THEBIRTH OF THE OLYMPICS If any athlete was discovered to have cheated at the ancient Olympics they were disqualified whipped and had to pay a fine that was used to pay for a statue of Zeus An ancient Greek vase showing Olympic wrestlers The first recorded Olympic Games took place in 776B C E at Olympiain ancient Greece Like the modern Olympics they were held every four years They continued for 1,100 years until 393 C E The ancient Greeks believed that competitive sports pleased their gods so they held the Games on a sacred temple site At the opening ceremony they lit a flame at the altar of Zeus king of the Gods and kept it burning until the Games ended In the earliest Olympics there was only one event the stadion a sprint of almost 220 yards about 200 m A crowd up to 40,000-strong watched from the stadium Amazing Olympics The remains of the running track at Olympia including stone starting blocks for the athletes 6
The Athletes Ancient Greece was divided into separate city-states Athletes represented their own city-state called a polis Eventually competitors came from other parts of Europe and North Africa too The winners won a laurel wreath and a palm frond Back home they were treated like celebrities and given valuable bonuses such as free food The main Olympics were for male athletes only and women had their own separate event The Events Gradually there were more events such as boxing wrestling and a violent mixture of the two called the pankration More sprint races were added along with chariot racing long jump and discus and javelin throwing As well as the sports there was an artistic side to the Games Sculptors and poets carved statues of the star athletes or wrote poetry about them First recorded champion Koroibos a Greek cook was the first recorded winner of the stadion race Most successful champion The runner Leonidas of Rhodes who won 12 times between 164 B C E and 152 B C E Most famous celebrity Wrestler Milon of Kroton in southern Italy who won six times between 540B C E and 516 B C E He was a great showman who once carried a bull into the Olympic arena First female champion Kyniska of Sparta was declared winner of chariot races in 396 B C E and 392 B C E even though she was the team owner and trainer and didn’t take part herself Olympic Facts and Stats An ancient statue showing an Olympic discus thrower All athletes competed naked at the Games 7
OLYMPICS REBORN The Olympics were revived in 1896 through the efforts of Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin At first Baron de Coubertin found it difficult to get the Games going again but he persevered and the first modern Olympics were held in Athens Greece in 1896 There were 43 events including some unusual ones such as one-handed weightlifting and a swimming race only open to members of the Greek Navy There were 245 competitors all of them men from 14 countries Setting Up the IOC Baron de Coubertin set up the International Olympic Committee IOCfor short which still sets the rules and organizes the Summer and Winter Olympics today Its members come from the National Olympic Committees of the countries taking part and between them they decide where the Olympics will be held Crowds cheer Greek hero Spiridon Louis as he wins the marathon in Athens Greece in 1896 Baron de Coubertin 1863 1937 8
1896 The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens Greece 1900 The first female Olympic champion Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain won the women’s tennis event at the Paris Olympics 1904 The first Africans to compete in the Olympics ran in the marathonevent in St Louis Missouri They were Tswana tribesmen who had been taking part in an exhibition nearby 1904 American gymnast George Eyser won three gold medals two silvers and a bronze despite having a wooden leg In the first Olympic Games the winners got a silver medal and the runners-up received a bronze In the second Olympic Games they all received trophies instead Gold silver and bronze medals were first awarded at the third Games The start of the first modern Olympic race ever a heat for the 100-meter event in Athens Greece in 1896 Moving On The next two Olympic Games were held in France in 1900 and the USA in 1904 Women took part for the first time in 1900 where there were more surprising events such as the equestrian horse high jump and a swimming obstacle race where competitors had to climb poles and swim under boats Amazing Olympics Olympic Facts and Stats 9
