Olympic Games at a Glance - What are Olympic Games
Olympic Games nowadays involve thousands of athletes and spectators from all over the world. The athletes get training for years and participate in a series of competitions held every other year. The competitive and athletic skills of an athlete are shown in the Olympics. According to records, the first Olympic competition was held in 776 B.C in Olympia, Greece, but all the historians have firm belief that it began a number of years before that. The initiation of Olympics is shrouded in a number of myths and legends. Initially, the Olympics saluted the Greek Gods only, but the concept revolutionized with time and it started praising the athletic and competitive skills of athletes coming from all over the world. The Olympic Games were banned in 394 A.D, until the father of Modern Olympics, Pierre De Coubertin, reopened it in 1896 in Athens and is continued till today.
The modern Olympics include an Opening and Closing Ceremony. The Opening Ceremony involves cultural components, parade of nations, the lighting of a cauldron, and speeches. Thousands of people are present at the venue; thus, it is one of the biggest chances to speak to a global audience. Like the Opening Ceremony, the Closing Ceremony is a unique, large scale celebration capturing the spirit and personality of athletes, and it is a celebration of their efforts. The modern Olympics have been divided into Summer and Winter Olympics. Both are multi-sport events, and are held every four years. The first summer Olympics were held in 1896 in Athens. Today, Summer Olympics have 27 different sports to compete. These sports include archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, cycling, swimming, tennis, shooting, etc. The Winter Olympics sports were held in 1924 for the first time. Now it consists of competitions in Luge, Ice Hockey, Ski Jumping, Skeleton, Figure Skating, Curling, etc. For disabled and paralyzed persons, Paralympics were started in 1948. Following the Olympics, they are held every four years. The International Paralympic Committee is the global governing body of these games. The Youth Olympic Games were planned later on for people between the age of 14 and 18. It is held every four years as an international event, and is consistent with the current Olympic Games format.
The recent Olympics were held in February 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. 2,600 athletes from 82 Nations took part in 86 events in the Winter Olympics. Fifteen different winter sports were a part of 2010 Winter Olympics, including snowboarding, figure skating, ice hockey, luge, bobsled and freestyle skiing. For the first time in the history of Olympics, both men and women hockey was played on a narrower. The competition was held in Vancouver, Richmond and some mountains in Canada. Ice hockey was the most popular sport amongst all the events. 12 teams of men and 8 teams of women competed. Canada won both men and women tournaments. Snowboarding took place on Cypress Mountain and got huge attention from the people. Interesting competitions of Alpine, freestyle and ski jumping got people and media’s attention. The Canadians were favourites at Curling, and so the excited spectators of Canada added a buzz to the whole game. Figure skating attracted people towards it when 24 Ice Dance teams, 20 pairs team, 30 men and 30 ladies competed in Vancouver. In the Ladies world super-G title, American skier Lindsey Vonn made a new record and won a gold medal. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, Canada won Gold medals for the games hosted in their own country. The US broke record for most medals by winning 37 medals. Slovakia and Belarus’ athletes won gold medals for the first time in Olympics.
The Olympics are a symbol of justice. It entertains men, women, young and disabled persons. Both modern and ancient athletes have always captured peoples’ hearts. The Olympics today are a standard for all competitive sports, and they are loved by all and cherished by many. Olympics are so popular that it is now impossible to keep the excitement of the sports from spreading. People are always looking forward to the next Olympics and athletes earn a huge respect from society. The 2012 Summer Olympics are expected to take place in London, which will include 26 sports and 38 disciplines.
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