A Brief history
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The first record of the Ancient Olympic games was in the year 776 BC. However, some historians claim that the Olympic games may have started as early as the 10th or 9th century BC. The games were held as a religious festival to honour the Greek god Zeus. The Olympic games took place in July every 4 years on a sacred religious site called, Olympia. The Olympic games contiuned until 393 AD when Greece fell under power of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor, Theodosius, decreed that all such "pagan cults" be banned, so this was the end of the ancient Olympic games in Greece. 1,500 years later the Olympic games were revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France. He was dedicated to the promotion of physical education and he was inspired to bring back the Olympic games after visiting the ancient Greek site. Coubertin first pitched his idea to revive the Olympic games at a meeting of the Union des Sports Athletiques in Parison November 25,1892, he stated,
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Let us export our oarsmen, our runners, our fencers into other lands. That is the true Free Trade of the future; and the day it is introduced into Europe the cause of Peace will have received a new and strong ally. It inspires me to touch upon another step I now propose and in it I shall ask that the help you have given me hitherto you will extend again, so that together we may attempt to realize, upon a basis suitable to the conditions of our modern life, the splendid and beneficent task of reviving the Olympic Games. |
Two years after Coubertin first pitched his idea, he was able to convince an athletic committee to support the revival of the Olympic games.The members also decided to have Coubertin construct an international committee to organize the Games. This committee became the International Olympic Committee, which is commonly known as the IOC.
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. In the opening ceremony, King Georgios I and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed 280 participants from 13 nations. All of the Olympic competitors were male and the Olympics continued to be male only until the 1900 games in Paris. In present day Olympics, there is gender equality between males and females with participation from over 200 nations. The Olympic games have grown to be a globally appreciated sporting event.
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. In the opening ceremony, King Georgios I and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed 280 participants from 13 nations. All of the Olympic competitors were male and the Olympics continued to be male only until the 1900 games in Paris. In present day Olympics, there is gender equality between males and females with participation from over 200 nations. The Olympic games have grown to be a globally appreciated sporting event.