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Welcome to the issue Volker Kluge Editor It is four years since we decided to produce the Journal triple jump became the “Brazilian” discipline. History of Olympic History in colour. Today it is scarcely possible and actuality at the same time: Toby Rider has written to imagine it otherwise. The pleasing development of about the first, though unsuccessful, attempt to create ISOH is reflected in the Journal which is now sent to 206 an Olympic team of refugees, and Erik Eggers, who countries. accompanied Brazil’s women’s handball team, dares to That is especially thanks to our authors and the small look ahead. team which takes pains to ensure that this publication Two years ago Myles Garcia researched the fate of can appear. As editor I would like to give heartfelt the Winter Olympic cauldrons. In this edition he turns thanks to all involved. his attention to the Summer Games. Others have also It is obvious that the new edition is heavily influenced contributed to this piece. by the Olympic Games in Rio. Anyone who previously Again there are some anniversaries. Eighty years ago believed that Brazilian sports history can be reduced the Games of the XI Olympiad took place in Berlin, to to football will have to think again. The Olympic line of which the Dutch water polo player Hans Maier looks ancestry begins as early as 1905, when the IOC presented back with mixed feelings. The centenarian is one of the the flight pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont with one of few surviving participants. the first four Olympic Diplomas. Professor Lamartine The German Hans Günter Winkler, the most successful DaCosta and Ana Miragaya have written the history of showjumper in the world, celebrates his 90th birthday. their compatriot. The first two of his five gold medals he won 60 years Our RIO SPECIAL offers even more. Ana Miragaya ago at the Olympic Equestrian Games in Stockholm, has written about the Brazilian Olympic idol Maria which are also remembered by an article by Franz Josef Lenk. Marcia Neto-Wacker and Christian Wacker have Bomert. researched the reasons for the failure of the Olympic bid In addition this edition contains Part 21 of the IOC by Rio planned for 1936. Members series, obituaries for famous Olympians – Janice Zarpellon Mazo and Alice Beatriz Assmann among them Muhammad Ali – as well as reviews of show by the example of the athlete Willy Seewald how recently published books. it was necessary to improvise to be able to represent To this edition we join the wish to tune in to Rio 2016 Brazil. and to convey background knowledge about the first That changed however with the start of the 1950s Olympic Games in South America. We hope they will be and the emergence of Adhemar da Silva, whereby the peaceful and fair. ISOH Executive Committee | 2012-2016 President David Wallechinsky (USA) Vice-President Dr. Christian Wacker (GER) Secretary-General Anthony Th. Bijkerk (NED) Treasurer John Grasso (USA) Members Philip Barker (GBR) Secretary-General Anthony Th. Bijkerk Dr. Kostas Georgiadis (GRE) Vogelrijd 16 Volker Kluge (GER) 8428 HJ Fochteloo Leif Yttergren (SWE) The Netherlands Phone: +31-516-588520 on behalf of the IOC Richard W. Pound (CAN) Fax: +31-516-588260 ex-officio Dr. Bill Mallon (USA) E-mail: [email protected] JOH 2 | 2016 1 Message from the President David Wallechinsky ISOH President In recent months, the Olympic Movement has been dealing with athletes who are not represented by a rocked by major doping scandals and by serious national team. After First World War, the leadership allegations of bribery related to the voting for host of the IOC – over the objection of Baron Pierre de cities. What is most disheartening about these troubles Coubertin – barred athletes from Germany, Austria, is that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey from competing at the actually stepped up its battles against doping and 1920 Antwerp Games. The same prohibition was applied corruption, and yet the revelations on both fronts are in 1948 to athletes from Germany and Japan following at least as bad as those during previous eras in Olympic the conclusion of Second World War. history. The IOC responded to the racist policies of the white Between 1965 and 1989, a government-sponsored minority government of South Africa by banning its doping programme in East Germany fed prohibited athletes from Olympic participation from 1964 through steroids to thousands of athletes. It was hoped that 1988. Meanwhile, in 1976, a number of African nations the exposure of the East German programme would staged a last-minute boycott of the Montreal Games put an end to governments trying to win Olympic because New Zealand’s rugby team had played several