1. THE LEGEND: A German man competed as a woman in 1936
Obsessed with proving his Aryan mob were, like, the best humans ever, Hitler wanted Germany to top the medal table in 1936, which they did, winning 89 golds to the USA’s second-placed 56. However, asking 18-year-old German, Hermann Ratjen, to compete as Dora Ratjen in the women’s high jump proved desperate not astute. The deep-voiced competitor only finished fourth leaving Hitler red-faced and embarrassed.
VERDICT: True
2. THE LEGEND: An Olympic rower stopped still during a race to let a family of ducks swim past
Henry “Bobby” Pearce was the ultra-talented lone Rowing representative for Australia in Amsterdam in 1928. Whilst racing a cumbersome Frenchman, he did indeed let a family of ducks past his boat before going on to win the race and eventually the gold medal, which he retained in 1932 becoming the first single sculler to win back-to-back golds.
VERDICT: True
3. THE LEGEND: The Nazis started the Olympic Torch Relay
In the Ancient Olympic Games flames would be kept lit throughout the entire festival, but torches didn’t make a comeback in the Modern Olympic movement until 1928 when the practice of lighting was reborn. The current relay format though was not invented until 1936 though, by Dr Carl Diem. Hitler believed the Ancient Greeks were forebears to the Aryans and having the flame relayed from Olympia to Berlin would echo this. Good addition, bad reason.
VERDICT: True
4. THE LEGEND: Joe Frazier qualified for the 1964 Olympics despite defeat in qualifying to Buster Mathis
Mathis was a 300-pound human wrecking machine but, unfortunately for him, his bones still broke. His finger proved this whilst defeating Joe Frazier in the US qualifiers. He was subsequently forced to pull out of the 1964 Games and Frazier went on to become Olympic champion despite breaking his thumb in his second round bout (he didn’t tell anyone!).
VERDICT: True
5. THE LEGEND: A one-legged gymnast won six medals
George Eyser was a German-American inspired artistic gymnast who lost his left leg after being run over by a train yet still competed in the 1904 St Louis Olympics with a prosthetic limb winning six medals in one day of competition, including three golds in the vault, rope climbing and parallel bars. He also competed in the athletics triathlon, but finished last.
VERDICT: True
6. THE LEGEND: The Jamaican bobsled team crashed then carried their sled to the finish line
John Candy’s film, Cool Runnings, brought the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team’s efforts to the world’s attention but also took some liberties with the facts. The team were fast starters but they weren’t ever close to medal positions. They crashed during one of their four runs, were thus disqualified, then walked alongside the sled as it was pushed to the finish line. They didn’t carry it.
VERDICT: False
7. THE LEGEND: A 17-year-old Yank won the decathlon despite barely training for it
You can’t really make this up to be honest. Bob Mathis was a teenage athletic prodigy who only learnt some of the Decathlon’s events three weeks before the 1948 Olympics in London. It didn’t matter. He finished third on the first day, rose to first on the second and maintained it comfortably in the third. He remains the youngest man to win an Olympic Gold medal in track and field in history.
VERDICT: True
8. THE LEGEND: An A female equestrian Olympian won two silvers depite not being able to feel her legs
Lis Hartel was a two-time Silver Medal winner at the 1952 and the 1956 Olympic Games. Impressive, sure, but even more so when you realise she lost the use of her legs below her knees after a gruelling bout of polio whilst pregnant. She wasn’t deterred though, she gave birth to her child and went on to become one of the most remarkable Olympians ever known and a bit of a celebrity in her native Denmark. True grit.
VERDICT: True
9. THE LEGEND: A dopey lap counter cost an Olympian a world record
One of the greatest steeplechase racers of all time, Finland’s Volmari Iso-Hollo, was dominating the field in the 3000m in 1932. As he crossed the line, no finishing bell rang, so he continued thinking it was his error, and ran an extra 460m before stopping. The idiot whose job it was to count the number of laps completed had been distracted by a nearby decathlon event and Iso-Hollo was robbed of a world record. What a numpty. In 1936, Iso-Hollo redressed the balance somewhat, retainging gold and breaking the WR.
VERDICT: True
10. THE LEGEND: Hitler snubbed Jesse Owens in 1936
Herr Hitler made a point of only congratulating the German winners during his first day at the Olympic stadium and was told this wasn’t in the Olympic spirit. The next day he congratulated no-one, including Owens, he did not single Owens out. The previous day he did leave the stadium after African-American athlete, Cornelius Johnson, won a Gold Medal in the high jump. When Owens became a motivational speaker in the 1950s the story amplified, it was what audiences wanted to hear.
VERDICT: False
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