The Vintage Olympics Channel
Vintage Photos, Film Footage, and More

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Modern Sprinter, 1936 Conditions

Slightly off-topic for this blog, but this is something I wonder about every four years: How would modern world-class athletes fare using the sports equipment/conditions from past eras -- cinder tracks, wool swimsuits, etc? Someone put it to the test by having Andre De Grasse run a 100 meter sprint on dirt while wearing old-school leather racing spikes. Granted it was a sample size of one and the dirt appeared to be less compacted than that of an actual track, but his 11-second time suggests that Jesse Owens (who won the event in 10.3 seconds in 1936) would be very competitive if he time traveled to 2016.


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Monday, August 15, 2016

Classic Photo of Bob Beamon's 1968 Long Jump

Bob Beamon, 1968 long jump

The story behind the classic photo of Bob Beamon demolishing the long jump record at the 1968 Mexico City games.

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Monday, July 30, 2012

Slideshow of Photos of the 1948 Olympics

Decathalon at the 1948 London Olympics

Talking Points Memo has another great slideshow of vintage Olympics photos, this time for the 1948 London Games. It include the above shot of Yugoslavia's Oto Rebula, Iceland's Örn Clausen, and eventual winner Bob Mathias of the U.S.A. during the decathlon.

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Monday, July 23, 2012

Slideshow of Photos of the 1908 Olympics

Mel Sheppard at the 1908 London Olympics

Talking Points Memo has a great slideshow of photos of the 1908 London Olympics, including the above shot of Mel Sheppard of the U.S. beating Great Britain's Harold Wilson to win gold in the men's 1,500-meter race.

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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

1960 Rome Olympics: Rafer Johnson and C.K. Yang



Rafer Johnson and C.K. Yang compete in the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Summer Games.

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Judging Technology of the 1948 London Olympics

Popular Mechanics article on the 1948 London Olympic Games

Courtesy of Google Books: The June 1948 issue of Popular Mechanics included this six-page article on the then cutting-edge technology for the 1948 London Olympic Games.

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Friday, June 22, 2012

Life Magazine Coverage of the 1948 London Olympics

1956 Life Magazine article on the 1948 London Olympic Games

The August 23, 1948 issue of Life Magazine included this five-page article on the 1948 London Olympic Games.

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Thursday, June 14, 2012

1968 Olympics: Bob Beamon's Record-Setting Long Jump



Bob Beamon's long jump at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics broke the existing record by more than 21 inches. Beamon's new world record of 29 feet 2 1/2 inches stood until 1991.

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Friday, June 8, 2012

Film Footage of the 1948 Olympics



Some amazingly high-quality film footage of the four track events won by Fanny Blankers-Koen at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.

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Thursday, June 7, 2012

Vintage Photo: 1948 London Olympics

Fanny Blankers-Koen, 1948 Olympics

The Wall Street Journal's recent book review of Olympic Visions included the above photo of Fanny Blankers-Koen, winner of four gold medals in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.

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The Vintage Olympics Channel features photos, film footage, and more of past Olympic games!

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recent posts
TV Guide and the 1976 Montreal Olympics
Sports Illustrated Coverage of the Opening of the ...
Modern Sprinter, 1936 Conditions
Poster for the 1936 Winter Olympics
Classic Photo of Bob Beamon's 1968 Long Jump
Vintage Photo: The 1948 British Women's Olympic Sw...
Slideshow of Photos of the 1948 Olympics
The Opening Ceremony of the 1960 Rome Olympics
The Opening Ceremony of the 1948 London Olympics
Opening Ceremony: The 1932 Los Angeles Olympics