Citizenship and the ancient Olympic Games

Daily practice shows that educators, teachers, and children find it interesting to jointly organize sports events and competitions that they call "small Olympics, athletic Olympics - in the world of competition and the like". For example, similar to this was the final event of preschoolers in the primary school "Mladost" from Belgrade in June 2023. It is interesting to emphasize that before the new era, the Olympiads represented a unit of measure of 4 years between two Olympic Games. The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Paris in 2024. This paper is intended, primarily for those who are interested in the Olympic Games as the largest sports competition in the world, which is held every four years. In this paper, all members of one family can find something interesting, both the youngest and the oldest. The purpose of this paper is to acquaint readers of different ages with the origin of the Olympic Games, both ancient (Olympia before the new era) and these modern (renewed) ones that were created inspired by the ancient Olympic Games. This paper can serve as a good starting point, primarily for educators, but also for teachers, for planning project and teaching activities on the topic of the Olympic Games, sports competitions, mythology, winter and summer sports, Paralympic competitions, various symbols that are dominant before some planetary events in the near future such as the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024, as well as nations, continents and cities that at least briefly unite the idea of the Olympic Games.

This study discusses the exclusion of women, slaves, and physically disabled individuals from the ancient Olympics, focusing on Goffman's theory of stigma. It also delves into how kalokagathia influenced beauty, athleticism, and virtue, reinforced hierarchies and stigmatized those who did not fit the idealized image. Overall, the study provides a comprehensive exploration of how ancient Greek ideals and societal structures stigmatized certain groups based on gender, social status, and physical ability. Femininity, slavery, and physical disability were the conspicuous stigmatized identities of ancient Greek societies. In ancient Greece, the concept of kalokagathia, intertwining physical beauty with moral and intellectual excellence, formed the basis of societal standards. This ideal, however, was exclusive, applying only to free men of good heritage, while women, slaves, and the physically disabled faced stigmatization based on physiognomic reasoning and body temperature distinctions. The stigma was based on physical deviations from the able-bodied male standard. The physiognomic concept hidden behind the ideal of kalokagathia reproduced the stigma. Body temperature played a significant role in shaping discriminatory practices, associating warmth with virtues and deeming the male body superior. Women were considered inferior due to their colder bodies, and slaves were viewed as cold and incapable, reinforcing social hierarchies. Women and slaves were excluded from athletic ideals because of their non-normative body temperatures, while the physically disabled were excluded due to their ugly/deformed bodies. The ancient Olympics showcased able-bodied men displaying their athletic arete. Women's visibility in the ancient Greek Olympics was only representative. Restricted from participating in public athletic events, women were also subject to strict prohibitions on competition in the ancient Olympic Games. Only in the chariot races were exceptions made for unmarried women. While Kyniska emerged as the first female Olympic champion in 396 BCE, opportunities for representative participation in the Olympic Games were limited to women of wealth and status. Sport in ancient Greece served as a means of distinguishing between free citizens and slaves. Slaves, the anonymous figures of the ancient Olympics, could only participate in horse and chariot races on behalf of their owners. Although some local festivals allowed slave participation in athletic activities, major events like the Olympic Games prohibited direct competition for slaves, emphasizing their exclusion. This stigma-based athletic exclusion made it impossible for slaves to represent themselves as competitors in the ancient Olympics. The physically disabled, on the other hand, were completely deprived of the opportunity to compete in the ancient Olympics; they could compete neither representatively nor anonymously. Discriminatory practices against the physically disabled, embedded in social structures reinforced by philosophical ideals, myths, religious stereotypes and sacrificial rituals, resulted in them remaining completely absent from the ancient Olympics.

Through analyzing on the number of media reports and main keywords about the unpopular sports events out of the Olympic formal games before and after the Olympic Games and identifying the causes of those unpopular games, this study aims to present the basic information for preparation of the measures on how to provide the national support to the unpopular sports games and to spread people’s awareness about those unpopular sports. In order to accomplish this goal, we analyzed the curling games which were not popular among the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games but have gained much awareness through the Olympic Games.BR The media reports were collected from Naver, Daum and Google(Facebook), through Textom and Bigkinds of the news information service sites, and analyzed them using R-program. We set PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games were established for the search period of curling games.BR As a result of the media analysis, 1855 articles from Bigkinds, 960 from Naver and 128 articles from Google were collected for curling before the Olympic Games(between Feb. 01, 2017 and Jan. 31, 2018), while 4088 from Bigkinds, 1000 from Naver and 167 articles from Google for curling were upgathered during the Olympic Games(from Feb. 01, 2018 to March 31, 2018). There has been steady competition and media coverage in case of popular games, and for the unpopular games, their popularity comes to rapidly increase by the help of various interest-inducing factors such as Olympic games or events.

