Olympic Games Research Articles

“The Idea of Sports is Pure and Noble”: Internationalism, Zionism and the Formation of a Global Universal Language

Bridging the gap between international history, which often sees modern sport’s ideals as mere background noise masking economic or political motives, and philosophical and theoretical perspectives, which delve into the aesthetic appeal of sports, this article focuses on the interplay between the universal, ethical, and the spectacle of sports within Hebrew Culture in Palestine. Against the backdrop of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, the globalization of sports during the interwar period, and the emergence of FIFA and the IOC, it illustrates the growing influence of universal sports ideals within Zionist ultra-national revolutionary culture. By reassessing the mechanisms behind one of the most significant international phenomena of the twentieth century, and exploring the origins of inherent connection between physical activity, mega sporting events, and pseudo-religious discourse, this article offers a nuanced discussion on internationalism and globalization, particularly pertinent in our contemporary era, highlighted by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and ongoing debates surrounding human rights violations in the name of sports.

Evolution of Commercials Featuring Para Athletes: From Friend Next Door to Equal Sports Stars

This article analyses how Para athletes were presented in audiovisual commercials by companies that supported the Olympic or Paralympic Games. We focused on the framing of (dis)ability in commercials available on YouTube (2008-2021). The evolution in Para athletes’ presentation can be tracked in identified frames. The traditional defensive and supercrip frames have persisted, though less noticeably than in the past. Defensive framing accentuates the hard work and tough training of Paralympians. Its subframe, supercrip or cyborg framing, challenges the notion of disability and highlights the courage of Paralympians. One newly identified frame was the equality frame, when advertisements present Paralympians as equals living ordinary lives as able-bodied people. The portrayal of Paralympians in advertisements has evolved and corresponds with the companies’ missions and campaigns’ claims.

Environmental changes and the first Olympic Winter Games. Infrastructure projects for ‘Chamonix 1924’

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the infrastructure projects undertaken for the event initially known as the Semaine des sports d’hiver, which took place in Chamonix, France, from 25 January to 4 February 1924 and was later recognized as the first Winter Olympics. Although the already famous resort town was able to use its existing hotels to accommodate visitors and athletes, it also made a considerable investment in the construction of new sports infrastructure. Following an agreement signed just 9 months before the Games, these facilities included a large ice rink, a bobsleigh run and a ski jump. The project was entrusted to the Ponts et Chaussées engineers, who encouraged local firms to help with the construction. Archival analysis will be used to examine the relationship between the project and the changing environment. Our aim is to show how the work in Chamonix modified the environment by exploiting certain natural elements (e.g. water, soil and forests) and, conversely, how the natural (in particular, the geological and climatic) and historical (notably land ownership) components of the environment affected the execution of these works.

Player Winning Probability Model (PWPM): A Review

The Olympic Games are an international event and a source of pride for all countries. With over 200 countries participating in the Olympic Games, it is an international sporting event. The Olympic Games stand as a pinnacle of athletic achievement and global unity, showcasing the finest talents from diverse nations across numerous sporting disciplines. In this review we used machine Learning Algorithms to do prediction on Olympic medal and applying various tools and techniques for Data Analysis using historical data. The process involves Data Collection, Data Cleaning, Data Processing, Exploratory Data Analysis and Medal Prediction. The main objective of this work is to study the complete set of Olympic data to discover pattern and relationship between variables using analysis of data to assess how the Olympic Games changed over time and to do prediction on medals. In this work a PWP model has been proposed in which the Random Forest classifier algorithm has been selected for the classification of player winning probability with accuracy of 70.223325%.

