 Summer Olympics consisted of four bids, and saw Rome selected ahead of London, Berlin and Milan. The selection was made at the 6th IOC Session in Berlin in 1904.

Italian authorities were preparing to hold the games when Mount Vesuvius erupted on 7 April 1906, devastating the city of Naples. Funds were diverted to the reconstruction of Naples, so a new venue was required. London was selected for the first time to hold the Games which were held at White City alongside the Franco-British Exhibition, at the time the more noteworthy event. Berlin and Milan were other candidates.

The White City Stadium, built in short time for the games, held 68,000 and was considered by some[who?] a technological marvel. The stadium track was three laps to the mile (536 metres), not the current standard of 400 metres, with a pool for swimming and diving and platforms for wrestling and gymnastics in the middle.

The distance from the start of the Marathon to the finish at the stadium was established at these games. The original distance of 25 miles was changed to 26 miles so the marathon could start at Windsor Castle and then changed again at the request of Princess Mary so the start would be beneath the windows of the Royal Nursery. To ensure that the race would finish in front of the King, the finish line was moved by British officials who, in response to shot putter and American flag carrier Ralph Rose's refusal to dip the American flag before the Royal Box during the opening ceremony, “felt compelled to restore the importance of the monarchy.” As a result of these changes, the marathon covered a distance of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km), which became the standard length starting with the 1924 Summer Olympics.

The Games

The games were surrounded by controversy. On the opening day, following the practice introduced at the Intercalated Games of 1906, teams paraded behind national flags. However, the arrangement caused complications:

Since Finland was part of the Russian Empire, the Finnish team were expected to march under the Russian rather than Finnish flag, so many chose to march without a flag at all.

The Swedish flag had not been displayed above the stadium, so the members of the Swedish team decided not to take part in the ceremony.

American refusal of flag dipping

The flag of the United States had also not been displayed above the stadium before the opening. The United States' flag bearer, Ralph Rose, refused to dip the flag to Edward VII of the United Kingdom in the royal box. However, the flag was later dipped in the collective greeting of the royal family. Martin Sheridan, Irish American Athletic Club member and American team captain, is apocryphally believed to have supported Rose by explaining "This flag dips to no earthly king." It is claimed that his statement exemplified both American and Irish defiance of the British monarchy. However, research has shown that this quotation by Sheridan was first reported in 1952, some 24 years after his death.

Events

The 1908 Olympics also prompted establishment of standard rules for sports, and selection of judges from different countries rather than just the host. One reason was the 400 meter run in which the US winner was accused of interfering with the British runner. Part of the problem was the different definition of interference under British and US rules. The race was re-run, but the Americans refused to participate. The British runner, Wyndham Halswelle, won by running around the track on his own, because three of the four original runners had been American, the only walkover in Olympic history.

The most famous incident of the games came at the end of the marathon. The first to enter the stadium, Dorando Pietri of Italy, collapsed several times and ran the wrong way. Not far from the finish-line, two of the officials, Jack Andrew, the clerk of the course and Dr Michael Bulger of the Irish Amateur Athletic Association and the chief medical officer that day, went to his aid. Pietri eventually crossed the line in first place, but the runner-up, American Johnny Hayes of the Irish American Athletic Club protested, leading to Pietri's disqualification. Since he had not been responsible for his disqualification, Queen Alexandra awarded him a gilded silver cup the next day.

These Games were the first to include Winter events, as had originally been proposed for the Games. There were four figure skating events, although held on October 28 and 29, months after the other events.

Oscar Swahn from Sweden, who won the gold medal for running deer shooting, became the oldest Olympic champion of all time, and set another age record by being 72 years and 279 days old during his triumph at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.

American John Taylor was a member of the winning medley relay team, making him the first African-American athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.[8] Times for the winning team were United States (3:29.4): William Hamilton-200 metres (22.0), Nathaniel Cartmell-200 metres (22.2), John Taylor-400 metres (49.8), and Melvin Sheppard-800 metres (1:55.4).

Tragically, Taylor "died on December 2, 1908, after his return to the United States, much regretted by all who met him [there]."

The budget of the organising committee showed a cost of £15,000; over one-third was labeled "entertainment expense". Donations were the major source of revenue; only 28% of income derived from ticket sales. Total receipts of £21,377 resulted in organisers claiming a profit. Construction of the White City Stadium, which cost the government about £60,000, was not counted.

The medal of the 1908 British Olympic Council.

Sports

22 sports, representing 24 sporting disciplines, were contested. Swimming, diving and water polo are considered three disciplines of the same sport, aquatics. At the time, tug-of-war was part of athletics and the two different football codes (association and rugby (union)) were listed together. The International Olympic Committee now considers tug-of-war a separate sport, as well as referring to association football as simply "football" and to rugby union as "rugby".

Archery

Athletics

Boxing

Cycling

Diving

Fencing

Figure skating

Football Gymnastics

Field hockey

Jeu de paume

Lacrosse

Polo

Rackets

Rowing

Rugby union

Sailing

Shooting

Swimming

Tennis

Tug of war

Water motorsports

Water polo

Wrestling

Number of participating athletes per country

The 1908 Games featured athletes representing 22 National Olympic Committees. Finland, Turkey and New Zealand (as part of the team from Australasia) made their first appearance at the Olympic Games. The fact that the United Kingdom competed as a single team was upsetting to some Irish competitors, who felt that Ireland should compete on its own, despite being part of the UK at the time. Fearing an Irish boycott, the authorities changed the name of the team to Great Britain/Ireland, and in two sports, field hockey and polo, Ireland participated as a separate country, winning silver medals in both.[12] Irish athletes in the United States were not affected by this controversy, and many Irish born athletes competed for the U.S. Olympic team as members of the Irish American Athletic Club. Members of the Irish American Athletic Club won ten of the U.S. Olympic team's total 23 gold medals, or as many as the nations of France, Germany and Italy combined.

Argentina (1)

Australasia[13]

Austria

Belgium (88)

Bohemia

Canada (87)

Denmark (81)

Finland (67) [14]

France (363)

Germany (81)

Great Britain (676)

Greece (20)

Hungary (63)

Italy (68)

Netherlands[15]

Norway (69)

Russian Empire (6)

South Africa

Sweden

Switzerland

United States (122)