Rhodesia at the Olympics | |
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IOC code | RHO |
Medals |
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Summer appearances | |
Southern Rhodesia first participated as Rhodesia in the Olympic Games in 1928, when it sent two boxers to Amsterdam, both of whom were eliminated in their second bout. The dominion did not appear at the Games under a Rhodesian banner until 1960, when it sent a fourteen-athlete delegation as part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In Rome, two sailors, Alan David Butler and Christopher Bevan, finished fourth, which was Rhodesia's best result until it became Zimbabwe in 1980. Southern Rhodesia sent 29 competitors, including a field hockey team, to the 1964 Summer Games, which was its last Olympic appearance under the Rhodesian banner.
In 1965, Prime Minister Ian Smith declared a unilateral independence that allowed the country's white minority to dominate the government. The United Kingdom pressured the Mexican state to deny Rhodesia an invitation to the 1968 Summer Olympics and supported a proposed African boycott of the Games that ultimately prevented Rhodesia from taking part. The nation was positioned to compete at the Olympics in 1972 and made it to the Olympic Village before a last-minute International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision barred its athletes from participating. The National Olympic Committee was expelled permanently in 1975 and Rhodesia never again participated under that banner. Rhodesia never took part in the Winter Olympic Games and no Rhodesian competitor ever won an Olympic medal, although it was able to continue competing at the Paralympics through 1972 and reached the podium on multiple occasions.
Southern Rhodesia, under the banner of Rhodesia, first appeared at the Summer Olympic Games in 1928, where its delegation consisted of two boxers, [1] Cecil Bissett and Leonard Hall. Bissett received a bye in the first round of the men's lightweight division and went on to defeat Mexican Carlos Orellana before being stopped by eventual gold medalist Carlo Orlandi of Italy. [2] Leonard Hall, meanwhile, bested German William Walter in the opening round before losing to Kintaro Usuda of Japan. [3] Rhodesia had been one of two British colonies granted permission to compete as its own entity at the Games (the other was Malta). [4] The country débuted independently at the British Empire Games in 1934. [1]
Southern Rhodesia did not appear at the Olympics again until 1960, although Rhodesian athletes had the option of competing internationally for South Africa. [4] Leonard Hall, for example, won a gold medal in the welterweight division of the 1930 British Empire Games under the South African banner. [3] By the time of the 1960 Summer Olympics, Southern Rhodesia was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (which included what is now Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) that entered the Games under the banner of Rhodesia. Fourteen athletes — nine men and five women — took part in six sports: track and field, boxing, diving, sailing, shooting, and swimming. [1] Competing in the Flying Dutchman class, sailors Alan David Butler and Christopher Bevan finished fourth, which was Rhodesia's best result under that name. [5] After the Federation dissolved in 1963, Nyasaland became Malawi, while Northern and Southern Rhodesia began competing separately. The North entered the Games as Northern Rhodesia, but left under the flag of Zambia, while the South remained Southern Rhodesia. It sent 25 men (including its field hockey squad) and four women; both the field hockey team and the Flying Dutchman crew finished 11th, while no individual athlete placed better than 17th. [6]
In 1965, Southern Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and his mostly white government unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom. [5] The nation was invited to send a team to the 1968 Winter Olympics, but declined in the belief that its athletes were not sufficiently competitive. [1] Despite political machinations from the United Kingdom, which expended considerable effort to exclude its former colony from gaining legitimacy by participating at the Games, Rhodesia was invited to participate at the 1968 Summer Olympics. The threat of an African boycott (supported by the British) [4] of the Games, however, added further pressure from the Mexican government on the organizing committee to withdraw its invitation. [1] Although South Africa had been barred from competing in 1964, Rhodesia's sports institutions were not de jure segregated, and thus the same rationale could not be applied. The British government also decided against adding Rhodesian Olympians to a "stop-list" of select Rhodesians who were banned entirely from international travel. [4] Thus, the organizing committee used the pretense of United Nations Security Council Resolution 253, published May 29, 1968, which called on member nations to refuse to accept Rhodesian passports, to block Rhodesian athletes from participating. [5] Although most potential participants had more than one passport, Mexico created bureaucratic delays that prevented Rhodesian athletes from attending, despite the Rhodesian government's repeated protests. Rhodesia's team had included at least nine individual athletes, a five-man yachting team, and a field hockey squad. Only two, track and field competitors Bernard Dzoma and Mathias Kanda, were not white, but both were considered medal contenders. [1]
