Olympics Facts and Trivias

1. The Olympic flame is a practice continued from the ancient Olympic Games. In Olympia (Greece), a flame was ignited by the sun and then kept burning until the closing of the Olympic Games. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. The flame itself represents a number of things, including purity and the endeavor for perfection. In 1936, the chairman of the organizing committee for the 1936 Olympic Games, Carl Diem, suggested what is now the modern Olympic Torch relay. The Olympic flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by women wearing ancient-style robes and using a curved mirror and the sun. The Olympic Torch is then passed from runner to runner from the ancient site of Olympia to the Olympic stadium in the hosting city. The flame is then kept alight until the Games have concluded. The Olympic Torch relay represents a continuation from the ancient Olympic Games to the modern Olympics.The reason the extra yards were added to the running distance of the marathon to make the total length a rather strange figure of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.2 kilometres)? Was because of the rather whimsical demand of Queen Alexandra of Great Britain, who decreed in 1908 that the marathon should end below the royal box at London’s White City Stadium, which added the extra 385 yards!

2. The word "gymnasium" comes from the Greek root "gymnos" meaning nude; the literal meaning of "gymnasium" is "school for naked exercise." Athletes in the ancient Olympic Games would participate in the nude.

3. The first Paralympic Games was held in 1948. The name 'Paralympics' comes from the words 'Parallel' and 'Olympics'.

4. The record for the most gold medals awarded in one Olympic Games went to American swimmer Mark Spitz in 1972. He won SEVEN gold medals! The US swimming sensation Michael Phelps is trying to top that at the Athens Olympics by going for Eight gold medals.

5. The Olympic symbol consists of five circles or rings. These five circles stand for the five continents. The colours in the circle are green yellow, blue red and black.

6. In 1900 Australian Donald MacIntosh came third in the live pigeon shooting event, the first and only time animals were killed on purpose in an Olympic event. Donald won by killing 21 of the birds.

7. The early Olympic Games were celebrated as a religious festival from 776 B.C. until 393 A.D., when the games were banned for being a pagan festival (the Olympics celebrated the Greek god Zeus).

8. The first Olympics covered by U.S. television was the 1960 Summer Games in Rome by CBS.

9. Four Boeing 747 jumbo jets could have fitted side by side in the Olympic Stadium in Australia.

10. Counting Olympiads - An Olympiad is a period of four successive years. The Olympic Games celebrate each Olympiad. For the modern Olympic Games, the first Olympiad celebration was in 1896. Every four years celebrates another Olympiad; thus, even the Games that were cancelled (1916, 1940, and 1944) count as Olympiads. The 2004 Olympic Games in Athens was called the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad.

11. Athletes will produce as much as 2 million pounds of dirty laundry. It would take a family of four 264 years to go through that much laundry!

12. In wrestling at the Stockholm Games in 1912, the light heavyweight final between a Swede, Anders Ahlgren, and a Finn, Ivar Bohling, lasted nine hours. Since neither had gained an advantage over the other, no gold medal was awarded. Each received a silver medal.

13. In 1924 starring in the Olympic pool was young Johnny Weissmuller - forever to be remembered as Tarzan for his later film roles - who won both the 100-metres and 400-metre races, setting world records in both. In the 400 metres, Weissmuller shaved a full 20 seconds off the Olympic record.

14. In 1932 the flagbearer for the Chinese team at the opening Olympic ceremony was sprinter Cheng Chun-liu who was the solitary participant from China.

15. Early in the Helsinki Olympics of 1952, the Soviets didn't pay much attention to the unofficial point totals. But after the ninth day, when they saw their lead over the United States grow to 120 points, they decided to construct a large scoreboard in the dining room of their village. The scoreboard showed the daily point totals of all nations.On the last day of Olympic competition, the U.S. won several gold medals and it seemed certain the USA would overtake the USSR in the point totals. Realizing they were not going to finish ahead of the Americans, the Soviets began dismantling the scoreboard, but not before a reporter for a U.S. newspaper saw the scoreboard and sent out the story.

The headline read, "Russians caught with their points down."

After the Olympics, the Soviet newspaper Pravda, which must have juggled point values until they came out right, announced that the USSR and the USA had finished in a tie, each with 494 points.

16. James B. Connolly (United States), winner of the hop, step, and jump (the first final event in the 1896 Olympics), was the first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games.

17. Approximately 2,000 athletes participated, representing 22 countries in the 1908 games held in London. By the 1996 Games held in Atlanta this had risen to approximately 10,000 athletes participating, representing 197 countries.

18. In order for a sport to be considered for inclusion in the Olympics it must be "widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents".

19. During the Athens Games in 2004, 50,000 meals will be prepared daily at the Olympic Village, utilising 100 tons of food. The Olympic Village will provide accommodation and free-of charge services to 16.000 athletes and team officials.

