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History of Modern Olympics

By jschupbach
  • Period: to

    Timeline of Modern Olympics

  • Creation of Modern Olympics

    In November 1892, at a meeting of the Union des Sports Athlétiques in Paris, Coubertin proposed the idea of reviving the Olympics as an international athletic competition held every four years. Two years later, he got the approval he needed to found the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which would become the governing body of the modern Olympic Games.
  • First Modern Olympic games

    First Modern Olympic games

    The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. In the opening ceremony, King Georgios I and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed 280 participants from 13 nations (all male), who would compete in 43 events, including track and field, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, cycling, tennis, weightlifting, shooting and fencing.
    http://www.history.com/topics/olympic-games
  • First North American Olympics

    First North American Olympics

    The first Olympic Games to be held on the continent of North America. They were held in St. Louis. They were not real popular because of expensive travel methods.
  • Introduction of Medals

    Introduction of Medals

    Gold, silver and bronze medals were not awarded until 1904.

  • First Cancelled Modern Olympics

    Cancelled Due to WWI
  • First Display of Olympic Flag

    First Display of Olympic Flag

    The official symbol of the modern Games is five interlocking colored rings, representing the continents of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. The Olympic flag, featuring this symbol on a white background, flew for the first time at the Antwerp Games in 1920.
    http://www.history.com/topics/olympic-games
  • Gaining Popularity

    Gaining Popularity

    The Olympics truly took off as an international sporting event after 1924, when the VIII Games were held in Paris. Some 3,000 athletes (with more than 100 women among them) from 44 nations competed that year, and for the first time the Games featured a closing ceremony. The Winter Olympics debuted that year, including such events as figure skating, ice hockey, bobsledding and the biathlon.
  • First Olympics Scheduled to be held in Asia

    First Olympics Scheduled to be held in Asia

  • First Olympics held in Asia

    First Olympics held in Asia

    XVIII 1964 Tokyo Japan Asia
  • First Olympics held in South America

    First Olympics held in South America

    The first Olympic Games to be held on the continent of South America. They were held in Mexico City.
  • Since 1984, professional athletes at the Games

    Since 1984, professional athletes at the Games

    The modern Olympic Games were long open only to amateur athletes, in line with Pierre de Coubertin’s wishes. The IOC abolished this rule in 1984 (for the Games
    in Los Angeles), and since then professional athletes have also been able to take part.
  • Latest Statistics

    Latest Statistics

    At the 2010 Games in Vancouver (Canada), a total of 2,566 athletes came
    together from 82 countries as diverse as Ghana, Brazil, New Zealand
    and Pakistan.