There is nothing more exciting than watching the great athletes in the Olympic Games, always offering their great potential and everything they have trained over the years. There are four years to wait for a new start, where the athletes will have to return to their great routine and specialty to continue training your specialty. To capture even more of the splendor of this Olympic event, we have compiled the best curiosities of the Olympic Games of all time.
This year 2024 its gala has been held in Paris, with 35 Olympic venues, with a diversity of cultural places and a great spectacle on the waters of the Seine River. Each celebration adapts to the events, including new additions that shape the current situation. Nevertheless, We will observe when its beginnings were and how its history has transcended over the years, with data and curiosities that will shock you.
Curiosities at the beginning of the Olympic Games
The first Olympics They were devised in Greece, in the year 776 BC. Their celebration took place in the city of Olympia, whose celebration took place in honor to Zeus, where man could only participate. Women did not participate and could not even attend as an audience, only priestesses could.
They were also held every four years and there were competitions in sports such as javelin throwing, boxing, wrestling or pentathlon. As a curious fact, it is that his or her attendees They competed totally naked and They were rewarded with olive wreaths, a symbol that can be related to the symbolism of the olive treeBut later, about eleven centuries later, Theodosius I suspended the celebration because he considered it a pagan spectacle.
The Olympic Games resumed their splendor in 1894, under the command of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, calling it the Modern Olympics and creating the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In 1896 its first edition took place, with the participation of 14 countries and 241 athletes, being exclusively men. They competed in 43 events in 10 disciplines and the medals were not gold due to their high cost, but silver, bronze and in the third category with a diploma.
Throughout these centuries, The Olympic Games have been suspended up to three times. The first was caused by the First World War, in 1916. The Second World War also took its hiatus, in the years 1940 and 1944.
Under the Nazi regime the Olympics were held, This was the first time they were broadcast on television, being based in Berlin in 1936.
The memory of the Olympic Games is always exciting.
Men who made history in the Olympic Games
Johnny Weissmuler He made history in the Olympics. He made his mark in 1924 and 1928, winning four medals in swimming and a bronze medal in water polo, with the United States team. He was called Tarzan.
Another player to highlight was Dimitrios Loundras, since with only Age 10 he participated as the youngest athlete in 1900. He placed third in the parallel bar. Another young athlete was the female Luigina Giavotti, with only Age 11, in the gymnastics category in 1928. The oldest player is Oscar Swahn, who competed in the 1920 Antwerp Games at the age of 72 years in the Making and in the shooter category.
Michael Phelps He has been the athlete with the most medals, with 23 gold medals, three silver and two bronze. Incredible, right? So far he is the top winner, with medals accumulated in swimming experience.
Other curious facts that remain in the Olympics
The Olympics are represented with five rings of different colors. It was designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, whose idea is to represent the five main continents: Europe, America, Oceania, Asia and Africa.
The official languages at each event They have always been English and French, as established in Article 23 of the Olympic Charter. One of the languages included is the location where they will compete.
The Olympic torch It is a symbol that is never replaced, since it is the supreme distinctive of these Games. Represents unity and peace between nations, whose lighting takes place in the temple of Hera with the rays of the sun, in Olympia, Greece. Said ignition is carried out from there and on the first day. You will travel a path to the host city, whether from a ship, plane, horse, any animal or you can even go down by radio signals or underwater.
If the torch goes out during your tour or during your ceremony, you can never light it with something artificial like a lighter. It will be lit again with a safety flame that will remain lit throughout the entire route.
Tokyo commemorated the greenest Olympic Games in 2020. 25 tons of plastic were collected to create the podiums and uniforms. The torches were created from temporary housing materials for earthquake victims. Even the medals were also made with metals from recycled electronic devices.
The Summer and Winter Olympic Games They took place in the same year from 1924 to 1992. Nowadays they do not coincide, but rather alternate every two years. There have only been four athletes who have won medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
Another curious fact that we could not imagine is that the painters, sculptors, architects, writers and musicians They also had their moment of competitiveness in their disciplines at the Olympics. This happened since 1912 to 1948.
Unfortunately There are sports that are no longer part of the Games, such as individual synchronized swimming, hot air balloon race, leather shooting, obstacle swimming and long immersion or pistol duel. But this year 2024, the categories of breakdancing, surfing, skateboarding and climbing have been included.
Nowadays The United States is the country that has won the most medals throughout its history in the modern Olympic Games. It has culminated in thousands of them, as it makes a large investment in its sports programs, such as swimming and athletics, to create great talents at a very young age.
Another anecdote was the tie between two pole vaulters at the 1936 Berlin Games. Instead of competing again, They mixed their silver and bronze medals, so they fused its two halves to create one.
