OLYMPIC GAMES PRESENTATION

THE OLYMPIC GAMES

by Riccardo Bianchini

Ancient Greece

The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece in 776 b.C. The name comes from Olympia, a town in a valley in western Greece. The athletes played many sports that we still know today, like boxing and wrestling. They also did the long jump and threw the discus and the javelin. Sprinting was popular, too - everyone wanted to see the fastest runner.

The modern Olympics

The original games ended when the Romans stopped them. Then, in 1892, a French man called Pierre De Coubertin had the idea of starting a new Olympic Games. Many countries agreed and so the modern Olympics were born. The first modern games took place in Athens in 1896.Only 13 countries were there and they did just 43 sports. All athletes were men. Compare Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020: in Japan, 205 countries competed in over 300 events. About 45% of athletes were women.

a global event

The Olympics are now a truly global event. The Games are held in a different country every four years. Recent Olympic Games include ones hosted in Australia (Sydney 2000), Europe (Athens 2004 and London 2012), Asia (Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020) and South America (Rio 2016).

sport for all

The Olympic Games is for everyone. Not every country plays football or basketball but any country can send an athlete to the Olympics, and all the nations of the world can take part.With the start of the Paralympic Games for disabled athletes in Rome in 1960, there is a sport for everyone, which is why the Olympic movement continues to grow. And that is how a local competition in a small town in Greece became one of the biggest international sports festivals in the world.

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