Ukrainians in Italy fight for ukraine’s participation in the Olympic Games

The article analyzes archival funds and primary sources to establish the peculiarities of the activities of the Ukrainian diaspora in Italy on the eve of the 1960 Olympic Games. Correspondence between Osip Zinkevich and Vasyl Fedorovych regarding the participation of Ukrainian athletes separately from the USSR in the Olympic Games in Rome was revealed. It was found that the Ukrainian Olympic Committee was active on the eve and during the Olympic Games, distributing memorandums to the International Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees, International Sports Federations, etc., printing newsletters, opening an information bureau in Rome.
 The activities of the information bureau of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee contributed to the distribution in Ukrainian and English of the newsletter «For the participation of Ukraine in the Olympic Games», the organization of a press conference in Rome for the foreign press, the organization of an exhibition of Ukrainian publications in the countries of the free world, the establishment of contacts with Ukrainian (Soviet) athletes , re-presenting the issue of Ukraine's participation in the Olympic Games at the Rome session of the IOC, promoting the Olympic idea among the Ukrainian community in Ukraine and abroad, publishing the book «Ukrainian Olympic Champions» in English. The idea of local participation of the Ukrainian team in the Olympic Games has little global support.

The philosophy of modern olympism through the eyes of Ukrainian and American athletes

Many scientists in the field of history of physical culture, sports and the Olympic movement are concerned with the philosophy of modern Olympism and its main principles. The article focuses on the fact that the foundations of modern Olympism were laid at the end of the 19th century by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the initiator of the revival of the Olympic Games. It was he who first proposed the philosophical doctrine of Olympism, based on universal moral principles. Pierre de Coubertin believed that Olympism was due to his humanistic potential combines sport with culture and education, serves as a worldview and axiological basis for the upbringing of the younger generation. Ancient Greek philosophers understood that physical perfection, strength and health only in combination with spiritual and moral qualities and education through exercises and competitions formed a perfect personality. Pierre de Coubertin, having drawn inspiration from the Ancient Olympic Games and the principles of the Greek education system, was convinced that the philosophy that created Greek culture can serve the development of modern humanity. Today, Olympism has the status of universal value and is an important factor of culture in general and sports culture in particular. But, as it turned out, athletes on different continents perceive the philosophy of modern Olympism in different ways. Pole dance, a relatively new sport that is rapidly developing and gaining popularity all over the world, particularly in Ukraine, was chosen for the study. The impetus for the study was the fact that Cathy Coates, the founder of the international Pole dance federation, together with supporters of this bright sport, are fighting for it to be included in the Olympic Games program. As a result of the analysis of the extended guide interview of 14 Ukrainian and 16 American athletes, it became clear that their opinions regarding the philosophy of modern Olympism were divided. This is how Ukrainian sportswomen claim that the philosophy of modern Olympism glorifies and unites into a harmonious whole the highest qualities of spirit, will, soul, mind and body, forms respect for universal fundamental ethical principles and puts sport at the service of harmonious human development. American athletes think somewhat differently: they partially agree with the quotes philosophy of modern Olympism, but believe that it has many flaws that need to be corrected (doping, politicization and illegal betting).

Telecasting Tokyo to a Locked Down Nation: Australian Broadcast Coverage of the 2020 Olympic Summer Games

Telecasting Tokyo to a Locked Down Nation: Australian Broadcast Coverage of the 2020 Olympic Summer Games

The Olympic gap: planning and politics of the Helsinki Olympics

ABSTRACT The Olympic Games of 1940 were due to be organized in Tokyo, Japan, but because of the Sino-Japanese war, the event was hastily re-scheduled to be organized in Helsinki, Finland. The Second World War however interrupted the preparations. Instead of 1940, the Games were organized in Helsinki in 1952. It thus became necessary to prepare twice for the same event. During the 12 years that had passed, the political situation had become significantly different, while also views concerning architecture and urban planning had changed. The postponed Helsinki Olympics represent an intriguing case in the history of Olympic Games, that has remained relatively little researched. This paper proposes that this 12-year ‘Olympic gap’ brings to view on one hand the need to prepare twice, and on the other hand, the processual, slow nature of building and planning, which continued almost uninterrupted. A close reading of period newspaper articles, history of urban planning and architecture, as well as studies of the Olympic Games reveals tensions between architecture, planning, and politics on local, national, and international level, as they unravel in the context of preparing for the Helsinki Olympics.

