XXIV Olympiad

Ellen Galford

Description

XXIV Olympiad, the twenty-second volume in The Olympic Century series, tells the story of the 1988 Summer Olympics of Seoul, Korea. The second Olympics held in Asia would be the last for perennial sporting powerhouses the Soviet Union and East Germany, which ceased to exist before the next Olympiad.The book gives a detailed account of the most infamous episode from Seoul, which saw Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson achieve a dramatic win in the men's 100 metres only to have his gold medal stripped away for failing a post-race drug test. The book also profiles heroes of Seoul like Christa Luding-Rothenburger of East Germany, who became the only athlete to ever win gold in both Winter (speed skating in Calgary) and Summer (cycling) Games in the same year; and swimmer Anthony Nesty, who won Suriname's only Olympic medal and became the first male black swimmer to win individual gold.The second part of the book focuses on the 1992 Winter Olympics of Albertville, France. Albertville was the last Winter Games to be held in the same year as the Summer Games, and mogul skiing, short-track speed skating and women's biathlon made their Olympic debuts. The book profiles stars of Albertville like 16-year-old Finnish ski jumper Toni Nieminen, who became the youngest ever male gold medalist at the Winter Games; and Annelise Coberger of New Zealand, who won silver in the women's slalom to become the first Winter Olympic medalist from the southern hemisphere. Juan Antonio Samaranch, former President of the International Olympic Committee, called The Olympic Century, "The most comprehensive history of the Olympic games ever published".

Informations

• Publié par: Warwick Press Inc.
• Date de parution: 18 novembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781987944211
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

THE OLYMPIC CENTURY THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE MODERN OLYMPIC MOVEMENT VOLUME 22
THE XXIV OLYMPIAD
SEOUL 1988 ALBERTVILLE 1992
by Ellen Galford
W
Warwick Press Inc. Toronto
Copyright 1996 WSRP
The Olympic Century series was produced as a joint effort among the International Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Committee, and World Sport Research Publications, to provide an official continuity series that will serve as a permanent on-line Olympic education program for individuals, schools, and public libraries.
Published by:
Warwick Press Inc., Toronto
www.olympicbooks.com
1st Century Project: Charles Gary Allison
Publishers: Robert G. Rossi, Jim Williamson, Rona Wooley
Editors: Christian D. Kinney, Laura Forman
Art Director: Christopher M. Register
Picture Editors: Lisa Bruno, Debora Lemmons
Digital Imaging: Richard P. Majeske
Associate Editor, Research: Mark Brewin
Associate Editor, Appendix: Elsa Ramirez
Designers: Kimberley Davison, Diane Myers, Chris Conlee
Staff Researchers: Brad Haynes, Alexandra Hesse, Pauline Ploquin
Copy Editor: Harry Endrulat
Venue Map Artist: Dave Hader, Studio Conceptions, Toronto
Fact Verification: Carl and Liselott Diem Archives of the German Sport University at Cologne, Germany
Statistics: Bill Mallon, Walter Teutenberg
Memorabilia Consultants: Manfred Bergman, James D. Greensfelder, John P. Kelly, James B. Lally, Ingrid O Neil
Office Staff: Diana Fakiola, Brian M. Heath, Edward J. Messier, Brian P. Rand, Robert S. Vassallo, Chris Waters
Senior Consultant: Dr. Dietrich Quanz (Germany)
Special Consultants: Walter Borgers, Dr. Karl Lennartz, Dr. Dietrich Quanz, Dr. Norbert Mueller (Germany), Ian Buchanan (United Kingdom), Wolf Lyberg (Sweden), Dr. Nicholas Yalouris (Greece).
International Contributors: Jean Durry (France), Dr. Fernand Landry (Canada), Dr. Antonio Lombardo (Italy), Dr. John A. MacAloon (U.S.A.), Dr. Jujiro Narita (Japan), C. Robert Paul (U.S.A.), Dr. Roland Renson (Belgium), Anthony Th. Bijkirk (Netherlands), Dr. James Walston (Ombudsman)
International Research and Assistance: John S. Baick (New York), Matthieu Brocart (Paris), Alexander Fakiolas (Athens), Bob Miyakawa (Tokyo), Rona Lester (London), Dominic LoTempio (Columbia), George Kostas Mazareas (Boston), Georgia McDonald (Colorado Springs), Wendy Nolan (Princeton), Alexander Ratner (Moscow), Jon Simon (Washington, D.C.), Frank Strasser (Cologne), Val ry Turco (Lausanne), Laura Walden (Rome), Jorge Zocchi (Mexico City)
All rights reserved. No part of The Olympic Century book series may be copied, republished, stored in a retrieval system, or otherwise reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without the prior written consent of the IOC, the USOC, and WSRP.
eBook Conversion: eBook Partnership, United Kingdom
ISBN 978-1-987944-24-2 (24 Volume Series)
ISBN 978-1-987944-21-1 (Volume 22)
CONTENTS
I A L ITTLE B OOST
II A S OARING S PIRIT
III B ALL OF C ONFUSION
IV A N EW D AWN
A PPENDIX
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
P HOTO C REDITS
B IBLIOGRAPHY
I NDEX

