Olympic challenges and how they led to the Paris Games

It’s been four years since the last Olympics, 24 since the Sydney Games, the Melbourne Olympics were 68 years ago, and it’s been a long 128 years since the first modern Games in Greece. Time and technology have seen venues, equipment and athletes move into another dimension in the pursuit of better, faster, stronger and ultimately, medals. 

Swimsuits were conservative one-pieces until 1936 when the male shorts by Speedo was allowed into competition.  

They were originally made of wool, then silk and in the 1950s nylon became the favourite as it was tighter and water-resistant.    

1976 saw the use of compression, or papersuits. Lycra was added to nylon in the 1980s and by 2000, Speedo developed the very tight Speedo Fastskin coated in Teflon.  

It 2008 when Speedo released its LZR Racer swimsuit - a blend of nylon, Lycra and, for the first time, polyurethane. 

The following year, swimsuits were made only of polyurethane, leading to a major improvement in performance and medal count.  

But Swimming's world governing body, World Aquatics, wanted to make competition fairer and banned non-textile materials in competitive swimsuits from 2010. 

Speedo was an Australian company started in Sydney in 1914. It is now a subsidiary of Britain’s Pentland Group. 

Swimming started at the first modern Games in 1896 and is one of only four sports included in every Olympics since. 

Women weren’t allowed to compete until Stockholm in 1912.    

And Olympic swimming events were held in open water (oceans, lakes) until the London Games in 1908 when pools started to be used. 

The butterfly stroke was first introduced at the 1956 Melbourne Games 

It wasn’t until Tokyo in 2020 that there were identical events for men and women swimmers and for the first time, a mixed gender race – the 4x100 medley relay. 

The most recent change is with 2024 Paris Olympics for which an extra day of swimming competition has been added. 

Swimming is Australia’s best Olympic sport with medals won at all modern games so far. 

Rowing has been part of the Olympics since the 1900 Paris Games

It was scheduled for the Athens games four years earlier, but bad weather forced its cancellation.

It was a men-only event until women were allowed to compete from 1976.

Lightweight rowing events which weight-limit crews were introduced in 1996.

The boats, or shells, were originally made from wood before materials such as carbon fibre and Kevlar were used. 

Olympic rowing competition distance is 2000 metres with events ranging from single rowers to teams of 2, 4, or 8.

Australia has a long and proud history of rowing success as far back as 1928 when Henry 'Bobby' Pearce won the nation’s first gold medal in the men's Single Scull. 

It was known as yachting from the 1896 Olympics but was renamed sailing at the 2000 Sydney Games. 

Women have always competed in Olympic sailing, but separate events were created for them from 1992. The sport also introduced compulsory mixed gender events in 2016.

Sailing at early Olympic Games was dominated by big boats carrying up to 12 sailors but they started getting smaller from 1924.

The Olympic Games have strict design rules that ensure all boast are the same, so the competition is fair. 

Australia has a strong history in Olympic sailing, winning its first medals at the 1956 Games in Melbourne. 

Bill Northam still holds the record for the oldest Australian Gold medallist – he was almost 60 when he won gold in the boat, Barranjoey, at the Tokyo Games in 1964. 

In 1948, a doctor in England organised a sporting competition to help rehabilitate his paraplegic patients, unknowingly sparking a movement that would eventually be recognised as the Paralympics 12 years later.  

German Neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttman was a big believer in the power of sport and organised for his patients in wheelchairs to compete in archery and netball. 

He named the event The International Stoke Mandeville Games after the hospital in which he worked. By 1955, 18 countries, and 200 athletes were taking part. 

In 1960, they were held in Rome just days after it finished hosting the Olympics and they were officially renamed The Paralympics. 

Eventually, the Paralympics included more disability groups and specialised racing wheelchairs and events for amputees and the visually impaired debuted at the 1976 Toronto Games. Athletes with cerebral palsy were included from 1980. 

Paralympics translates to beside or alongside the Olympics and signifies that the two events exist side-by-side  

But it wasn’t until 1988 that the Paralympics received equal recognition with the Olympics and were held in the same cities and venues. 

Australia has competed at the Paralympics since 1960 with most medals won in swimming and athletics. 

 

Article - Helen Tzarimas, Sydney based journalist and ex-ABC presenter.