In 1971, the IOC offered Rhodesia the opportunity to compete in the upcoming 1972 Summer Olympics if it did so with a British identity, which included using the flag of Southern Rhodesia and "God Save the Queen" as their anthem, as it had in 1964. Host nation West Germany faced less pressure than Mexico and, having not been admitted to the United Nations, was not bound by Resolution 253. Rhodesia agreed and sent 44 athletes in eight sports (including a water polo squad) to Munich in its largest and most diverse delegation. Another threat of boycott from African nations, however, led the IOC to withdraw Rhodesia's invitation by a vote of 36–31 in favor, with three abstentions. The athletes were allowed to remain in the Olympic Village and attend their events, but were forbidden from participating. [1] Following the Munich massacre, IOC President Avery Brundage compared the attacks to the political motivation behind the boycott, arguing that both were seeking to dampen the spirit of Olympism. [1]
Hoping to preempt the Rhodesian issue far in advance of the 1976 Summer Olympics, incoming IOC President Lord Killanin sought to prove Rhodesia's racial discrimination in sport in order to use it to bar the National Olympic Committee permanently from the Games. Based on the evidence the organization was able to uncover, in 1975 the IOC voted 41–26 to expel Rhodesia from the Games on a permanent basis. The nation would not return to the Games until 1980, after the white-dominated government had fallen and the country had been renamed Zimbabwe. [1] Rhodesia was still able to compete at the Paralympics in 1968 and 1972, as it had in 1960 and 1964, due to "deliberate decisions by politicians who were unwilling (for a variety of reasons) to invoke sanctions against disabled athletes." [7] Although it was shut out of the podium at the Olympics, Rhodesia did win numerous medals at the Paralympics. [7]
Medals by Summer Games
See alsoRelated Research ArticlesThe modern Olympic Games or Olympics are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories participating; by default the Games generally substitute for any World Championships the year in which they take place. The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, and since 1994, have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period. The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad and commonly known as Moscow 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russia. The games were the first to be staged in an Eastern Bloc country, as well as the first Olympic Games and only Summer Olympics to be held in a Slavic language-speaking country. They were also the only Summer Olympic Games to be held in a socialist state until the 2008 Summer Olympics held in China. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin before he was succeeded by Juan Antonio Samaranch, a Spaniard, shortly afterwards. The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad and commonly known as Mexico 1968, were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968 in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Latin America and the first to be staged in a Spanish-speaking country. They were also the first Games to use an all-weather (smooth) track for track and field events instead of the traditional cinder track, as well as the first example of the Olympics exclusively using electronic timekeeping equipment. The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad and commonly known as Rome 1960, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awarded the administration of the 1908 Summer Olympics, but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, the city had no choice but to decline and pass the honour to London. The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals at the 1960 Games. The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which were held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1956. The 1972 Summer Paralympics, the fourth edition of the Paralympic Games, were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August 1972. The games ended 15 days before the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, also in West Germany. Avery Brundage was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that position, Brundage is remembered as a zealous advocate of amateurism and for his involvement with the 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics, both held in Germany. The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its satellite states later boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Zimbabwe competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. This was the fifth time that Zimbabwe had competed at an Olympic Games with the first three as Rhodesia. 