Earlier the winner was given an olive branch: Olympic torch relay was Hitler’s propaganda tool; Gold medal is made of silver

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It was decided that the first sport of the Olympics would be a 192 meter foot race. This was because the Greek mythology hero Hercules could run that far without breathing. The foot race began amidst a select few spectators.

Coroebus, a chef at the hotel, won the race. The first prize was not a gold medal but an olive tree branch, because it was a symbol of the goddess of the Greeks.

In the second episode of the ‘Olympic Tales’ series, we will learn about such interesting traditions related to the Olympics. How the olive branch turned into a gold medal. How the Olympic truce prevents countries from fighting. What is the story of the Olympic torch…

Olive was a symbol of peace in Greek mythology
Medals are an Olympic tradition, to achieve which players from all over the world join this great sporting event every fourth year. In the ancient Olympics, the winning players were given a branch of an olive tree upon winning. Why is this so? The answer to this is found in Greek mythology.

Athletes with olive branches in a mosaic floor at the Olympia Museum.

The olive tree is associated with Irini, the daughter of the Greek god Zeus and Themis. Irini, who is considered the goddess of peace, is always depicted with an olive branch. Apart from this, the olive branch is also considered a symbol of the end of war and peace.

In the Greek Empire, the olive tree had religious as well as economic and political importance. In the 6th century, there were laws to protect it. If a person cut down this tree, there was a law to give him the death penalty.

Until 1900 only silver and bronze medals were awarded
The tradition of giving olive branches to Olympic winners continued in the modern Olympics. In 1896, the winners were given olive branches and diplomas along with medals, but in the first Olympics, only the top 2 athletes of the competition were given silver and bronze medals. The player coming in third place had to return empty handed.

Photo of diplomas received along with medals to athletes during the 1896 Olympics.

This situation continued till the Paris Olympics of 1900. The tradition of giving gold medals started for the first time with the Los Angeles Olympics of 1904. This medal was given to the players who came first in the competition. At the same time, silver and bronze medals were now given to the athletes coming second and third.

Why was gold not introduced in the first Olympics? The reason given behind this is that gold was very expensive. That is why medals made of gold were not given to the players.

The 1896 Olympic medals, depicting the Greek god Zeus.

Olympic gold medal is made of silver
Until the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, gold medals consisted of 90% gold and 10% other metals. The 1920 Antwerp Olympics saw a major change in the process of making Olympic gold. The gold medals given to the winners in this event contained 92% silver. It was polished to make it golden by using only 6 grams of gold.

Since then, gold medals are made in the same way. Silver medals contain 92% silver and the rest is made up of other metals. Similarly, bronze medals contain metals like copper and zinc mixed with bronze.

The Olympics are starting in Paris from 26 July 2024. This time a special change has been made in the design of the Olympic medals. This time the medals that will be given to the winners also contain iron pieces from the historic Eiffel Tower of Paris.

The 135-year-old Eiffel Tower was made of more than 18 thousand iron angles. It was built for a fair. The life of this tower built by Gustave Eiffel was estimated to be only 20 years, but it is still standing.

When the Eiffel was repaired for the last time, many iron pieces were removed and separated. Now these pieces have been included in the Olympic medals. A hexagon has been made from about 18 grams of iron on the top of a medal. Apart from this, the shape of the Eiffel Tower has also been specially made on the ribbon on top of the medal.

The tradition of lighting the torch at the Olympic Games

On 28 July 1928, the eighth edition of the Modern Olympics began in Amsterdam, the capital of the Dutch country Netherlands. This Olympics was very special for women. This event gave women the opportunity to participate in athletics and track and field games for the first time.

The International Olympic Committee had to face criticism on this decision from many people including modern Olympic founder Coubertin. Despite this, the tradition that started for women in 1928 continues.

Another thing that emerged from the 1928 Olympics was that later became a special tradition of the Olympics. Actually, a torch was lit on top of a big tower right in front of the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam. There was no special purpose behind this, but people liked it a lot. A similar torch was lit at the entry gate in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

The Olympic torch burning outside the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium in 1928.

The Olympic torch relay was started to promote the Nazis
In 1936, the Olympics were held in Berlin, the capital of Hitler’s country Germany. Germany had been preparing for it since 1931. In the same year, Karl Diem, the chief organizer of the Berlin Games, somehow managed to convince the International Olympic Committee and got the hosting rights of the Olympics.

When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the future of the Berlin Olympics was in danger. Hitler considered the modern Olympics a game of Jews and Freemasons, but Hitler trusted the Greeks.

In such a situation, Hitler’s then Propaganda Minister explained to him that if the torch relay was removed from the Olympics, it would become a tool for the Nazis’ propaganda worldwide.

Torch bearers sharing the flame during the torch relay.

Hitler liked his minister’s suggestion. Karl Diem was not a member of the Nazi party, but he agreed to the idea of ​​a torch relay for the Olympics. For the relay, special steel torches were prepared from a weapons manufacturing company. Magnesium was added to it, which could be kept burning in any weather.

