curiousa2z
Be patient till the last.
1896 : First modern Olympic Games
On April 6, 1896, the Olympic Games, a long-lost tradition of ancient
Greece, are reborn in Athens 1,500 years after being banned by Roman
Emperor Theodosius I. At the opening of the Athens Games, King
Georgios I of Greece and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed
athletes from 13 nations to the international competition.
The first recorded Olympic Games were held at Olympia in the Greek
city-state of Elis in 776 B.C., but it is generally accepted that the
Olympics were at least 500 years old at that time. The ancient
Olympics, held every four years, occurred during a religious festival
honoring the Greek god Zeus. In the eighth century B.C., contestants
came from a dozen or more Greek cities, and by the fifth century B.C.
from as many as 100 cities from throughout the Greek empire.
Initially, Olympic competition was limited to foot races, but later a
number of other events were added, including wrestling, boxing, horse
and chariot racing, and military competitions. The pentathlon,
introduced in 708 B.C., consisted of a foot race, the long jump,
discus and javelin throws, and wrestling. With the rise of Rome, the
Olympics declined, and in 393 A.D. the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, a
Christian, abolished the Games as part of his efforts to suppress
paganism in the Roman Empire.
With the Renaissance, Europe began a long fascination with ancient
Greek culture, and in the 18th and 19th centuries some nations staged
informal sporting and folkloric festivals bearing the name "Olympic
Games." However, it was not until 1892 that a young French baron,
Pierre de Coubertin, seriously proposed reviving the Olympics as a
major international competition that would occur every four years. At
a conference on international sport in Paris in June 1894, Coubertin
again raised the idea, and the 79 delegates from nine countries
unanimously approved his proposal. The International Olympic Committee
(IOC) was formed, and the first Games were planned for 1896 in Athens,
the capital of Greece.
In Athens, 280 participants from 13 nations competed in 43 events,
covering track-and-field, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, wrestling,
weightlifting, fencing, shooting, and tennis. All the competitors were
men, and a few of the entrants were tourists who stumbled upon the
Games and were allowed to sign up. The track-and-field events were
held at the Panathenaic Stadium, which was originally built in 330
B.C. and restored for the 1896 Games. Americans won nine out of 12 of
these events. The 1896 Olympics also featured the first marathon
competition, which followed the 25-mile route run by a Greek soldier
who brought news of a victory over the Persians from Marathon to
Athens in 490 B.C. In 1924, the marathon was standardized at 26 miles
and 385 yards. Appropriately, a Greek, Spyridon Louis, won the first
marathon at the 1896 Athens Games.
Pierre de Coubertin became IOC president in 1896 and guided the
Olympic Games through its difficult early years, when it lacked much
popular support and was overshadowed by world's fairs. In 1924, the
first truly successful Olympic Games were held in Paris, involving
more than 3,000 athletes, including more than 100 women, from 44
nations. The first Winter Olympic Games were also held that year. In
1925, Coubertin retired. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as
the foremost international sports competition. At the 2000 Summer
Olympics in Sydney, more than 10,000 athletes from 200 countries
competed, including nearly 4,000 women. In 2004, the Summer Olympics
returned to Athens, with more than 11,000 athletes competing from 202
countries. In a proud moment for Greeks and an exciting one for
spectators, the shotput competition was held at the site of the
classical Games in Olympia.
On April 6, 1896, the Olympic Games, a long-lost tradition of ancient
Greece, are reborn in Athens 1,500 years after being banned by Roman
Emperor Theodosius I. At the opening of the Athens Games, King
Georgios I of Greece and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed
athletes from 13 nations to the international competition.
The first recorded Olympic Games were held at Olympia in the Greek
city-state of Elis in 776 B.C., but it is generally accepted that the
Olympics were at least 500 years old at that time. The ancient
Olympics, held every four years, occurred during a religious festival
honoring the Greek god Zeus. In the eighth century B.C., contestants
came from a dozen or more Greek cities, and by the fifth century B.C.
from as many as 100 cities from throughout the Greek empire.
Initially, Olympic competition was limited to foot races, but later a
number of other events were added, including wrestling, boxing, horse
and chariot racing, and military competitions. The pentathlon,
introduced in 708 B.C., consisted of a foot race, the long jump,
discus and javelin throws, and wrestling. With the rise of Rome, the
Olympics declined, and in 393 A.D. the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, a
Christian, abolished the Games as part of his efforts to suppress
paganism in the Roman Empire.
With the Renaissance, Europe began a long fascination with ancient
Greek culture, and in the 18th and 19th centuries some nations staged
informal sporting and folkloric festivals bearing the name "Olympic
Games." However, it was not until 1892 that a young French baron,
Pierre de Coubertin, seriously proposed reviving the Olympics as a
major international competition that would occur every four years. At
a conference on international sport in Paris in June 1894, Coubertin
again raised the idea, and the 79 delegates from nine countries
unanimously approved his proposal. The International Olympic Committee
(IOC) was formed, and the first Games were planned for 1896 in Athens,
the capital of Greece.
In Athens, 280 participants from 13 nations competed in 43 events,
covering track-and-field, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, wrestling,
weightlifting, fencing, shooting, and tennis. All the competitors were
men, and a few of the entrants were tourists who stumbled upon the
Games and were allowed to sign up. The track-and-field events were
held at the Panathenaic Stadium, which was originally built in 330
B.C. and restored for the 1896 Games. Americans won nine out of 12 of
these events. The 1896 Olympics also featured the first marathon
competition, which followed the 25-mile route run by a Greek soldier
who brought news of a victory over the Persians from Marathon to
Athens in 490 B.C. In 1924, the marathon was standardized at 26 miles
and 385 yards. Appropriately, a Greek, Spyridon Louis, won the first
marathon at the 1896 Athens Games.
Pierre de Coubertin became IOC president in 1896 and guided the
Olympic Games through its difficult early years, when it lacked much
popular support and was overshadowed by world's fairs. In 1924, the
first truly successful Olympic Games were held in Paris, involving
more than 3,000 athletes, including more than 100 women, from 44
nations. The first Winter Olympic Games were also held that year. In
1925, Coubertin retired. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as
the foremost international sports competition. At the 2000 Summer
Olympics in Sydney, more than 10,000 athletes from 200 countries
competed, including nearly 4,000 women. In 2004, the Summer Olympics
returned to Athens, with more than 11,000 athletes competing from 202
countries. In a proud moment for Greeks and an exciting one for
spectators, the shotput competition was held at the site of the
classical Games in Olympia.
