The First Olympics: Athens 1896 | |
---|---|
Genre | Period drama Sports Miniseries |
Written by | Charles Gary Allison William Bast |
Directed by | Alvin Rakoff |
Starring | |
Theme music composer | Bruce Broughton |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 2 |
Production | |
Producers | Charles Gary Allison William Hill Larry White |
Cinematography | Paul Beeson |
Editors | John Grover Ralph Sheldon |
Running time | 237 minutes |
Production company | Columbia Pictures Television |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | May 20 – May 21, 1984 |
The First Olympics: Athens 1896 is a 1984 American television miniseries produced by Columbia Pictures Television for broadcast by the NBC network. This television miniseries tells the story of the founding of the modern Olympics by focusing on individuals in several countries and their preparations and eventual competition in Athens in 1896. The two-part mini-series originally aired in the United States on May 20 and 21, 1984. [1]
The preparation and events leading up to the inaugural modern Olympic Games held in Athens, 1896. The movie examines the experience of competitors from different nations, but especially concentrates on the creation of the first American Olympic team and their trials in getting to the Olympics in Athens. The series ends with a voice over giving brief descriptions of the various historical individuals that took part.
Primetime Emmy Awards
Year | Category | Award | Nominee(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) | Emmy | Bruce Broughton | Won |
1984 | Outstanding Art Direction for a Limited Series or a Special | Emmy | Michael Stringer (production designer) Fred Carter (art director) David Ogden Stiers (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special) | Nominated |
Writers Guild of America, USA
Year | Category | Award | Nominee(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Original/Adapted Multi-Part Long Form Series | WGA Award (TV) | Charles Gary Allison (teleplay/story) William Bast (teleplay) | Won |
Casting Society of America, USA
Year | Category | Award | Nominee(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Best Casting for TV Miniseries' or TV Movie of the Week | Artios | Fran Bascom | Nominated |
The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years on leap years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent Games were held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for organising the Games and for overseeing the host city's preparations. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904; in each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place.
The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world.
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad and commonly known as Athens 1896, was the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had been created by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin, it was held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.
Thomas Edmund Burke was an American sprinter. He was the first Olympic champion in the 100 and 400 meter dash races.
At the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympiad, twelve athletics events were contested. A total of 25 medals were awarded. The medals were later denoted as 37 modern medals. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896. Altogether, 63 athletes, all men, from nine nations competed. This made athletics the most international of the nine sports at the 1896 Games.
Spyridon Louis, commonly known as Spyros Louis, was a Greek water carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics. Following his victory, he was celebrated as a national hero.
Arthur Charles "Skipper" Blake was an American athlete who competed in the 1500 meters and the marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Australia competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896. One athlete from Victoria, a British colony which later formed part of Australia, competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Edwin Flack was born in England and was resident in London in 1896, but spent most of his life in Australia and so is considered an Australian athlete by the International Olympic Committee.
Stamata Revithi was a Greek woman who ran the 40-kilometre marathon during the 1896 Summer Olympics. The Games excluded women from competition, but Revithi insisted that she be allowed to run. Revithi ran one day after the men had completed the official race, and although she finished the marathon in approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes and found witnesses to sign their names and verify the running time, she was not allowed to enter the Panathinaiko Stadium at the end of the race. She intended to present her documentation to the Hellenic Olympic Committee in the hopes that they would recognize her achievement, but it is not known whether she did so. No known record survives of Revithi's life after her run.
The men's 800 metres race was the second-longest of the four flat-track events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The preliminary heats were the third event held on 6 April. The nine competitors were split into two groups. The top two athletes in each heat advanced to the final, which was held on 9 April.
The men's 1500 metres race, the longest flat-track race of the 1896 Summer Olympics programme, was the last event on 7 April. It was run in a single heat, with eight athletes competing.
The men's marathon event was a special race invented as part of the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Seventeen athletes from 5 nations competed. It was the capstone of the athletics programme. The event was won by Spyridon Louis and was the only Greek victory in athletics.
The men's 100 kilometres was one of five track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. It was the first race held, on 8 April. It required cyclists to complete 300 circuits of the track. Nine cyclists from five nations competed. The event was won by Léon Flameng of France, with Georgios Kolettis of Greece coming in second.
These are the results of the women's K-1 500 metres competition in canoeing at the 2004 Summer Olympics. The K-1 event is raced by single-person canoe sprint kayaks.
Richard "Dick" Wayne Howard was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles.
For the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, a total of ten sports venues were used. Most venues were constructed between the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck and the 1968 Games. Thawing was an issue for the four-man bobsleigh run. They were limited to only two runs. Thawing also affected the men's 500 m speed skating event. Electronic timing in alpine skiing affected the results of the women's giant slalom event. It gave Canada's Nancy Greene a headache for two days despite her gold medal in the event.
For the 1988 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-one sports venues were used. South Korea hosted its first World Championships in 1978 in shooting sports. Three years later, Seoul was awarded the 1988 Summer Olympics. Many of the venues constructed for the 1988 Games were completed two years earlier in time for the Asian Games. The 1986 Asian Games served as test events for the 1988 Summer Olympics. The men's marathon course was lined by 36,000 policemen. Steffi Graf won a gold medal in women's singles to complete the "Golden Slam". None of the football venues used for these games were used for the 2002 FIFA World Cup that Korea co-hosted with Japan.
For the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, a total of thirteen sports venues were used. Val-d'Isère has been part of the Alpine Skiing World Cup since the late 1960s while Tignes served as host of the first Freestyle World Ski Championships in 1986. Most of the venues used were constructed between 1987 and mid 1990 with the test events taking place in late 1990 and early 1991. It was the last Winter Olympics with an outdoor speed skating rink which led to weather issues for three of the ten events. Three cross-country skiing events were run in snowstorms while the men's 20 km biathlon was found to be 0.563 km (0.350 mi) too short. The downhill events in alpine skiing were criticized for being too steep. Freestyle skiing made its official debut at these games with the men's winner being stormed after his win while the women's winner won her event in a snow storm. La Plagne hosted the skeleton World Championships in 1993 while Val-d'Isère hosted the Alpine World Ski Championships in 2009.Some of the venues will be used again during the 2030 Winter Olympics,when the main host city will be Nice.
For the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, a total of fifteen sports venues were used. Nagano had attempted twice to host the Winter Olympics, losing out to Sapporo, host of the 1972 Winter Olympics. The third time, in 1991, Nagano edged out Salt Lake City to host the 1998 Games. The biathlon venue was adjusted in accordance with the Washington Convention over endangered species. The biggest venue controversy was at Happo'one resort on the length of the men's downhill and the battle that ensued to the point where skiing officials threatened to pull the event entirely before a compromise was reached three months before the Olympics. M-Wave has hosted three World Speed Skating Championships since the Olympics, while the Spiral has hosted a couple of world championships in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.
For the 2004 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-five sports venues were used. Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, which used venues such as Panathinaiko Stadium and the city of Marathon for which the long-distance race would be named. From the end of the 1896 Games until the late 1970s, Greece underwent numerous political changes that included the Balkan Wars, two World Wars, a civil war, and a military coup that resulted in a junta that lasted from 1967 to 1974. A change in democracy in 1975 resulted in Greece's admission into the European Economic Community in 1979.