The Olympic Games took their name from the Ancient Greek city of Olympia. Though there were important athletic competitions held in other Greek cities in ancient times
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The Ancient Olympic
The first documented Olympic champion was named Coroebus, a cook from Elis who won the sprint race in 776 BCE.
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The Ancient Olympic
The Olympic Games originally featured only one event: a race called the "stade," equal to a distance of about 210 yards.
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The Ancient Olympic
By 728 BCE, two additional races had been added, comparable to the 400 m and 1,500 m races of the modern games.
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The Ancient Olympic
The Olympics came to include wrestling, boxing and the pentathlon, as well as specialized events for soldiers and heralds. It was only in 472 BCE that the events were spread out over a period of four to five days.
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The Revival Of The Olympic
The idea of reviving the Olympic Games originated in Greece with their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but it was Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a 29-year-old French aristocrat who first publicly raised the issue in 1892.
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Olympic Games Location (Modern-Day)
The IOC, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, sets and enforces Olympic policy. The site of the games is chosen, usually at least six years in advance.
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The Olympic Symbol
The flag depicting five colored interlocking rings on a white background was conceived by Pierre de Coubertin.
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The Olympic Symbol
Almost a century after the flag's creation, the six colors of the flag (blue, yellow, black, green, red, and white) still maintain their symbolism today.
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The Olympic Symbol
The symbol of five interlocking rings represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of the athletes of the world at the Olympic Games.