The 131th IOC Session in September in Lima is an ideal opportunity to direct our focus to the host country. In March, Perú was devastated by the destructive “El Nino” flood, but the Peruvians insisted the Session will go ahead and transmit a living message.
At first glance, the country appears to lie on the Olympic periphery, but in fact, a Peruvian did take part in the Paris Games of 1900. Since 1936 Peruvian teams have been sent to all Summer Games except 1952. Since 2010 they have also been at the Winter Games. Anyone who knows their history will be aware that marksman Edwin Vásquez Cam won Olympic gold for Perú in 1948. His story is in this edition.
The title story is however dedicated to the footballers of 1936. They were considered co-favourites. Their misfortune is little known today. In fact it does not reflect well on FIFA, the world football governing body. They ordered Perú to replay their game against Austria after the South Americans had won the match 4-2.
Many see the hand of Hitler in this move but that is a myth. Instead it was a resolution by FIFA which was described at the time as “fair”. Other people see it as an expression of European snobbery towards “exotic” nations. The decision provoked the departure of the Peruvian team from the Games and later from FIFA itself.
What else does this edition offer? There are two important birthdays to celebrate. A quartet of Finnish authors look again at the legendary Paavo Nurmi, who was born 120 years ago and today represents a marker for sports tourism. The Luxembourg ISOH member Pierre Gricius recalls his compatriot Josy Barthel, 1952 Olympic champion at 1500 m. He would have been 90 this year.
There are two contributions from the Netherlands. Rolf Bos spoke to 106 year old Mien Schopman-Klaver, who travelled to Los Angeles in 1932 as reserve for the 4×100 m relay. Henk Mees and Wim Zonneveld complete the picture of Dutch Olympic participation of 1900, a journey started by Tony Bijkerk.
Two Canadian PhD candidates, Taylor McKee and Brittany Reid, shine a light on hitherto unknown aspects of the Wenlock Olympian Games. They catch a glimpse of a climax of the British cultural interest in the ancient Greek society of the 19th century.
Christian Wacker describes the Ancient Games of Aktion, which he regards as a panhellenic mega-event, equivalent to the Games in Olympia.
Professor Hans Giessen tells the story of Saarland’s participation in 1952 in Helsinki, and how it was used to build a national identity. A French protectorate, the Saarland was then an autonomous state.
Collector Oleg Vorontsov focuses on the 1980 Moscow Games torch relay and reveals the difference between the “ordinary” torch and the 20 “special” models used for the ceremonies.
The regular features include our series of IOC biographies, obituaries and the latest in Olympic related books. There is also news of the ISOH Executive Committee meeting in Stockholm.
– Volker Kluge, Editor
Members of ISOH may view the digital version of this issue by clicking here.
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