Performances, records, and alternative Olympisms during the interwar period

This article proposes a comparative history of sports performances, taking as its object of study the alternative Olympiads of the interwar period, organized by sports movements at odds with the International Olympic Committee for institutional and political reasons. An analysis of the press and newsletters published by affinity movements (women’s, Jewish, and workers’ movements) shows that performance and its quantification are levers of affirmation and legitimization. A comparison of results reveals a lower athletic level than that of the Olympic movement, due to the structural weaknesses of alternative sports movements, even if occasional high-level performances are achieved, thanks to more advanced structures and training methods in some states. As illustrated by the examples of Soviet sportsmen and sportswomen, whose femininity was called into question, the records set in the alternative Olympiads aroused sporting passions, revealing the political and social tensions of the interwar period.