Veg loading.
pinkomelet/Shutterstock
A look at the diet of an Olympian – from ancient Greece to Rio 2016.
Official Olympics merch.
Pilar Olivares/Reuters
Olympic organizers are known for fiercely protecting their many related trademarks. It helps maintain their value – but to whose advantage?
Diego Azubel/EPA
Unravelling the common assumption that runners from Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia have a natural advantage.
The 100m final in Rio will be won in a time that would have seemed impossible to the athletes competing in Athens in 1896.
As the track and field events are about to start in Rio, we look at how some athletic events have changed since the first Olympics in 1896.
duncan c
They’re a global phenomenon – but gangs are so varied that they barely merit the same name.
Jim Thorpe and Ben Johnson were both banned from the Olympics. But if each had played at different points in history, they would have been allowed to compete.
Nick Lehr/The Conversation
In sports, what’s considered fair play has changed throughout history. At one point, even looking ‘too poor’ was grounds for exclusion.
A TV cameraman shoots a Madame Tussauds Museum figure of US Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps at Banneker Pool in Washington, to coincide with the opening of the Rio Olympics on August 5.
Gary Cameron/Reuters
Business Briefing: the big bucks of broadcasting the Olympics
The Conversation 16 MB (download)
The amount broadcasters will pay for the rights to the Olympics keeps going up, but is the value of the rights changing?
Once the pageantry is over, many Olympic athletes have to return to normal life – which means figuring out how to make a living.
Tony Gentile/Reuters
A former Olympic gold medalist reflects on his own financial struggles as he trained and competed for the 1984 Games. Decades later, not much has changed for many Olympians.
A close shave…
Shutterstock
In foil, epee and sabre, Olympic fencers must have exceedingly rapid reactions. This academic (and fencer) is researching the sport.
Legendary Australian swimming coach and the country’s oldest Olympian, Forbes Carlile (centre).
AAP Image/Carlile Swimming
The Australian swim team hoping for medal success in Rio have a lot to thank one of the earlier pioneers of sport science: Forbes Carlile.
Will Rio pull victory out from a shaky run-up to the games?
Ivan Alvarado/Reuters
Will Brazil’s troubles in preparing for the Rio Games change the global narrative of the value of hosting the Olympics?
Make that brand sparkle again.
Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
The doping scandal has dragged the Olympic brand through the mud – and making it shine again will be no easy task.
EpicStockMedia/www.shutterstock.com
More action sports will be on the Olympic bill in Tokyo with skateboarding, surfing and climbing added to the programme.
The perfect stride of Mo Farah.
RTR GS
Elite athletes run differently to us mere mortals, but there’s nothing to stop you stealing a few of their techniques.
Add a hashtag, join the Olympics conversation.
Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
The mainstream media has knocked Brazil for the Zika virus, doping scandals and safety concerns. But citizen social media users, by revealing an alternate narrative, could even the score for Rio.
Five rings to rule them all.
lazyllama / Shutterstock.com
The IOC is incredibly protective of the Olympic brand. The rings, Rio 2016, and even the flame are all heavily guarded.
Hulk who?
Drinks Machine
Dig into the details of the ancient Olympics and you find a lot of misinformation, but also a surprising amount in common with the modern games.
Partially demolished houses in the Vila Autodromo favela, with the Olympic Park in the background.
Ricardo Moraes/Reuters
An architect rides through the streets of Rio amidst a cacophony of drills and jackhammers. He wonders: Is it worth it? What will the legacy of all this construction be?
Athletic high.
Shutterstock
Athletes face as many as 640 organisational demands at a big competition – and they can all take their toll.
A bronze statue, ‘The Boxer of Quirinal.’ Sometimes ancient Greek boxers would bribe their opponents.
Wikimedia Commons
When fame and glory are at stake, human nature seems to dictate that some people will cheat.