The History of the Olympic Games Guide
History of changes • 776 BC – Greece • 1896 – Athens • 1900 – Paris • 1920 – Antwerp • 1932 – Los Angeles
• 1960 – Rome • 1972 – Munich • 1996 – Atlanta • 2004 – Athens • 2008 – Beijing
• The first Olympic Games, inspired by the Olympian Gods, took place in Greece in 776 BC. Emperor Theodosius banned them for their pagan undertones in 393 A.D. • The modern Olympics have been held every four years since 1896, except during the two World Wars.
776 BC - Greece
• The modern Olympics kicked off in 1896, Athens. The modern marathon was born and won by a Greek named Spiridon Louis. • American students dominated the track and field, but German gymnast Hermann Weingartner won the most medals.
1896 - Athens
• Women competed for the first time, but the Games were overshadowed by the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park London: the first in a series of World's Fair exhibitions of culture and industry. • 1319 people from 22 countries entered the 1900 Olympics.
1900 - Paris
• Antwerp was chosen to host in 1920, to honor the Belgians who had lived under enemy occupation for four years of the First World War. • Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey were not invited. • Oscar Swahn (Sweden) became the oldest Olympic medalist at 72, winning silver in the running deer team shooting event.
1920 – Antwerp
• Photo-finish cameras and automatic timers were launched, as well as podiums for award ceremonies and national anthems. • The 50km walk marked the entry of walking as an Olympic sport.
1932 – Los Angeles
• Some events at the 1960 Rome Games were held in ancient stadia. The wrestling took place in the Basilica of Maxentius where Romans had held similar contests 2000 years previously. • It would be the last Games to which South Africa was invited for 32 years. • Cassius Clay(Muhammad Ali) won gold for the US in the lightheavyweight boxing division
1960 - Rome
• In the 1972 Munich Games, fullscale drug testing began. The US lost the basketball final for the first time, to the USSR. • This particular year will be forever blighted by a terrorist attack that became known as the Munich Massacre. Eleven members of the Israeli team were taken hostage and murdered by Palestinian terrorists.
1972 - Munich
• The attack took place two weeks into the games and for the first time in modern history, the Games were suspended. • On 6 September a memorial service was held and the games continued. Although the continuation was heavily criticised by the public.
1972 - Munich
Unfortunately, events were marred by a bomb explosion in the Centennial Olympic Park that killed one person. Fortunately, it could have had much worse implications if the bomb had not been identified by Richard Jewell, who moved people to safety.
1996 - Atlanta
From this point onwards, the Olympics saw a peaceful period without political tensions, attacks, and boycotts. The future of Olympic controversies would surround the athletes themselves, drugs, judges and occasionally apparatus.
1996 - Atlanta
• In 2004, the Olympics returned to its original city, Athens. 296 events in 28 sports were held. At the 1896 Games, there were just 43 events in nine sports. • Over 11,000 athletes from 199 nations entered and competed in facilities that included a newly renovated Panathenaic Stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held.
2004 - Athens
• Jamaican sprinter Bolt broke three world records and won three gold medals while the British cycling team, led by Chris Hoy and British sailing team led by Ben Ainslie dominated their respective events, winning gold medals all round. • It had been half a century since Britain won in a women's Olympic swimming event when Rebecca Adlington won two at the 2008 Beijing Games.
2008 - Beijing
• In 2012 London hosted for the third time, with 10,500 athletes competing from 205 nations and 4200 Paralympic athletes competed for 165 nations. This year, 8000 specially picked inspirational people carried the flame across the country in the Torch Relay through 1000 cities, towns and villages over 70 days. • London-based volunteers helped out and joined the 200,00 strong workforce needed for the Games. Athletes from the United States won the most gold medals, with 46, and the most overall, with 104.
2012 - London
• And so to this Summer, when Rio will be hosting the 2016 Olympics. Despite media attempts to derail the reputation of the city, it’s set to be another record-breaking year; an optimism demonstrated in the number of condoms that will be given to athletes (450 000 to be exact). • The City of Rio’s generosity does not end there, with 210 tonnes of food set to be delivered to participants in the Olympic village each day. • It’s also a year for firsts: the International Olympic Committee are supporting the new team: a group of 10 refugee athletes given the chance to compete in the Games for the first time. Watch this space!
2016 - Rio
Fifty-six years after having organised the Olympic Games, the Japanese capital will be hosting a Summer edition for the second time. The Games in 1964 radically transformed the country. According to the organisers of the event in 2020, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad of the modern era will be “the most innovative ever organised, and will rest on three fundamental principles to transform the world: striving for your personal best; accepting one another; and passing on a legacy for the future.
2020 - Japan
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