Today in 1896 - British athletes win Olympic gold medals for yodelling in Athens. The first and only time competitive yodelling was an Olympic sport, the two members of the British yodelling team, Terrence and Johnathan Hillington, trounced Switzerland in the finals with an elaborate two-part polyphonic representation of Georgian Krimanchuli. The win was controversial and caused rioting in the streets of Switzerland, as the British had won the event without wearing the ceremonial lederhosen and feathered cap - the British preferring to wear cricket whites and a bowler hat. The controversy was so extreme that Swiss nationalists attempted to storm the awards ceremony. The situation was so precarious that the International Olympic Committee of the time decided competitive yodelling was too contentious for inclusion in the Games. An attempt in 1981 to revive the sport for inclusion in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was rebuffed by the IOC, resulting in massive demonstrations across the United Kingdom, and was ultimately one of the leading causes of the 1981 Brixton riots.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 12:05:00 +0000