Olympics

On July 28, 1984, the Summer Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles, California. They were the first games to be opened by a sitting US president, which was one of many highlights…

On July 25, 1992, the opening ceremonies marked the start of the Games of the XXV Olympiad in Barcelona, Spain. These games included many firsts, lasts, and records…

Wilma Glodean Rudolph was born on June 23, 1940, in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee. Dubbed “The Fastest Woman in History,” she became the first female athlete to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games. 

On February 22, 1980, the US men’s hockey team scored an unexpected victory over a more experienced Soviet team at the Winter Olympics. The victory was one of the most memorable moments of those games and in all of sports history.

The 1984 Winter Olympic Games opened in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia), on February 8, 1984. These were the first Winter Games – and the second Olympics – held in a Communist state.

Olympic tennis star Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss Wightman was born on December 20, 1886, in Healdsburg, California. She won two Olympic gold medals, in addition to many US titles and has been called the “Queen Mother of American Tennis.”

Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (also known as “The Duke” and “The Big Kahuna”) was born on August 24, 1890, in Haleʻākala, Honolulu, Kingdom of Hawaii.  Duke was a record-setting Olympic swimmer who helped popularize surfing outside of Hawaii.

On July 29, 1948, London opened the Games of the XIV Olympiad. They were the first summer games held since Berlin in 1936, having been delayed due to World War II.

On February 18, 1960, the eighth Winter Olympic Games opened in Squaw Valley, California.  They were the first Winter Games held in the US since 1932.