Olympics

Easy Guide to the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Ancient Olympics

The Olympic Games have been around for centuries, in fact, the first ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BC! The ancient plains of Olympia in Greece provided the venue, which is how the Games got their name. These ancient Games were dedicated to the Greek gods and continued for over a thousand years, until the Christian Emperor Theodosius decided to ban all such ‘pagan cults’ in 393 A.D.

The Games started off as a one-day event until 684 BC, when they became three days. In the 5th century B.C., the were extended to five days and included the sports of running, long jump, shot put, javelin, equestrian (horse riding), boxing and pankration (wrestling) events.

Modern Olympics

After a 1,500 year break, the Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Games in the late 19th century. He set up the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894.  Two years later, the first modern Summer Games in Athens saw just under 250 competitors from 14 nations with Greece, Germany, France and Great Britain offering the most athletes. American James Connolly became the first modern Olympic champion when he won the triple jump on 6 April 1896. Winners were awarded a silver medal and an olive branch.

The Olympic Rings

The Olympic Rings were designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1914.  The five intertwined rings represent the five inhabited continents on earth and stand for passion, faith, victory, worth ethic and sportsmanship. The rings are coloured blue, yellow, black, green and red and shown against a white background for the Olympic flag. Each country has at least one of these colours on its national flag.

The Paralympic Games

This can be traced back to a 1948 sports competition organised by Sir Ludwig Guttmann for World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries in Bucks, England. The first Olympics to incorporate competitions for disabled athletes were the Rome Games of 1960, and this was called the Paralympics.

Today’s Paralympic Games offer elite sports events for athletes from six different disability groups, with the focus on athletic achievement rather than disability. The movement has grown dramatically since 1960 when 400 athletes from 23 countries took part - Beijing 2008 saw a record 3,951 Paralympians from 146 countries.

Watch a video explaining the history of the Paralympic Games.

The Games Jargon Buster

From BOA to WADA, you’ll hear a lot of strange terms about the Olympics. Find out what they all mean here.

• BOA - The British Olympic Association gives money to UK athletes to help them train and compete in the games.
• BPA - The British Paralympic Association supports the GB Paralympics team.
• Host Boroughs - The 2012 Games will take place all around the country as well as in the five Olympic boroughs - Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
• IOC - The International Olympic Committee was set up in 1894 to organise the Games and is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• LOCOG - The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games is responsible for staging the show, from organising the opening ceremony to selling tickets.
• London 2012 - is an umbrella name for members of the Olympic Family, including the Mayor of London, LOCOG and ODA.
• ODA - The Olympic Delivery Authority is responsible for providing the infrastructure of the Games, doing things like buying land for the Olympic Park and making sure all the venues are built on time.
• WADA - The World Anti-Doping Agency fights against drug use in sport.