How hosting a mega-event changes the emotional connection of spectators with destination brands: brand personality of the Olympics and South Korea

ABSTRACT This study examines the legacy of hosting a mega-event through the brand personality of the host nation and mega-event, using a longitudinal approach. Specifically, we investigated how spectator perceptions of the brand personality of South Korea and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games changed over time - before (T1), during (T2), and after the event (T3). The findings showed that the components of excitement, competence, and ruggedness in South Korea increased during the event (T2), but the traits of excitement and ruggedness were not sustained after the event (T3).

Olympism and role of Olympic Values in Sport

The Olympic Movement is one of the most amazing phenomena in the history of mankind. Olympism and the Olympic Movement strongly promote ethics, values, education, excellence, fair play and cultural understanding among people. Olympic games represent the largest sports festival in the world where the athletes get an opportunity to meet and compete with athletes form all over the world. Only a small number of people in the world become Olympians, but every person can enjoy the benefits of being physically active. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seek to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the education value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethic principles. Sport is the most effective tool that promotes education, health, peace, gender equality and violence prevention. In addition, it is globally valued as an excellent mechanism for developing character and contributing to world peace and safety. Over the past 120 years Olympism has been adapted by the Olympic Movement and associated with values present at the given times since its formative years. The Olympic Movement has lived with the need to articulate competition and education, individual and nation, sports for the elite and sports for everybody. To this day the Olympic Games present themselves to be a non-political festivity in the spirit of humanity, free from discrimination based on gender, sex, race, color, sexual orientation, religious or political opinion. The aim of this article is to discuss the concept of Olympism, Olympic Games, Olympic Values and the role of values which are extremely important currently in the 21st century.

A Strategic Human Resource Management Approach to Facilitating Volunteer Legacies From Mega-Sport Events: The Moderating Impact of Gender and Experience in the Case of Rio 2016

Volunteers are crucial for successful event delivery, from community to mega-events. Mega-sport events (MSE) are sold on their generative potential for social legacies for host communities like volunteering to support future community and tourism activity. With the lens of the temporal extension of the socioecological framework (TESEF), we propose that strategic human resource management (SHRM) across the volunteer journey will facilitate post-MSE legacy. A previously used online questionnaire and then structural equation modeling (SEM) are used to test 10 hypotheses with 4,824 Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games volunteers. Analysis revealed four predictors (SHRM: recruitment, job allocation, and supervision; and Motivational: variety) have significant positive effects on overall satisfaction. However, volunteer training and overall satisfaction had a highly negative influence on legacy potential. SEM revealed the moderating effect of volunteers??? gender and prior experience. Gender moderated five relationship paths and experience moderated six relational paths. MSE management implications are explored.

The aftermath of failure. Paris, 1992–2012: the urban economy of a host Olympic City

ABSTRACT This paper considers the urban consequences of failing to host Olympic Games. Using the example of Paris and its unsuccessful bids to hosts the Olympic Games of 1992, 2008 and 2012, the paper analyses the pre- and post-bid status of key projected ‘Olympic’ sites within the context of urban plans and aspirations of the city of Paris. The French capital attracts special attention because of the rapid succession of submissions that proved to be outbid by those presented to the IOC by the cities of Barcelona (1992), Beijing (2008) and London (2012). The paper will briefly outline the reasons for failing to attract the Games but will devote most of its space for an analysis of the siting of the planned Olympic Villages, which often form the most lasting of legacies of Olympic Games in host cities.

