Olympic Program Research Articles

Exploring the Games’ Intangible Legacy on Individuals: A Longitudinal Study of Teacher’s Community

Hosting the Olympics is subject to socio-educational outcomes, which can represent intangible and peripheral assets for host communities. The current study explores the Games’ intangible legacy on teachers’ attitudes at different points in time. Data were collected among teachers who attended the Rio 2016 Education Program at three different stages: 2016 (n = 611), 2017 (n = 451), and 2020 (n = 286). A longitudinal trend study was designed using multivariate analysis of variance MANOVA tests and latent growth modelling. Results show that the teachers’ perceptions of Olympic knowledge had a significant growth rate, while skills development and network/social exchange do not show significant changes over the time periods. Longitudinal findings suggest the continuity of the Olympic education programs as the basis for strengthening the Olympic intellect and social capital formation.

The Icy Road towards the First Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix 1924

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) faced many obstacles in deciding to initiate the first Olympic Winter Games and subsequently organize in Chamonix in 1924 the ‘Winter Sports Week’, now considered the first winter Olympics. Pierre de Coubertin’s own thoughts about winter sports evolved only slowly, which together with his friendship with Viktor Balck, constituted the main obstacle for the winter Olympics. The success of the Nordic Games, the powerful Swedish nationalistic winter sports festival run by Balck, at the beginning of the twentieth century influenced Coubertin’s view that an additional winter Olympic competition was unnecessary. Prior limited inclusion of winter sports, such as figure skating, in the summer Olympic programme made the status of some events unclear. Influential members of the IOC disagreed about their possible place in the programme with Balck leading the opposition to include winter sports. Ultimately the French IOC members’ advocacy for winter games in 1921, combined with Balck’s retirement from the IOC as a result of his age, was instrumental in the decision to allow Chamonix to host the first winter festival.

The Viability of Cross-Country Running Appearing in the Winter Olympic Games

Today, cross-country running celebrates over 200 years of being a practiced, organized sport. Originally adapted as a form of imitation fox hunting by schoolboys in England, it is now a globally sanctioned program governed by World Athletics, which oversees marathon running, track and field, and other athletics events. First introduced to the International Olympic Committee by Percy Fischer, a member of the Olympic track committee of the Amateur Athletics Association in October 1910, cross-country running appeared three times on the program for the Summer Olympic Games in 1912, 1920, and 1924 as both a team and individually-scored event. Due to the overwhelming popularity of track and field and marathon events in the current Olympic Games program in the summer, recent attention has turned to promoting cross-country running––largely practiced in the autumnal and winter months the world over––for inclusion on the Winter Olympic Games schedule. Despite a history of nearly 100 years of efforts for reinclusion back into the Olympics, cross-country running has had difficulty in gaining traction for support for the winter program, largely due to the winter olympic charter mandating all sports be practiced exclusively on snow or ice.

CURRENT ISSUES OF VOLLEYBALL

Traditional volleyball, invented by the American William Morgan in 1895, today is radically different from the first volleyball in terms of its essence and content, technique and tactics, and game intensity. In recent years, traditional volleyball has come to be called classic volleyball, as its development has resulted in the emergence of “sand volleyball” as an independent sport and a strong place in the Olympic program. Volleyball is also one of the most popular sports as a means of physical education and fitness.

Screening Identifies Suboptimal Vaccination Protection in Illness-Susceptible Elite Athletes.

Some groups of elite athletes have an apparent increased susceptibility to respiratory tract infection (RTI) with implications for their health and athletic performance. In this study, we aim to systemically evaluate vaccine response patterns as a potentially efficacious intervention strategy in elite athletes preparing for Olympic competition. Cross-sectional observational study. A UK Sport-funded Olympic training program. One hundred twenty elite athletes and 10 matched healthy controls were studied. A subset of athletes were classified as RTI highly susceptible (n = 22), RTI nonsusceptible (n = 23), and asthmatic (n = 33), with matched controls also recruited (n = 10, 27 ± 3 years). Serum samples were analysed from participants analysing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for Immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses against measles, mumps, rubella, and pneumococcus vaccines. Although a majority of athletes (>90%) had detectable IgG levels against measles and rubella, only 76% had detectable mumps responses, with similar findings apparent in controls. Of those RTI-susceptible and asthmatic athletes, 22% had suboptimal antipneumococcal responses below 30 mg/L. A significant proportion of elite athletes preparing for Olympic competition seem to be at risk of mumps infection. In addition, RTI-susceptible and asthmatic athletes exhibit suboptimal pneumococcal antibody responses, highlighting a need for prospective immune screening in athletes to ensure vaccination strategies are effectively delivered.

