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Historian Recalls Another Time The Olympics Were Held During A Pandemic

Published August 5, 2021 at 12:40 PM EDT

The Tokyo Olympics do not mark the first time the world has hosted the games during a pandemic.

More than 100 years ago, Belgium hosted the Olympics just months after the 1918 influenza pandemic killed at least 50 million people around the world.

Here & Now‘s Jane Clayson speaks about how the games have changed since 1920 with Keith Rathbone, a historian at Macquarie University in Australia.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Charles (Charley) Paddock, second from right, of the USA wins the 100 meters final with his famous "flying finish" at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. Morris Kirksey, far right, of the USA was second, and Jackson Scholz of USA, left, was fourth. Third place Harry Edward not shown. (AP Photo)
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Charles (Charley) Paddock, second from right, of the USA wins the 100 meters final with his famous "flying finish" at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. Morris Kirksey, far right, of the USA was second, and Jackson Scholz of USA, left, was fourth. Third place Harry Edward not shown. (AP Photo)