Charles Downing Lay, America’s Olympic Medalist In Town Planning
Today in 1877, the birthday of Charles Downing Lay. He won the first American medal at the 1936 Olympics, for…. town planning?
Two Countries Showed Up At The 1936 Olympics Flying Identical Flags
At the 1936 Summer Games, Liechtenstein and Haiti showed up flying identical blue and red striped flags. Fortunately they found a solution.
It’s Olympians Week on Cool Weird Awesome
We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the Games and those who have competed in them.
The “Blood In The Water Match” Brought Some Cold War Violence To The 1956 Summer Games
The 1956 Summer Games are sometimes called the “Friendly Games,” although there was also a water polo match between technically allied Hungary and the USSR that was anything but friendly.
Did A Finnish Skier Actually Spit Out His Dentures On His Way To A Gold Medal?
Kalle Jalkanen's Finnish ski team won a big come from behind victory in the 1936 Winter Games, but what legend says happened along the way is an even more unusual part of the story.
Shizo Kanakuri Finished A Marathon He’d Started 54 Years Earlier
Today in 1967, a Japanese athlete Shizo Kanakuri, finished a Olympic marathon that he’d started in 1912. Better late than never!
How Ski Ballet Ended Up At The Olympics In The 80s And 90s
Today in 1988 the Winter Olympics began in Calgary, Alberta. There were plenty of eyes that year on the demonstration sport known as ski ballet.
The 1924 Olympic Men’s Cross Country Race Was Literally A Hot Mess
Today in 1924, another one of these early Olympic events that went way off the rails: a very difficult and very strange mens’ cross country race.
Dick Roth Won Olympic Gold While He Had Appendicitis
It's National Swimming Pool Day, so here’s a story of a guy who had to get into the pool: Dick Roth, who won an Olympic gold medal while trying to fend off appendicitis.
Margaret Abbott Won Olympic Gold Even Though She Didn’t Know She Was In The Olympics
Today in 1900, Margaret Abbott became the first American woman to win an Olympic title, even though she didn’t know she was in the Olympics.