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On This Date, November 28: Nadia Comaneci Defects to the West

11/28/2014

 
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On this date in 1989, Olympic gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci left behind her family in her native Romania to defect to the west, and to freedom.

At age 14, Comaneci exploded into fame with a three-gold medal performance at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, ushering in an era of gymnastics popularity and Romanian dominance. She eventually ended competition in 1981, after an overall career that included nine Olympic medals (five gold), four World medals (two gold), and 12 European Championships medals (nine gold). Along the way, she became the first gymnast to score a perfect "10" score in Olympic competition, which vaulted her to the heights of popularity.

But her stark and restricted life in communist Romania was difficult, although she had a relatively privileged life due to her athletic success and her position as a coach. On the night of November 28th, she, along with six other gymnasts, crossed the border into Hungary (which had started democratic reforms earlier that year) and requested asylum. Eventually, she made her way to the States, and began a new life as a model, spokeswoman, and gymnastics commentator.

Amongst her many post-defection honors are: a 2004 Olympic Order medal (her 2nd), Honorary President of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, member of International Gymnastics Federation, a 2000 honor by Laureus of an 'Athlete of the Century', and Honorary Counsel General to the U.S. for Romania, and is so beloved by her native country that her 1996 wedding to American Bart Connor was held - and broadcast live - in Bucharest.

On This Date: Leon Stukelj's Birthday

11/12/2014

 
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One of the Olympic's greatest gymnasts was born on this date way back in 1898. Competing for Yugoslavia, Slovenia's Leon Stukelj won the All-Around gold in 1924, and ended his Olympic career 12 years (12!) in Berlin 1936, with six overall medals: three golds, one silver, and two bronze. And, oh, he also earned 14 world championship medals in his career, too.

Originally opposing the new regime, he overcame hard times in communist Yugoslavia after his gymnastics career, to work as a judge until late in life. And he had a remarkable 'late life', becoming a national inspirational celebrity in the newly independent Slovenia in 1991, and renown for his longevity. Crediting the sport needed mental and physical discipline for his good health, he continued exercising on rings into his 90's.

He was a special guest at the 1996 Olympics Opening Ceremony, presented as the oldest living gold-medalist at the time, and was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. At 100, he was spry enough to attend a national birthday celebration for him in Slovenia, and remarked that he "looks forward to each day".  Four days shy of turning 101, Stukelj passed away in 1999.

Cheers to you, Leon! Wish I had known you.

On This Date, November 06:  An Olympic Boycott

11/6/2014

 
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​The 1956 Olympics in Melbourne were staged at the end of a tumultuous year in global politics, and as a major global event, were poised to become a stage for statements and positioning of visible protest. That unfortunate role came to fruition on this date in 1956, when what is considered to be the 1st official Olympic boycott was announced.

On November 6th, In protest of the brutal Soviet crackdown on the attempted Hungarian revolution, Spain and the Netherlands declared a boycott of the Games, to be joined later by Switzerland (Switzerland!). With that dubious inspiration, a few days later, in response to and protest of the Suez Crisis, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq declared their own boycott. And finally, China (The People's Republic of) boycotted just before the Games when China (er, Taiwan) was allowed to compete as an independent nation.

The result? The number of athletes participating in the Games dropped from four years earlier, by more than 1,500. A good result? Described as a response to frustration as seeing the Games used as a political platform, proposed by local schoolboy John Ian Wing, the Closing Ceremony featured athletes entering and celebrating together - rather than separated by nation - to recognize for a moment the bringing together of people through sport and without boundaries.

I'm a big fan of that last bit. How ironic, then, that without the intrusion of politics and these first boycotts, that tradition may never have started. The threat of boycotts hasn't ended, and neither has the impulse to use the Games as statements. I can't see that ever changing. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I would. Without a minimum of political discussion and impact, we wouldn't have a spotlight on dubious hosts like Beijing and Sochi. While I look forward every two years to the ideal of forgetting about the real world, I recognize the importance of using a visible and public voice to express discontent. Does that mean I support a boycott? No - and thankfully there hasn't been one since 1988. As Sochi dissenters showed, that voice can be carried in other means in today's ready news era. There's no denying that the 1956 Games marked a milestone in using sport as protest. But let's hope that that specific mark of boycotting has passed.

On This Date, November 03: Karch Kiraly is Born

11/3/2014

 
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On this date in 1960, Charles 'Karch' Kiraly (USA) was born. He is a living legend of volleyball, first earning wide recognition when leading Team USA to gold at the 1984 Olympics. But even before that, he was a star of the sport, having led UCLA (Go Bruins!) to collegiate titles in 1979, 1981 and 1982, and winning Most Outstanding Player in the last two.

After leading the national team to gold in 1984, he led the U.S. to the 1985 World Cup and 1986 World Championship titles, before successfully defending the Olympic title in 1988. For his efforts, FIVB named Kiraly the 'top player in the world' in both 1986 and 1988. In 1992, Kiraly switched full-time to beach volleyball, and became the first player to have both both indoor and beach titles with the beach victory in 1996. Eventually, he set the career beach volleyball win mark with 148. FIVB named him the "Player of the Century" in 2010.
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In 2012, he was named as the coach of U.S. national women's team, and most recently led them to the World Championship title, setting them up as top contenders for Rio 2016 gold.

Is there anything he can't do in the sport?

On This Date, October 31: The First London Olympics End

10/31/2014

 
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​On this date in 1908, the first London Olympics finally ended, after 187 days of official competition. Yes, 187. And, yes, this is the longest Olympic Games in modern history. Despite what must have been an incredibly challenging effort to manage events and maintain records, the Games didn't start to really shrink in time length until much later. Antwerp's 1920 Games lasted almost four months.

London wasn't supposed to host the Games in the first place, but were offered them when Mt Vesuvius' eruption in 1906 forced Rome to drop out. Starting on April 27th, and were held in complement to the Franco-British Exhibition. In fact in early modern Games' iterations, they were usually sideshows to World's Fairs and the like. Unthinkable today, no?

Officially, there were 110 events across 22 sports. Those sports, characteristic of the Games of that era, included quaint competitions as jeu de paume (like indoor tennis), tug of war, and even power boating (the only time motorized sports were officially contested). But the sports calendar did introduce diving, field hockey, and figure skating. Yes, figure skating...that didn't move to winter until there were an actual Winter Olympics in 1924. 

Finland made its debut, as did - depending on your version of records, Turkey and New Zealand. The Games were also credited as the first to position a nation versus nation format, as athletes marched in the Opening Ceremony under national flags for the first time. The organizing committee compiled the first official reports, and these Games featured the first time a marathon was officially distanced at 26miles, 385 yards.

187 days? For 110 events? Compare that to 14 days and 302 events for London in 2012. My, how a lot has changed for sure...

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