The Olympic Games began long ago in Greece, and the ancient Games were held in Olympia. At first, the only event at the ancient Olympics was one footrace. That footrace was called the stadion. It was about 192 meters long, and its name is the origin of the word stadium. Footraces were part of the ancient Olympics, along with throwing events, jumping and boxing. The ancient Olympics also added a pentathlon of five events, including a long jump, discus and javelin throws. You may have heard that the marathon was a race in the ancient Olympics. In fact, the ancient Games never had a marathon. Their longest race was 24 stades, about 2.85 miles.
A Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, led the effort to bring the Olympic Games back. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, and they had 43 events, including swimming, cycling, fencing and tennis. A friend of Coubertin, Michel Bréal, suggested the marathon race to him. The first Olympic marathon, in 1896, was set at about 40 kilometers, and a Greek runner, Spyridon Louis, won it. The marathon distance of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 kilometers) was first used at the 1908 Olympics in London.
Races need clocks, and the clocks changed over time. 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, and the Olympic Village was built. Women had taken part in track and field at the Olympics for the first time in 1928. In 1932, winners also stood on a podium for the first time, while flags were raised and the winner's anthem played.
Before each Olympics, a flame is lit in Olympia, Greece. It is lit with the rays of the sun and a curved mirror, and then it is carried by torch to the host country. The torch relay is not an ancient custom. It began with the 1936 Olympic Games. In 1952 and 1960, the flame for the Winter Games was lit at Morgedal, Norway, instead of Olympia. As of November 2026, the shortest Olympic torch relay, for Oslo 1952, lasted two days, and the longest, before Athens 2004, lasted 142 days.
The Olympic motto is Latin: Citius, Altius, Fortius, meaning faster, higher, stronger. It was used officially for the first time at the 1924 Olympics in Paris. In 2021 the motto was changed to Swifter, Higher, Stronger - Together, or in Latin Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter. The flag has a plain white background with five rings in the middle. Its six colors, including the white background, were chosen so that every national flag has at least one of them. The flag was flown at the Games for the first time in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920.
At the 1896 Olympics, the winner got a silver medal and an olive branch. Gold, silver and bronze medals were first given at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. 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). Its athlete table lists swimmer Michael Phelps of the United States first, with 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals (28 in all). Paris 2024 had 329 medal events in 47 disciplines, with 10,762 participants from 206 countries.
Words to know
- stadion: ancient footrace
- pentathlon: five-event contest
- marathon: long running race
- podium: winners' stand
- disciplines: sports branches
