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Jim Thorpe competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics winning the decathlon and pentathlon.
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Electric timing was first used in 1912 making times much more accurate and reliable.
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The 1916 Olympics were cancelled due to World War I. The games were scheduled to be held in Berlin, Germany.
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The first ever winter Olympics were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France from January 25 to February 4.
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The Olympic torch was lit for the first time during the opening ceremony of the 1928 summer Olympic games.
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The first Olympic village was built to house athletes in 1932 for the games in Los Angeles. Women, however, didn't have a village.
Picture is layout for 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics -
The 1936 Summer Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany, under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Many Jews and Gypsies were unable to compete in the games because of the prejudice Nazis. A large percentage of the athletes in the United States boycotted the Olympics and did not attend.
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Jesse Owens won four gold medals in track and field events at the 1936 Summer Olympic games in Berlin.
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The 1940 and 1944 Olympic games were cancelled due to WWII. The 1940 games were scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan, and the 1944 games were supposed to be in London, England.
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The Olympics were first televised during the winter games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy in 1956. The effects of television greatly altered the flow of the Olympics with additions of cameramen and Jumbo-Trons.
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The American swimmer, Mark Spitz, shocked the Olympic world with a record seven gold medals, a record held for over 30 years.
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On September 5, 1972 a group of Arab terrorists broke into the Israeli compound in Munich, Germany killing two athletes and holding nine others hostage. They wanted the release of over two hundred Arabs from Israeli prisons. All nine hostages were killed and eight of the nine terrorists were either killed or captured.
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The United States refused to participate in the 1980 Olympics due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
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The 1984 summer Olympics set a record in attendance at 5.8 million people. It also set a record for most gold medals won by one country at one Olympics by the United States with 83.
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The '88 games in Seoul, South Korea, were affected by scandals. Ten athletes were disqualified due to failed drug tests and Korean boxers and judges were suspended due to biased opinions in fights.
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1992 was the first year to allow professional basketball players to compete in the Olympics. The “Dream Team” consisted of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson as well as other NBA stars. They easily won the gold and were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
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Michael Phelps made America proud by winning eight gold medals at the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
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Usain Bolt gained the title of the "World's Fastest Man" by setting the world records for the 100m and 200m meter sprints.
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There were 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. This made the Beijing Olympics one of the most watched in history.
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The London Olympics in 2012 are expected to have 204 countries and over 10,000 athletes competing.
