By Penny F. & Keira L.
THE HISTORY OF THE OLYMPICS
The Olympics originated in Greece, about 3,000 years ago. The first written account of the ancient Olympics dates back to 776 BCE (Before Common Era). The Olympic Games take their name from the town of Olympia, in the northwest corner of the Greek Peloponnese peninsula.
The site became the setting for the Games. Held once every four years, they were the most important events in all of Greece. A period of four years was called an olympiad, and that was how time was measured.
The ancient Olympics were mainly held to honor Zeus, the king of the gods and the god of thunder, but over 100 different deities were worshiped during the games, including Apollo, god of the sun and music, Poseidon, god of the sea, and Hera, queen of the gods.
The oldest Games had only a single sport -running. Later, other sports were added. But only men could compete in the Olympics. No women could play in the games, or watch the competitions, either. The original events of the game included, equestrian, pentathlon, running, long jump, javelin, wrestling, and boxing.
Equestrian:
Athletes competed in four horse chariot races, two horse chariot races and mounted horse races. Horse racing was often dangerous, with a high chance of injury. The winners, however, were not the charioteers or horse-riders. They were the horses’ owners. One woman, Cyniska of Sparta, was a wealthy Spartan princess. She owned many horses, and sent the best ones to compete in the Olympics. Her horses and horse-riders won the events in her stead, bringing glory to their owner.
The Pentathlon: Discus, Running, Long Jump, Javelin, & Wrestling:
The pentathlon was the most famous event of the ancient Olympics. The pentathlon was composed of 5 sports: discus throwing, running races, long jump, javelin throwing, and wrestling.
Discus: A discus was a kind of heavy metal frisbee. Athletes competed to see who could throw the farthest.
Running: There were many types of races. Stades were shortest- runners ran one length of the stadium. The diaulos was a race two lengths of the stadium. Sometimes it was run normally, sometimes the athletes had to wear full armor. There was also a long race, the dolichos, which was up to 24 times the length of the stadium!
Long Jump: Weights, in different shapes and sizes, were used. The competing athlete held a weight in each hand, swung it back and forth, and then jumped as far as he could. He repeated these steps five times. The one who jumped farthest won.
Javelin: The javelin was a long hunting spear. A leather strap was wound around it to help the javelin fly straighter. The athletes competed in throwing both far and for accuracy
Wrestling: Wrestling was one of the most famous sports of the ancient Olympics. Wrestlers fought standing up with bare hands. The first one to fall three times lost the match.
Boxing:
Boxers’ hands were protected by long leather straps, kind of like gloves. They fought standing up and tried to aim at their opponent’s head. The pankration was a mix of wrestling and boxing. All moves, except biting, poking your opponent’s eyes out, and stopping your opponent’s breathing were allowed.
OLYMPIC SPORTS TODAY
The Ancient Olympics were abolished in 393 A.D. by the Roman Emperor TheodosiusⅠ, but a modern version of the Games was started in 1896. Many sports were kept from the ancient Olympic Games. Running, now called Athletics or Track & Field, still remains one of the most popular and important sports. Boxing and wrestling are still major events, as is the long jump. Many games have been modified- for example, equestrian events no longer have chariot races, and new games have been added. Water sports, including Swimming, Diving, Rowing, Sailing, Canoe Slalom and Sprint, and Water-polo, are incredibly popular. Gymnastics, both Rhythmic and Artistic, is another one of the most famous sports. Some other popular modern Olympic sports are Cycling (Biking), Archery, Triathlon, Rowing, Fencing, Soccer, and Basketball.
The early sports of the modern Olympics were versions of present-day Athletics, Cycling, Swimming, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Fencing, Shooting, and Tennis, all of which are still featured in the Olympics today.
Curiously, like the ancient Olympics, the first modern Olympic games only featured male athletes. The 1900 Olympics housed the first female athletes, a group of 22 women, which included Countess Hélène de Pourtalès, the first female Olympic medallist.
Under these larger categories lie many more individual events. For example, Women’s 50m Freestyle, Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay, and Men’s 100m Backstroke are all different events, with different winners, but they are all categorized as Swimming events. Think of these as being different ideas, but all under the same umbrella, or category.
Popularity wise, some events, like Swimming, have a huge number of fans, while others, like Table Tennis, have a smaller following. Either way, the modern Olympics are home to 45 different, fascinating, and unique sports.
Some events have similarities in their point scoring system, while some are polar opposites. For example, Table Tennis is scored when one player serves a shot and the other player can’t return it. Table Tennis is played until one player has 11 points, whereas in Swimming, you win by being the fastest, and in Soccer you win by kicking a ball into a goal.
The Olympics are forever growing, changing, and evolving. New sports are added frequently and enjoyed by many. Breaking (often referred to as Break Dancing) was one of the new sports in the 2024 Olympic Games. Breaking was an event at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018. After its huge success there it was added to the 2024 Olympic Games. Many enjoy the sport and are happy it has been added to the modern Olympic repertoire, but a few don’t enjoy the new addition.
Most countries prefer to invest in the biggest sports, hoping to earn popularity as well as medals. Swimming, Track and Field, and Gymnastics are some of the most intense competitions; countries train many, many athletes in these fields and send only the very best ones to compete.
TOP FIVE MEDALLING COUNTRIES
The five countries with the most overall 2024 Olympic medals are the United States of America, the People’s Republic of China, Great Britain, France, and Australia. With 126 medals the USA has the most, followed by China with 91, and Great Britain with 65. Close on their heels, France has 64 medals, and Australia has 53.
The USA medaled the most in Athletics (aka Track and Field) and Swimming. They have 34 medals in Athletics and 28 in Swimming. The Peoples’ Republic of China medaled the most in Diving and Swimming, with 12 medals in Swimming and 11 in Diving. Great Britain earned the most medals in Athletics, with a tie between Cycling Track and Rowing in second place. They have 10 medals in Athletics and 8 each in Cycling Track and Rowing. Right behind Great Britain, is France with its 64 total medals. It has the most medals in Judo, with 10, and the next most in Swimming, with 7. And finally, in 5th place, Australia has the most medals in Swimming and Athletics, with 18 in Swimming, and 7 in Athletics.
As you might have noticed, Swimming is a large sport which is why four of the top five medalling countries have it as one of their two most medalled sports. A similar trend appears in Athletics, with three of the top five medalling countries featuring athletics as one of their top two sports. This is because there are so many categories under these sports, and so many opportunities to medal.
The top 5 medallists, in the order of total medals, are Zhang Yufei from the PROC, with 6 medals in Women’s Swimming, Leon Marchand from France, with 5 medals in Men’s Swimming, Torri Huske from the U.S., Mollie O’Callaghan from Australia, and Regan Smith from the U.S., all with 5 medals in Women’s Swimming.
In the order of gold medals, Leon Marchand would be first, with 4, then Torri Huske and Mollie O’Callaghan with 3 each, then Regan Smith with two. While Zhang Yufei has 6 medals, none of them are gold. The famous U.S. gymnast Simone Biles ranks eighth place in total medals, and seventh in gold medals.
You may have noticed that the top five medalists all compete in swimming, and that is because swimming is one of the biggest sports. Swimming also has six separate competitions, so there are more chances of earning a medal. This prompts countries to train more swimming athletes, in hopes of gaining popularity and medals in the same sport.
In conclusion, the Olympic Games have changed and grown from their early beginnings to become the flourishing sporting event they are today, complete with a constantly changing sport lineup and a wide variety of participating countries. Who would have thought that a 3,000 year old event for worshiping the gods could turn into the worldwide extravaganza it is today?