As Arthur Daley of the Times examined: New York Times, Sept. 12, 1960. Daley added: “Once every four years the U.S. stirs slightly and discovers that it has to assemble teams in sports it has been ignoring. The Russians are prepared, and so is up-and-coming Germany, the most intensely nationalistic nation of any here, even though a divided Germany competed under a compromise flag.”
Also lingering in Rome were: Pravda, Sept. 12, 1960. The Pravda account also cherry-picked positive comments about the Soviet team from newspapers around the world. Perhaps something was lost, or changed, in translation, but from Pravda’s account, there was global unanimity on the Soviet domination.
Leaving aside the larger controversy: U.S. officials had been aware of the Soviet advantage in gymnastics for many years and from the start were concerned about how that advantage could be used in propaganda. A September 30, 1954, White House memorandum on a meeting with United States Information Agency officials stated: “The Soviets lay great emphasis on gymnastics in their athletic program and as a consequence generally far surpass other competitors in these events to such a degree it permits them to claim unofficial top score in the games though they may be overshadowed in the other events which are regarded as much more important by all other nations.”
But if Rome marked: White House central files, box 734, Eisenhower Presidential Library; Sports Illustrated, Dec. 26, 1960, “The Soft American.” In the article, Kennedy presented a four-point plan to restore America to physical health. His plan included establishing a White House Committee on Health and Fitness, ordering the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to conduct research on the best physical fitness programs for public schools, inviting the governors to an annual Youth Fitness Congress, and making it clear that the promotion of physical fitness was a continuing policy of the U.S. government.
From a divided nation: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Sept. 12, 1960.
The separation of the combined team: Int., Ingrid Kraemer; also Neues Deutschland, Sept. 12–14, 1960; “Building Walls, Dividing Teams,” Dichter.
The mastermind of the East German athletic drug culture: Int., Ingrid Kraemer; Times of London obituary, Oct. 26, 2002; Independent (London) obituary, Oct. 25, 2002; New York Times, Nov. 5, 2007; CBC Sports, Jan. 19, 2003; Indian Express, Aug. 19, 1998.
A fleet of Tupolev Tu-104s: Ints., Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Dave Sime; Ralph Boston oral history, NBC archive; The Red Files, PBS archive; also Pravda, Sept. 13–16, 1960.
Bradford had been so discouraged: Int., James Bradford.
Abebe Bikila made his triumphant return: National Olympic Committee of Ethiopia profile, Ethiopia OC file, OSC, Lausanne; Ethiopian Herald, Sept. 13–17, 1960; Triumph and Tragedy, Rome chapter; New York Times, Feb. 3, 1961, Oct. 21, 1964, March 14, 1965, March 5, 1967, Aug. 16, 1972; Associated Press obituary, Oct. 25, 1973; David DuPree, “Hurdles Are Many for African Runners,” Washington Post, July 23, 1975.
“The African question remains”: South Africa file, Brundage collection: IOC sessions, 1965–68, OSC, Lausanne; The International Olympic Committee and South Africa, Keba Mbaye, IOC publication.
After closing the Rome Games: Brundage handwritten daily diary, Brundage collection; Letter from Bruno Zauli, secretary general of CONI, to Otto Mayer, IOC chancellor, Oct. 14, 1961, Mayer file, OSC, Lausanne.
Everywhere Brundage turned: Letters between Brundage and Marquess of Exeter, Jan. 26, 1961, July 22, 1961, Aug. 14, 1961, amateurism file, OSC, Lausanne; Sports Illustrated, Jan. 30, 1961; Associated Press report, Jan. 7, 1961; Sprinter of the Century.
Jim McKay’s daytime job: Int., Jim McKay.
Television revenues rose: Slater, Fourth International Symposium for Olympic Research, Changing Partners, table 3, page 56, “The Relationship Between the Mass Media and the Olympic Games.”
In Washington a few days after: Memorandum of conversation, Handling of Olympic Affiliation Problem; participants Dr. George K. C. Yeh, J. Graham Parsons, Larue R. Lutkins, Sept. 13, 1960, State Department central files, China, NARA-College Park.
The next morning C. K. Yang: China Daily News, Sept. 14–16, 1960.
When word reached Taipei: Incoming airgram from American embassy Taipei to Secretary of State, Sept. 20, 1960, State Department central files, China, NARA-College Park.
In the days after Rome: Account of Grombach obsession with Lord Burghley drawn from letter from Industrial Reports Inc., 113 West 57th St., New York, to Mr. C. Chrystall, Anglo-American Detective Agency, 3, Lower John St., London, W.1., signed by John Grombach, Grombach file, OSC, Lausanne; confidential letter from Brundage to Exeter, Feb. 9, 1961, Lord Burghley file, Brundage collection; The People (London), Feb. 12, 1961; Times of London, Feb. 13, 1961; News of the World, Feb. 13, 1961; May 1961 memorandum to Senator Eastland from Jay Sourwine, Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, record group 46, Brundage file, NARA-Washington.
School awaited many Americans: Ints., John Thomas, Dave Sime, Anne Warner (Cribbs).
What Rafer Johnson most wanted to do: Int., Rafer Johnson; also Kingsburg Record, Aug. 30–Sept. 15, 1960.
Coach Temple and the Tigerbelles: Ints., Ed Temple, Lucinda Williams; Nashville Tennessean, Sept. 29–Oct. 3, 1960; Clarksville Leaf-Chonicle, Oct. 2–5, 1960.
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