Fact of the Day

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge competed for Belgium in sailing in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.

By Duncan Mackay

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge competed for Belgium in sailing in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Games. He also played on the Belgian national rugby union team.

Britain's Don Thompson practised for the 50km walk at the 1960 Rome Olympics by training in a steam-filled bathroom at home

By Duncan Mackay

Britain's Don Thompson practised for the 50 kilometres walk at the 1960 Rome Olympics by training in a steam-filled bathroom at home, with the heating turned up and wearing a tracksuit. After a while, he would feel faint. He blamed his light-headedness on the effects of heat and humidity, but later realised it was carbon monoxide fumes from a paraffin heater. It did not affect him as he claimed gold.

Harold Abrahams, the Paris 1924 Olympic 100 metres champion immortalised in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, was the timekeeper for Roger Bannister's historic sub four-minute mile in 1954

By Duncan Mackay

Britain's Harold Abrahams, the Paris 1924 Olympic 100 metres champion immortalised in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, was one of the official timekeepers for Roger Bannister's historic sub four-minute mile at Oxford in 1954.

The first Brazilian Olympic gold medallist was Guilherme Paraense

By Duncan Mackay

The first Brazilian Olympic gold medallist was Guilherme Paraense, an army lieutenant, who claimed victory in the 30m military pistol event at Antwerp in 1920, the year the country made its debut in the Games. He beat the American Raymond Bracken after the US team had given him a Colt pistol and ammunition to compete following the theft of this own equipment.

At the 1972 Olympics in Munich the judges took the following oath, for the first time

By Duncan Mackay

At the 1972 Olympics in Munich the judges took the following oath, for the first time: "In the name of all judges and officials, I promise that we shall officiate in these Olympic Games with complete impartiality, respecting and abiding by the rules, which govern them, in the spirit of sportsmanship".

Berlin 1936 were the first Olympics to have live television coverage

By Duncan Mackay

Berlin 1936 were the first Olympics to have live television coverage. The German Post Office, using equipment from Telefunken, broadcast over 70 hours of coverage to special viewing rooms throughout Berlin and Potsdam and a few private TV sets, transmitting from the Paul Nipkow TV Station, the first television station in the world.

The Soviet Union's Boris Onishchenko was disqualified from the modern pentathlon after it was discovered that he had rigged his épée to register a hit when there was not one

By Duncan Mackay

The Soviet Union's Boris Onishchenko was disqualified from the modern pentathlon at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal after it was discovered that he had rigged his épée to register a hit when there was not one. Due to his disqualification, it was suggested that he earned the nickname of "Boris DISonish-chenko".

At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, both Spanish and Catalan were official languages of the Games, but due to the political sensitivity surrounding the use of Catalan, the nations entered inFrench alphabetical order.

By Duncan Mackay

At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, both Spanish and Catalan were official languages of the Games, but due to the political sensitivity surrounding the use of Catalan, at the Opening Ceremony the nations entered in French alphabetical order.

The Olympic Flame for Montreal 1976 was "electronically" transmitted via satellite from Athens to Ottawa, by means of an electronic pulse derived from the actual burning flame

By Duncan Mackay

The Olympic Flame for Montreal 1976 was "electronically" transmitted via satellite from Athens to Ottawa, by means of an electronic pulse derived from the actual burning flame. From Ottawa, it was carried by hand to Montreal. After a rainstorm doused the Olympic flame a few days after the Games had opened, an official relit the flame using his cigarette lighter. Organisers quickly doused it again and relit it using a backup of the original flame.

Shizo Kanakuri disappeared while running the marathon in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm

By Duncan Mackay

Shizo Kanakuri disappeared while running the marathon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. He was listed as a missing person in Sweden for 50 years - until a journalist found him living quietly in southern Japan. Overcome with heat during the race, he had stopped at a garden party to drink orange juice, stayed for an hour, then took a train to a hotel and sailed home the next day, too ashamed to tell anyone he was leaving.

Madrid claims to be the largest capital city in Europe never to hosted the Olympic Games.

By Duncan Mackay

Madrid claims to be the largest capital city in Europe never to have hosted the Olympic Games. The Spanish capital is currently one of the candidates to host the 2020 Games, its fourth bid following unsuccessful campaigns for 1972, 2012 and 2016.

Weightlifting was the sport most affected by the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles

By Duncan Mackay

Weightlifting was the sport most affected by the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. A total of 94 of the world's top 100 ranked lifters were absent, as were 29 of the 30 medalists from the recent World Championships, including all 10 champions.

"Hand in Hand", the song composed by Italian Giorgio Moroder with lyrics written by American Tom Whitlock, for the Seoul Olympics in 1988 topped the charts in 17 countries, including Austrai, Spain, Japan Sweden and West Germany

By Duncan Mackay

"Hand in Hand", the song composed by Italian Giorgio Moroder with lyrics written by American Tom Whitlock, for the Seoul Olympics in 1988 topped the charts in 17 countries, including Austria, Spain, Japan, Sweden and West Germany. Sung by Korean group Koreana it sold more than 13 million copies around the world.

Show jumper Takeichi Nishi on his horse Uranus won Japan's only equestrian gold medal at Los Angeles in 1932

By Duncan Mackay

Show jumper Takeichi Nishi on his horse Uranus won Japan's only Olympic equestrian gold medal at Los Angeles in 1932. Nishi would later die in 1945 as an officer stationed in the defence of the island of Iwo Jima, and as such is a main character in Clint Eastwood's film, Letters from Iwo Jima.

London were awarded the 1944 Olympics which were cancelled as a result of World War Two

By Duncan Mackay

London were awarded the 1944 Olympics which were cancelled as a result of World War Two. They bid for 1948 and were awarded the Games following a postal vote held by the International Olympic Committee in March 1946 which chose them ahead of Baltimore, Minneapolis, Lausanne, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

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Fact of the day

When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act". He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.

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