The Olympic Games are a multisport athletic competition held every four years where athletes from around the world compete at the highest level in their discipline.
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The 1996 US Women’s Basketball Team went 60-0 on their gold medal run and is considered one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled. The ESPN documentary “30 for 30: Dream On” examines the team’s 14-month journey, which changed the landscape of women’s sports. WNYC’s Alison Stewart interviews Director Kristen Lappas and Dream Team member Carla McGhee about their experience.
In 1936, the first year the Olympics featured basketball, the US squad featured players from two companies: an oil refinery in Kansas and Universal Pictures in Hollywood.
This chart explores the total number of tickets sold to Summer Olympic sporting events versus the number of tickets available. The article sources the data from the International Olympic Committee website and goes back to the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Data for the 2024 Paris Games is projected.
The 1936 Berlin Games were the first to use a torch relay to light the Olympic cauldron. In each Olympics Games afterwards, the host country designed a new set of torches. See what each torch looked like, the start and end date of the relay, the number of torches produced, what type of fuel was used, and view a map of the route.
The Olympic Games have evolved from a sacred footrace in 776 BCE honoring Zeus to a global celebration of athletic excellence and unity. Ancient Greek city-states set aside their conflicts under a sacred truce for events like wrestling and chariot racing. Though the Games ended in 393 CE, Pierre de Coubertin revived them in 1896, adding modern elements like the torch relay and the inclusion of women. Over time, the Olympics expanded with Winter and Paralympic Games and became a worldwide phenomenon through television broadcasts. Today, they stand as a testament to resilience, unity, and the enduring Olympic spirit.
The 1992 Olympics is often regarded as Barcelona’s grand re-introduction to the world stage. Just 17 years after emerging from Francisco Frano’s dictatorship, the coastal city held the summer games. Neighborhoods, transportation systems, and public spaces were redeveloped as sporting venues were built. These infrastructure upgrades – and its performance as a host – helped propel Barcelona to become the tourist destination it is today, according to this article, which also contains a full-length version of the opening ceremony.
The ancient Olympics came to an end in 393 AD, and most historians point to Christian Roman emperor Theodosius I’s ban on celebrating pagan festivals. But this article explores an alternative theory: a bad economy. The writers cite the Theodosian Code, which makes no mention of the Olympics at all, and multiple records mentioning the Olympics after Theodosius’ death.
Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, the founder of the Paralympic movement, revolutionized spinal injury treatment. His belief in the power of sports for rehabilitation led to the creation of the Paralympic Games, now celebrated every Olympic year. This in-depth article from The History Press details the life and achievements of Dr. Guttmann, and includes historical photos and videos of the veterans-turned-athletes whose lives he changed.
When American athlete Jesse Owens hit the long jump pit with a gold medal distance of 26 ft, 5 inches, his competitor, German athlete Luz Long, was the first to embrace the new Olympic champion. Read Owens first-person account of how Long helped get him to the finals, and how that hug cemented a friendship that lasted until Luz died in WWII.
For over 120 years the modern Olympics has given us dozens of iconic, breathtaking, and historic moments. This Men’s Health list walks through a century of the Summer and Winter Games' greatest moments. These 44 images start in black and white with Jesse Owens' four gold medal performance in 1936 Nazi-occupied Germany, and move through the classic NBC-delivered iconic Olympic moments of the 1990s and 2000s.
Art, music, sports, entertainment, movies, and many other subjects—these elements define who we are as a society and how we express ourselves as a culture. Take a deep dive into the topics shaping our shared norms, values, institutions, and more.