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Olympic Games

Sporting contests originally held in Olympia, ancient Greece, every four years during a sacred truce; records were kept from 776 BC. Women were forbidden to be present, and the male contestants were naked. The ancient Games were abolished in AD 394. The present-day games have been held every four years since 1896. Since 1924 there has been a separate winter Games programme; since 1994 the winter and summer Games have been held two years apart.

The modern Games

The first modern Games were held in Athens, Greece. They were revived by Greek Evangelos Zappas (1800–1865) in 1859. Frenchman Pierre de Fredy, Baron de Coubertin (1863–1937) then founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894 and the Games have been held every four years since 1896 with the exception of 1916, 1940, and 1944, when the two world wars intervened. Special tenth-anniversary Games were held in Athens in 1906.

At the 1896 Olympics, 245 competitors represented 14 nations in nine sports; at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, over 11,000 athletes represented 202 nations in 28 sports. Beijing, China, will host the 2008 Games and London, UK, will host the 2012 Games.

The ancient Games Of all the many Games held in ancient Greece, the Olympics were the oldest and most famous. Claims that certain mythical or even historical characters ‘founded’ the Olympic Games cannot be taken seriously. The Games were not suddenly established, but evolved from simple religious ceremonies to become the most grandiose sports festival of antiquity. Thus the origin of the Olympic Games is lost in obscurity, though evidence from excavations suggests that the sanctuary at Olympia dates from at least the 13th century BC.

The first historical mention of the Games at Olympia dates from 776 BC, when a cook named Coroebus from Elis won the dromos, a sprint race one length of the stadium, and from this year also dates the four-year period or Olympiad – the interval at which the Games were held.

Events The Games expanded over the centuries to include more varied events. In 724 BC the diaulos, 2 stadium lengths, was added; in 720 BC the dolichos was added – 24 lengths of the arena (comparable to the modern 5,000-metre race). All of these races on foot were run up and down, not around, the arena.

Boxing, chariot races, and the pankration (a mixture of boxing and wrestling) were added in the 7th century BC, and at various times the following other events were held at Olympia: pentathlon (long jump, discus, javelin, running, and wrestling), boys' events, and events for armed soldiers, heralds, and trumpeters. In addition to these sporting events, artists and sculptors exhibited their works and poets recited their poems. Not every event would be included at each celebration.

Development At first the games occupied one day only, but were later extended over five days, the final day being devoted to the presentation of prizes (originally a garland), a closing ceremony, and a banquet. The games were also restricted to freeborn Greeks – slaves and foreign competitors were barred, as were women. In the beginning what may be termed an ‘amateur’ spirit prevailed, but in time professionalism crept in, as eventually considerable money prizes were provided, and the Olympic champion became a national hero, receiving adulation and large material benefits.

