Recent Coverage

These colorful rings could become a permanent fixture of the Eiffel Tower.

SMART NEWS

Paris Mayor Wants to Keep the Olympic Rings on the Eiffel Tower

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass waves an Olympic flag on her return from the closing ceremony of the Paris games on August 12, 2024.

INNOVATION

Can a City Known for Its Freeways and Gridlock Deliver a Car-Free Olympics? Los Angeles Thinks So

Ami Yuasa faces off against India Sardjoe during the women's quarterfinal on August 9.

SMART NEWS

Breaking Just Made Its Olympic Debut. Will It Return in 2032?

American sprinter Noah Lyles rang the Paris 2024 bell after winning the men's 100-meter final.

SMART NEWS

These Olympic Gold Medalists Get to Ring a Bell Bound for Notre-Dame

Athletes sit in front of a cabin in the Olympic Village at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How the Olympic Village Evolved From Makeshift Cabins to a City Within a City

An 1838 illustration of Pindar, the lyric poet from ancient Greece, reciting one of the Olympian odes

HISTORY

Poetry Was an Official Olympic Event for Nearly 40 Years. What Happened?

After delays and months of uncertainty, triathletes finally took the plunge into the Seine River in Paris.

SMART NEWS

Olympians Finally Got to Swim in the Seine River

Performance artist Abraham Poincheval stands inside a giant glass bottle on the Canal Saint-Denis.

SMART NEWS

French Performance Artist Seals Himself in a Giant Bottle for Ten Days Outside Paris' Olympic Stadium

Members of the U.S. team participate in the opening ceremony at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

HISTORY

At the 1960 Olympics, American Athletes Recruited by the CIA Tried to Convince Their Soviet Peers to Defect

Johnny Weissmuller (left) and Duke Kahanamoku (right) at the 1924 Paris Olympics

HISTORY

At the 1924 Paris Olympics, Tarzan Faced Off With the Ambassador of Aloha

From the Archives

Interest in gymnastics soared during the Cold War, when the Olympics emerged as a cultural battleground for Western and Eastern nations.

HISTORY

A History of Gymnastics, From Ancient Greece to Tokyo 2020

Will an American athlete from the Tokyo Games grab gold and become the next to be featured on the cover of Wheaties?

INNOVATION

How Wheaties Became the 'Breakfast of Champions'

A mural in Munich's former Olympic Village features Otl Aicher's pictograms.

INNOVATION

This Graphic Artist's Olympic Pictograms Changed Urban Design Forever

Made of fermented vegetables, kimchi was popularized globally during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

TRAVEL

How the 1988 Olympics Helped Spark a Global Kimchi Craze

The Games may not exist at all were it not for the perseverance of the Brits.

HISTORY

The Little-Known History of How the Modern Olympics Got Their Start

The National Aquatics Center is where Michael Phelps earned his eight gold medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Today it's been transformed into the Happy Magic Water Cube, one of Asia’s largest waterparks.

TRAVEL

Four Olympic Stadiums With Unexpected Afterlives

Scenes from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

SCIENCE

The Rise of the Modern Sportswoman

A few of the Olympians pose for a photo upon their return to the U.S. after the 1936 Games. In the back row, on the far right is Tidye PIckett and third from the left is Louise Stokes.

HISTORY

Sports History Forgot About Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes, Two Black Olympians Who Never Got Their Shot

Esther Williams, Million Dollar Mermaid

HISTORY

Synchronized Swimming Has a History That Dates Back to Ancient Rome

“Even the greatest things in the world need attention when they’re not as strong as they could be. It was a cry for freedom,” says Tommie Smith of his silent act at the 1968 Olympics.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

What You Don’t Know About Olympian Tommie Smith’s Silent Gesture

United States athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

ARTS & CULTURE

Who Really Composed NBC's Olympic Theme? Not Who You Think

Chuck Taylor All Star, circa 1957

INNOVATION

How Chuck Taylor Taught America How to Play Basketball

Pankration scene: the pankriatiast on the right tries to gouge his opponent's eye; the umpire is about to strike him for this foul.

HISTORY

The Ancient History of Cheating in the Olympics

Fanny Blanker-Koen crosses the finish line to become the first triple champion of the 14th Olympic Games.

HISTORY

How Fanny Blankers-Koen Became the 'Flying Housewife' of the 1948 London Games