A precise look back into the past – this is precisely what the Czech Olympic Academy is doing with its new book series “Retrospective Monographs”. It takes an in-depth look at the Olympic Games in the period from 1896 to 1936 and subsequently publishes a book on each of these Games in Czech.
The Jury of the EOA Flame Awards evaluated all submitted projects based on a number of different criteria. In the first award ceremony in 2023, the Czech Olympic Academy won with its project “Retrospective Monographs (1896-1936)” in the Olympic Heritage category.
The Czech Olympic Academy has identified a gap in the presentation of history. Official books on the past Olympic Games have only been available in Czech since 1948. The aim of this book series is to present the development of the Olympic Movement and its geopolitical context and, above all, to reconstruct the history of the Czech (and Czechoslovak) teams at the respective Olympic Games – including all Winter and the Intermediate Games – based on historical sources (archives, contemporary articles and reports, historical photographs, memoirs, etc.).
The publicly available books will be officially and individually presented upon their publication. Exhibitions, lectures, articles and podcasts will accompany the book releases. Two books have already been published as part of the project: Los Angeles 1932 and Antwerp 1920, among the best-selling sports books in the Czech Republic.
The knowledge in the monographs has been prepared and disseminated in cooperation with a group of partners: the Czech Olympic Committee, the Czech Pierre de Coubertin Committee, the National Museum, the Historical Military Institute, the Czech Sokol Community, public radio and television, and sports schools and faculties.
The project not only promotes the strengthening and remembrance of the link between sport, Olympism, society and the socio-political context but also serves to remember and honour the Olympians of the past and the founders of the Olympic Movement. After many years, such research can shed new light on this information.
This project of the Czech Olympic Academy serves as a model for other National Olympic Academies and encourages them to continue researching and filling historical gaps in their national Olympic heritage.
The EOA Flame Award will be presented to the winner during the EOA Congress Vilnius on 8th November 2023.
