1. The panhellenic games
1.1. The Games organized at Olympia led to the development of the Panhellenic Games.
1.1.1. The Games at Olympia (Olympic Games)
1.1.2. The Games at Delphi (Pythian Games)
1.1.3. The Games at the Isthmus of Corinth (Isthmian Games)
1.1.4. The Games at Nemea (Nemean Games)
2. Olympic symbols
2.1. The olympic flag
2.1.1. Pierre de Coubertain conceived it in 1913.
2.1.2. It has three meters long and two meters wide.
2.1.3. The Olympic flag has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the center: blue, yellow, black, green and red. This design is symbolic; it represents the five continents of the world.
2.2. MOTTO
2.2.1. The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger”. Coubertin borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who was an athletics enthusiast.
2.3. Olympic anthem
2.3.1. It was composed by Spyridon Samaras in 1986, but wasn't declared the official hymn by the IOC until 1958.
2.4. Medals and diplomas
2.4.1. The Olympic medals awarded to winners are another symbol associated with the Olympic games.
2.4.2. The medals are made of gold-plated silver and are awarded to the top three finishers in a particular event.
2.4.3. In the first edition silver and bronze medals only were for the two top finishers.
2.4.4. Olympic diplomas are given to competitors placing fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth since 1981.
2.5. Olympic oath
2.5.1. The Olympic Oath is taken by one athlete and one official at the opening ceremony of each Olympic Games.
2.6. Olympic creed
2.6.1. Pierre de Coubertin got the idea for this phrase from a speech given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a service for Olympic champions during the 1908 Olympic Games.
2.7. Olympic flame
2.7.1. The tradition of the Olympic fire was recovered in Amsterdam 1928.
2.7.2. Lights at Olympia, in the face of the altar of Hera, with natural sun rays reflected in a mirror in a ceremony in which a woman, dressed in the same clothes that were used in the Olympic Games of antiquity, gives fire the first reliever.
2.7.3. It is carried with a torch, to the seat of the Olympic Games.
3. Barcelona 92
3.1. DATE: 25 JUL - 09 AUG
3.2. COUNTRY: SPAIN
3.3. CITY: BARCELONA. Montjuic Olympic Stadium
3.4. ATHLETES: 9.356 (2,704 women, 6,652 men)
3.5. COUNTRIES: 169
3.6. EVENTS: 257
3.7. Official opening of the Games by: His Majesty King Juan Carlos I
3.8. Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Antonio Rebollo (Paralympic archer)
3.9. Olympic Oath by: Luis Doreste Blanco (sailing)
3.10. Official Oath by: Eugeni Asencio (water polo)
3.11. Number of torchbearers: 9 849 including 365 in Greece and 9 849 in Spain.
3.12. Total distance: 367 km in Greece and 5 940 in Spain (not included transport by boat).
3.13. Bearer: Prince Felipe VI – today’s King – was the flag bearer of the Spanish delegation at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium.
3.14. Volunteers: 34,548
3.15. Media: 13,082 media (5,131 written press, 7,951 broadcasters)
3.16. MASCOT: COBI
3.17. SPANISH MEDALS
3.17.1. Gold medals
3.17.1.1. 13
3.17.2. Silver medals
3.17.2.1. 7
3.17.3. Bronze medals
3.17.3.1. 2
3.18. NEW ON THE PROGRAMME.
3.18.1. Badminton
3.18.2. Women's judo
3.19. ROWING
3.19.1. Spain's coxswain in the eights, 11-year-old Carlos Front, was the youngest competitor in the Olympic Games since 1900.
4. The ancient olympic games
4.1. Introduction
4.1.1. The Greeks loved sport and the Olympic Games were the biggest sporting event in the ancient calendar.
4.1.2. Sports competitions were organized at Olympia and were named after their location, hence their name of “Olympic” Games. Nobody knows exactly when they began, but the first written mention of them dates back to 776 BC.
4.1.3. Olympia was a rural sanctuary in the Western Peloponnesus dedicated to Zeus.
4.1.4. These Games were held every four years. This four-year period acquired the name “Olympiad”, and was used as a date system: time was counted in Olympiads, rather than years.
