Olympic Games/Kiev/Russia/Hurdles First Russian Olympiad, Ki - Lot 280

Olympic Games/Kiev/Russia/Hurdles First Russian Olympiad, Kiev, August 20-24, 1913" by V.Tschetschet. This astonishing image shows us that there's still a lot to be said and found in the vast history of the Olympics. The Games were held in Kiev at the end of August and the beginning of September 1913. These were real games, featuring hurdles (image), but also, apart from athletics, 15 other disciplines and over 600 athletes selected from all over the Russian Empire. With a parade of athletes in sportswear, official medals, classical and combined Olympic events, as well as motorcycles, these competitions, approved by the Tsar and the Russian Olympic Committee, crowned champions from Russia, the Caucasus, the Baltic States and Poland. The notion of the city was paramount. It was a considerable event, which would have been forgotten without the work of Mr. Bubka and Madame Bulatova. Madame Bulatova. The war prevented a second edition from taking place, even though selection rounds were scheduled to be held in Riga in July 1914... It was a high point in the history of Eastern European sport... From 1928 onwards, the Sparkiades ensured the transition to the official return to the Games in 1952. That this 110-year-old document has miraculously survived history is a sign and a signal: the Olympic Games can and must bring people together. TBE, slight traces of folding lithograph on canvas. 98 x 66 cm