Even if you're not very interested in sports, there's something wonderful about the Olympics: Athletes prepare for years to give their all and execute the performance of a lifetime, often in a matter of seconds. We cry happy tears for the victors, sympathise with the losers, rage at the television, and give strangers high fives. Every two years, we change time zones, get more patriotic, and improve our ability to recognise flags and national songs from all around the world.
To get into the Olympic spirit and the emotions that come with it, we included some facts about the Olympics that will blow your mind - so you have something to look into while waiting for the next sports record to be broken.
The formal opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is scheduled for Friday, July 26. The games begin on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The best part is that, in contrast to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were affected by COVID-19 limitations, spectators would be able to witness the Summer Olympics live.
The number of athletes who are refugees has increased from 10 in 2016 to 29 in 2024, and the games of that year feature the Refugee Olympic Team. Sport climbing, karate, skateboarding, and surfing are the new Olympic sports for 2024. The summer games will once again feature softball and baseball. In 2012, they were removed.
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In 776 BC, Olympia, Greece hosted the first Olympic Games. For the next twelve centuries, the games were held every four years. Olympia was a hallowed place with an enormous monument of Zeus and plantations of olive trees.
The stadium, a 190-meter footrace, was the sole competition held in the Olympic Games from 776 and 724 BC. This term is the source of the English word stadium. This was not the era of chariot racing or marathons, despite common perception.
In 648 BC, pankration was first implemented. Pankration was a vicious fusion of boxing and wrestling. The sole guidelines were to avoid biting and gouging eyes.
Most Successful Athlete: Leonidas of Rhodes, who won 12 championships in four consecutive Olympiads (164–152 BC), was the most accomplished athlete of this early Olympic age, the Usain Bolt of his day.
The first modern Olympics were revived in 1896 thanks to Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The goal of French educator and historian De Coubertin was to utilise the Olympic emblem to advance global peace and physical education. The idea of the games, according to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, was to promote amateur sports competition while fostering international solidarity and a better understanding of cultures. In its day, the Olympics served as the Rustic Pathways.
First Marathon (1896): To honour Pheidippides' race from Marathon to Athens, the marathon was included in the inaugural modern Games in 1896.
First Olympic Winner (1896): James Brendan Bennet Connolly won the triple jump in 1896, making history as the first Olympic event winner.
Dimitrios Loundras, a 10-year-old Greek gymnast who won a bronze medal, was the youngest Olympian of the modern era. In 1896, Loundras participated in the team parallel bars competition.
There was live pigeon shooting and croquet in the 1900 Paris Olympics. There is no longer any croquet in the Olympics. The medal for pigeon shooting went to Leon de Lunden of Belgium.
Women in the Olympics: Since 1900, women have been permitted to participate in the Olympics. In the US, women were granted the right to vote in 1920.
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At 11 hours and 40 minutes, the Greco-Roman wrestling battle between Martin Klein of Estonia and Alfred Asikainen of Finland in 1912 was the longest in Olympic history. The men were bound. To everyone's delight, time constraints were eventually added.
Olympic Flag: The 1913 introduction of the Olympic flag symbolised the unification of the continents. World War I forced the cancellation of the 1916 games. I suppose a flag didn't help.
Olympic Oath: During the opening ceremony, one athlete from the host nation takes the Olympic oath, which was first administered in 1920.
Olympic Flame: The flame was originally lighted during the opening ceremony of the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
First Live Broadcast: In 1936, Germany's first live closed-circuit television transmission took place at the Berlin Games.
Also Read: The top 10 athletes with the most Olympic medals
Cancelled: The 1940 Summer Olympics were originally scheduled to take place in Tokyo, but they were ultimately postponed to Finland and called off owing to war. In actuality, World War II forced the cancellation of the games in 1940 and 1944.
Banned: Following the World Wars, Germany and Japan were not allowed to compete in the 1948 Olympics.
Boycotts: In reaction to Israel, the UK, and France invading Egypt, Egypt, Iraq, Cambodia, and Lebanon boycotted. To express their disapproval of the Soviet Union's activities in Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein boycotted. Because Taiwan, the Republic of China, was permitted to participate in the Olympics, the People's Republic of China chose to boycott.
Munich Massacre: The Munich Massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes were massacred after being kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists, cruelly marked the 1972 Munich Olympics.
With a $2 billion debt, Montreal suffered severe financial consequences after the 1976 Summer Olympics. The fact that it took Montreal more than thirty years to pay off this debt indicates the significant financial impact the incident had on the city.
Conversely, the Summer Olympics of 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, broke all previous records in terms of attendance, selling an astounding 8.3 million tickets. This occasion demonstrated the popularity and widespread involvement in the Olympics, which stood in stark contrast to Montreal's financial difficulties twenty years prior.
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Our perception of the Olympics has changed significantly with the advent of the Internet. The Sydney Summer Olympics of 2000 were historic because they were the first to be broadcast live online, giving fans everywhere the opportunity to follow the action in real-time. Another significant event occurs during the London 2012 Olympics: the broad use of social media. Social media channels were heavily utilised for the first time, allowing fans to interact with the event in previously unheard-of ways, follow updates, and share their experiences.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) faced significant controversies and scandals, most notably surrounding the selection of Salt Lake City as the host city for the 2002 Winter Olympics. It was revealed that several IOC members were bribed to secure their votes in favour of Salt Lake City.
Additionally, Russia faced severe consequences for doping violations, leading to their exclusion from the 2022 Winter Olympics. Russian athletes who adhered to strict criteria were allowed to compete, but they were prohibited from representing their country under the Russian flag.
Five rings that symbolise the five inhabited continents of the globe are part of the Olympic emblem, which was created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a co-founder of the modern Olympic Games.
The six colours were selected since every country's flag has at least one of them: blue, yellow, black, green, red, and white backdrop.
"Faster, Higher, Stronger" is how the Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius," is translated.
Silver medals must contain at least 92.5% silver, while gold medals must have at least 6 grammes of gold.
Also Read: The Top 10 Most Memorable Moments in Olympic History
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