4.1.5. For over one thousand years, the Greeks, and later the Romans, met at Olympia to celebrate the festival in honor of Zeus. In 393 AD, the Christian emperor Theodosius I forbade the celebration of pagan cults, which included the Games.
4.2. The sacred truce
4.2.1. A sacred truce (Ekecheiria) was proclaimed. Special heralds (spondophoroi) went from city to city announcing the date of the competitions. They called for all wars to be halted before, during and after the Games in order to enable the athletes, as well as the spectators and official embassies to travel to and from the Games sites in total safety. A climate of peace was considered important during the period of competition.
4.3. Selection of games' participants
4.3.1. Had to be male
4.3.2. Greek origin
4.3.3. Free man
4.4. Dress code
4.4.1. One story states that it was a runner from Megara, Akantos who, in 720 B.C. was the first to run naked in the stadium race when he lost his shorts in the race.
4.4.2. Another tradition is that it was the Spartans who introduced nudity to the Olympic Games in the 8th century B.C. as it was a Spartan tradition.
4.5. The sports on the programme
4.5.1. First day
4.5.1.1. The flame is lit.
4.5.1.2. Opening.
4.5.2. Second day
4.5.2.1. Horse races
4.5.2.2. Pentathlon
4.5.2.2.1. Discus
4.5.2.2.2. Long jump
4.5.2.2.3. Javelin
4.5.2.2.4. Running
4.5.2.2.5. Wrestling
4.5.3. Third day
4.5.3.1. Festival in honor of Zeus
4.5.3.1.1. Games. A great sacrifice took place: one hundred cows were killed in honor of Zeus and other divinities.
4.5.4. Fourth day
4.5.4.1. Tests in the stadium
4.5.4.1.1. Races (the stadium race covered one length of the stadium, that is 192m.)
4.5.4.1.2. Combat sports
4.5.5. Fifth day
4.5.5.1. Closing ceremony
4.5.5.1.1. They were covered in ribbons and received victory palms in the stadium, before a solemn ceremony in which they were crowned with olive wreaths. Finally, a banquet was given for them, together with the politicians and judges.
4.6. Cheating and fines
4.6.1. When the athletes did not respect the rules, the judge punished them during the race, with a whip. For more serious offences, the athletes had to pay a fine.
4.7. Winners' rewards
4.7.1. Crowns
4.7.1.1. At Olympia, it was a wild olive leaf Crown
4.7.1.2. At Delphi, a laurel crown
4.7.1.3. At Corinth, a pine crown
4.7.1.4. At Nemea, a wild celery crown
4.7.2. Ribbons
4.7.3. Palm branches
5. The modern olympics games
5.1. Introduction
5.1.1. The Olympic Games are unique. Athletes from the entire world take part. Their achievements are watched from by hundreds of millions of spectators.
5.1.2. They are the largest sporting celebration in the number of sports on the program, the number of athletes present and the number of people from different nations gathered together at the same time in the same place.
5.1.3. The Games are held every four years.
5.1.4. The word Olympiad designates the four-year period that separates each edition of the Summer Games.
5.1.5. The first edition of the modern Summer Games was held in 1896 in Athens (Greece).
5.2. History
5.2.1. It was Pierre de Coubertin of France who dreamt up this ambitious project, although others before him had tried invain to revive these Games.
5.2.1.1. he founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894 in Paris.
5.2.1.2. He decided to create the modern Olympic Games.
5.2.2. 1896 Athens (6 April-15 April). A giant is born
5.2.2.1. 06 APR - 15 APR
5.2.2.2. Greece
5.2.2.3. ATHENS. Panathenaic Stadium
5.2.2.4. ATHLETES: 241
5.2.2.5. PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES: 14. Germany, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, United States, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland.
5.2.2.6. SPORTS INCLUDED: 9
5.2.2.6.1. Fencing
5.2.2.6.2. Athletics
5.2.2.6.3. Cycling track
5.2.2.6.4. Gym Artistic
5.2.2.6.5. Tennis
5.2.2.6.6. Shooting
5.2.2.6.7. Weightlifting
5.2.2.6.8. Swimming
5.3. Winners' rewards
5.3.1. At the first modern Games in Athens in 1896, winners were rewarded with an olive wreath and a silver medal,while the runners-up received a bronze medal and a laurel wreath. Gold, silver and bronze medals were not awarded until 1904