ESO YEAR 3 - 20th-24th February

DUE MONDAY 20TH FEBRUARY 2017

CHAPTER 7 – LILLEHAMMER – 1994 WINTER OLYMPICS

Having the winter and summer Olympics in the nice year was a nice idea, but very expensive. It required enormous amounts of money every four years. So the Olympic organisers decided to separate the Games and have every two years as this was easier to finance.

The small Norwegian town of Lillehammer hosted the first Winter Olympics after this decision, in 1994. That was the last year that a small town – with a population of only 25,000 – hosted the Games. The World Cup Football Finals were the same year, but a different sports body (FIFA) financed them. Since then, the Winter Olympics has always taken place in the same year as the World Cup.

The Olympic Truce in Effect

The 1994 Lillehammer Olympics took place in the middle of the Bosnian war. As in ancient times, the IOC tried to have a truce for the period of the Games. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch gave a speech before the Olympics opened, calling for a truce. “Our message is stronger than ever,” he said. “Please stop the fighting. Stop the killing. Drop your guns.”

The Norwegian Games were the first in modern history to put the Olympic truce into practice. First of all, the civil war stopped for a short time, and athletes from all sides of the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict formed a unified team. A four-man team in one of the events consisted of one Croatian, two Bosnians and a Serb. This collaboration represented the true Olympics spirit. Organisers and spectators enjoyed seeing athletes from enemy sides compete together in the same team. Many people hoped that their teamwork could inspire those at war to choose peace instead!

At the end of the Lillehammer Games, Samaranch said, “Ten years ago we were in Sarajevo for the Winter Olympics. After many horrors, the situation now seems to be improving. Let us hope that this 17-day-old truce will turn into lasting peace. For us, and also for our children.

Intrigue and Scandal

Despite the political truce, one conflict between two sports rivals received a lot of publicity. A month before the Lillehammer Games, there was a scandal between to rival figure skaters from the USA. Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding competed against each other at the USA National Championships in Detroit. At the championships, somebody hit Kerrigan on the knee with a hammer and she suffered a bad injury. Because of Kerrigan's injury, Harding won the championships.

Soon, Kerrigan started training again and, seven weeks later, 120 million people around the world watched and applauded as she won the silver medal at the Olympics. Harding won eighth place, but a judge later found her guilty of conspiracy in the attack on Kerrigan. Harding's ex-husband was one of the attackers. The judge prohibited her from competing for the rest of her life.