As International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach emphasized at the IOC Session in Monaco in December 2014, one of the IOC’s central tasks is the appreciation of the Olympic values to stress the uniqueness of the Olympic Movement. This includes the value of athletic excellence. This paper illustrates how the significance of athletic excellence was already inherent in the Ancient Olympic Games, how it was understood by Pierre de Coubertin, and how the IOC encountered undermining processes of it. Importantly, it is also demonstrated that without a contemporary and strategic adaptation of the idea of ‘athletic excellence’ the Olympic Movement would have been significantly weakened throughout different time periods. Hence, the continuation of the central idea ‘athletic excellence’ has occurred parallel to its constant transformation.

The Olympic Games, as the world's largest sporting event, present significant logistical challenges for healthcare delivery, especially regarding emergency medical service (EMS) and emergency department (ED) preparedness. Evaluating their impact on emergency services supports better planning of future Olympic or other such events and helps align emergency healthcare provision with demand. Nevertheless, data on their real-world impact remain limited. The objective of this study is to assess whether the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games were associated with an increase in ED visits and EMS activity in the most exposed geographical areas. This retrospective, population-based study analyzed routinely collected administrative data from all EDs and EMS dispatch centers in the departments of Paris (75) and Seine-Saint-Denis (93), which hosted most Olympic venues. Weekly ED visits, EMS calls (SAMU), and physician-staffed mobile ICU (MICU) dispatches were extracted from January 2019 through December 2024. Pandemic years (2020-2021) were excluded. The primary outcome was the adjusted mean weekly number of ED visits during the core Olympic period (weeks 30-32). Secondary outcomes included call center activity and MICU dispatch volume. These were also analyzed during an extended period (weeks 27-35), encompassing the Paralympic Games. Data for 2019, 2022, and 2023 were standardized to 2024 levels using annual mean activity excluding Olympic weeks. Over 3.7 million ED visits were analyzed. During the core Olympic weeks, adjusted weekly ED visits were slightly lower in 2024 compared with previous years (-3.3%, -3.6%, and -0.9% vs 2019, 2022, and 2023 respectively). Conversely, EMS calls increased by approximately 10% and MICU dispatch activity by 5-8%. Mean patient age (47.4 years) remained stable, and no clinically meaningful differences were observed. The 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games were not associated with an increase in ED utilization but with a slight increase in EMS calls and MICU activity. This study offers a baseline reference for futures large-scale international events with mass gathering.

As a category, Developmental States (DS) in the world political economy express a distinctive set of ideological practices that give them specific incentives to host sporting mega-events. Asian DSs, or ‘late(r) developers’, in particular offer interesting case studies by which to explore the symbolic value such states attach to hosting Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and other major sporting events. This paper examines five Asian examples (Tokyo Olympic Games 1964, Seoul Olympic Games 1988, Beijing Olympic Games 2008, Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games 1998, and Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010) from the past half century which, despite their variations, illustrate the role of mega-event hosting among DSs and, specifically, the effect these events are intended to have in signalling conceptions of modernity and legitimacy to the international community and world society on behalf of their host cities/countries. Despite thenearly ubiquitous claims to economic growth and development, which accompany the bidding and preparation for major games, it is the symbolic representations of modernity and national ‘success’ that are most commonly pursued among this class of hosts.

One of the government programs to improve the quality of human resources through the Ministry of Education is to organize the National Science Olympiade (OSN). Therefore, every school are required to send their students to participate in the Olympics event. Before sending students will participate in the National Science Olympiad, the school has some selection process to choose the students who will participate in an Olympic event. From previous experience, the selection of participants randomly based on the best value in the capture of the semester students. It takes a long time in making decisions. In addition, frequent errors in determining the students who are competent in accordance with a field of science that they have mastered. Based on the problem above, designed decision support system that can help in decision-making. This system can provide convenience to the school at the time of selecting the students who will follow the Olympics, namely using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP).

