Olympics 1924-1932
A poster for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Unlike the ancient Olympics, athletes did not actually compete naked – this is just the poster artist having fun.
Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi competed in the 1924 Olympics, as well as 1920, 1928 and 1932. Altogether, he won 9 gold medals, 5 of them in 1924.
Nurmi was so admired in Finland that a bronze sculpture was made of him in 1925, which became a symbol for Finnish sport and the independent Finnish nation (before 1917, Finland was part of the Russian Empire). This copy of the sculpture is at the International Olympic Committee park in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The 1928 Olympics were held in Amsterdam.
German fencer Erwin Casmir won a silver medal in the 1928 Olympics.
The poster for the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles features a classic nude discus thrower.
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American swimmer Buster Crabbe (above, in the shower) won a gold medal in the 1932 Olympics. Later he became a famous actor, playing Tarzan and Flash Gordon.
In the 1934 film Search for Beauty, Crabbe plays an Olympic swimmer, and he is shown taking a shower, but only shown above the waist. However, that same film showed other naked athletes running through a locker room, with more naked athletes in the background (above). This was one of the last films before the Motion Picture Production Code, which prohibited nudity in films, was enforced starting in 1934.
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Olympic Games in a Demi Lune, c. 1935 by British artist James Stroudley shows a large group of naked athletes.
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The Oarsmen by James Stroudley looks like part of Olympic Games in a Demi Lune, but it is a separate painting with subtly different details. Unfortunately, the subjects were not identified. Presumably they are either real or idealized British Olympic athletes.
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A late addition to this post: Urho Kekkonen was the high jump champion of Finland. He did not compete in the 1932 Olympics, but he attended as the head of the Finnish team and chairman of the Finnish Sports Association. He is seen here playing outdoor billiards naked in the Olympic village in Los Angeles. What is noteworthy is that he later became the President of Finland from 1956 to 1982.
Next time: the 1936 Nazi Olympics in Berlin.
8 comments:
Unique and interesting.
Thank you for this tribute to athletics and athletes in art.
In the B&W image of Paavo Nurmi I noticed a string around his waist. I wondered what that was but Google was no help.
I too noticed the black cord around Paavo Nurmi's waist. Perhaps a small modesty pouch? Obviously he's wearing nothing else, which is quite intriguing.
It's very interesting that although Mr Nurmi didn’t actually perform naked, when the sculpture was made it shows a naked man. My hat is off to the sculptor! I wish that people could just be naked in public like the sculpture depicts.
@SickoRicko and Anon - There are other photos showing that the string around his waist was connected to a small modesty pouch.
I'd enjoy seeing runners like Paavo Nurmi in competition, wearing nothing but a modesty pouch. The odds would be high that there would be some kind of wardrobe malfunction!
Paavo Nurmi looks hot
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