All About The Olympics

The Olympic games originally started in the city of Olympia, Greece, and were held every four years. Although it is calculated that the Olympic games have been held at least 293 times, the first written Olympic recordings date back to 776 bC. The last Olympic games in the ancient world were held in 389 aD, before being banned in 393 aD by the Roman Emperor Theodore I the Great. The Olympics included sports such as running, boxing, wrestling, and chariot racing, and since they were such an important and sacred event every war would cease to let athletes participate in the competitions. The participation was open to males only, and the winner of each event would be awarded with the prize of an olive wreath. Women were not admitted to the games, not even as spectators. The modern Olympic games date back to 1852, when the German archaeologist Ernst Curtius, while working on the ruins of Olympia, proposed to revive this ancient sport tradition. His idea was well received by Baron Pierre De Coubertin and with the motto "The important thing is not to win, but to participate" on June 23, 1884, he created a special committee to revive the games. The committee agreed that the first of the modern Olympics was to be held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. With re-establishing the four year laps between each edition, the Olympic games were held regularly until they were called off due to the war and began again in 1948, after a twelve year break.

Other Run The Planet Articles Relating to the Olympic Games:

Run the Planet: Mission II - The Olympic Flame

Celebrate the Olympic Spirit by completing this Run The Planet Mission.

100 Years of Olympic Glory

In this 1996 movie by Turner Home Entertainment you will see a variety of Olympic history divided into unique sets of historical segments. You will learn about Olympic traditions such as the Olympic flag, athlete oath, Olympic motto, torch relay, hymn, Olympic flame, and opening and closing ceremonies.

Tokyo Olympiad

This 1965 film documenting the 1964 Tokyo Olympiad is one of the greatest films that capture Olympic competition. Influenced by Leni Riefenstahl's "Olympia" (1936), director Kon Ichikawa used a variety of telephoto lenses and slow motion sequences to capture the internal dimensions of the athletes; before, during, and after their events.

Creating a pasta dish from Marathon

Today, no food says "marathon" more warmly than pasta, the carbo-load of choice at pre-race suppers. I'm a food-writer, so when I visited Marathonas, the Greek village that gave the race its name, I began thinking about a pasta dish that would not simply be carbs plus a sauce, but a celebration of marathon history.

Runners still run in Olympia

The stadium which could seat at least 20,000 people was the largest of its kind. The Temple of Hera is where the Olympic flame is lit from the sun and then taken by runners to light the torch wherever the games are being held. The museum is across the road contains the Nike of Victory by Paeonios (according to Olympic legend she used to come down from the sky to hand a palm leaf to the winners). The entire archaeological site of Olympia is a beautiful place to visit: walking through the ruins can be a peaceful and profound experience. Even today you will notice runners using the area for fun and for practice.

The ancient Olympic Games

How did the Olympic Games get started? The ancient Olympic Games were primarily a part of a religious festival in honor of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods and goddesses. The festival and the games were held in Olympia, a rural sanctuary site in the western Peloponnesos. The Greeks that came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia shared the same religious beliefs and spoke the same language. The athletes were all male citizens of the city-states from every corner of the Greek world, coming from as far away as Iberia (Spain) in the west and the Black Sea (Turkey) in the east.

Were the ancient Olympics just for men?

During the Hera festival, unmarried girls competed in three age groups in a foot race that was a single length of the race course (approximately five-sixths the length of the men's dromos, but held in the same stadion used for the men's and boys' contests). Girl victors in this foot race could dedicate images (probably paintings) in the altis to commemorate their victories, and they could take part in the sacrifice of the cows in honor of Hera.

Alternative Olympics

Each year, The Olympiad Committee reviews requests from various sports clubs around the globe asking that their newly-invented athletic disciplines be accepted as part of the Olympic Games. All clubs are hopeful that their ludicrous sports games will become part of the biggest sports event in the world, especially ever since powerwalking became a major Olympic discipline. Therefore, after much thought and caffeinated early morning assemblies and mid-afternoon reunions and late-night meetings, the Committee finally reached a decision as to which new sports to introduce in the Olympics.

Athletic Country Codes

A practical reference table mapping the country codes used in athletic events.

How to photograph Olympic sports

Regardless of whether you are one of the millions of lucky spectators, camera in hand, at the Olympics, or you are at your local high school track meet, here are some tips from the New York Institute of Photography to help you take exciting pictures at your favorite running race.