The performances of Ukrainian athletes at the XXXII Olympic Games have been considered and analyzed. The analysis of studies aimed at investigating the problem of their preparation improvement has been performed. It is shown that the results demonstrated by the national team of Ukraine at the XXXII Olympic Games are presentable for the conditions in which Ukraine now lives. It is noted that today the system of development of the Olympic sports events in Ukraine is not optimal. There is an apparent shortage of modern training centers, inefficient budgetary and extrabudgetary funding, imperfection of statutory and regulatory, and organizational and managerial, scientific and methodological, medical, informational, and staffing support. Therefore, the strategy for the development of the Olympic sports events in the modern conditions of development of Ukraine necessitates the formation and scientific substantiation of conceptual bases for the successful dynamic development of the Olympic sports events. To assess the current state of functioning and development of the Olympic sports events, a PEST- analysis was conducted on fencing material. It is established that in the group of politico-legal factors the most significant is legislative support for the development of sports events in Ukraine; in the group of economic factors - financing and logistics of sports schools; in the social group - the level of coaching and teaching staff and working conditions in sports schools; in the group of technological factors - innovative technologies and their impact on fencing development. The results of the study indicate that fencing development is hampered by several macro-environmental factors and conditions that require certain reforms. As our study shows, the process of functioning and development of the Olympic sports events in modern conditions requires the formation of brand new economic foundations and the search for new organizational and legal forms of their functioning. In our opinion, this is a transition from the extensive model of sports event development, which is used in Ukraine today, to an innovative one. Thus, to ensure further capturing award-winning places at the Olympic Games, a model of innovative development of the Olympic sports events based on a strategic partnership between the state, public sports organizations, science, education, and business should be developed.

Marginalisation and exclusion of women in elite boxing has emerged as a substantial international problem, threatening women’s democratic right to equal participation in sport. Since the London 2012 Olympic Games women’s boxing has been an Olympic event. However, only 3 of the 10 weight categories were included in the Olympic programme for women. Today, male boxers compete in 10 out of 10 possible weight categories. While female boxers have gained accessed to a previously closed realm, discrimination, exclusion and unequal treatment of female athletes remains a widespread problem in international elite boxing. This article explores how the introduction of women’s boxing into the Olympic Games involves practices of inclusion and exclusion in elite boxing. In particular, this analysis focuses on the following two research questions: (a) how practices of social exclusion and inclusion affect the involvement and engagement of women in boxing; and (b) how, and in what ways, female boxers have experienced recognition and acceptance in elite boxing after the introduction of women’s boxing into the Olympic Games. Using a qualitative approach including document analysis of official press releases from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (AIBA), as well as interviews with athletes and coaches, this study reveals that although women’s boxing has gained access to the Olympics, the structural and cultural changes that comprise the social inclusion of women in boxing are yet to be implemented.

Grint's model of leadership is used in this article to extend discussion of how problems are responded to prior to, during, and after sport mega-events. The purpose of this study is to understand the types of authority associated with the three types of problems: tame, wicked, and critical, prior to, during, and after Olympic Games. A quantitative methods approach was used to gather the data. Three hundred and eighty-seven surveys were completed prior to, during, and after the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. Data were analyzed using SPSS. The results revealed that three types of authority: management, leadership, and command are needed prior to and during Olympic Games, while only management and leadership are needed after Olympic Games. More importantly, unlike prior to or after an Olympic Games, each authority type can be used to solve more than one type of problem during an Olympic Games. Practical implications of the findings are discussed, together with limitations and ideas for future research.

Preface Introduction The Ancient Olympic Games through the Centuries Politics & the Bronze Age Origins of Olympic Practices Pindar, Heracles the Idaean Dactyl, & the Foundation of the Olympic Games The First Olympic Games The Transformation of Athletics in Sixth-Century Greece The Ancient Olympics & Their Ideals Olympic Losers: Why Athletes Who Did Not Win at Olympia Are Remembered Judges & Judging at the Ancient Olympic Games Heroic & Athletic Sortition at Ancient Olympia Fabulous Females & Ancient Olympia The Halma: A Running or Standing Jump? Connections between Olympia & Stymphalus Commemorative Cash: The Coins of the Ancient & Modern Olympics The Olympic Games in Modern Times Duke Kahanamoku -- Olympic Champion & Uncle Sam's Adopted Son: The Cultural Text of a Hawaiian Conqueror Carl Diem's Inspiration for the Torch Relay? Jan Wils, Amsterdam 1928, & the Origin of the Olympic Flame The Great Progression: A Content Analysis of the Lake Placid News & the Los Angeles Times' Treatment of the 1932 Olympics Womanizing Olympic Athletes: Policy & Practice during the Avery Brundage Era The Bridge to Change: The 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, South African Apartheid Policy, & the Olympic Boycott Paradigm Splitting Hairs: The Struggle between the Canadian Federal Government & the Organizing Committee of 1976 Torontolympiad Concerning South African Participation Juan Antonio Samaranch's Score Sheet: Revenue Generation & the Olympic Movement, 1980-2001 Olympic Ideals: Pragmatic Method & the Future of the Games To Construct a Better & More Peaceful World, or War Minus the Shooting?: The Olympic Movement's Second Century Index.

