Olympic Games - The Atlantic

Olympic Games

Bad Regimes Are Winning at Sport’s Expense

Travis T. Tygart

May 19, 2024

An illustration of the Olympic torch with a globe at the heart of its flame

These Beijing Olympics Send a Much Darker Message

Michael Schuman

February 2, 2022

Illustration of Olympic rings and a gold star with a red background.

The Olympics Have Lost Their Appeal

August 7, 2021

A hand bearing the olympic torch sinks beneath the sands

Watching Olympic Skateboarding Among 20 Skeptical, Aging Skaters

Nic Dobija-Nootens

August 5, 2021

Skateboarder Miyu Sasaki performs a trick at an Olympics venue.

The Gymnast Who Won’t Let Her Daughters Do Gymnastics

August 3, 2021

Rachael Denhollander is featured on a yellow background with five red, blue, and yellow circles spaced randomly around her

It’s Almost Impossible to Be a Running Fan

July 30, 2021

Three sequential silhouettes of a runner jumping, distorted by scribbles

Do Olympic-Level Achievements Make People Happy?

July 29, 2021

A black and white photo of a man in a track jacket holding a bouquet of flowers and looking down at an Olympic medal while sweat runs down his face

The 2020 Olympics: 7 Sports We’re Watching

Caroline Mimbs Nyce

July 23, 2021

Simone Biles of the United States trains on balance beam for artistic gymnastics at Ariake Gymnastics Centre venue ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.

The Haunting, Ambivalent Olympics Opening Ceremony

Spencer Kornhaber

July 23, 2021

Black and white image of Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka holding the Olympic Torch after lighting the flame of hope during the opening ceremony.

I’ve Been Training for the Olympics, and Pushing the Games Back Was the Right Call

April 6, 2020

The Man Who Raised a Fist

October 2018 Issue

A black and white photograph of Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists on the podium at the 1968 Olympics.

What the 1896 Olympics Were Like

Basil L. Gildersleeve

February 1, 1897

Black and white image of the track and spectators at the 1896 Athens Olympics

My Sixty Days in Greece: The Olympic Games, Old and New

Basil L. Gildersleeve

February 1897 Issue

Black and white image of the track and spectators at the 1896 Athens Olympics