COVID-19 has changed the world. People have learned to deal with it, although there is no end in sight to the pandemic. The ISOH has also been forced to face this challenge. Since the printed edition of the Journal cannot be sent to all countries, we have decided to make the new edition available without restriction to all interested parties.
In agreement with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee decided on extensive measures to secure the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, postponed to 2021. The Journal will continue to closely monitor these developments.
In this issue, IOC Doyen Richard W. Pound begins a series on the history of Olympic television. His first article examines the topic from its beginnings to the 1960 Rome Games, which were broadcast worldwide for the first time.
The focus of this issue is once again the 60th Anniversary of the Rome Games. Pasquale Polo and Elmer Sterken concentrate on the sporting results. Ian Jobling writes about the spectacular 100 m freestyle duel between the Australian John Devitt and challenger Lance Larson from the USA. Although the electronic timers indicated that Larson had won, the judges ruled in favour of Devitt.
There was no such doubt on the Bay of Naples, where Crown Prince Constantine helmed the Greek boat to victory in the Dragon class. Philip Barker looks back on the victory by a man who later became King of the Hellenes.
African American Lee Calhoun also had a struggle on his hands – and not just with high hurdles, but with the officials. After his 1956 gold medal, he appeared on a television game show. Because his wife accepted its gifts, Calhoun was suspended for violating amateur rules. This was eventually rescinded in time for him to win a second Olympic gold in 1960.
San Charles Haddad has been doing pioneering work for quite some time with his research into an age-old conflict. This time, he investigates the role of the Nazi Party in Palestine, the Jerusalem YMCA, and Attallah Kidess in connection with the 1936 Berlin Games.
From Christian Wacker we learn that the IOC first presented itself in 1911 in Dresden at the International Hygiene Exhibition. The fact that the sports competitions were grandly described by the organisers as “Olympic Games” was accepted without argument.
November, in which this issue is published, is considered a “quiet month” in many countries in the northern hemisphere. It is often also the month for commemorating those lost in war. That’s why we take the 75th anniversary of the end of WW II as an opportunity to remember at least 480 Olympians who lost their lives in the conflict. But not all were victims; some were also perpetrators.
What else is on offer? The IOC Members’ biography series continues. We mourn Olympic legends, review the Olympic book market, and highlight Olympic news.
– Volker Kluge, Editor
Members of ISOH may view digital versions of all issues by clicking here.
There are no comments published yet.