Tokyo as an Olympic city across modern history: planning culture as the intangible heritage from a century of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games

ABSTRACT Chosen three times as the host city for the Summer Olympic Games (1940, 1964 and 2020), Tokyo's city layout is historically linked to the Olympics. Including the bid project for the 1960 and the 2016 Games, Tokyo has presented five Olympic projects, each time with five different urban visions which enlighten the nature of the past and present political Japanese regimes. The recurrence of the Olympic Games in the planning and growth of Tokyo leads to the idea of a major influence of the Olympics both on the physical evolution of the urban structure but also on that, immaterial, of its planning culture – or, in other words, on the representations, imaginary and practices of the institutional stakeholders of Tokyo's urban fabric. The aim of the paper is therefore double. First, it analyses each urban vision of the Games of 1940, 1964 and 2020. Secondly, it analyses the influence of each Olympic project on greater Tokyo's urban planning and regional development, as well as the influence of each Olympiad on the following ones. Doing that, the paper discusses the formalization of a planning culture through organizing the Olympics on the long run in Tokyo.

Sex-Related and Performance Differences in Contractile Properties, ROM, Strength, and Dynamometry Performance of World-Class Flatwater Canoeists

The inclusion of women canoe in the Olympic Games reflects the growth and development that women have ahead of them in this modality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore sex and performance level differences in muscle contractile properties through Tensiomyography (TMG), range of motion (ROM), strength, and canoe-specific functional electromechanical dynamometry (FEMD) performance and establish performance differences between international medalists and non-medalists. Twelve male and nine female canoeists from the Spanish and Portuguese national canoe teams were assessed through TMG, ROM, strength, and canoe-specific isometric and incremental FEMD tests. Few sex and performance level differences were found in TMG and ROM; however, significant sex differences were found in the strength and FEMD tests. Male canoeists had a greater Fmax in Leg Press, Pm and Pmax in canoe position cable row, 1RM bench press and bench pull, Fm and Fpeak canoe-specific isometric FEMD test and number of strokes, and Fpeak and Pmax on the incremental FEMD test than females. International medalists showed a lower time until reaching Vmax and Pmax in Leg Press on both sides and a greater number of strokes and Fpeak in the maximal incremental FEMD test than non-medalists. This study reinforces the utility of the use of TMG and FEMD for assessing and monitoring world-class athletes.

Influence of Functional Training on Special Technical Movement Ability and Athletic Performance of Male Basketball Players

Functional training, since Beijing Olympic Games, from field of medical rehabilitation to field of competitive sports, advanced scientific training concepts and training methods have gradually been recognized by domestic competitive sports workers and coaches. Therefore, functional training should be developed to grass-roots team to lay a solid foundation for sustainable development of competitive sports in our country. In this paper, a complete set of functional physical training program is designed by using methods of literature, expert interviews, experiments, mathematical statistics, and logical analysis. Finally, it is found that functional training can improve physical coordination of men's basketball. And symmetry, flexibility of athletes' ankle joints, thoracic spine, shoulder joints and stability of knee joints and cores have been improved, reducing probability of sports injuries, providing a theoretical basis for innovative scientific training of male basketball players in my country.

The achievement of sustainability and legacies by the host cities of the Summer Olympiads, 2012–2024

ABSTRACT Since the emergence of the concept of sustainable development, the Olympic Games have become a vehicle to demonstrate and promote the principles and practices of sustainability. The aim of this paper is to explain and evaluate how the application of sustainable development in the context of the Summer Olympic Games has evolved. Two processes have been influential in this change: first, the institutional expectations of the International Olympic Committee have encouraged greater responsibility towards the creation of legacies by potential host cities through the IOC Charter, the Olympic Agenda 2020, and the Olympic Agenda 2020+5; and second, the context and inventiveness of host cities has created new perspectives on sustainability to secure the event and raise its global profile. This paper will focus on the sustainability benchmarks established in London 2012 and evaluate whether these have been continued or extended in the subsequent editions of the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro (2016), Tokyo (2021) and Paris (2024). The changing discourses reveal the tensions between the IOC’s agendas for the event, the motivations of the host cities and the realities of delivery in changing socio-economic and political circumstances.

