Special Report

The Tokyo Olympics

Prepare yourself for the Tokyo Olympics with this comprehensive guide to the history, science, arts and thrills of the worldwide celebration

Yukinori Hasumi/Getty Images

Interest in gymnastics soared during the Cold War, when the Olympics emerged as a cultural battleground for Western and Eastern nations.

A History of Gymnastics, From Ancient Greece to Tokyo 2020

Will an American athlete from the Tokyo Games grab gold and become the next to be featured on the cover of Wheaties?

How Wheaties Became the 'Breakfast of Champions'

Team USA Stamps

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Science Behind a Faster, Higher, Stronger Team U.S.A.

A mural in Munich's former Olympic Village features Otl Aicher's pictograms.

This Graphic Artist's Olympic Pictograms Changed Urban Design Forever

Babe Didrickson’s brash behavior along with her decorated athleticism (above: second from right in the 80-meter hurdle) challenged every imagined ideal for a woman athlete in the 1930s.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Olympian Babe Didrikson Cleared the Same Hurdles Women Athletes Face Today

Recent Coverage

Jim Thorpe in 1912

Jim Thorpe's 1912 Olympic Gold Medals Are Finally Reinstated

Ralph Samuelson on water skiis

The Man Who Invented Water Skiing

Ski jumpers use aerodynamics and physics to overcome gravity – at least for a while.

The Freaky Physics of Ski Jump

Amy Pope, The Conversation

Bobsled, luge and skeleton athletes descend twisting, steep tracks at speeds upward of 80 mph (130 kmh).

The High-Speed Physics of Olympic Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton

John Eric Goff, The Conversation

Fireworks fill the sky over the "Bird's Nest" arena in Beijing on January 30, 2022

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Smithsonian magazine

Activists in London hold signs urging the BBC to boycott the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Is China Committing Genocide Against the Uyghurs?

Lorraine Boissoneault

From the Archives

Made of fermented vegetables, kimchi was popularized globally during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

How the 1988 Olympics Helped Spark a Global Kimchi Craze

The Olympic Flame was lit from the sun's rays using a parabolic mirror, during the final dress rehearsal for the lighting ceremony at Ancient Olympia, in southwestern Greece, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2017.

Your Burning Questions About the Olympic Torch, Answered

The Games may not exist at all were it not for the perseverance of the Brits.

The Little-Known History of How the Modern Olympics Got Their Start

The National Aquatics Center is where Michael Phelps earned his eight gold medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Today it's been transformed into the Happy Magic Water Cube, one of Asia’s largest waterparks.

Four Olympic Stadiums With Unexpected Afterlives

Scenes from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

The Rise of the Modern Sportswoman

A few of the Olympians pose for a photo upon their return to the U.S. after the 1936 Games. In the back row, on the far right is Tidye PIckett and third from the left is Louise Stokes.

Sports History Forgot About Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes, Two Black Olympians Who Never Got Their Shot

Esther Williams, Million Dollar Mermaid

Synchronized Swimming Has a History That Dates Back to Ancient Rome

“Even the greatest things in the world need attention when they’re not as strong as they could be. It was a cry for freedom,” says Tommie Smith of his silent act at the 1968 Olympics.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

What You Don’t Know About Olympian Tommie Smith’s Silent Gesture

United States athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Who Really Composed NBC's Olympic Theme? Not Who You Think

Chuck Taylor All Star, circa 1957

How Chuck Taylor Taught America How to Play Basketball

Pankration scene: the pankriatiast on the right tries to gouge his opponent's eye; the umpire is about to strike him for this foul.

The Ancient History of Cheating in the Olympics

Fanny Blanker-Koen crosses the finish line to become the first triple champion of the 14th Olympic Games.

How Fanny Blankers-Koen Became the 'Flying Housewife' of the 1948 London Games