The world has changed since the last edition of the Journal. Our fears have become reality as the spread of COVID-19 has forced the IOC and Japanese organisers to postpone the Tokyo Olympics by a year. This was a decision unique in Olympic history. The Games are now scheduled to take place from 23rd July to 8th August 2021.
The situation has eased somewhat in certain areas, enabling people to regain much of their freedom of movement. Unfortunately, this is not the case on all continents. Although the first wave is not yet over, people are already concerned about the dangers of a second. Nevertheless, it would be pure speculation to suggest that the Olympic Games might yet be completely cancelled. It is however, impossible to predict what things will be like in a month, let alone in a year.
A greater degree of objectivity would help. To sound an optimistic note, let us look back to the example of Berlin 1916. When the Games were cancelled as a result of the Great War, there were few who imagined that the next Olympics would take place in 1920, only two years after the armistice. It was virtually a miracle that Belgium, the nation which had suffered most, agreed to be the host.
The 100th anniversary of those Games would be reason enough to honour this achievement. Yet the 1920 Games in Antwerp add resonance because they were also overshadowed by a pandemic that claimed more lives than the First World War. And still, the Games went ahead. This should encourage us as we take on and cope with an epochal challenge such as the coronavirus crisis.
This also applies to another problem which appears impossible to resolve. In the second part of his series on the complex history of Palestinian and Israeli sport, San Charles Haddad examines the secret relationship between Nazi Germany and the Jerusalem YMCA around the time of the 1936 Olympic Games.
David Wallechinsky concludes (for now) his survey of the history of Olympic film by examining the decade from 1998 to 2018. It is a story that will surely be resumed in the future!
The question of national identity is a major theme for Luke Harris as he considers the participation of Scots in the 1908 Great Britain team. It caused what he believes was an unavoidable friction, one that is set to continue for the foreseeable future.
This summer also marks the 60th anniversary of the Rome Olympics. In the first of a two-part series, Pasquale Polo and Elmer Sterken provide the historical context to the Rome Olympiad.
What else do we have to offer? Olympic news, part 33 of our series of IOC Members’ biographies, obituaries of medallists who have died, and reviews of new publications. Bill Mallon and OlyMADMen have published the full results of the 1908 gymnastics competition for the first time, so another statistical gap has now been filled.
On page 5, you will also find a word about “Coronavirus and Your Journal”.
– Volker Kluge, Editor
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