Identifying the technical and tactical characteristics of Olympic medallists in karate

This study primarily aimed to conduct an observational analysis of Olympic finalists’ performance to determine the patterns and characteristics of karate at the highest level of competition. Due to the need for a complete analytical system, we can use this study to create useful information about the planning process based on winning strategies. The research is based on an analysis of athletes who go to the final of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Thirty fights in the male competition were analysed. Prevalence, percentage frequency, and nonparametric tests were used (Fisher’s exact test, the likelihood ratio test, and Pearson’s chi-square test) for data analysis. Quantity indicators showed that male karate athletes tend to use upper limb karate techniques (53.70%) more than lower limb (35.65%) and a combination (upper and lower or lower and upper limb 10.65%). The difference in scoring by two tactical models of attack and counterattack was significant, and 69.2% of the points were scored by attacking. Moreover, the results suggest a predominant scoring technique using the Kisami-Tsuki model has the highest number of attacks. Considering these characteristics can provide important indicators for technical and tactical coaches and physical trainers to design special training conditions for their athletes.

Field Hockey in China: An Exploration of Socioeconomic and Political Changes, 1900–2024

Field hockey’s development in China, mirroring its socio-political shifts over a century, unfolds in four phases. The first phase began in 1900; field hockey was introduced into China because Westerners played in Foreign Concession in Shanghai. With the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, field hockey gained official recognition, marking the second phase. Following the Cultural Revolution, field hockey gained significant prominence in the third phase, particularly women’s field hockey, peaking with a 2008 Beijing Olympics silver medal, reflecting China’s strategic Olympic ambitions. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games led the development of field hockey into the fourth phase. Youth field hockey received more and more attention. While this has elevated China’s field hockey population, it also underscores potential imbalances between promoting elite sports and grassroots development. The professionalisation of field hockey remains in its nascent stages, with state-driven growth overshadowing broader public participation. The development of field hockey in China reflects the intricate interplay between China’s sports policies, national identity, and international ambitions and offers researchers a window to develop critical perspectives on the power dynamics and policy-making processes in sports.

Artificial Intelligence in the French Law of 2024

The use of artificial intelligence in France is growing and intensifying in many areas, particularly in the field of justice. French President Macron has made it one of his government’s priorities to build on these assets and make France a world leader in AI. In parallel, the French government has deployed some efforts towards anticipating the regulatory challenges related to AI, the “National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence” launched as part of «France 2030» . As an illustration of the developments in artificial intelligence and its specific regulation, the French parliament passed a law to ensure the proper conduct of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Law N° 2023-380 of 19.05.2023). The law permits the use of the experimental “augmented video-protection” technology, which uses cameras equipped with AI systems to detect and report specific events in real time. French regulations begin already now in the area of justice and must continue in the fields of AI liability and intellectual property. AI is a source of fears, particularly for the respect of human rights, and requires a very elaborate legal and ethical environment that is flexible enough to avoid slowing down the development of AI. The AI Liability EU Directive complements the Artificial Intelligence Act by introducing a new liability regime that ensures legal certainty, enhances consumer trust in AI, and assists consumers’ liability claims for damage caused by AI-enabled products and services. But the new European AI Act does not resolve all issues that therefore need to be addressed nationally.

Analysis of the interactions among core stakeholders of the Olympic media ecosystem: conditions for a value creation proposition of the Olympic Virtual Series

ABSTRACT One of the most visible examples of the disruptive nature of esports can be seen through its inclusion in the modern Olympic Games. Despite substantial initiatives deployed over the past ten years to strengthen ties between the Olympic Movement (OM) and the esports industry, research is still limited on the first edition of Olympic esports events. This study fills that void by investigating the conditions under which the relationships among Olympic Virtual Series’ (OVS) stakeholders can generate value for them. Using a qualitative approach based on the media ecosystem theory, we performed a thematic analysis of seven semi-structured interviews conducted with esports activities managers and marketers from International Sports Federations and one publisher. This work reveals how the inclusion of esports in the OM movement through the OVS reflects how esports’ increased popularity is disrupting modern media businesses. In addition, it demonstrates that the stakeholders involved in the first edition of the OVS faced many challenges in generating value. We identify key inhibitors, facilitators and challenges for OM stakeholders in the results.