National Status, the 1908 Olympic Games and the English Press1

From their inception the modern Olympics have been characterized by controversy over the meaning of the games. The 1908 London games and their coverage in the Edwardian press illustrate the tension between the Olympic ideal of ‘friendly’ sporting competition and the reality of the intense national rivalry in Europe prior to the First World War. During the games, newspapers also addressed the parallel tension between amateur virtue and the desire to win. The press presented sporting achievement at the London games as a measure of national status and provided an introduction to issues surrounding international sporting competition which still persist today.