Ancient and Modern Olympic Games

The ancient Olympic Games were a part of a religious festival in honor of Zeus. The festival and the games were held in Olympia, a rural sanctuary site in the western Peloponnesos.

The first recorded Olympic competition occurred in 776 B.C. It had only one event, the one-stade (approximately 630-foot or 192-meter) race, which was won by a cook named Coroebus. This was the start of the first Olympiad, the four-year period by which the Greeks recorded their history.

Athletic competition became so important to the Greeks that the Olympic festivals were a peaceful influence.


All athletes were required to take an oath that they would observe all the rules and standards. Although, the luxurious facilities offered to athletes, all had to remain amateurs. That is, they had to pay their own expenses, and they could receive no monetary awards.

The most famous athlete of the Ancient Games was Milo of Croton, who lived in the 500 B.C. He won the wrestling crown six times.

The first Modern Olympic Games ocurred in April 1896, attracted athletes from the United States, Great Britain, and 11 other nations. Only 42 events in 9 sports were scheduled for these games.

The Olympic Games scheduled for Berlin in 1916 were cancelled because of World War I; those scheduled for 1940 and 1944 were cancelled because of World War II.

The games of 1904 had little international significance because most of the participants were from the United States, more and more nations have entered teams in the Olympics. The of participating athletes has grown, from the 285 who competed at Athens in 1896 to approximately 10,600 who competed in Barcelona in 1992.

The values of the modern Olympic Games are:

Respect – fair play; knowing one’s own limits; and taking care of one’s health and the environment

Excellence – how to give the best of oneself, on the field of play or in life; taking part; and progressing according to one’s own objectives

Friendship – how, through sport, to understand each other despite any differences

The different sports which will be played at the Olympic Games are:

• Archery
• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Beach Volleyball
• Boxing
• Canoe Slalom
• Canoe Sprint
• Cycling - BMX
• Cycling - Mountain Bike
• Cycling - Road
• Cycling - Track
• Diving
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Football
• Gymnastics - Artistic
• Gymnastics - Rhythmic
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Modern Pentathlon
• Rowing
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Swimming
• Synchronised Swimming
• Table Tennis
• Taekwondo
• Tennis
• Trampoline
• Triathlon
• Volleyball
• Water Polo
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

Pablo Lavilla