The Olympic Games have a long history of triumphs and success, but how much do we know about the times when failures were what defined the most prestigious sporting event in the world?
As we all know, the Olympic Games are meant to be a truly international celebration of human strength and excellence bound together with national and global unity. Nonetheless, the event has been marked by a series of scandals and even failures over its long and fascinating history.
From controversies regarding illegal substances that boost performance and outrageous judging errors to political protests and terror attacks, the Olympic Games have seen their fair share of shock, ridicule, and disgrace.
Let’s look at some of the most notorious Olympic failures in modern times.
The 1936 Nazi Olympics in Berlin
The 1936 Summer Olympic Games were held in Berlin. There, the leader of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler, and his Nazi regime used this opportunity as a fantastic propaganda tool. His mission was clear. They would showcase Aryan supremacy to the world and solidify Hitler’s twisted belief that the German nation was superior to everyone else.
Despite widespread calls for a boycott of the Olympic Games, the event went ahead with the participation of a total of 49 nations from around the world.
While Black American athlete Jesse Owens famously won four gold medals during this event in Berlin, the 1936 Olympics remain a truly bleak chapter in Olympic history, particularly because it gave Hitler and his regime a global stage to abuse the ideals of the Olympic Games by demonstrating their hateful ideology to the entire world.
Despite the fact that the competition took place without any particular issues or racial attacks, it can easily be classed as one of the biggest failures in Olympic history for that very reason.
The 1972 Munich massacre
The 1972 Olympic Games were held in another German city, that of Munich. There, the Games were tragically overshadowed by a shocking terrorist attack that left a total of 11 Israeli athletes dead.
On September 5th, eight terrorists from the infamous Palestinian group Black September managed to catch authorities off guard. They broke into the Olympic Village of Munich, where thousands of athletes from around the world were resting. There, they managed to kill two Israelis on the spot and take nine others hostage.
The German authorities, along with Israeli Assistance, tried their best to rescue the hostages. However, the operation was a complete failure. This botched rescue attempt led to the tragic deaths of all the hostages, along with a German police officer and a total of five of the terrorists who initiated the whole ordeal.
Doping scandals
Doping has been a persistent and never-ending problem in the Olympic Games for decades. In recent years, for example, Russia has been at the epicenter of a massive and unprecedented state-sponsored doping program.
As a result of this shocking revelation, the entirety of Russia was banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Russian athletes who were cleared and could compete had to do so under a neutral flag and the name “Olympic Athletes from Russia” (OAR).
Judging controversies are major Olympic failures
Another topic that has come to the forefront of Olympic failures over the years is the way judging has been conducted. Olympic referees and judges have often been accused of national, racial, or even personal bias, along with incompetence and corruption. One egregious example that is still remembered vividly by many occurred in the men’s gymnastics competition at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
South Korean gymnast Yang Tae-young was incorrectly docked points by the judges, costing him the all-around gold medal. This tragic error was later acknowledged by the organizers and the International Olympic Committee. However, the results remained unchanged, and the athlete did not receive the medal he deserved.
Another controversy related to judging was seen in the current Paris Olympics only a few days ago when Greek fencing athlete Theodora Gkountoura was purportedly unfairly treated by the referee of the game. In any case, this is what has been claimed by thousands of Greeks on social media. The entirety of Greece was furious for the treatment of the nation’s fencing champion.
The failure of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games sparked significant and unprecedented controversy that has not been witnessed in the Olympics world in recent times. It all began due to a performance that many people claimed was a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”
This particular act during the opening ceremony featured drag queens and other performers celebrating around a long table. The image resembled the scene of Jesus Christ’s Last Supper, which led to a backlash from religious leaders and politicians mainly from the right and far-right political spectrum.
These individuals and organizations viewed the act as an utterly disrespectful way of provoking Christians and Christianity. It was all the more peculiar because the host country, France, has such strong Catholic roots.
As a result of people’s reactions, the organizers of the opening ceremony issued a clarification explaining that their intention was not to offend but celebrate diversity and inclusivity. They also noted that the scene was inspired by the Greek god Dionysus rather than serving as a religious parody.
Despite these outrageous failures of the Olympic Games, however, the event remains one of the most prestigious athletic events in the world, and no matter how many more will come in the future, the Olympic spirit will (hopefully) continue to prevail.
On a funnier note, the Olympics have also offered spectators and audiences around the world a lot of laughter and…embarrassment, particularly when, in the midst of competitions, things did not go as expected for athletes. The following video is a collection of the most prominent of such Olympic moments with more humorous rather than serious overtones.
