Adp H&pe 2ND Semester Modern Olympics

ADP H&PE 2ND SEMESTER
Modern Olympic Games - a brief history
The modern Olympics or Olympic Games are leading international sporting events featuring
summer and winter sports. In these summer and winter sports competitions, thousands of
athletes from over 200 nations participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games
are normally held every four years, alternating between the summer and winter Games every
two years in the four-year period. The word Olympiad designates the four-year period that
separates each edition of the Summer Games.
The Olympic Movement uses symbols, also known as the Olympic rings, to represent the
ideals embodied in the Olympic Charter. The Olympic symbol represents the unity of the five
inhabited continents - Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. These colours, blue,
yellow, black, green, and red, were chosen because every nation had at least one of them on
its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914 and was flown for the first time at the Summer
Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin

Creation of the Olympic Games was inspired by the ancient Olympics, which were held in
Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin
founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894 alongside Demetrius Vikelas
(co-founder and 1st president of IOC). The First modern Olympics Games was held in
Athens in 1896. The International Olympic Committee is the governing body of the Olympic
Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.
1896 Games
The first Games held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee was hosted
in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens in 1896. These games brought together 241 athletes
from 14 nations and they participated in 43 events.
Evangelos Zappas, a wealthy Greek-Romanian philanthropist, offered to fund the 1896

Olympic Games.
Greek officials and the public were enthusiastic about the experience of hosting an Olympic
Games. This feeling was shared by many of the athletes, who even demanded that Athens be
the permanent Olympic host city. The IOC intended for subsequent Games to be rotated to
various host cities around the world. The second Olympics was held in Paris.
Evolution of Olympic movement:

During the 20th and 21st centuries, evolution of the Olympic Movement has resulted in
several changes to the Olympic Games.
Winter Olympic Games for snow and ice sports -
The Winter Olympics was created to feature snow and ice sports that were logistically
impossible to hold during the Summer Games. Figure skating was introduced in 1908 and ice
hockey in 1920 were featured as Olympic events at the Summer Olympics. Nevertheless, at
the 1921 Olympic Congress in Lausanne, the International Olympic Committee made the
decision to hold a winter version of the Olympic Games. It was in Chamonix in 1924 that
winter sports finally got their own Olympic
Games. The three main sports on the Winter Games programme are skating, skiing and ice
hockey.
Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability -

Sir Ludwig Guttmann, in 1948, promoted the rehabilitation of soldiers after World War II. He
organised a multi-sport event, known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, between several
hospitals. This multi-sport event was to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics. For the
next twelve years, Sir Ludwig Guttmann and his supporters continued their efforts to use
sports as an avenue to healing. During the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Sir Ludwig
Guttmann brought 400 athletes to compete in the "Parallel Olympics”, which was known as
the first Paralympics.
Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18 -

In 2010, the Youth Games were also included in the Olympic Games. In the Youth Games,
athletes between the ages of 14 - 18 were given the chance to compete. The Youth Olympic
Games were conceived by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge in
2001 and approved during the 119th Congress of the International Olympic Committee. The
first Summer Youth Games were held in Singapore from 14–26 August 2010.
Women participation in Modern Olympics:

Women made their Olympic debut at the 1900 Games in Paris (France), in tennis and golf.
Subsequently, over the course of the century, they gained access to more and more sports
(e.g. swimming in 1912, athletics in 1928, volleyball in 1964, rowing in 1976, cycling in
1984 and football in 1996), but it was not until the 2012 Games in London,
with the introduction of women’s boxing, that women could compete in all the sports on the
programme
Olympic sports
The IOC sets the Olympic programme and decides which sports will be included. The IOC
also
has the right to add or remove any sport, discipline or event.
Sport − For a sport to be made an Olympic sport it has to be governed by an International
Federation recognised by the IOC
Exemples:
Swimming at the Games is governed by the International Swimming Federation (FINA);
Discipline − An Olympic sport comprises one or several disciplines.
Exemples:
Water polo and diving are disciplines of swimming.
Event − A discipline includes one or more events or competitions.
Exemples:
The 10m platform for women is a diving event.
Life in the Olympic Village:
Upon their arrival in the host city, athletes stay in the Olympic Village. While at the Games,
their time is not devoted exclusively to competing: it is also
an opportunity for them to meet other athletes from different countries and cultures.
Ceremonies:
Opening Ceremony:
Opening ceremony takes place before the events have occurred.
The opening ceremony starts with the entrance of the president of the host country followed
by the hoisting of the host country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. The host
country then presents artistic displays of music, singing, dance, and theatre representative of
its culture. After the artistic display, speeches are given and formally opening the Games.
After this, finally, the Olympic torch is brought into the stadium and passed on until it reaches
the final torch carrier, often a successful Olympic athlete from the host nation, who lights the
Olympic flame in the stadium's cauldron.
Closing:
The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games takes place at the end of all the sporting events.
Flag-bearers from each participating country enter the stadium, followed by the athletes who
enter together as a group. Three national flags are hoisted, the flag of the current host
country; the flag of Greece - to honour the birthplace of the Olympic Games; and the flag of
the country hosting the next Summer or Winter Olympic Games.
The president of the organising committee and the International Olympic Committee
president make their closing speeches indicating that the Games are officially closed, and
then the Olympic flame is extinguished.
Medal presentation:
A medal ceremony is held at the end of each Olympic event. An International Olympic
Committee member gives out the medals; the national anthem of the gold medallist's country
is played while national flags of the three medallists are raised.
As is customary, the last medal presentation of the Games is held as part of the closing
ceremony.
Political and diplomatic exploitation of the Games
Here are some of the better-known examples
› 1936 in Berlin (Germany): Despite calls for a boycott due to Nazi persecution of Jews, 49
teams from around the world competed.
› 1956 in Melbourne (Australia): Because of the Suez crisis and Soviet oppression in
Hungary lead to some countries refusing to send their athletes to the Games.
› 1968 in Mexico City (Mexico): American athletes Tommy Smith and John Carlos
demonstrated against racism in the USA. As they stood on the podium
to receive their medals for the 200m, they raised black-gloved fists and bowed their heads
when the American flag was raised. This gesture was their way
of showing their support for the “Black Power” movement which was fighting the
discrimination against black people in the USA. As a result, they were disqualified.
› 1972 in Munich (Germany): Palestinian fighters took Israeli athletes hostage.The event
ended in tragedy, with nine hostages executed and the death
of a policeman and two other members of the Israeli delegation.
› 1976 in Montreal (Canada): 22 countries (mostly African) boycotted the Games to protest
against a recent tour of South Africa, which imposed apartheid,
by the New Zealand rugby team.
› 1980 in Moscow (Soviet Union): the United States called for a global boycott in response to
the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Other countries followed the US example and stayed
away from Moscow.
› 1984 in Los Angeles (USA): in response to the American boycott of 1980, the Soviet Union
refused to attend the Games.
› The Olympic Games were cancelled due to World War I in 1916 and World War II in 1940
and 1944
. The 2020 Summer Olympics were also postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19
pandemic
.

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ADP H&PE 2ND SEMESTER

Modern Olympic Games - a brief history

Baron Pierre de Coubertin

Evangelos Zappas, a wealthy Greek-Romanian philanthropist, offered to fund the 1896

Evolution of Olympic movement:

Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability -

Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18 -

Women participation in Modern Olympics:

Event − A discipline includes one or more events or competitions.

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