Of Values and Commercialisation: An Exploration of Esports’ Place within the Olympic Movement

ABSTRACT Esports’ rise in popularity has led the Olympic Movement (OM) to consider esports as a possible addition to the Olympic programme. A positive stance on the part of the OM towards certain aspects of esports has become apparent in recent years. However, the OM has expressly stated that while it is values-based, the esports industry is commercially driven. This article aims to take a tenable step towards the conceptualisation of the relationship between esports and ‘values’. Moreover, it weighs esports’ potential addition to the Olympic programme in view of the commercialisation of the Olympic Games whilst also exploring the selection process for adding new sports to the programme. The article concludes that despite the OM’s negativity concerning the supposed lack of values in the esports industry, it ignores the commercialisation of the Olympic Games at its hands. Accordingly, it will further assert that esports will possibly become a part of the Olympic programme in the near future.

An Analysis of China’s International Competitiveness in Competitive Sports Industry by Means of Mathematical Modeling

China has joined the world’s front rank of competitive sports, with remarkable performance in the Summer Olympic Games in particular. But there is no denying that other events and non-Olympic events have been neglected when emphasis has been put on the Olympic Gold Medal Winning Program. This paper makes a statistical analysis of China’s international competitiveness in competitive sports industry by means of mathematical statistics, so as to analyze the deficiencies in China’s development in competitive sports industry on the basis of statistical results. This study suggests that although China’s international competitiveness in competitive sports is improving rapidly, the gap with the USA remains wide; secondly, China’s development in competitive sports is seriously uneven, which is mainly reflected in the development of summer and winter sports; but in the current situation, there are very favorable opportunities for China’s development in competitive sports, namely, opportunities in the policy environment, opportunities in the climate for hosting events and opportunities in the transition of household consumption.

The winners and losers in the race to environmental sustainability: a ranking of Summer Olympic International Federation progress

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consolidate knowledge and benchmark the progress being made across the 32 International Federations (IFs) in the Summer Olympic Programme. Design/methodology/approach: A website content analysis, analytical hierarchy of information, and social media research was conducted to triangulate the barriers and drivers of environmental sustainability (ES) progress. This data was then analysed to empirically substantiate the findings of previous methods by exploring potential drivers of IF ES progress and communication and refining the ranking of IF ES progress. Results and findings: World Sailing is by far the most advanced IF in terms of ES progress, followed by World Athletics. Only 4 out of 32 have any sort of strategic ES plans. Only golf, surfing, football, sailing, and hockey have received any academic attention. There is a significant lack of understanding of environmental practices across sport, and their drivers/barriers. There is limited accountability with regards to ES progress and activities throughout the Olympic Movement. This has resulted in uneven diffusion of environmental activities. Originality: This paper is a new contribution to sport management and ES literature. It provides a benchmark of understanding for ES in the Summer Olympic Programme for the first time using a hierarchy of information to ground results. The exploration and comparison of the perspectives of separate sports adds to the paper's originality.

The winners and losers in the race to environmental sustainability: a ranking of Summer Olympic International Federation progress

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consolidate knowledge and benchmark the progress being made across the 32 International Federations (IFs) in the Summer Olympic Programme. Design/methodology/approach: A website content analysis, analytical hierarchy of information, and social media research was conducted to triangulate the barriers and drivers of environmental sustainability (ES) progress. This data was then analysed to empirically substantiate the findings of previous methods by exploring potential drivers of IF ES progress and communication and refining the ranking of IF ES progress. Results and findings: World Sailing is by far the most advanced IF in terms of ES progress, followed by World Athletics. Only 4 out of 32 have any sort of strategic ES plans. Only golf, surfing, football, sailing, and hockey have received any academic attention. There is a significant lack of understanding of environmental practices across sport, and their drivers/barriers. There is limited accountability with regards to ES progress and activities throughout the Olympic Movement. This has resulted in uneven diffusion of environmental activities. Originality: This paper is a new contribution to sport management and ES literature. It provides a benchmark of understanding for ES in the Summer Olympic Programme for the first time using a hierarchy of information to ground results. The exploration and comparison of the perspectives of separate sports adds to the paper's originality.