On the afternoon of July 20, 1936, in Olympia, Greece, using the sun’s rays and a parabolic lens, a fire was lit in a large bowl at the temple of the Greek goddess Hera.

The bearer fires a bowl from the torch during the Berlin Olympics.

The first torchbearer, Konstantinos Kondylis, lit the flame from this bowl, marking the start of the 12-day torch relay. From Greece, the torch travelled more than 3,000km through Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

On the morning of 31 July 1936, about 50 thousand people in Germany welcomed Fritz Schilgen holding a torch. Schilgen circled the stadium and Hitler’s box and illuminated the bowl of the stadium with the flame of the torch. After this, the Berlin Olympics began. Since 1936, it became a tradition to take out a torch or torch relay before the Olympics, which continues even today.

Another fact related to the torch is that during the relay, the runners only share the flame with each other, while the torches are separate. This flame is still brought from Olympia.

Why does Greece walk first in the Olympic opening ceremony?
After the torch relay, the official entry of the athletes takes place with the opening ceremony. In this, the teams of players from all the countries take part in the ceremony one by one. In this ceremony, the team of players from Greece enters first.

Actually, the reason behind this is related to the history of Olympics. Olympics started in ancient times in Olympia, Greece. Also, the first modern Olympics of 1896 were organized in Athens, Greece. In honor of Greece, they are given the opportunity to enter the Olympics first.

According to tradition, the hosting country of the Olympics enters last. Meanwhile, other countries enter in alphabetical order. This tradition was broken in 2004. This year the Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. Being the host of the Olympics, Greece did not enter first in these games but entered last.

Olympic closing ceremony began after ‘blood in the water’ incident
While in the opening ceremony all the players march with other players of their country, in the closing ceremony players march with athletes of different countries. There was no closing ceremony until 1956.

Injured athletes during a water polo match between the Soviet Union and Hungary.

The semi-final of the water polo games was being played between the Soviet Union and Hungary at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. This was the era of the Cold War. After the defeat of the Nazis in Germany, the Soviet Union ruled Hungary.

Just a few weeks before the water polo match, the Soviet army had brutally suppressed student protests in Hungary, resulting in the death of some students who were opposed to the Soviet Union’s communist ideology. This had angered the Hungarian citizens as well as the players.

When both the teams came face to face in the match, the anger of the players came out. During the match itself, there was a clash between the players of both the teams. In this, one player got injured, due to which blood was spilled in the pool. This incident was published in the newspapers with the headline ‘Blood in the Water’.

After this incident, an Australian student named John Wing wrote a letter to the Olympic Committee suggesting that there should be a closing ceremony on the last day of the event. In this, all the players will walk as a team, this will expand the spirit of sportsmanship. The IOC liked this suggestion and from this year onwards, the closing ceremony and joint march of the players started.

What is the Olympic Truce brought before the Olympics
To ensure that the Olympics are not affected by unpleasant events like war, an Olympic Truce resolution is passed in the UN before every Olympics. The Olympic Truce is believed to have started with King Iphitos of Elis during the ancient Olympics.

They wanted to get rid of the regional conflicts that were raging in Greece during the Olympic Games, which were held every four years. So they proposed a truce to the Greek kings.

King Cleithesthenes of Pisa and King Lycurgus of Sparta supported this. After this, other states also supported this agreement and this agreement was named Echecheira. Under this, there will be a ceasefire from 7 days before to 7 days after the Olympics every four years, so that the players, spectators and artists participating in the Olympics can come and go safely.

This tradition was adopted by the IOC in 1992 and in 1993 the United Nations passed the first resolution of the Olympic Truce. In the Olympic Truce, countries declare ceasefire by ending their fighting seven days before the Olympics begin until the Olympics end. The Olympic Truce is brought every two years before the Olympics and Paralympics. This proposal was brought before this Paris Olympics, in which Syria and Russia did not participate.

The same flag has been hoisted in the Olympics since 1988
Like other traditions, the Olympic logo of five colourful rings is also a strong part of the Olympic tradition. The credit for associating this logo with the Olympics goes to the modern Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin. In 1913, Coubertin wrote a letter to the Olympic Committee. In the upper part of the letter, there were five circular rings, which were connected to each other. Each ring was given a different colour. Coubertin made this with his own hands.

Coubertin’s quote posted on a board above the Olympic Stadium.

When the Olympic Committee met in August 1913, Coubertin spoke about this logo and said that these five rings represent the five parts of the world – Africa, America, Europe and Oceania. The five colors of the logo and the white background color represent the participation of all the countries of the world.

The flag with this logo was hoisted in the stadium for the first time in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. After the Olympics were over, the mayor of Antwerp handed over this flag to the mayor of Paris, the host of the next Olympics. This started the tradition of handing over the flag to the mayor of the next host city. This flag was retired after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. A new flag was introduced from the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

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In the third episode of the ‘Olympic Tales’ series on July 28, know how the organization of the Olympics was affected by events like World War, Hitler and Cold War…

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First episode of Olympic series- Players used to participate in Olympics without clothes: Marathon race related to the death of a soldier; First Indian-born female winner