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Olympic Games - events

776 BC	Greece	Coriobis of Elis becomes the first recorded victor in the pan-Hellenic games, the Olympiad, winning the only event – the stade running race (a distance of 192.27 m/630.80 ft). This is the first definite date in Greek history.
393	Roman Empire, Greece	The Roman emperor Theodosius I the Great abolishes the Greek Olympic Games by decree because of their association with paganism.
25 November 1892	France	The French educational reformer and social philosopher Pierre Fredi, Baron de Coubertin calls for a revival of the Olympic Games in a speech at the Sorbonne (University of Paris), France.
6–15 April 1896	Greece	The first Olympic Games of the modern era are held in Athens, Greece, in the ancient Panathenaic stadium. Around 250 athletes (all men) from 14 nations assemble to compete in 44 track and field, swimming, cycling, fencing, Graeco-Roman wrestling, gymnastics, shooting, tennis, and weightlifting events. The USA wins 11 gold medals (including 9 of the 12 track and field gold medals); Greece wins 10 gold medals; Germany, 7; France, 5; Great Britain, 3; Hungary, Austria, and Australia, 2 each. The marathon, using the ancient course covered by Pheidippides after the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, is won by Spiridon Louis of Greece.
25 January 1924	France, Norway, Finland, Austria, USA, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden	The 1st Winter Olympic Games open at Chamonix, France, attended by 258 competitors, 13 of whom are women, from 16 nations. Norway and Finland win 4 gold medals each; Austria, 2; and the USA, Switzerland, Canada, and Sweden, 1 each. Clas Thunberg of Finland wins five speed skating medals, including three golds.
4 May–27 July 1924	France, USA, Finland, UK, Italy	The 8th Olympic Games are held in Paris, France, attended by 3,092 competitors, 136 of whom are women, from 44 countries. The USA wins 45 gold medals; Finland, 14; France, 13; Britain, 9; and Italy, 8. The star of the games is Paavo Nurmi of Finland who wins gold medals in the 1,500 metres, 5,000 metres, 3,000 metres team race, and 10,000 metres individual and team cross-country events. Harold Abrahams of Britain is the first European to win the 100 metres.
30 July–14 August 1932	USA	The 10th Olympic Games are held in Los Angeles, California. The USA wins 16 gold medals; Italy, 12; France, 10; Sweden, 9; Japan, 7; Hungary, 6; Finland, 5. National flags and the three-tiered victory stand are used in medal ceremonies for the first time; photo-finish equipment is first used in track events. The games are attended by 1.25 million spectators. Mildred ‘Babe’ Didrikson of the USA wins a gold medal in the javelin and the 80 m hurdles, and a silver medal in the high jump. Kusuo Kitamura of Japan, aged 14 years and 309 days, wins the men's 1,500-m freestyle swimming gold medal. US athlete Eddie Tolan wins the men's 100-m and 200-m gold medals.
1–16 August 1936	Germany	The 11th Olympic Games are held in Berlin, Germany. Germany wins 33 gold medals; the USA, 24; Hungary, 10; Italy, 8; Finland and France, 7 each; Sweden and Holland, 6 each; Japan, 5. The US black American athlete Jesse Owens wins 4 gold medals, in the 100 metres, the 200 metres, the long jump, and the 4 × 100-metre relay. Jack Lovelock of New Zealand wins the 1,500 metres title in a world record time of 3 minutes 47.8 seconds. A selection of highlights is shown live and viewed by an estimated 150,000 people in the public viewing rooms in Berlin.
29 July 1948	England	To coincide with the opening day of the Olympic Games in London, England, the inaugural national Stoke Mandeville Games, the forerunner of the Paralympics for disabled athletes, are held at Stoke Mandeville hospital, Buckinghamshire, England.
22 November 1956	Australia, Egypt, Lebanon, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, China	The 16th Olympic Games, opening in Melbourne, Australia, are affected by political boycotts: Egypt, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland refuse to take part following the French–British–Israeli action in Egypt and the Soviet invasion of Hungary. China also withdraws in protest at the participation of Formosa (Taiwan).
October 1968	Mexico, USA	The US discus thrower Al Oerter becomes the first track and field athlete to win the same event at four successive Olympic Games, in Mexico City, Mexico.
6 September 1972	West Germany, Israel	A memorial service is held at the Olympic stadium in Munich, West Germany, in honour of the 11 Israeli athletes murdered by Arab terrorists on 5 September. Later the same day, with the support of the Israelis, competition recommences.
July 1976	Romania, Canada	At the Montreal Olympics, the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comeneci scores the first ever maximum 10.00 marks at the Olympics, and then gets four more on the way to winning three gold medals and one silver.
July–August 1976	Poland, Canada	At the Montreal Olympic Games, Polish athlete Danuta Rosani is the first track and field athlete to test positive for anabolic steroids since the drugs were banned in 1975.
19 July 1980	USSR, USA, West Germany, Japan, Kenya	The 22nd Olympic Games open in Moscow, USSR. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the games are boycotted by 65 countries, most notably the USA, West Germany, Japan, and Kenya.
28 July 1984	USA	The 23rd Olympic Games open in Los Angeles, California, and are boycotted by the Soviet bloc, with the exception of Romania, and by Iran and Libya, in retaliation for the US boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980. The People's Republic of China, however, competes for the first time.
1 August 1996	USA, France	At the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, Michael Johnson of the USA becomes the first man to win both the 200 metres and 400 metres titles at the same Games. In the 200 metres final he sets a new 200 metres world record time of 19.32 sec, breaking his own old record by.34 sec. On the same day, Marie-José Pérec of France becomes only the second woman to achieve the women's 200 metres and 400 metres double.
7–22 February 1998	Japan	The 18th Winter Olympic Games are held at Nagano, Japan. They are the largest to date, with over 2,400 athletes from 72 countries taking part. Snowboarding, curling, and women's ice hockey are included as medal sports for the first time. Tara Lipinski of the USA aged 15 years 255 days won the women's figure skating title to become the youngest-ever individual Winter Olympic gold medallist.
1 October 2000	Australia	The 27th Olympic Games close in Sydney, Australia. The USA wins 39 gold medals; Russia, 32; China, 28; Australia, 16; Germany, 14; France and Italy, 13 each; Netherlands, 12; Cuba and Great Britain, 11 each.
13 July 2001		The International Olympic Committee awards Beijing, China, the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games, ahead of Toronto, Canada; Paris, France; and Istanbul, Turkey. The decision prompts criticism around the world because of China's record on human rights.
13 August 2004	Greece	The 28th Olympic Games open in Athens, Greece, attended by more than 10,500 competitors representing 202 national teams in 301 medal events.
6 July 2005	Singapore	The International Olympic Committee, meeting in Singapore, selects London, England, as the host city for the 30th Olympic Games, to be staged in the summer of 2012. London narrowly beats Paris, France, in the final round of voting.
10–26 February 2006	Italy	The 20th Winter Olympic Games are held in Turin, Italy, attended by 2,573 competitors representing 80 National Olympic Committees. Germany wins 11 gold medals, the USA and Austria each win 9, Russia wins 8, and Sweden and Canada each win 7. Great Britain wins one silver medal in the women's bob skeleton event.

1924 1976 393 August 1 Brown, Karen

de Bruijn, Inge Dragila, Stacy Harrison, Audley Henman, Tim Henry Howey, Kate

International Olympic Committee July 29 Korbut, Olga Valentinovna Lewis, Carl Meade, Richard John Hannay

Ottey, Merlene Pérec, Marie-José Pinsent, Matthew Clive Redgrave, Steve Geoffrey More results