Summer Olympics

Éva Székely won a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Éva Székely, Holocaust Survivor and Olympic Champion Swimmer, Dies at 92

In the wake of the war, she did not attempt to hide her identity. "Unequivocally," she said, "I was a Jew"

The military latched on to the trampoline as a training device for pilots, to allow them to learn how to reorient themselves to their surroundings after difficult air maneuvers.

How the Trampoline Came to Be

Inspired by circus performers, George Nissen created the bouncing ‘tumbling device’ that still captures imaginations 75 years later

Following the news of the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, this 2007 portrait by Rick Chapman is now on view at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Smithsonian Historians Reflect on Kobe Bryant's Legacy as His Portrait Goes on View

A 2007 photograph of the N.B.A. All-Star offers visitors a chance to pay their respects

Pierre de Coubertin first publicly proposed reviving the Olympic Games in 1892.

Speech That Inspired the Modern Olympics Is Now the Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia Ever Sold

An anonymous buyer purchased the manuscript, penned by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in 1892, for $8.8 million

London's 'Eiffel Tower' Is Still Losing Money

Built for the 2012 Olympic Games, the ArcelorMittal Orbit has not turned into the tourist attraction it was expected to become

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Medals Will Be Made of Recycled Materials

The design for the medals, created by Junichi Kawanishi, were unveiled this week

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

What happens to old Olympics facilities after the medals have all been awarded?

Japan Plans to Make Olympic Medals Out of Electronic Waste

Organizers hope to reclaim gold, silver and copper from the used electronics for the 2020 games

Ron Hill celebrates fifty years of running every day

World's Longest Running Streak Comes to an End

After running a mile a day for 52 years and 39 days, running legend Ron Hill finally took a day off due to heart problems

Chaunté Lowe, who placed sixth in the high jump in the 2008 Beijing Games, is now a bronze medalist

New Doping Tests Are Turning Past Runners-Up Into Olympic Medalists

Over 75 medal winners from the 2008 and 2012 games have been busted for doping, scrambling the Olympic record books

The Olympics' highest honor is named for Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games

This Olympic Medal Is Even Harder to Win Than the Gold

The International Olympic Committee values sportsmanship above all else

Jackie Joyner-Kersee by Gregory Heisler, 1988

Why We Have to Play Catch-up Collecting the Portraits of Female Athletes

The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery is setting its sights on the future

Scenes from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

The Rise of the Modern Sportswoman

Women have long fought against the assumption that they are weaker than men, and the battle isn’t over yet

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

Thanks to the one-two punch of racism and sexism, these two women were shut out of the hero’s treatment given to other athletes

Esther Williams, Million Dollar Mermaid

Synchronized Swimming Has a History That Dates Back to Ancient Rome

Before it reached the Olympics, the sport was a spectacle of the circus and vaudeville

Book carts can already get out of control quickly, so careening them along a twisty course was treacherous indeed.

Librarians Have an Olympics, Too

Brains met brawn in a bookish competition for the ages

Cupping Isn't the Only Strange Tactic Olympic Athletes Use to Get a Boost

Those painful cupping "hickies" are only the start—athletes go to great lengths to gain an edge

Gymnast Dominique Dawes competes on the balance beam during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Dominique Dawes' Guide to Watching Gymnastics

The former gold medalist offers a cheat sheet on her sport’s rules, maneuvers and slang

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

Punishment for cheating and bribery in the Olympics of Ancient Greece could include fines, public flogging and statewide bans from competition

New anti-Zika measures go way beyond bug spray.

All the Extremely Absurd Ways People Are Fighting Zika at the Rio Olympics

Donning facial masks, wearing Zika-proof uniforms and freezing sperm: Does any of this stuff actually work?

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