Analysis on Synergy Mechanisms behind the Program Construction of Winter Olympic Stadiums and Surrounding Supporting Infrastructures:Based on the Yanqing Competition Zone of Beijing 2022

Four stadium projects and twenty-four surrounding supporting infrastructure projects jointly constitute the Yanqing Competition Zone Program of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. To sort out the overall structure of the program, from the practical perspective of project management, the synergy goals and factors of the program are analyzed using synergetics. Then, the synergy model of the Yanqing Winter Olympic Program is constructed. As a national major engineering project, its construction needs to achieve synergies from three aspects:spatial strategy, technical objectives, and participants. Transitioning from the strategic planning of the program to project construction plan is realized in this study.

An exploration of performance management processes used within Olympic sport programmes

The organizational environment and role delivery of support personnel have been identified as increasingly important to elite athletes’ preparation for, and performance at, pinnacle competitions. As a result, performance management has been identified as a salient research topic within the field of organizational sport psychology. The purpose of this study was to identify the performance management processes used within Olympic sport programmes and explore how these processes interact in an organizational context. Thirteen participants working in senior positions within Olympic sport organizations (e.g., national performance director) across a range of countries were interviewed. Thematic analysis identified performance management processes existing across strategic, operational, and individual levels in Olympic sport programmes. The findings also suggested that these socially dynamic processes are interrelated and influenced by the delivery of the performance leader’s role. A preliminary conceptual framework was developed to highlight these processes and illustrate their interrelated nature. Overall, the findings advance our knowledge and understanding of performance management as an organizational concept within elite sport. Practical implications are provided for sport psychology practitioners to assess and optimize how performance management processes are used within elite sport programmes. Lay summary: While performance management of personnel in traditional workplaces has been researched heavily, there are limited studies exploring the topic in elite sport. Given the importance of the organizational context for performance and well-being in sport, we explore performance management processes within Olympic sport programmes and discuss their potential practical application. Implications for practice The proposed conceptual framework (and the findings it represents) identifies the key performance management processes in Olympic sport programmes which can help practitioners evaluate current processes in place at individual, operational, and strategic levels and better understand the broader organizational context affecting athletes. The findings may help practitioners to more optimally support those operating in senior organizational roles in sports organizations in developing effective performance management processes across their system. Specifically, the training and expertise of sport psychologists can help position them to support those implementing performance management processes at the organizational (e.g., developing codes of conduct), operational (e.g., supporting cultural change), and individual (e.g., providing an optimal balance of challenge and support) levels.

Learning in high-performance action sports – insights into new and evolving contexts

ABSTRACT Background and Purpose: Participation rates in many organised sports are stagnating, yet a rapid growth in participation, commercialisation and institutionalisation has been observed in self-organised sports such as surfing, snowboarding skateboarding, BMX racing and rock climbing over the past five decades. These sports are continuously attracting attention both in commercial and academic domains partially attributable to their inclusion in global mega events such as the Olympic Games. The continued inclusion in the programme provides opportunities for the sports to maintain their route to professionalisation, and for professionals (i.e. athletes, coaches) to explore their learning within newly emerging contexts. Despite the mainstreaming of many action sports and their inclusion in the Winter and Summer Olympic programmes, the learning of action sports athletes within the high performance context has rarely been studied. Particularly scarce is research considering the athlete’s voice. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to explore the learning experiences of elite action sports athletes in high-performance environments. Data collection and analysis: A qualitative multiple-case study approach was chosen so as to gain an in-depth understanding of the athletes’ learning experiences in ways that captured the highly idiosyncratic nature of learning. The cases were four senior elite BMX Supercross (SX) racers from a successful national team. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, online and face-to-face observations, and document analysis. Data were collated and thematically analysed to support rich and in-depth accounts of each of the cases. Findings from this research were discussed adopting a theoretically eclectic approach. Findings and Discussion: Findings from this study indicate that BMX SX athletes (re-)learned, through engagements with the head coach, how to be independent learners. In addition, experiences in high quality performance hubs tended to proffer some of the most valued learning opportunities for elite BMX SX riders. Here, the athletes learned to become accustomed to the performance environment and continued to fine-tune their race craft. Finally, findings from this study suggest that BMX SX athletes learned with and from their social relationships, however, not all social engagements resulted in valued learning. This research extends an understanding of learning in action sports, taking into consideration learning as idiosyncratic, socially and contextually situated, and ongoing, as a basis for further inquiry into learning in high performance action sports.

