The Olympic Games began long ago in Greece, and the ancient Olympic Games, which lasted for about 1,200 years, were held in Olympia, in Greece. At first, the only event at the ancient Olympics was one footrace, called the stadion, which was about 192 meters long, and its name is the origin of the word stadium. The ancient Olympics later added a pentathlon of five events, including a long jump, discus and javelin throws. Winners at the ancient Olympics were given a wreath of olive branches. In the ancient Olympics, athletes always competed at Olympia, while cities compete to host the modern Games. The ancient Olympics are said to have ended in AD 393 or 394 on an order of the Roman emperor Theodosius I.
A Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, led the effort to bring the Olympic Games back. At the Sorbonne Congress in Paris on 24 June 1894, Athens was chosen for the 1896 Games, where Coubertin convinced the delegates to re-establish the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in 1894 and became the governing body of the modern Games, and a Harvard classics professor calls the modern Olympics an explicit revival of the ancient games, founded on a sense of the educational value of sports. Greek leaders wanted Athens to be the permanent Olympic host, but the IOC decided to rotate the host city. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, in the Panathenaic Stadium, which was first built in 330 B.C. Those Olympics had 43 events, including swimming, cycling, fencing and tennis, and on 6 April 1896 James B. Connolly won the triple jump, the first modern Olympic championship decided.
You may have heard that the marathon was a race in the ancient Olympics. In fact, the ancient Games never had such a long race, and their longest race was 24 stades, about 2.85 miles. A friend of Pierre de Coubertin, Michel Bréal, suggested the marathon race to him. The first Olympic marathon, in 1896, was set at about 40 kilometers. A Greek runner, Spyridon Louis, won that first Olympic marathon. The 1908 Olympics were first awarded to Rome but moved to London after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1906. In London, the marathon distance of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 kilometers) was first used at the Olympics. The Olympic marathon is a very long running race, about 26 miles.
You may have heard that winners have always received gold, silver and bronze medals. In fact, at the 1896 Olympics the winner got a silver medal and an olive branch, and gold, silver and bronze medals were first given at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. Only in 1908 and 1912 did gold medallists receive medals of pure gold. Gold Olympic medals are mostly silver covered with at least six grams of gold, and Olympic medals must be at least 60 mm across and 3 mm thick, with the gold and silver medals at least 92.5% silver. At the Olympics, first place wins a gold medal, second place a silver medal and third place a bronze medal. In 1932, Olympic medal winners first stood on a podium while flags were raised and the winner's anthem played.
An Olympic event is a specific competition in a sport or discipline that results in a ranking and the awarding of medals and diplomas. As of November 2026, Paris 2024 had 329 medal events in 47 disciplines, with 10,762 participants from 206 countries. As of November 2026, Olympedia's all-time table lists the United States first, with 1,236 gold, 1,018 silver and 892 bronze medals (3,146 in all). As of November 2026, its athlete table lists swimmer Michael Phelps of the United States first, with 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals (28 in all). Electronic timing and the photo finish were first used at the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, automatic timing was introduced for track and field.
You may have heard that women have always competed at the Olympic Games. In the ancient Olympics, only men from Greece could compete; there were no women's events. Women first competed in the modern Olympic Games in Paris in 1900. Women took part in track and field at the Olympics for the first time in 1928. Women ran in an Olympic marathon for the first time in 1984. The International Paralympic Committee was founded on 22 September 1989 in Dusseldorf, Germany, as the governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960, with 400 athletes from 23 countries. The word Paralympic comes from the Greek word para, meaning beside, because the Paralympics happen alongside the Olympics.
There are Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics. Winter Olympic events include figure skating, ice hockey and bobsledding. You may have heard that the Winter Olympics began with the first modern Games in 1896. In fact, the first Olympic Winter Games were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924, and figure skating was the first winter sport at the Olympics, at London in 1908, helped by artificial ice. Tennis was dropped from the Olympics after 1924 and did not return for 64 years. The Youth Olympic Games are for young athletes between the ages of 14 and 18. As of November 2026, the fourth Youth Olympic Games, planned for 2022, were held in Dakar, Senegal, from 31 October to 13 November 2026.
The Olympic symbol is five rings linked together, and Pierre de Coubertin designed the Olympic rings in 1913. The Olympic flag shows five rings in two rows: blue, black and red on top, and yellow and green below. The Olympic flag was first flown in Alexandria, Egypt, on 5 April 1914, and the IOC approved it on 15 June 1914. In 2010 the official version of the Olympic rings returned to the original interlaced rings, with no gaps at the crossings. The flag's six colors, including its white background, were chosen so that every national flag has at least one of them. The Olympic Anthem, by Spyros Samaras with words by Kostis Palamas, was first played at the 1896 Games. As of November 2026, the Olympic motto, changed in 2021, is Swifter, Higher, Stronger - Together, or in Latin Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter.
Words to know
- stadion: ancient footrace
- pentathlon: five events
- marathon: long running race
- Paralympic: alongside the Olympics
- medallists: medal winners
