Olympics Facts & Trivia
Olympic Games, athletic festival that originated in ancient Greece and was revived in the late 19th century. Before the 1970s the Games were officially limited to competitors with amateur status, but in the 1980s many events were opened to professional athletes. Currently the Games are open to all, even the top professional athletes in basketball and football (soccer). The ancient Olympic Games included several of the sports that are now part of the Summer Games program, which at times has included events in as many as 32 different sports. In 1924 the Winter Games were sanctioned for winter sports. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition. For coverage of the 2008 Olympics, see Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Mount Olympus Meets the Middle Kingdom. For coverage of the 2010 Winter Games, see Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.
In ancient Greece it was a Panhellenic festival held every fourth year and made up of contests of sports, music, and literature. Since 1896 the name has been used for a modified revival of the ancient Games, consisting of international athletic contests held at four-year intervals. The original Games included footraces, the discus and javelin throws, the long jump, boxing, wrestling, the pentathlon, and chariot races. After the subjugation of Greece by Rome, the Games declined; they were finally abolished about ad 400. They were revived in the late 19th century through efforts led in part by Pierre, baron de Coubertin; the first modern Games were held in Athens. The first Winter Games were held in 1924. The direction of the modern Olympic movement and the regulation of the Games are vested in the International Olympic Committee, headquartered at Lausanne, Switz. Until the 1970s the Games adhered to a strict code of amateurism, but since that time professional players have also been allowed to participate. Programs for the Summer Games include competition in archery, baseball, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, diving, equestrian sports, fencing, field hockey,football (soccer), gymnastics, handball, judo, the modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field (athletics), the triathlon, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling. The program for the Winter Games includes the biathlon, bobsledding, ice hockey, lugeing, skeleton sledding, snowboarding, and numerous ice skating andskiing events. Events are periodically added and dropped.
Olympic Rings
In 1913, Baron Pierre de Coubertin came up with the idea for the symbol most closely associated with the Olympics, the Olympic Rings. Every rings stands for one of the five continents. Although there are seven continents, Antarctica is excluded and North America and South America are considered one. The connection of the rings symbolizes the connection of the continents during the Games and the ideal of peace and brotherhood of the whole planet. The flag was first flown at the 1920 Olympic Games in Belgium. After each Olympics the flag is passed on to the new host city, where it is kept safe until it is flown, during the Olympics. The original Olympic flag was used until 1984, when Seoul presented a new flag to the IOC, made of Korean silk.
Olympic Torch
Beginning in 1934, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) introduced the Olympic flame with the idea that it would enrich the games. The torch-relay, starting with the flame lighting at ancient Olympia and arriving at the hosting city, would be a strong link between the ancient Olympic sites and the modern Olympic cities. The flame symbolizes the purity which embodies the eternal youth of the Olympic philosophy. The universal symbol of the flame would lead all competitors to understand that it is necessary to work towards the lasting unity of mankind.