On occasion of the 50th anniversary we remember anew the Olympic Games of 1968 in Mexico City, which was not just about the ‘Black Power’ demonstration and the 8.90m leap of Bob Beamon. There were many other outstanding athletes and many of these are featured in this edition.
Beyond that these were Games that fell in an eventful time. The proposal made at the IOC Session to abolish all flags and anthems proved to be an unsustainable way to seek to keep politics out of sport.
As far as culture was concerned, Mexico’68 set new standards. For that reason these Games are also in the centre of the exhibition OLYMPIC LANGUAGE, which at present is to be seen in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. The curator was ISOH General Secretary Markus Osterwalder, who from his own experience describes the story of its origins.
Another anniversary was celebrated in London. There 70 years ago – in 1948 – the Olympics took place, which entered history as the ‘Austerity Games’. The gold medal in the 100 m was won by the American Harrison Dillard, who is now 95, so that he is at present the oldest living male Olympic champion.
The theme of 1948 in Gunnar Meinhardt’s interview is continued in Stan Greenberg’s personal recollections. He was 17 at the time and his interest in sport and particularly athletics was awakened by the events at Wembley. As a reporter and author he experienced eight more Olympic Games and numerous championships.
For the sake of sustainability there are also other contributions. Peter Evans concerns himself with the question of what became of the promises of London when the city was allocated the Games of 2012. His answer is positive. What he however calls for are mandatory agreements in the Host City Contract, so that the effects also benefit the socially weak.
Tony Sainsbury was head of the 2012 Olympic Village. He was also significantly involved with the development of the Paralympics. He sees the origin of this success story in Arnhem in the Netherlands in 1980 and the subsequent sustainable help of the IOC.
As far as legacy is concerned, Athens 1896 is indeed unbeatable. Wilhelm Schmitz, a 20 year old merchant who would today be described as a volunteer. With other members of the Philadelphia Association, he looked after the German participants, and at the opening of the Games he sang the Olympic hymn. Besides he kept the handwritten music which Dietrich Quanz found in his estate.
Art is also the subject of the contribution by Pierre Gricius, who researched the biography and work of the painter Jean Jacoby of Luxembourg. He was the only person to win two Olympic gold medals for art.
With this edition the 26th year of the Journal of Olympic History is complete. The editorial team
thanks the authors and the readers for their faithfulness. Season’s Greetings and all the best for 2019.
– Volker Kluge, Editor
Members of ISOH may view the digital version of this issue by clicking here.
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