August 8 is the first day of the Summer Olympics. I love the Olympics! I did a term paper on the Olympics in high school. Remember those. Oh, I am not looking forward to them when my kids get there. But at least they will have the internet to use as research. And this is what I found on the internet: (I love Google and http://www.wikipedia.org/)
The Olympic Games[1] is an international multi-sport event subdivided into summer and winter sporting events. The summer and winter games are each held every four years. Until 1992, they were both held in the same year. Since then, the summer games are held during the first year of an Olympiad, the winter games during the third year.[2]
The original Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; [Olympiakoi Agones] (help·info)) were first recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, and were celebrated until AD 393.[3] Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833.[4] Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875.[4] This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that "the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed ... the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens".[5]
The International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894 on the initiative of a French nobleman, Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin. The first of the IOC's Olympic Games were the 1896 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, Greece. Participation in the Olympic Games has increased to include athletes from nearly all nations worldwide. With the improvement of satellite communications and global telecasts of the events, the Olympics are consistently gaining supporters.[6] The most recent Summer Olympics were the 2004 Games in Athens and the most recent Winter Olympics were the 2006 Games in Turin. The upcoming games in Beijing are planned to comprise 302 events in 28 sports.[7] As of 2006, the Winter Olympics were competed in 84 events in 7 sports.[8]
The Olympic movement uses many symbols, most of them representing Coubertin's ideas and ideals. The Olympic Rings are the most widely used symbol. These five intertwined rings represent the unity of the five inhabited continents (with the Americas regarded as one continent). The five colored rings on a white field form the Olympic Flag. The colors, white, red, blue, green, yellow, and black, were chosen such that each nation has at least one of these colors in its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914, but the first Games at which it was flown were Antwerp, 1920. It is hoisted at each celebration of the Games.
The Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius", a Latin phrase meaning "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". Coubertin's ideals are probably best illustrated by the Olympic Creed:
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
Prior to each Games, the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay. There it plays an important role in the opening ceremonies. Though the torch fire has been around since 1928, the relay was introduced in 1936 as part of the then German government's attempt to promote their National Socialist ideology.
The Olympic mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country, was introduced in 1968. It has played an important part of the games since 1980 with the debut of Misha, a Russian bear.
French and English are the official languages of the Olympic movement
Do you like my Olympic colors? The yellow doesn't show. I already told you I did a term paper on the Olympics. Did you also know that I went to the Olympics when they were here in 1984? We went to track events at the Coloseum and walked through the Olympic Village. We went to Volleyball games and Baseball games. We met some of the US volleyball team players after a game. It was so much fun! I will be there again if the Olympics ever come back to CA.
Did you also know that for a very short time I was playing on the US Women's Olympic handball team? Well, I was practicing with them. I was in college. Handball is kind of like football, soccer and basketball with a smaller ball, played in doors.
And in high school I ran track. We would run at invitationals where runners from all over would compete. One of my events was the 440, now known as the 400 meter. It's basically a sprint once around the track. I was fast at my school and in my league, even holding a school record. I even went to state finals in my Sr year. Talk about being nervous! I started the mile relay for my team.
But, to back track.... At one invitational, I ran against the Howard sisters. Remember them? This was in the early 80's. They were fast. They were in the Olympics (after high school). I ran against them. Didn't win my race with them in it, but I am sure I ran pretty darn fast to try to keep up with them. Even in high school we knew of them. And I can say I ran with them.
So, a little bit of history, a little bit of trivia and some unknown facts about mwa.
1 comment:
Well once again your blog made me smarter!
I totally believe that you were fast on the track team - you run like the wind!!
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