The 1920 Olympic Games were held in the Belgian city of Antwerp. The official opening of the Olympics took place on August 14, and it closed on August 29. However, for various reasons, competitions in some sports were held either earlier or later than this period.
The Olympic Games took place just a year and a half after the end of the World War. Belgium then suffered greatly, suffering great human and material losses. The memory of the experience was still too strong. Therefore, the sports delegations of Germany, as well as its allies, were not invited to the Olympics, since it was these countries that were considered the main culprits of the terrible bloodshed. Also, athletes from Soviet Russia did not receive invitations, since Western countries then did not recognize the Bolshevik government headed by V. I. Ulyanov-Lenin.
At the opening ceremony of the Olympics, its main symbol was raised for the first time - the Olympic flag, which is a rectangular white panel with five intertwined multi-colored rings. According to the idea of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the revived Olympiads, these rings were to symbolize all inhabited continents. Before that, a funeral mass was celebrated in the Antwerp Cathedral for all people who died during the world war. After that, white doves were released into the sky, as a symbol of peace and tranquility. This beautiful custom of releasing white doves was followed for many years, up to the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
The Olympic Games were officially opened by the King of Belgium, Albert I. For the first time, the athlete Victor Boen took an oath, making a commitment to fight for victory honestly, in full accordance with the rules.
The Olympics aroused great interest from the public and the press, but since the ticket price was too high, the competitions were often held in half-empty stands. In the team event, the USA team won with 41 gold, 27 silver and 27 bronze medals. For example, an athlete-swimmer from this country E. Bleybtroy received three Olympic gold, at the same time setting three world records.
Many athletes performed brilliantly at the Antwerp Olympics, achieving remarkable results. Thus, the Norwegian O. Olsen in the shooting competition received as many as 6 medals, of which 4 were gold, and the Finnish runner P. Nurmi won 2 gold and 1 silver medals.
