Download Olympic research topics

Research Topics
Olympic Traditions/History
Ancient Olympic Games
The Olympic Relay
The Olympic Torch
The Olympic Flag/Rings
The Olympic Theme Song
History of Team USA’s uniforms
Mascots
Sochi (host city)
Pyeongchang
Controversial/Famous Winter Olympics
1948, St. Moritz, Aftermath of World War II

Lebanon, the only Arab nation competing, threatened to boycott if the all-Jewish
team representing Palestine competed under a Zionist flag. In the end, the team
from Palestine did not come to the Games, claiming they did not have enough
time to train properly.

Other countries, including Norway and Yugoslavia, protested to the IOC that
former Nazis were competing for Austria. Switzerland did refuse to grant a visa to
at least one athlete, but in the end the former Nazi soldiers claimed they were
drafted into the army and had no say in the matter. The scandal blew over.

Unknown vandals tampered with some of the American bobsleds the night

Two separate U.S. ice hockey teams showed up at the Games
1964, Innsbruck
 two Germans were stripped of their medals after it was determined they
were professionals.
 Canada was also denied a medal in ice hockey
 figure skating finals were filled with accusations of unfair judging
1968, Grenoable ---- French skier Jean-Claude Killy achieved a clean sweep of the
then-three alpine skiing medals at Grenoble, but only after what the IOC bills as the
"greatest controversy in the history of the Winter Olympics."[55] The slalom run was
held in poor visibility and Austrian skier Karl Schranz claimed a mysterious man in black
crossed his path during the slalom race, causing him to stop. Schranz was given a
restart and posted the fastest time. A Jury of Appeal then reviewed the television
footage, declared that Schranz had missed a gate on the upper part of the first run,
annulled his repeat run time, and gave the medal to Killy.
1980 Lake Placid --- Between 1952 and 1992 the Soviet ice hockey team enjoyed a
near monopoly on Olympic success. The only nation to break its grip on the competition
was its then Cold War rival, the USA – which most notably pulled off what came to be
known as the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
1994, Lillehammer ----- Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of U.S. figure skater Tonya
Harding, arranged for an attack on her closest U.S. rival, Nancy Kerrigan, a month
before the start of the Games. Both women competed, with Kerrigan winning the silver
and Harding performing poorly. Harding was later banned for life both from competing in
USFSA-sanctioned events and from becoming a sanctioned coach.
1998, Nagano --- US Women’s Hockey team wins gold
2002, Salt Lake City----- Dual gold medals were awarded in pairs figure skating, to
Canadian pair David Pelletier and Jamie Salé and to Russian pair Yelena Berezhnaya
and Anton Sikharulidze after allegations of collusion among judges. Further information:
2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal
Athletes that participate in both summer and winter Olympics
1. Lolo Jones - US track and field and bobsledding.
2. Lauryn Williams – US track and field and bobsledding
3. Jana Pittman – Australia – track and field and bobsledding
4. Hanna Mariën – Belgium – track and field and bobsledding
5. Craig Pickering – Britain – track and field and bobsledding
6. Andre Georges Poplimont – Belgium – fencing and ice hockey
7. Jacob Tullin Thams – Norway – ski jumping and sailing
8. Nikolai Panin – Russia – special figures and shooting (military revolver)
9. Clara Hughes- Canada –cycling and speed skating
10. Christa Luding – speed skaking and track cycing
11. Eddie Egan – US – boxing and bobsled
Famous Past Winter Olympians
www.biography.com has some good information on some of the athletes. You can also
look at Sport Illustration and the Smithsonian webpage.
Apolo Anton Ohno, Speed Skating
Brian Boitano, figure skating
Dan Jansen, Speed Skating
Oksana Baiul, figure skater
Eric Heiden, Speed Skating
Sasha Cohen, figure skater
Katrina Witt, figure skating
Cammi Granato, hockey player
Dorothy Hamill, figure skating,
Brett Hull, hockey player
Michelle Kwan, figure skating
Nancy Kerrigan, figure skater
Kristi Yamaguchi, figure skating
Jean-Claude Killy, alpine skier
Simon Ammann, ski jumping
Michell Kwan, figure skater
Maria Reisch, Nordic combined
Tara Lipinski, figure skater
Bode Miller, alpine skiing
Phil Mahre, alpine skier
Evan Lysacek, figure skating
Hanah Teter, snowboarding
Bonnie Blair, Speed Skating
Sidney Crosby, hockey
Picabo Street, alpine skiing
Jimmy Shea, skeleton
Dick Button, figure skating
Jim Craig, hockey
Peggy Fleming, figure skating
Bjorn Daehlie, cross country
Scott Hamilton, figure skating
Top Contenders in 2014 Olympics
Shaun White, snowboarding
Shani Davis, speed skating
Figure skating
Yuna Kim (South Korea) :
J.R. Celski, speed skating
Meryl Davis & Charlie White, ice dancing
Ice hockey
Alex Ovechkin (Russia) :
Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) :
Luge
Felix Loch (Germany) :
Bobsleigh
Kaillie Humphries (Canada) -:
Ski jumping
Sara Takanashi (Japan) - :
Cross-country skiing
Marit Bjoergen (Norway) :
Snowboarding
Lindsey Jacobellis (USA) :
New Jersey Olympians
Jazmine Fenlator, Bobsled
Kyle Tress, Skeleton
James van Riemsdyk, Ice Hockey
Felicia Zhang, Figure Skating
Pennsylvania Olympians
Nathan Bartholomay, Figure Skating
Summer Britcher, Luge
Chris Creveling, Speedskating – Short Track
Jayson Terdiman, Luge 5-8
Lauryn Williams, Bobsled
Winter Sports
http://www.sochi2014.com/en
and then click on the “sport” tab for more information
Alpine Skiing
Cross Country Skiing
Freestyle Skiing
Nordic Combined
Ski Jumping
Biathlon
Curling
Ice Hockey
Short Track
Snowboard
Bobsleigh
Figure Skating
Luge
Skeleton
Speed Skating