The Olympics
Harvard and the Olympics
This year in Tokyo, we add to a history with the Olympics that dates back to 1896 when seven members of the Harvard community brought home eight gold medals.
Meet this year’s athletes
At the Olympics
Qualifying in the time of COVID
What does it take to be an Olympian in the middle of a global pandemic?
How has COVID affected training?
Jamie Mittelman and her “Flame Bearers” podcast team talk to Olympic hopefuls during the Harvard Kennedy School’s Women in Power Conference about how COVID affected their training.
Then COVID struck
Olympians talk about enduring a one-year coronavirus delay of the Games, isolation from teammates and coaches, and months of improvised training under COVID lockdown.
How COVID is pushing tech to revamp sports
Enabled by technology, new and altered categories of athletes might emerge.
Our Olympic history
Harvard has played an integral role in the Olympics, Paralympics, and Special Olympics for over a century.
See the full list of competitors at Harvard University Athletics
The world at our feet
In 1984, Harvard Stadium was host to a series of Olympic soccer matches involving Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Brazil, France, Iraq, Norway, Qatar, and Yugoslavia.
Striving for Olympic glory
The 2014 U.S. Olympic women’s hockey squad was coached by Harvard coach Katey Stone and included three Harvard students and a Harvard alum.
A special anniversary
Since its founding in 1968, the Special Olympics has grown to a global movement that empowers people with intellectual disabilities through sports, education, and health programs. In 2018, the Harvard Law School Project on Disability helped celebrate the 50th anniversary.
Learning from the Olympics
The impact of the Olympics beyond triumphs of physical prowess.
A golden opportunity to advocate for the rights of children with disabilities
Give her some space
Psychologist’s perspective on Simone Biles at the Olympics includes message for parents, coaches.
Rethinking Olympic glory
Experts discuss ways to improve the Olympics for the host countries and the athletes.
Competitive edge
Practice might get you to the Olympics, but mental preparation may be what puts you on the podium.
Empty monuments
Kaz Yoneda’s research on Olympic stadiums considers the future of cities.
AstrOlympics
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian created the AstrOlympics project to help explore the spectacular range of science that we can find both in the impressive feats of the Olympic Games as well as cosmic phenomena throughout the Universe.
Rotation
A gymnast performing a back flip in mid-air is rotating at 90 RPM (1.5 Hertz).
Distance
The distance between the archer and the target is 70 meters (230 feet).
Pressure
The pressure on an Olympic contestant to perform well: intense!