A LITTLE BOOST
SEOUL 1988
In every Olympic Games the 100-meter final is a moment of pure theater. The race at Seoul, South Korea, in 1988 was no exception. The contest had all the hype and glitter of a Broadway hit, all the suspense of a Hitchcock thriller, all the fire and passion of Italian opera. The whole spectacle lasted less than 10 seconds. But the drama wouldn t end with the finish of the race. The last act would come a few days later. And the story wouldn t have a happy ending. For this was no Chariots of Fire. It was, instead, an athlete s version of The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus, a bleak chronicle of corruption and the fall from grace.
The two leading players in the piece were Carl Lewis of the United States, winner of four Olympic gold medals at Los Angeles 1984, and Canada s Ben Johnson, reigning 100-meter world champion. For years the two athletes had engaged in an acrimonious debate, arguing with speed instead of words. Inevitably the media had made much of the tensions between the pair, perhaps-for the sake of a story- even fanning the fire. The public was enthralled. By the time the Games came around the Lewis-Johnson feud was the most talked about subject in track.
Carl Lewis had already secured his place of honor in the Olympic pantheon. Time magazine pronounced him physically the most advanced human being in the world. Four years earlier at Los Angeles he d become the only man to match Jesse Owens legendary 1936 feat of four gold medals in a single Games. Lewis, as Owens did before him, won the 100 and 200 meters, the 4 x 100-meter relay, and the long jump. Ben Johnson, making his own Olympic debut, ran against Lewis in the 100 meters and won the bronze.
Below: Canada s Ben Johnson, 100-meter competitor, Seoul 1988

Apart from speed, strength, and towering ambition the two men didn t have much in common. Lewis was thin as a wand, Johnson all bulk and brawn. Lewis had grown up in middle-class American suburbia; Johnson was a Jamaican immigrant who d been transplanted to Toronto, Canada, in his early teens. Lewis was sophisticated, self-aware, and always ready with a snappy sound bite. He traveled like a rock star, equipped with an entourage and an attitude. Ben Johnson had none of Lewis s airs and grace. When he did speak, which was rarely, he stuttered. Reporters had trouble understanding his strong West Indian accent.
Below: Carl Lewis (second from right) keeps an eye on Ben Johnson (leading) in the early stages of the 100-meter dash. Johnson was known for explosive starts; Lewis for high-velocity finishes. The race ran to form from beginning to end.

Johnson may have lacked celebrity style, but no one could call him the underdog at Seoul. At the 1987 track and field world championships in Rome he d powered straight past Lewis to win the 100 meters in a record 9.83 seconds. Lewis was furious. He intimated to a television reporter that certain athletes in the contest owed their success to drugs. He named no names. But the message came over loud and clear. Johnson and his coach, Charlie Francis, spat out indignant denials. Only a sore loser, they huffed, would dare to make such an outrageous charge.
Even people who admired Lewis, who earned the nickname King Carl for his domination of the sprints in the 1980s, felt he needed a lesson in humility. Ben Johnson looked like the man to deliver it. But a bad hamstring injury during the run-up to Seoul nearly wrecked the Canadian s chances. He could only watch and grit his teeth while his vital preparation time melted away. Meanwhile Lewis looked stronger and stronger in the meets of the pre-Olympic season. In spite of his setbacks Johnson arrived in South Korea bursting with confidence. And this time he offered up a sound bite of his own. When the gun go off, he told the press, the race be over.
Explosive starts were Johnson s trademark. He used his massive muscles to detonate himself off the blocks and into a seemingly unshrinkable lead. Lewis, however, specialized in fast finishes. When he d beaten Johnson before, it was because his own power surge came just as the Canadian s waned. Lewis thought he d be able to do the same thing at Seoul. But this race didn t go according to plan. For once Johnson didn t deploy all his energy at the beginning. He was first out of the blocks, but it was a fractionally slower start than usual. At the 40-meter mark he found his maximum speed and stayed there. By 60 meters he d left his opponents trailing nearly 2 meters in his wake. He never flagged. And not even the great Carl Lewis could run him down.
Film of the race shows a visibly distracted Lewis unable to keep his eyes off Johnson. At one point Lewis almost veered out of his lane and straight into the path of Britain s Linford Christie. Christie was ambitious and pushing hard; so, too, was Lewis s teammate Calvin Smith, who d held the world record until Johnson swiped it away from him at Rome. All three were going to be disappointed. Johnson flashed across the finish in an unbelievable 9.79 seconds to break his own world record and win Olympic gold. Lewis pushed hard to the end, finishing in an Olympic record 9.92, a thoroughly beaten second place.
The important thing, said Johnson later, was to beat Carl. That was my main goal, not the world record. Just to beat Carl Lewis to win.
Even before he broke the tape Johnson had indulged in a gesture of triumph. He d turned to catch Lewis s eye, then jabbed one index finger toward the heavens. The message came across loud and clear. He, not Lewis, was the world s number one, the reign of King Carl was over. Photographers would freeze the moment. And everyone would remember that image later, when things fell apart.
Never before had the sprinters in an Olympic 100-meter final been so fast. Four runners-Johnson, Lewis, Christie, and Smith-had finished in under 10 seconds. Lewis said only that I ran the best I could, and I m pleased with my race. His coach, Tom Tellez, disagreed. He could have run a faster time if he d forgotten about Ben.
Lewis may have known something that Tellez didn t. Because Ben Johnson had had a secret weapon. It had made him invincible. But it wouldn t stay secret much longer. Within a matter of hours, a white-coated laboratory technician would find it. The champion s post-race urine sample showed positive evidence of the banned anabolic steroid Stanozolol.
Below: Raising his finger in triumph, Ben Johnson lets the 100-meter finalists know who s the fastest man on the day. It would turn out to be a short-lived celebration for Johnson, who would be stripped of his gold medal a day later.

At 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 27, Ben Johnson was awakened by a knock on his door in the Olympic Village. While he d slept the Olympic authorities had met and agonized among themselves. They d scrutinized the test results, then considered