The Olympics Portal

The Olympic Games, or Olympics, are an international multi-sport event taking place every four years and comprising summer and winter games. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a British nobleman William Penny Brookes^[1] in 1850 in Much Wenlock before a French nobleman, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin started the current Olympics in the late 19th century. The Summer Olympics (Games of the Olympiad) have been held every fourth year starting in 1896, except in 1916, 1940, and 1944 due to the First and Second World Wars. A special edition for winter sports, the Olympic Winter Games, was first held in 1924. The first winter Olympics competitions were originally held as a non-Olympic sports festival, but were declared to be official Games by the International Olympic Committee in 1925. Originally these were held in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but from 1994 on the Winter Games and the Summer Games have been held two years apart.

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The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were celebrated in 1896 in Athens, Greece. These games were the first modern international Olympic Games to be organized by the International Olympic Committee. They were held between Monday, April 6 and Wednesday, April 15, 1896.An 1894 congress organized by Pierre de Coubertin in Paris established the International Olympic Committee and appointed the Greek capital of Athens as the host city.Although the number of participating athletes was low by current standards, it had the largest international participation for any sports event to that date. In spite of the absence of many of the time's top athletes, the Games were a success with the Greek public. The athletic highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spiridon Louis. The most successful competitor in terms of victories was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann.

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Credit: David Shapinsky

The Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics commenced with Christine Anu singing a stirring rendition of her hit song, Island Home. The ceremony concluded with a huge fireworks display on Sydney Harbour.

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Olympics sports

Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Beach volleyball Boxing Canoeing Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Golf Gymnastics Handball Field hockey

Judo Modern pentathlon Rowing Rugby Sailing Shooting Swimming Synchronized swimming Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling

Alpine skiing Biathlon Bobsleigh Cross-country skiing Curling Figure skating Freestyle skiing Ice hockey

Luge Nordic combined Short track speed skating Skeleton Ski jumping Snowboarding Speed skating

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Coroebus of Elis (commonly spelled Koroibos) was a humble Elean baker^[2] and athlete who won the stadion race in the first recorded Ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC.

Olympics news

For up to date, in depth Olympic coverage, see Wikinews:Portal:Olympics. Wikinews is a sister project of Wikipedia, which deals with journalism of current events. They are both operated by the Wikimedia foundation.

Did you know...

• ...that Wyndham Halswelle was winner of the controversial 400-m run at the 1908 Summer Olympics?
  
• ...that the Olympics were cancelled in 1916 for World War I, and again in 1940 and 1944 for World War II?
  
• ...that Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav was independent India's first individual Olympic medalist when he won the wrestling bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki games?
  
• ...that canoe racer Josefa Idem, a 1984 Olympic bronze medalist for West Germany, later took an Italian citizenship and became the first female Olympic medalist in canoeing for her new country?
  
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