Olympic Games
There are many myths surrounding the origin of the ancient Olympic Games; One was that they were primarily a part of a religious festival in honour of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods and goddesses. According to the legend, Zeus held sporting events in honour of his defeat of Cronus. Heracles, his eldest son, defeated his brothers in a running race and was crowned with a wreath of wild olive branches. (It’s not a gold medal, but it meant just as much). It was Heracles who first called the Games "Olympic" and established the custom of holding them every four years. One popular story claims that after Heracles completed his twelve labors, he went on to build the Olympic stadium and surrounding buildings as an honor to Zeus.
The festival and the games were held in Olympia, the athletes were all male citizens of the city-states from every corner of the Greek world, coming from as far away as Spain in the west and the Turkey in the east.
The sanctuary was named in ancient times after Mt. Olympos (Mount Olympus). In Greek mythology, Mt. Olympos was the home of the greatest of the Greek gods and goddesses.
The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the nearby city of Elis, won the stadion race (a 600 feet long foot race). Although the ancient Games were staged in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC through 393 AD, it took 1503 years for the Olympics to return.
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The man responsible for its rebirth was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who presented the idea in 1894. His original thought was to unveil the modern Games in 1900 in his native Paris, but delegates from 34 countries were so fascinated with the concept that they convinced him to move the Games up to 1896 and have Athens serve as the first host.
There are loads of sporting event to take part in as there is a Summer Olympics and a Winter Olympics,
Summer games:
Aquatics – Diving, Swimming, Water Polo, Synchronized Swimming
Archery
Athletics
Badminton
Basketball
Boxing
Canoe / kayak
Cycling
Equestrian – Horse Jumping, Horse Eventing, Horse Dressage
Fencing
Football
Gymnastics
Handball
Hockey
Judo
Modern pentathlon - Shooting then Fencing then Swimming then Show Jumping and finally a 3000m run!
Rowing
Sailing
Shooting
Table tennis
Taekwondo – Martial Arts
Tennis
Triathlon - Swimming, Cycling and Running
Volleyball
Weightlifting
Wrestling
Winter sports:
Biathlon - Sprint, Pursuit, Individual and Relay Ski
Bobsleigh
Curling
Ice Hockey
Luge – a bit like bobsleigh but you have no cart to sit in just you speeding down the icy track!
Skating
Skiing
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