The Olympics: A Potted History by Wendy H. Jones

The Olympics: A Potted History

by Wendy H. Jones

As you read this, The Olympic Games, more accurately known as the Summer Olympics, will be halfway through; people from countries around the world will be rooting for their athletes to win, medals will have been won, and tears will have been shed. Wherever you are in the world you could not have escaped Olympic fever. I love the Olympics and root for Team GB every step of the way. That does not mean I do not cheer loudly for anyone from another country who wins a medal as I can appreciate the effort they have put in to win that medal.

I recently had a children’s picture book published, Bertie at the Worldwide Games, which introduces children to sporting events such as the Olympics. This got me thinking about the history of the Olympics and where it all started. How did it grow into what we see today? I’m always curious and you can bet your last penny on the fact that a child will ask this very question. Rumour has it that Zeus, the son of Heracles actually founded the Olympics. Why not, as he was the ruler of all other Gods on Mount Olympus which is where the name Olympics originates. If we remain more tethered in the real, rather than mythical, world the first written records of the ancient Olympics have Coroebus, a cook by trade, winning the one and only event. This written record was an inscription found at Mount Olympus. The event was a 192-meter footrace, which took place in 776 B.C. Incidentally, this race was called the Stade, and this is where the word stadium supposedly originates. Fast forward a few hundred years where the games, taking place in the shadow of Mount Olympus, had many more events – running, pentathlon, wrestling, boxing, and equestrian events amongst others. Over the years standards declined and it is said the Emperor Nero declared himself the winner despite having fallen from his chariot in the middle of the race and not actually winning. The death knell sounded when the Christian Emperor Theodosius called them to a halt, saying they were a pagan festival. It wasn’t until 1896 that the first modern Olympics were held in Athens in Greece. By this point there were 46 events and swimming, athletics, fencing, tennis, and weightlifting had all been added. It is interesting to note that in these first modern Olympic games, all the athletes were men. The Olympics have been held every four years since then, with the exception of 1916 (First World War) and 1940 and 1944 (Second World War). As the years progress more events have been added and the Olympics take place in different countries around the world, this year the host being Tokyo. This year’s Olympics were delayed for a year due to the COVID Pandemic and for the first time will be held with no spectators. I cannot help but feel sorry for the athletes who will be competing without the roar of the crowd to speed them on.

Some Interesting Facts As I am Scottish, I cannot write an article about the Olympics without mentioning Eric Liddell. Liddell, who was nicknamed the Flying Scotsman, was a devout Christian who, in Paris in 1924, refused to run a qualifying race for the 100-metres on a Sunday. He therefore had to forfeit this, his best, race. Instead, he competed in the 400-meteres and not only won a Gold Medal but broke the world record. In 1960, Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila won the marathon - running barefoot. He was the first black African Gold Medallist, and he took his second Gold Medal in the 1964 Olympic Marathon. The actor Johnny Weissmuller, who played Tarzan won five Gold Medals for swimming in the 1920’s. The relay torch and the Olympic flame are required to burn throughout the whole Olympics. Should it go out, it must be lit from a backup torch. This back up torch must have been lit in Greece as well, so the Olympic Torch always gives honour to the games’ roots in Greece.

Tokyo Olympics Although being held in 2021 they are actually called the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics due to the delay. From its humble roots in 776 B.C. with one race, there will be 339 events in 33 sports and 50 disciplines, with 11,238 athletes expected to compete. I would like to finish by saying an enormous, good luck to all those athletes. Whether they win or lose, they have trained hard and proved that they have a place to represent their countries in the hardest games in the world.

Wendy H. Jones is the award winning, international best-selling author of the DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries, Cass Claymore Investigates Mysteries, Fergus and Flora Mysteries, Bertie the Buffalo children’s books and the Writing Matters books for writers. She is also a writing and marketing coach and the President of the Scottish Association of Writers. As copy editor for Mom’s, she works hard to ensure content is appropriate and free of grammatical and spelling errors. You can learn more about Wendy on her website: https://www.wendyhjones.com/