The 1912 Stockholm Olympics

by Yttergren, Leif; Bolling, Hans

• ISBN13: 9780786471317
• ISBN10: 078647131X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-11-05
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing

Summary

On July 6, 1912, King Gustaf V of Sweden inaugurated the Fifth Olympiad at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. In the following weeks, 2,380 competitors from 27 nations representing all five continents participated in well-organized competitions in perfect weather conditions. The largest Olympics to date, the Stockholm Games have thus gone down in history as the Sunshine Olympics, or the Swedish Masterpiece. Since that achievement, and despite numerous attempts by other Swedish cities, Sweden has not yet managed to host the Olympic Games again. This work examines the 1912 Stockholm Olympics from a variety of perspectives from different academic disciplines, exploring the preparations, organization, competitions, participants, and spectators, as well as the continuing significance of the 1912 Games to sport Sweden, the future of Olympic movement, and Swedish society.

Author Biography

Leif Yttergren is an associate professor in sport history at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm. Hans Bolling holds a doctorate in history and his work includes research on football, the Paralympics, sports clubs and associations, and sport for the disabled.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 1
Introduction	p. 2
Nothing New Under the Sun? Marketing the Stockholm Olympics	p. 27
Organizing the 1912 Games	p. 57
The Jewel in the Olympic Crown: The Training Preparations and Competitions in Athletics	p. 75
Counts and Draymen: The Swedish Participants	p. 95
Gender and Class: Women on the Swedish Squad	p. 115
Art and Sport: Different Worlds? The Art Competitions	p. 137
Spectators at the Stockholm Games	p. 154
Punch, Splendor and Patriotism: The Olympics Outside the Stadium	p. 174
"A New Experience in Life": The Olympics and the General Debate in the Swedish Daily Press	p. 199
Patriotic Games as a Breakthrough for the Olympic Movement	p. 217
The Results of the Competitions: The 1912 Olympic Games in Numbers	p. 233
About the Contributors	p. 275
Index	p. 277
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