Past Olympics - Articles
OLYMPICS – 1984 LOS ANGELES, U.S.A.
Posted On: 8/26/16
Written By: TERRY BAKER
Editor’s note: As the 31st Games of the Olympiad approaches, August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, I thought it would be interesting to resurrect stories of former Olympics as written in Coconut Times in the summer of 1992, year of the Games in Barcelona, Spain.
The 1984 Olympics were a refreshing change of pace, as there were only a minimum of political demonstrations (although the Soviet boycott was damaging), and there were no terrorist incidents (a major concern) in overcrowded Los Angeles. The thrill of the athletic competition, the original objective of the Olympic Games, was the top priority. At various times throughout the history of the “Games, however, this has gotten lost in political innuendo, reaching its low point with the terrorist incident in Munich in 1972.
Internationally competitive athletes often have their own training regimen, which to others might seem humorous. The African runners at the L.A. Games in 1984, for example, could not stand the...
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OLYMPICS – 1952 HELSINKI, FINLAND
Posted On: 8/12/16
Written By: Judge Thomas C. Groton III
Editor’s note: As the 31st Games of the Olympiad approaches, August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, I thought it would be interesting to resurrect stories of former Olympics as written in Coconut Times in the summer of 1992, year of the Games in Barcelona, Spain.
Helsinki, Finland, is a port city on the Baltic Sea. It is the capital of Finland, the land of lakes and forests. Helsinki contains approximately one-sixth of the Finnish population. It is a relatively new city for Europe in that it was established by King Gustav of Sweden approximately 400 years ago, in order to woo trade from the Estonian city of Tallinn and thereby challenge the monopoly of the Hanseatic League. It contains some of the purest neo-classical architecture in the world. The Finns are a tough and resilient people as demonstrated by the fact that they fought the Soviets to a standstill in the Winter War of 1939-40.
Fittingly enough, in 1952 at Helsinki, the U.S.S.R. joined the Olympics for the first tim...
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1908 LONDON, U.K.
Posted On: 7/29/16
Written By: Jim McGinnis
Editor’s note: As the 31st Games of the Olympiad approaches, August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, I thought it would be interesting to resurrect stories of former Olympics as written in Coconut Times in the summer of 1992, year of the Games in Barcelona, Spain.
The Olympics in 1908? It was a time which mirrors the 1990s. The athletes from Finland protested by marching into the Shepherd Bush Stadium in London, flagless; because they refused to carry the flag of their then ruling country, Russia (Eastern Europe deja vu?). The Irish were angry because they had to compete under the British flag (are you listening IRA?). The Americans and British almost had a second revolution as a result of the running of the 499-meter run. There were charges of professionalism, and it rained for two weeks (the ozone layer was a factor even then).
In other news, there were four sets of candidates for the office of President of the United States: Republican, Democratic, Socialist and Prohibition...
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