Two Competing Olympics

[BillyShears]

I was looking at universities (ah the teenage life), when I discovered this on Warwick's page:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandeve...erial_reveals/

Archive material reveals details of doomed People’s Olympiad

As London gears up for the Olympics opening ceremony, documents revealing details of the People’s Olympiad, which would have taken place 76 years ago this month in Barcelona, have gone online.
Archivists at the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick have uncovered and digitised programmes, letters and images from the 1936 Barcelona People’s Olympiad, an event set up in opposition to the Summer Olympics held that year in Berlin during the period of Nazi rule.

Despite gaining considerable support, the People’s Olympiad had to be cancelled due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War on July 17, 1936, just five days before the Olympiad was due to start.

Among the documents is a publicity poster for the People’s Olympiad; a programme; press cuttings; and letters of support.

A total of 6,000 athletes from 22 nations had registered for the People’s Olympiad, including sportsmen and women from the UK, the USA, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and French Algeria. Teams from Germany and Italy had also signed up, made up of political exiles.

Had the Spanish Civil War not broken out, and these games gone ahead, what would be the effects on the world, politically (a snub at the Olympics can be somewhat affective as shown by the boycotts) as well as in terms of sport?

Could we perhaps see two competing summer Olympic games in the modern day?

Thought it was pretty interesting.

[Garrison]

Originally Posted by BillyShears

I was looking at universities (ah the teenage life), when I discovered this on Warwick's page:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandeve...erial_reveals/



Had the Spanish Civil War not broken out, and these games gone ahead, what would be the effects on the world, politically (a snub at the Olympics can be somewhat affective as shown by the boycotts) as well as in terms of sport?

Could we perhaps see two competing summer Olympic games in the modern day?

Thought it was pretty interesting.

I don't think you would see competing Olympics in the modern day because assuming the Civil War simply kicked off a couple of weeks late and the events of WWII are unaffected there was barely support for one games in 1948. As time moves forward the scale and complexity of staging a meaningful games is probably going to make it too expensive to compete with the official event. The only exceptions might be 1980 or 84 but even then it's not likely.

[El Berto]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartakiad

[Cook]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_Games

[Mike Stearns]

Originally Posted by BillyShears

Could we perhaps see two competing summer Olympic games in the modern day?

Interesting idea. Perhaps the United States and its remaining allies find themselves in a cold war with Germany in a Nazi victory timeline and continue to stage the Olympics in opposition to the Nazis' Aryan Games.

[Riain]

I'd think the Aryan games would ring pretty hollow as it becomes obvious that Aryan supermen can't run as fast as black athletes.

I wonder what would happen if the rebel olympic was generally a worse competition but produced and outstanding athlete who needed to compete in the olympics for a proper competition.

[Porthos]

Originally Posted by Cook

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_Games

The Goodwill Games are even more relevant in my eyes. It eventually faded away, mostly because, I think, the reason for its existence just wasn't really there anymore.

[Joyeux]

Originally Posted by Riain

I'd think the Aryan games would ring pretty hollow as it becomes obvious that Aryan supermen can't run as fast as black athletes.

But if only Aryans are allowed to compete, nobody would know.

[jamsodonnell]

I suppose that another major boycott would lead to something on the lines of the Goodwill or Friendship games again but I can't see that developing into an alternative games.

The nearest thing there is to an alternative Olympics is the World Games - for sports not included in the main Olympics like squash netball etc.

The nature of the games mean that it is more viable than a games trying to match the Olympics in terms of events

[stateless_englishman]

Originally Posted by Riain

I'd think the Aryan games would ring pretty hollow as it becomes obvious that Aryan supermen can't run as fast as black athletes.

If we thought doping was bad in East Germany, it will be nothing compared to doping in Nazi Germany in order to get as much advantage as possible over non-German athletes and prove the supremacy of their race.

[Linsanity]

Originally Posted by stateless_englishman

If we thought doping was bad in East Germany, it will be nothing compared to doping in Nazi Germany in order to get as much advantage as possible over non-German athletes and prove the supremacy of their race.

You can expect hitlers top biologists to be devloping the best possible ways to dope.

[Mike Stearns]

Originally Posted by stateless_englishman

If we thought doping was bad in East Germany, it will be nothing compared to doping in Nazi Germany in order to get as much advantage as possible over non-German athletes and prove the supremacy of their race.

Yeah. Cheating would be absolutely rampant and of course the judges would be expected to always give German athletes top marks.