A Healthy Anniversary? Exploring Narratives of Health in Media Coverage of the 1968 and 2008 Olympic Games

Researchers are increasingly examining the tenuous relationship between participation in high performance sport and health, and yet IOC-sanctioned and popular discourse around the Olympics remains replete with references to the supposed healthfulness of the Games. Using the 1968 Mexico City Games and the 2008 Bejing Games as bookends, this paper explores national and international media coverage of athletic performance in relation to health and well-being. Three central narratives emerged: (1) pain, perseverance, and the pervasiveness of the “culture of risk” in high performance sport; (2) the performance imperative in the face of the challenges and anxieties of the environment; and (3) the presence and emerging sophistication of sports sciences/scientists in determining health. Resume. Alors que les chercheurs examinent d’un oeil de plus en plus critique la relation tenue qui existe entre le sport de haute performance et la sante, les propos emanant du CIO et le discours populaire demeurent bondes de references au caractere bienfaiteur des Jeux pour la sante. Utilisant les Jeux de Mexico en 1968 et de Bejing en 2008, cet article explore la couverture mediatique nationale et internationale des performances athletiques en ce qui a trait a la sante et au bien-etre. Trois fils directeurs emergent: 1) la douleur, la perseverance et l’importance de la « culture du risque » dans le sport de haute performance; 2) l’imperatif de la performance devant les defis et les anxietes liees au milieu; et 3) la presence et la sophistication grandissante des sciences/scientifiques du sport.