1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same year since 1924, and place them in alternating even-numbered years, beginning in 1994. The 1992 Summer Games were the last to be staged in the same year as the Winter Games.[1] Due to the end of the Cold War, these games were the first without boycotts since 1972.[2]
Host city selection
Barcelona, the birthplace of then-IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, was selected over Amsterdam, Belgrade, Birmingham, Brisbane and Paris in Lausanne, Switzerland, on October 17, 1986, during the 91st IOC Session.[3] It had bid for the 1936 Summer Olympics, losing out to Berlin.
Highlights
- The Olympic flame cauldron was lit by the Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo, who shot an arrow lit by the last torch runner into it. Rebollo deliberately overshot the cauldron; though some sources claim it was done for the safety of the spectators,[5] in fact Rebollo's arrow did not light the natural gas rising from the cauldron. This was done by a Reyes Abades technician via remote control in all rehearsals and the ceremony itself, as Abades explained in an interview with his local newspaper 'globalhenares.com', "...he created the mechanism for lighting the Olympic flame".[6]
- South Africa was allowed to compete in the Olympics for the first time since the 1960 Games, after a long suspension for its apartheid policy. White South African runner Elana Meyer and black Ethiopian runner Derartu Tulu fought a close race in the 10,000 m (won by Tulu) and then ran a victory lap hand in hand.[7]
- Following its reunification in 1990, Germany sent a single, unified Olympic team for the first time since the 1964 Games.
- As the Soviet Union had been dissolved in 1991, the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania sent their own teams for the first time since 1936. The other Soviet republics competed under the name "Unified Team".
- The break-up of SFR Yugoslavia led to the Olympic debuts of Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to United Nations sanctions, FR Yugoslavian athletes were not allowed to participate with their own team. However, individual athletes could compete under the Olympic flag as Independent Olympic Participants.
- In men's artistic gymnastics, Vitaly Scherbo from Belarus, representing the Unified Team, won six gold medals, including four on a single day. Five of the six golds were in individual events, tying Eric Heiden's record for individual gold medals at a single Olympics (Michael Phelps would tie this record in 2008).
- In women's artistic gymnastics, Tatiana Gutsu took gold in the All-Around competition edging the United States' Shannon Miller.
- In the diving competitions, held in the view of the Sagrada Família, Fu Mingxia won the high dive event at the age of 13.
- Russian swimmers dominated the freestyle events, with Alexander Popov and Yevgeny Sadovyi each winning two events (Sadovyi won a third with in the relays).
- Evelyn Ashford won her fourth Olympic gold medal in the 4x100 metre relay, making her one of only four female athletes to have achieved this in history.
- The young Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary won three individual swimming gold medals.
- In women's 200 metres breaststroke, Kyoko Iwasaki of Japan won a gold medal at age of 14 years and 6 days, became the youngest-ever gold medalist in swimming competitions at the Olympics.
- After being demonstrated six times, baseball became an Olympic sport, with Cuba winning the gold medal, Chinese Taipei winning silver, and Japan, the bronze.
- Badminton and women's judo became part of the Olympic programme, while slalom canoeing returned to the Games after a 20-year absence.
- Roller hockey became a demonstration sport in the 1992 Games. Argentina won the gold medal. Basque pelota and taekwondo were also demonstration sports.
- Several of the U.S. men's volleyball gold medal team from the 1988 Olympics returned to vie for another medal. In the first round, they lost a controversial match to Japan, sparking them to shave their heads in protest (including Steve Timmons, sacrificing his trademark red flattop for the protest).
- Mike Stulce of the USA won the men's shot put, beating heavy favored Werner Günthör of Switzerland.
- On the 20th anniversary of the Munich massacre and the 500th anniversary of the Alhambra Decree, Yael Arad became the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal, winning a silver medal in judo. The next day, Oren Smadja became Israel's first male medalist, winning a bronze in the same sport.
- Derek Redmond of Great Britain tore a hamstring during a 400m semi-final heat. As he struggled to finish the race, his father entered the track without credentials and helped him complete the race, to a standing ovation from the crowd.
- Gail Devers won the 100 meter dash in one of the closest races in history. 5 women finished within 0.06 seconds of each other.
- In basketball, the admittance of professional players led to the formation of the "Dream Team" of the United States, featuring Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and other NBA stars. The Dream Team, which easily won the gold medal, would be inducted as a unit into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
- After making the semifinals of two grand slams at the age of 14, Jennifer Capriati won the single's tennis competition at the age of 16.