Via Olympica: A Comprehensive View on the Origin and Development of Climbing Competitions

Competition climbing was born in the years immediately after World War II in the former Soviet Union to revitalize the climbing community in this war-ravaged country. In a short time, it gained great popularity among climbers, and finding support from the authorities, it expanded the organizational structures and training system, becoming a sport discipline in the literal sense of the word. In the 1970s, the idea of competition based on rock climbing was introduced to the wider international community, initiating a process with its temporary culmination in the introduction of sport climbing to the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. The title ‘via’ means ‘route’ which, in climbing slang, describes the line that the climber takes from the wall’s base to the crowning point, which is the top of the climbing wall or the belay/descent stance. Remaining in this symbolism, the debut of climbing to the most important sporting event in the world is the culmination of a particular process. Time will tell whether it is a ‘final stance’ (i.e. permanent presence in the Olympic programme) or just an episode in the relatively short but dynamic history of sport climbing.

Dekada srpskog vaterpola

Water polo was originally developed in the British Isles. The colloquial term "aquatic football" was quickly adopted in many countries and their sport systems. With the adoption of the first rules (1929) the development of technique and tactics was intensified, and the philosophy of the game itself deepened. An important development factor was the founding and the work of the International Swimming Federation (FINA, 1908) and its water polo board (1929), as well as the affirmation through the Olympic Games program (Paris, 1900), European (Budapest 1926) and World Championships (Belgrade 1973). Water polo appeared in Serbia at the beginning of the last century, when the students from Sombor who studied in Budapest "transferred" the essence and the appeal of this game to Serbia. The students - the players of Sombor sports society won the first Kingdom of Yugoslavia National Championship in water polo held in Bled (1921). The primacy was quickly obtained by the teams from the sea coast, primarily the "WPC Jug" from Dubrovnik, and from the 1960s also the teams from the continental part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily Partizan and Mladost. The water polo organization played a significant role in the development of water polo in the SFRY and ensured the conditions for the development of "the Yugoslav school of water polo". The successes of the national team and the clubs during the period of the SFRY, continue in today's Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia. The national independence of the Republic of Serbia (2006) did not affect the national team's results. The teams of the Serbian Water Polo Federation, from 2006 to 2016 have accomplished extraordinary sports results, and today, at the end of 2020, the Serbian senior national team is ranked first on the FINA's list of national teams. This paper addresses the golden decade of Serbian water polo (2006-2016). It aims at analysing the factors considered to have influenced the development of the water polo game, primarily, the players - their talent and hard work, coaches, the efficient national organization, sports officials, science and scientific methods… all of them who together encourage the improvement and development of the water polo game through individual contribution - the Serbian players' ethos.

Slavic Swimming Championships in the Years 1927–1929

In Czechoslovak swimming circles, swimming clubs were often criticized for having active sports contacts with many countries, especially Germany, Austria, Hungary, France, Sweden, England, but completely forgot about Slavic nations such as Poland and Yugoslavia. The reason could be found mainly in the fact that swimming in the Slavic countries developed only after the war. There were also financial reasons and greater distances between the states. After the successful European Championships in Budapest in 1926, when it turned out that the swimmers of the Slavic nations were able to compete in Europe, the International Secretary of ČSAPS, Eng. Hauptmann proposed to the South Slavic and Polish Swimming Associations to hold the swimmers’ championships of these nations. The proposal was adopted unanimously with great enthusiasm. This resulted in a convention, signed by the leading officials of the Yugoslavian, Polish and Czechoslovak Associations, in which all participating associations undertook to host the Slavic Championships in three consecutive years: in 1927 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1928 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and 1929 in Warsaw, Poland. According to this convention, the Slavonic Championships were held with a full Olympic program according to the FINA regulations.

