ICOS and Olympic News

Greek family to sell cup won by 1896 marathon hero

March 8, 2012

A silver cup awarded to Spyros Louis, the humble Greek runner who won the first Olympic marathon in Athens in 1896, is to be sold by his grandson at an auction in London ahead of this year's Games. Auctioneers Christie's said on Thursday that the delicate 15cm cup had been treasured by the family for 116 years, surviving World War Two hidden among the family tomato plants for fear of looting. Reuters tells the store here.

Boxer's Pick: Shorts or Skirts

March 1, 2012

Female boxers at the London Olympics will be allowed to choose whether to wear a skirt or shorts under a new amendment to amateur boxing rules. Over the past year, amateur boxing officials faced international criticism and sexism charges for encouraging female fighters to try wearing skirts in competition. The debate also divided boxers and their coaches in a sport still struggling for worldwide acceptance despite being added to the Olympic program for 2012. The New York Times briefs the issue here.

London 2012 Olympics -- if not strikes, then protests?

March 1, 2012

Re-read the whole of the Guardian's excellent interview with Unite's Len McCluskey and that's the question you sense he's asking. The headlines understandably focussed on his musings about strikes during the Olympics. The interview as a whole, though, reflects not the strength of the leader of Britain's biggest union but his angsting about his relative weakness. It combined familiar frustration with the legal constraints on unions, with admiration for protest movements like UK Uncut, Right to Work and Occupy. The BBC examines the issue here.

Large-scale Olympic rings mural a visible expression of the Olympic spirit

January 11, 2012

Angus and Tricia Mitchell of Burnby, near Pocklington in East Yorkshire, UK, have expressed their approbation of the Olympic spirit by commissioning Melbourne Centre, Yorkshire, painter and decorator Joss Room to paint the Olympic rings onto the side of their house. Neighbours and passers-by have repeatedly given the artistic endeavour the thumbs-up. The IOC has not yet commented on this use of its core brand symbol. The Press (York, UK) examines the colourful intervention here.

- Olympic logo; branding; popular imagery; 2012 Summer Olympics; London 2012

3D television broadcasts planned for London 2012

January 9, 2012

NBC used the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to announce its partnersguo with Panasonic to produce 3D broadcasts from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Panasonic expects an increase in the sale of 3D television sets. The New York Times report from CES 2012 can be found here.

- media; technology; NBC; 2012 Summer Olympics; London 2012

Impoverished rural high school in Pakistan a powerhouse of Olympic field hockey

January 5, 2012

An impoverished secondary school in the small town of Gojra in central Punjab has come to be recognized as a development powerhouse of Olympic and inter-national field hockey. Over the last 40 years, it has produced more than 50 international field hockey players, including some of the game's greatest stars. The Pakistani team at London 2012 will likely include four players from this school. BBC Sports reports on the remarkable institution here.

- field hockey; Pakistan, sports development; 2012 Summer Olympics;
  London 2012

ICOS Director comments on Olympic legacies claims

January 4, 2012

Professor Jules Boykoff (Pacific University), and ICOS Director Dr. Janice Forsyth have contributed an analysis to The Guardian network examining the claims and realities of Olympic legacies, and the impact of the Olympic event on the civic spaces of respective host cities. Boykoff and Forsyth's analysis can be found here.

- Olympic legacies; civic spaces; 2010 Winter Olympics; Vancouver 2010;
  2012 Summer Olympics; London 2012

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