The Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sporting events. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece. The second generation, known as the Modern Olympic Movement, were first held in 1896, in Athens, Greece

It is an international sports competition. In the Olympics, athletes play in many types of games. The Olympic Games are very old and have a very interesting history.

The first Olympic Games of which there is record were held in 776 B.C., and consisted of one event, a great foot race of about 200 yards held on a plain by the River Alpheus (now the Ruphia) just outside the little town of Olympia in Greece. When they first began only Greek men were allowed to compete in the games. Slaves and women were forbidden to enter the games and were forbidden from watching them. If they were caught watching the games they would be put to death.

Beginning in 1994, the IOC decided to change the format of having both the summer and Winter Games in the same year. Summer and Winter Olympics now alternate every two years.

At the 2005 Singapore meeting the IOC decided to eliminate baseball and softball from the 2012 Olympics, the first sports to be dropped since polo in 1936.

Women athletes in the Olympic Games traditionally have had fewer events to compete in, and while opportunities for women have increased in recent years, this still reflects the situation. For example, many events in the Summer Games remain closed to women. Events such as boxing, wrestling, equestrian, modern pentathlon, judo, and weightlifting are open to men only. Sports such as cycling have seven events for men but only two events for women..

However they are better in gymnastics and swimming. In swimming, there are 19 events for both men and women. In gymnastics there are eight events for men and seven for women.

On July 13, 2001, China’s capital was awarded in Moscow the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games. People will remember this historic moment and a new page was written in the Olympic history. Beijing was selected over its competitors Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul. The slogan of the games is “One World, One Dream. The next host city traditionally has the opportunity to present itself and its country at the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

Bookmark It

 Del.icio.us    digg  
 Facebook    Google Bookmarks    Stumble It    Technorati    Yahoo! My Web  
Hide Sites Tags : swimming, history, strokes, rules, benefits