20. For the first time in 56 years, the Olympic flame passed through London on route to Athens 2004.

21. The Official Olympic Flag - Created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914, the Olympic flag contains five interconnected rings on a white background. The five rings symbolize the five significant continents and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be gained from these international competitions. The rings, from left to right, are blue, yellow, black, green, and red. The colors were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Olympic Games.

22. The Olympic Motto - In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius ("Swifter, Higher, Stronger").

23. The Olympic Oath - Pierre de Coubertin wrote an oath for the athletes to recite at each Olympic Games. During the opening ceremonies, one athlete recites the oath on behalf of all the athletes. The Olympic oath was first taken during the 1920 Olympic Games by Belgian fencer Victor Boin. The Olympic Oath states, "In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams."

24. The Olympic Creed - Pierre de Coubertin got the idea for this phrase from a speech given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a service for Olympic champions during the 1908 Olympic Games. The Olympic Creed reads: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

25. The Olympic Flame - The Olympic flame is a practice continued from the ancient Olympic Games. In Olympia (Greece), a flame was ignited by the sun and then kept burning until the closing of the Olympic Games. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. The flame itself represents a number of things, including purity and the endeavor for perfection. In 1936, the chairman of the organizing committee for the 1936 Olympic Games, Carl Diem, suggested what is now the modern Olympic Torch relay. The Olympic flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by women wearing ancient-style robes and using a curved mirror and the sun. The Olympic Torch is then passed from runner to runner from the ancient site of Olympia to the Olympic stadium in the hosting city. The flame is then kept alight until the Games have concluded. The Olympic Torch relay represents a continuation from the ancient Olympic Games to the modern Olympics.

26. The Olympic Hymn - The Olympic Hymn, played when the Olympic Flag is raised, was composed by Spyros Samaras and the words added by Kostis Palamas. The Olympic Hymn was first played at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens but wasn't declared the official hymn by the IOC until 1957.

27. Real Gold Medals - The last Olympic gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912.

28. The Medals - The Olympic medals are designed especially for each individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing committee. Each medal must be at least three millimeters thick and 60 millimeters in diameter. Also, the gold and silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 percent silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold.

29. The First Opening Ceremonies - The first opening ceremonies were held during the 1908 Olympic Games in London.

30. Opening Ceremony Procession Order - During the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team, followed by all the other teams in alphabetical order (in the language of the hosting country), except for the last team which is always the team of the hosting country.

31. A City, Not a Country - When choosing locations for the Olympic Games, the IOC specifically gives the honor of holding the Games to a city rather than a country.

32. IOC Diplomats - In order to make the IOC an independent organization, the members of the IOC are not considered diplomats from their countries to the IOC, but rather are diplomats from the IOC to their respective countries.

33. First Modern Champion - James B. Connolly (United States), winner of the hop, step, and jump (the first final event in the 1896 Olympics), was the first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games.

34. The First Marathon - In 490 BCE, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from Marathon to Athens (about 25 miles) to inform the Athenians the outcome of the battle with invading Persians. The distance was filled with hills and other obstacles; thus Pheidippides arrived in Athens exhausted and with bleeding feet. After telling the townspeople of the Greeks' success in the battle, Pheidippides fell to the ground dead. In 1896, at the first modern Olympic Games, held a race of approximately the same length in commemoration of Pheidippides.

35. The Exact Length of a Marathon - During the first several modern Olympics, the marathon was always an approximate distance. In 1908, the British royal family requested that the marathon start at the Windsor Castle so that the royal children could witness its start. The distance from the Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium was 42,195 meters (or 26 miles and 385 yards). In 1924, this distance became the standardized length of a marathon.

36. Women - Women were first allowed to participate in 1900 at the second modern Olympic Games.

37. Winter Games Begun - The winter Olympic Games were first held in 1924, beginning a tradition of holding them a few months earlier and in a different city than the summer Olympic Games. Beginning in 1994, the winter Olympic Games were held in completely different years (two years apart) than the summer Games.

38. Cancelled Games - Because of World War I and World War II, there were no Olympic Games in 1916, 1940, or 1944.

39. Tennis Banned - Tennis was played at the Olympics until 1924, then reinstituted in 1988.

40. Walt Disney - In 1960, the Winter Olympic Games were held in Squaw Valley, California (United States). In order to bedazzle and impress the spectators, Walt Disney was head of the committee that organized the opening day ceremonies. The 1960 Winter Games Opening Ceremony was filled with high school choirs and bands, releasing of thousands of balloons, fireworks, ice statues, releasing of 2,000 white doves, and national flags dropped by parachute.

41. Russia Not Present - Though Russia had sent a few athletes to compete in the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games, they did not compete again until the 1952 Games.

42. Motor Boating - Motor boating was an official sport at the 1908 Olympics.

43. Polo, an Olympic Sport - Polo was played at the Olympics in 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924, and 1936.

44. Stadium - The first recorded ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BCE with only one event - the stade. The stade was a unit of measurement (about 600 feet) that also became the name of the footrace because it was the distance run. Since the track for the stade (race) was a stade (length), the location of the race became the stadium.