Goodwill Games Information
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other Western countries to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, an act reciprocated when the Soviet and other Eastern Bloc countries (with the exception of Romania) boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
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Overview
The first Games, held in Moscow in 1986, featured 182 events and attracted over 3,000 athletes representing 79 countries. World records were set by Sergey Bubka (pole vault), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (heptathlon), and both the men and women's 200 m cycle racing, by East Germany's Michael Hübner and the Soviet Union's Erika Salumäe, respectively. World records also fell at the 1990 Games in Seattle, to Mike Barrowman in the 200 m breaststroke and Nadezhda Ryashkina in the 10 km walk.
The 1994 Games were held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the first competition since the Soviet Union had been replaced by fifteen independent republics. Russians set five world records in the weightlifting section, and the games were the first major international event to feature beach volleyball, which would appear at the Olympics for the first time at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Ted Turner's last games were in 1998 in New York City, with memorable highlights including Joyner-Kersee winning her fourth straight heptathlon title, and the U.S. 4x400m relay team setting a world's best time.
The games were later bought from Ted Turner by Time Warner when Turner's company merged with it. Turner explained during a live interview at the 2009 Denver SportAccord conference that although the demise of the games was caused by the short-sighted management of Time Warner, Turner, who left the company, admits "If I'd have stayed there the Goodwill Games would not have been canceled." [1][2] Turner is absolute that the games must return, as a bridge to restore cultural contact between Russia and America as relationships have steadily disintegrated since the Cold War through apathy and because both countries controlling 95% of the nuclear arsenals pointed at each other. He insists that it would've been virtually impossible for there to have been World Wars had the Olympics not been boycotted (despite the fact that the United States participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin but later fought Nazi Germany in World War II), because the nations would be too focused on the issue of training teams and that the countries don't want to "mess up their chances".[3] Turner, anticipates the return of the games, along with other enterprises he is working on.
Time Warner organized the 2001 Games in Brisbane, Australia, before announcing that this would be the last edition of the games. The 2001 edition witnessed Australia win the most medals with 75, but it received very low television ratings in the United States. Nevertheless, critics praised Turner Network Television for showing the games live, rather than on tape delay.
Summer Goodwill Games
| Edition | Year | Host City | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1986 | Moscow | Soviet Union | 3,000 athletes and 79 countries |
| II | 1990 | Seattle, Washington | United States | 2,300 athletes and 54 countries |
| III | 1994 | Saint Petersburg | Russia | 2,000 athletes and 59 countries |
| IV | 1998 | New York City, New York | United States | 1,300 athletes and 60 countries |
| V | 2001 | Brisbane, Queensland | Australia | Final edition |
| VI | 2005 | Phoenix, Arizona | United States | Games cancelled |
Winter Goodwill Games
| Edition | Year | Host city | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 2000 | Lake Placid, New York | United States | Only Winter Goodwill Games held |
| II | 2005 | Calgary, Alberta | Canada | Games cancelled |
Sports
Summer sports
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Winter sports
Participating countries
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Africa and Middle East
Asia and Oceania |
Eastern Bloc
Europe |
North America Caribbean and Central America South America |
Notes
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubt_ef7kUmU
- ^ http://www.aroundtherings.com/articles/view.aspx?id=31908
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubt_ef7kUmU
- ^ Men's basketball was not held as a separate event in 1986 because the World Basketball Championship was taking place in Madrid at the same time. The world championship results determined the Goodwill Games winners.
- ^ Motoball was held only in 1986; the host country was allowed to include one sport of its choice.
- ^ At the 2000 Games, the figure skating event featured professional skaters because of conflicts with Olympic-eligible skaters competing in their national championships. This enabled France's Surya Bonaly to become the only skater in history to win the same event as both an amateur and professional skater as she also won in 1994.
External links
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Categories:
- Multi-sport events
- Recurring sporting events established in 1986
- Recurring events disestablished in 2001
- Goodwill Games
- Defunct sports competitions
- Turner Sports
- Soviet Union–United States relations
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