Venues
Medals awarded
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
Demonstration sports
Participating nations
169 nations sent athletes to compete in these Games (the number of competitors for each country below is given in brackets). With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, twelve states formed a Unified Team, while the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had their own teams. For the first time, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina competed as independent nations after separation from Socialist Yugoslavia. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was banned due to UN sanctions, but individual Yugoslav athletes were allowed to take part as Independent Olympic Participants. It was also the first Olympics since 1964 that a unified Germany competed at the Olympics. This was the Olympic debut for Namibia and the unified team of Yemen, after several separate participations of North and South Yemen. South Africa returned to the Games after 32 years. Four National Olympic Committees didn't send their athletes to compete: Afghanistan, Brunei, Liberia and Somalia.
Medal count
These are the top medal-collecting nations for the 1992 Games. (Host country is highlighted):
Broadcast rights
The games were covered by the following broadcasters:
- Spain: TVE (international broadcast signal)
Effect on the city
The celebration of the 1992 Olympic Games had an enormous impact on the urbanism and external projection of the city of Barcelona. The Games enabled billions in infrastructure investments that are considered to have improved the quality of life and attraction of the city for investments and tourism,[8] making Barcelona become one of the most visited cities in Europe after London, Paris and Rome.[9][10]
The nomination of the city as organizer was the spark that led to the application of a previously elaborated ambitious urban plan.[11] Barcelona was opened to the sea with the construction of the Olympic Village and Olympic Port in Poblenou, a decayed neighbourhood. Various new centres were created, and modern sports facilities were built in the Olympic zones of Montjuïc, Diagonal, and Vall d'Hebron. The construction of ring roads around the city helped reduce the density of the traffic, and El Prat airport was modernized and expanded as two new terminals were opened. New hotels were built and some old ones were refurbished.[12]
Songs and themes
There were two main musical themes for the 1992 Games. One was "Barcelona", composed five years earlier by Freddie Mercury and sung as a duet with Montserrat Caballé. The duo were to perform the song during the opening ceremony, but due to Mercury's untimely death eight months earlier, a recording of the song was played over a travelogue of the city at the start of the opening ceremony.[13] The other was "Amigos Para Siempre" (Friends for Life), written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black, and sung by Sarah Brightman and José Carreras during the closing ceremonies.
Ryuichi Sakamoto composed and conducted the opening ceremony musical score.[14]
Mascot
The official mascot was Cobi, a Catalan sheepdog in cubist style designed by Javier Mariscal.
Corporate Image and Identity
The Barcelona games established a renewal in regards of image treatment and corporate identity. It could be seen in the publication of posters, in the commemorative coins and stamps minted by the FNMT in Madrid and in the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Official Commemorative Medals designed and struck in Barcelona.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Albertville 1992". www.olympic.org. http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Olympic-Games/All-Past-Olympic-Games/Winter/Albertville-1992/. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
- ^ "Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics | Olympic Videos, Photos, News". Olympic.org. http://www.olympic.org/barcelona-1992-summer-olympics. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
- ^ "IOC Vote History". Aldaver.com. http://www.aldaver.com/votes.html. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
- ^ http://www.webcitation.org/5xFvf0ufx
- ^ "Ceremonial hall of shame". BBC News. 2000-09-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics2000/926190.stm. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ Official Report of the 1992 Summer Olympics, Vol. 4 (LA84Foundation.org). Note p. 70 (confirming arrow lit the gas above the cauldron).
- ^ "Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics | Olympic Videos, Photos, News". Olympic.org. http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/innovations_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=1992. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
- ^ Brunet i Cid, Ferran. "The economic impact of the Barcelona Olympic Games 1986-2004". Autonomous University of Barcelona. Archived from the original on 2009-07-21. http://olympicstudies.uab.es/pdf/wp084_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ Payne, Bob. "The Olympics Effect". msnbc.com. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26042517. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ Bremner, Caroline. "Top 150 City Destinations (2006)". Euromonitor. Archived from the original on 2009-09-04. http://www.euromonitor.com/Top_150_City_Destinations_London_Leads_the_Way. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ Brunet i Cid, Ferran. "An economic analysis of the Barcelona'92 Olympic Games:resources, financing and impact". Autonomous University of Barcelona. http://olympicstudies.uab.es/pdf/od006_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ Beard, Matthew (2011-03-22). "Lessons of Barcelona: 1992 Games provided model for London... and few warnings". London Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23933816-the-olympic-legacy-lessons-of-barcelona-on-thames-1992-games-provided-model-for-london-and-a-few-warnings.do. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ "Barcelona 92: inicio de la ceremonia". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdksitehDJ8&feature=related. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
- ^ Illness, Critical (2010-09-03). "Doreen D'Agostino Media » Ryuichi Sakamoto and Decca". Doreendagostinomedia.com. http://doreendagostinomedia.com/ryuichi-sakamoto-and-decca/. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
References
External links
Events at the 1992 Summer Olympics ( Barcelona) |
|
|
|
|