15 competitors, 12 men and 3 women, took part in 18 events in 5 sports. Uganda competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany which were held from 26 August to 11 September 1972. The nation's delegation consisted of 33 athletes: seventeen field hockey players, eight boxers and eight track and field athletes Southern Rhodesia competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This was the first time the country had participated in the Olympic Games. It was one of two British Crown colonies who were allowed, by the International Olympic Committee, to compete as independent nations at the Games. Rhodesia was represented by two boxers; neither were able to reach the medal rounds of their respective tournaments. Rhodesia competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. It was the first time in 32 years that the nation was represented at the Olympic Games. Fourteen athletes—Southern Rhodesians and one Northern Rhodesian, boxer Abe Bekker—competed under the name Rhodesia while representing the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963). The Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) was an American organization established by sociologist Harry Edwards and multiple Black American athletes, including noted Olympic sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, on October 7, 1967. The purpose of the group was to advocate for civil rights and human rights for Black people in the United States and abroad, along with protesting racism in sport in general. The OPHR proposed a complete Black athlete boycott of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City to achieve its goals. While the OPHR advocated for a boycott backed by all Black Americans, the group did not actively include women in its discussions and in the end was mostly composed of track and field athletes. Zimbabwe participated for the first time at the Olympic Games under its current name in 1980, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. Previously, it competed at the Games under the name Rhodesia in 1928, 1960 and 1964. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi marked Zimbabwe's first participation at the Winter Olympic Games, with Luke Steyn, the Zimbabwean born athlete participating in alpine skiing. The flag of Southern Rhodesia was a blue ensign, later changed to a sky-blue ensign, with the coat of arms of Southern Rhodesia on it. The flag was in use in Southern Rhodesia from 1924 to 1953 and from 1963 to 1965. It was also used by the unrecognised Rhodesia from 1965 to 1968. The flag was initially used unofficially internally before being approved for use outside of the colony by the Colonial Office in 1937. The colour was changed to sky blue in 1964 to protest the treatment of Southern Rhodesia after its inclusion in the failed Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. During the Parade of Nations section of the 1972 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country. South Africa did not compete at Olympic Games from 1964 to 1988, as a part of the sporting boycott of South Africa during the apartheid era. The South African National Olympic Committee (NOC) was expelled from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1970. In 1991, as part of the transition to multiracial equality, a new NOC was formed and admitted to the IOC, and the country competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona. The 1980 Zimbabwe women's national field hockey team won the gold medal in women's field hockey at that year's Summer Olympics in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union. The squad of 16 women, all from Zimbabwe's white minority, was assembled less than a month before the Olympics began to help fill the gaps the American-led Olympic boycott created in the women's hockey competition. Zimbabwe's subsequent victory in the round-robin tournament with three wins and two draws was regarded as a huge upset, particularly considering the team's lack of preparation and experience; it has been called an "irresistible fairy story". Won at a time of great political transition in Zimbabwe, the gold medal was the country's first Olympic medal of any colour. Rhodesia, was a self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa. Until 1964, the territory was known as Southern Rhodesia, and less than a year before the name change the colony formed a part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and hosted its capital city, Salisbury. On 1 January 1964, the three parts of the Federation became separate colonies as they had been before the founding of the Federation on 1 August 1953. The demise of the short-lived union was seen as stemming overwhelmingly from black nationalist movements in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and both colonies were fast-tracked towards independence - Nyasaland first, as Malawi, on 6 July 1964 and Northern Rhodesia second, as Zambia, on 24 October. Southern Rhodesia, by contrast, stood firmly under white government, and its white population, which was far larger than the white populations elsewhere in the erstwhile Federation, was, in general, strongly opposed to the introduction of black majority rule. The Southern Rhodesian prime minister, Winston Field, whose government had won most of the federation's military and other assets for Southern Rhodesia, began to seek independence from the United Kingdom without introducing majority rule. However, he was unsuccessful and his own party, the Rhodesian Front, forced him to resign. Days prior to his resignation, on Field's request, Southern Rhodesia had changed its flag to a sky blue ensign defaced with the Rhodesian coat of arms, becoming the first British colony to use a sky blue ensign instead of a dark blue one. References
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