medals by cheating the system. But just 25 years later, matches in South Africa. There was also one non-African it would appear that in Russia, government-backed government that supported the boycott: Guyana. One sports officials, acting with a sense of impunity, went to of the athletes from Guyana, sprinter James Gilkes, extraordinary lengths to break the rules in order to win asked to be allowed to compete as an independent as many medals as possible. Of course it is troublesome participant. The IOC rejected his request. that a large number of athletes in a variety of other In 1992, the IOC faced a new situation: the United countries have also been engaged in drug cheating, Nations (UN) had imposed sanctions against the but the coordinated violations in Russia are particularly government of Yugoslavia and the IOC wanted to disturbing. support the UN. But by this time, members of the IOC As for bribery, after the 1998-1999 purge of IOC leadership were beginning to question whether it Members who were found to have sold their votes was really in keeping with the Olympic spirit to punish in the election of the host city for the 2002 Olympic athletes for the policies taken by their governments. Winter Games, the IOC initiated a series of reforms that So a compromise was reached that banned Yugoslavia were intended to eliminate vote-selling. Yet only 17 from taking part in team sports, but allowed individual years later, large payments to “consultants” are being Yugoslavian athletes to compete under the banner of investigated regarding the selection of Tokyo to host the the Olympic flag. 2020 Summer Games. Now, 24 years later, the IOC has evolved in favour of With all of this negative coverage, it is frustrating for inclusion. In one case, the National Olympic Committee those of us who find enduring positive values in the of Kuwait has been suspended because of undue study of Olympic history. Those values are clear: the government interference, but Kuwaiti athletes were striving for excellence, the coming together of athletes eligible to compete in the Rio Games … under the and others from around the world, athletes viewing Olympic flag. In addition, the IOC sought to address the their opponents as adversaries rather than enemies fact that more than 10 million people, displaced by war and much more. As the Olympic Charter emphasizes, and poverty, are stateless. It created a Refugee Olympic “Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy Team, consisting of six men and four women. Five of the of effort, the educational value of good example, social athletes fled South Sudan, two Syria, two the Democratic responsibility and respect for universal fundamental Republic of Congo and one Ethiopia. It would be nice to ethical principles.” think that the need to have a Refugee Olympic Team is a One of this year’s positive changes is the inclusion one-time event, but, unfortunately, given the situation at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics of a 10-member team in these four countries and many more, it is more realistic of stateless refugees. The IOC has come a long way in to expect to see such teams in many Olympics to come. 2 Message from the Secretary-General Anthony Th. Bijkerk ISOH Secretary-General This is my last Message as Secretary-General to all ISOH However, owing to personal circumstances, I had to members. Once again, unfortunately, I have to start this stop my editorial duties and hand them over to Stephan Message with sad news: ISOH again lost two members Wassong at the end of 2002. There was a brief interval over the last couple of months. They are our Finnish when Stephen Harris took the reins. member Markku Siukonen and our Dutch member Jaco During the last twenty years the ISOH membership A. Treurniet. Vesa Tikander from the Olympic Library has more than doubled! From about 190 in 1996 to the in Helsinki wrote a short biography about Markku current 450 plus members in 54 countries, and as you Siukonen and I did the same for Jaco Treurniet. will see at the end of this Journal, International Society After twenty years, I have decided to step down as of Olympic Historians is still growing. Secretary-General, as it is time to hand the work over However, one thing has always bothered me: why to a younger person. I had the honour to serve with four people “forget” to pay for their membership! Again, ISOH Presidents: Ian Buchanan (1991-2000); Bill Mallon the Executive Committee this year had to delete a few (2000-2004); Karl Lennartz (2004-2012) and David members, who had not paid their dues for more than Wallechinsky (2012-2016). three years. This is unfortunate and is always a topic on During those twenty years I have had the opportunity the agenda of the Executive Committee.