The Winter Olympics: A Century of Games on Ice and Snow

The Olympic Winter Games, although younger than their summer counterpart, nonetheless have a long and storied history. From the first iteration in Chamonix, France, in 1924, through the first off-set games in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994, to the most recent edition in PyeongChang, South Korea, the Olympic Winter Games are truly a mega-event. This introduction to a winter Olympics anthology considers the nearly one-hundred years of the Olympic Winter Games, including its growth in athletes and events, and the broader impact of that expansion. The sports on the winter Olympic program are at least not easy and in many places largely impossible to practice in at least half of the world’s countries. These challenges make the Olympic Winter Games a compelling event to study because its sports are not universally practiced by people in every country across the globe. How the Olympic Winter Games have grown in scale and size from an event for northern and central Europeans, Americans, and Canadians to include participants from countries that lack snow and ice is itself a testament to the global power of the Olympic brand. The essays in the winter games collection take a broad view of topics related to the Olympic Winter Games, including new approaches to understanding the history and historical significance of athlete eligibility and inclusion, youth culture, demonstration sports, and legacy.

The Olympic Games’ impact on the development of teachers: the case of Rio 2016 Official Olympic Education Programme

ABSTRACT The Rio 2016 Official Olympic Education Programme (ROEP), called Transforma, began in 2013 and was one of the actions to take the Olympic Games into schools and promote new education-based opportunities. The current study examines its effects by exploring the Olympic Games’ impact on the development of skills, knowledge, and experiences of teachers. Data were collected through an online questionnaire (n = 702) with physical education teachers who attended the Transforma Programme. The results of a structural equation model indicate that the educational impact measured through experiences, knowledge, and skills-development contributed positively to the human development of teachers as well as to their knowledge about teaching Olympism. These findings provide event managers with useful insights on the role of teachers in their Olympic programmes, as well as ways to engage them in a wide range of initiatives both inside and outside the school context.

Ефективність впровадження програми олімпійської освіти у формуванні поведінкових рис учнів початкової школи

У статті висвітлено актуальність проблеми формування культури здоров’я та здорового способу життя учнів початкової школи закладів середньої освіти. За рахунок процесу інтеграції програми олімпійської освіти в заклади середньої освіти будуватиметься за допомогою крос-курікулярної технології, яка передбачає, що кожен урок – це окремий блок, який має чітко визначену структуру. Діяльність учителя зводитиметься не до ре- трансляції знань, а до створення компетентнісного освітнього середовища для пошуку й відкриттів. Розглянута програма олімпійської освіти, яка є передумовою для того, щоб молодь долучилася до спорту, спричинивши зростання здорового способу життя, позитивного впливу на формування цінностей та особистість. Із метою виявлення ефективності програми з використанням олімпійських цінностей у процесі роботи з учнями закладів середньої освіти міста Херсона проведено комплексну діагностику сформованості поведінкових рис цінностей дітей за допомогою методики «Олімпійський опитувальник» Р. Телама, метод семантичного диференціалу В. Ф. Петренко. Важливою особливістю інтеграції олімпійських цінностей в освітній процес школярів є заохо- чення чіткого й послідовного послання на те, наскільки спорт є важливою частиною культури, що має величезний виховний вплив. Доведено, що з упровадженням у заклади середньої освіти програми олімпійської освіти діти та молодь розуміють, що довговічність, яка зумовлена спортом, висвітлює інші цілі життя й допомагає знайти свій власний шлях у суспільстві. Олімпійський спорт, олімпійська освіта, концепція спортивних занять та виховання особистості в культурі олімпійських цінностей підкреслює значення загальних людських цінностей. Глобальний орієнтир в олімпійській освіті – виховання молодої людини з осмисленням гуманістичних ідеалів, здорового способу життя, позитивного мислення, цінності олімпізму та віри в майбутнє.

