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Tennis player Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain became the first female Olympic champion in the tennis singles.
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First Black man to win a gold medal
John Baxter "Doc" Taylor, 1908, won a gold medal as part of the 4 x 400 m relay team. -
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Swimmer, Fanny Durack first woman to win gold in a world-record time.
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Mikio Oda is the first Asian to participate in the olympic games
Mikio Oda of Japan in the triple jump at the Amsterdam games in 1928. -
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Olympics held in Nazi Germany Berlin, Jesse Owens competes unsegregated unlike the USA
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American sprinters Sam Stoller and Marty Glickman, the only two Jewish athletes on the U.S. Olympic team, were pulled from the 4 × 100 relay team on the day of the competition
Anti-semitism strong at 1936 olympics -
Alice Coachman, became the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
with her win in the high jump in 1948 (London); broke the high school and college high jump records despite not wearing any shoes; member of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame. -
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Israel and Soviet Union participate in Olympics for first time
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Numerous boycotts effect games in Melbourne
Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon boycotted in protest of the Israeli invasion of Egypt. The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland boycotted in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary during the Hungarian Uprising.
The political frustrations between the Soviet Union and Hungary boiled over at the games themselves when the two mens water polo teams met for the semi-final. The players became increasingly violent. Near rioting occured. -
First olympic games held in Asia
1964 summer Olympic games held in Tokyo, Japan. -
Mexico's Enriqueta Basilio becomes the first woman to light the Olympic flame in the stadium.
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Tom Waddell, first openly gay man places 6th in decathalon
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Two African American athletes do "black power" salute and are expelled
The 1968 Summer Olympics were held in Mexico City. At these games Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medalists, gave the black power salute during the Star Spangled Banner. The action was deemed to be against the principles of the Olympic Games and the two athletes were expelled from the Olympics. -
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Munich Massacre
The 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany, were probably the most negatively affected games. Eleven Israeli athletes were kidnapped and ultimately killed by Palestinian terrorists. The terrorists demanded the release of 234 Palestinians. -
The IOC decided that women could be proposed as IOC members.
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Largest political boycott olympics
Moscow's 1980 Summer Olympics was the year of the largest boycott in Olympic history. The boycott included the USA and 61 other countries in response to the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan -
First aboriginal competes in olympic games
Cathy burst into the Olympic spotlight at the 1996 Games, representing the first Aboriginal athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. She became the Olympic champion for 400m in 2000, and in 2001 won the prestigious title of World Sportswoman of the Year. -
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Judith Arndt, an out lesbian wins 2nd place in olympic cycling competition
German cyclist Judith Arndt caused quite a stir by crossing the finish line and flashing her middle finger to the German Cycling Federation. Although her team won the silver medal, she was upset that her girlfriend Petra Rossner was excluded from the team. Arndt believed they could have won the gold if Petra, a strong sprinter had been competing. -
First olympic pride house