Os Jogos Olímpicos da Era Moderna foram recriados por Pierre de Coubertin e tiveram sua primeira edição no ano de 1896. Respeitando o calendário grego, no qual foi espelhado, os Jogos de Olímpicos de Verão realizam-se de quatro em quatro anos, período de uma Olimpíada, e atravessaram o século XX sofrendo de perto toda intensa dinâmica de um momento histórico marcado por profundos conflitos sociais de ordem mundial. A partir da análise desses momentos, é possível observar as transformações vividas pelo Movimento Olímpico. A partir de então, pretende-se nesse artigo discutir e caracterizar esses momentos históricos propondo uma periodização para os Jogos Olímpicos. Intenta-se com isso criar parâmetros de análise para os acontecimentos olímpicos a partir de seu contexto histórico-social

The COVID-19 outbreak had succeeded in making the holding of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games postponed. This became heartbreaking news when Japan was almost ready to host the 32nd Olympic Games. This was the second in Japan during the Olympic Games, which was held in the 1940 Olympic Games but had to be canceled because Japan was still at war with China since 1937. This research aims to find out the discourse of the Japanese government on 2020 Olympic Games in the mid of COVID-19 outbreak after postponed. The method used in this research is the analysis of van Dijk's critical discourse on online news in japantimes.co.jp after the implementation of the tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was finally announced on March 24, 2020 to be postponed. The findings in this study are that during the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games the Japanese government tried to use the time to stabilize economic conditions in the midst of the 19th COVID outbreak and use the time to make the Tokyo Olympic Games become the greatest Olympic Games event of all time.Keywords: Olympic Games 2020; Discourse; Japanese Government; COVID-19; Postponed.

This study aimed to reanalyze Olympism as a so-called “philosophy” of life underlying the modern Olympic games, which is inspired by the ancient Olympic games in relation to ancient Olympic games and ancient Greek ideals, especially aretē. It is a fact that Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of modern Olympic games has presented Olympism as a “philosophy” of life, an ideal, and an idea, and projected to implement it through the Olympic movement and also Olympic games. Even if, in the literature, Olympism and Olympic values have been criticized from time to time, it has been frequently mentioned that Olympism has been inspired by the ancient Greek culture. Here, the word “aretē” distinguishes itself with various usages alongside words such as “kalos kagathos” and “kalakagathia.” Although the word aretē in Greek culture has been used in different meanings in different times, it has been generally used as a synonym for excellence or virtue. Then, we may say that this word refers to the Olympic games and Olympic athletes who have been projected as an embodiment of the Olympism ideal. It has been found that the Olympic literature defines such an ideal human as “kalos kagathos,” which means “good and beautiful.” However, this word which has more of an aristocratic meaning is not enough by itself. Therefore, in the studies of modern Olympic games and Olympism in relation to ancient Greece and ancient Olympics, it is important to mention who used it and when. In this study, the word aretē is examined from different resources and, in this sense, this study has tried to encourage new ways for revisiting Olympism. Cite this article as: Filiz, N. Olympism Revisited in Relation to the Word Aretē in Ancient Greek Culture. Research in Sports Science 2020, 10(2); 58-63.

The purpose of this study is to suggest practical ways for achieving gender equality at olympic games advocated in Olympic Agenda 2020. To achieve this purpose, the secondary sources such as articles, photos from IOC homepage and newspapers were analyzed Sexual discrimination in the Olympic games has existed since the Ancient Olympic games. Even in the modern Olympic games which were revived by Coubertin(1863-1937) in 1886, women were thoroughly excluded by his prejudice of the cultural ideology and nationalism. Afterward, the social advancement of the woman and the growth of interest on woman sport gradually increased the female events and the participation rate in the Olympic games. Eventually, in the London 2012 Olympics female athletes took part in every event and all of the participating countries made female athletes go out for the games so was given the estimation that they achieved the gender equality. Nevertheless, the application of the Islamic faith that cannot be accepted even in the Olympics on female athletes in Islamic countries were criticized by various women’s organizations, and the female athletes of Islamic countries who played in the Olympics for the first time were negatively evaluated by their own countries. Furthermore, the female olympic athletes were regarded by male-centered fixed frame and it was shown that the perception on the female athletes participating in the Olympics was still discriminative. In conclusions, to fulfill the genuine gender equality in the Olympics, the change of the fixed sexist view on the woman sport should be put on any other thing. Also, the genuine gender equality in the Olympics will be applied to winter sports or disabled sports.