Chinese martial arts and the Olympics: Analysing the policy of the International Wushu Federation

The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) has been striving to get wushu (Chinese martial arts) into the Olympics for over three decades. As these efforts have not been successful to date, a study was set up to identify and evaluate the IWUF’s underlying ‘Olympic policy’ assumptions. A theory-based evaluation approach was used which was based on data collected through 20 semi-structured interviews including senior IWUF officials, coaches, national federation officers and scholars. Findings suggest that the IWUF’s Olympic policy is characterised by a number of implementation and theory failures. Regarding the former is the unequal continental breakdown of board members, overrepresentation of Chinese nationals in specific positions and the use of mostly Chinese social media. And the latter, among other things, relates to simultaneously trying to enrich the cultural diversity of the Olympic programme by introducing a traditional Chinese sport, as well as detraditionalising the sport in an attempt to comply more with Olympic standards and facilitating comparison between performances. Results also showed that different perspectives exist among respondents with regard to China’s dominance in the Olympic policy of the IWUF. It is suggested to use specific policy analysis theories to further investigate this aspect.

Adaptation to a low carbohydrate high fat diet is rapid but impairs endurance exercise metabolism and performance despite enhanced glycogen availability.

Key points Brief (5–6 days) adaptation to a low carbohydrate high fat diet in elite athletes increased exercise fat oxidation to rates previously observed with medium (3–4 weeks) or chronic (>12 months) adherence to this diet, with metabolic changes being washed out in a similar time frame.Increased fat utilisation during exercise was associated with a 5–8% increase in oxygen cost at speeds related to Olympic Programme races.Acute restoration of endogenous carbohydrate (CHO) availability (24 h high CHO diet, pre‐race CHO) only partially restored substrate utilisation during a race warm‐up. Fat oxidation continued to be elevated above baseline values although it was lower than achieved by 5–6 days’ keto adaptation; CHO oxidation only reached 61% and 78% of values previously seen at exercise intensities related to race events.Acute restoration of CHO availability failed to overturn the impairment of high‐intensity endurance performance previously associated with low carbohydrate high fat adaptation, potentially due to the blunted capacity for CHO oxidation. We investigated substrate utilisation during exercise after brief (5–6 days) adaptation to a ketogenic low‐carbohydrate (CHO), high‐fat (LCHF) diet and similar washout period. Thirteen world‐class male race walkers completed economy testing, 25 km training and a 10,000 m race (Baseline), with high CHO availability (HCHO), repeating this (Adaptation) after 5–6 days’ LCHF (n = 7; CHO: <50 g day−1, protein: 2.2 g kg−1 day−1; 80% fat) or HCHO (n = 6; CHO: 9.7 g kg−1 day−1; protein: 2.2 g kg−1 day−1) diet. An Adaptation race was undertaken after 24 h HCHO and pre‐race CHO (2 g kg−1) diet, identical to the Baseline race. Substantial (>200%) increases in exercise fat oxidation occurred in the LCHF Adaptation economy and 25 km tests, reaching mean rates of ∼1.43 g min−1. However, relative V˙O2 (ml min−1 kg−1) was higher (P < 0.0001), by ∼8% and 5% at speeds related to 50 km and 20 km events. During Adaptation race warm‐up in the LCHF group, rates of fat and CHO oxidation at these speeds were decreased and increased, respectively (P < 0.001), compared with the previous day, but were not restored to Baseline values. Performance changes differed between groups (P = 0.009), with all HCHO athletes improving in the Adaptation race (5.7 (5.6)%), while 6/7 LCHF athletes were slower (2.2 (3.4)%). Substrate utilisation returned to Baseline values after 5–6 days of HCHO diet. In summary, robust changes in exercise substrate use occurred in 5–6 days of extreme changes in CHO intake. However, adaptation to a LCHF diet plus acute restoration of endogenous CHO availability failed to restore high‐intensity endurance performance, with CHO oxidation rates remaining blunted.