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Athens
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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
2.
Olympic sports
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Olympic sports are sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The 2016 Summer Olympics included 28 sports, with five additional sports due to be added to the 2020 Summer Olympics, the 2014 Winter Olympics included seven sports. The number and kinds of events may change slightly from one Olympiad to another, each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing body, namely an International Federation. The International Olympic Committee establishes a hierarchy of sports, disciplines, according to this hierarchy, the Olympic sports can be subdivided into multiple disciplines, which are often assumed to be distinct sports. Examples include swimming and water polo, or figure skating and speed skating, in their turn, disciplines can be subdivided into events, for which medals are actually awarded. The IOCs requirements reflect participation in the Olympic Games as well—more stringent toward men, previous Olympic Games included sports which are no longer present on the current program, like polo and tug of war. These sports, known as discontinued sports, were removed either because of lack of interest or absence of an appropriate governing body. Archery and tennis are examples of sports that were competed at the early Games and were dropped by the IOC. Demonstration sports have often included in the Olympic Games, usually to promote a local sport from the host country or to gauge interest. Some such sports, like baseball and curling, were added to the official Olympic program, baseball, however, was discontinued after the 2008 Summer Olympics. The term sport in Olympic terminology refers to all the events that are sanctioned by one international sport federation, one sport, by Olympic definition, may be divided into several disciplines, which are often regarded as separate sports in common language. Skating is a winter Olympic sport represented by the International Skating Union, and includes four disciplines, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating, and synchronized skating. The sport with the largest number of Olympic disciplines is skiing, with six, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, nordic combined, snowboarding, other notable multi-discipline sports are gymnastics, cycling, volleyball, wrestling, canoeing, and bobsleigh. The disciplines listed here are only those contested in the Olympics—gymnastics has two disciplines, while cycling and wrestling have three each. It should also be noted that the IOC definition of a discipline may differ from that used by an international federation, for example, the IOC considers artistic gymnastics a single discipline, but the International Federation of Gymnastics classifies mens and womens artistic gymnastics as separate disciplines. An event, by IOC definition, is a competition that leads to the award of medals. The number of events per sport ranges from a minimum of two to a maximum of 47 in athletics, which despite its number of events and its diversity is not divided into disciplines. The only summer sports that have never been absent from the Olympic program are athletics, aquatics, cycling, fencing, the only winter sports that were included in all Winter Olympic Games are skiing, skating, and ice hockey
3.
George I of Greece
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George I was King of Greece from 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhagen, and he was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the unpopular former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire and he married the Russian grand duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia, and became the first monarch of a new Greek dynasty. Two of his sisters, Alexandra and Dagmar, married into the British, King Edward VII and Tsar Alexander III were his brothers-in-law and King George V and Tsar Nicholas II were his nephews. Georges reign of almost 50 years was characterized by territorial gains as Greece established its place in pre-World War I Europe, Britain ceded the Ionian Islands peacefully, while Thessaly was annexed from the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Turkish War. Greece was not always successful in its ambitions, it was defeated in the Greco-Turkish War. During the First Balkan War, after Greek troops had captured much of Greek Macedonia, compared to his own long tenure, the reigns of his successors Constantine, Alexander, and George II proved short and insecure. George was born at the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade and he was the second son of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Although he was of blood, his family was relatively obscure. In 1852, however, Georges father was designated the heir presumptive to the childless King Frederick VII of Denmark, Georges siblings were Frederick, Alexandra, Dagmar, Thyra and Valdemar. Georges mother tongue was Danish, with English as a second language and he was also taught French and German. He embarked on a career in the Royal Danish Navy, while Frederick was described as quiet and extremely well-behaved, George was lively and full of pranks. Many Greeks, seeking closer ties to the pre-eminent world power, Great Britain, rallied around Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. British prime minister Lord Palmerston believed that the Greeks were panting for increase in territory, hoping for a gift of the Ionian Islands, which were then a British protectorate. The London Conference of 1832, however, prohibited any of the Great Powers ruling families from accepting the crown, the Greeks nevertheless insisted on holding a plebiscite in which Prince Alfred received over 95% of the 240,000 votes. There were 93 votes for a Republic and 6 for a Greek, with Prince Alfreds exclusion, the search began for an alternative candidate. Eventually, the Greeks and Great Powers winnowed their choice to Prince William of Denmark, aged only 17, he was elected King of the Hellenes on 30 March 1863 by the Greek National Assembly under the regnal name of George I. Paradoxically, he ascended a royal throne before his father, who became King of Denmark on 15 November the same year, there were two significant differences between Georges elevation and that of his predecessor, Otto
4.
Olympic Stadium
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Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words Olympic Stadium as part of their names. Olympic Stadium may also be named a stadium which hosts Olympic sports. In the case of the Summer Olympics, athletics competitions and the final are traditionally held in the Olympic Stadium. Exceptions to this have occurred though at the 1900,1996 and 2016 Summer Olympics as well as at the 2010 and 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games, early Winter Games often used figure skating venues as focal points. These were often designated as the Olympic Stadium, usually hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, a number of stadiums have been used in more than one Olympics, in those cities that have held the Games more than once. Lysgårdsbakkene was the stadium of a Winter Olympics and a Winter Youth Olympic Games. Bergiselschanze was the stadium of two Winter Olympics and one Winter YOG. Olympiahalle jointly shared the Olympic Stadium role with Bergiselschanze during the two Winter Olympics, but not during the Winter YOG, only one stadium, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, has been the main stadium of two Summer Olympics. In addition to the inaugural Summer Olympics, Panathinaiko Stadio was also the stadium of the only Intercalated Games held. A number, including both the Panathinaiko Stadio and the Vélodrome de Vincennes, have hosted events at subsequent Olympics. The London Games of 2012 were not opened and closed at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium, the site of the 1948 Olympic Stadium, Wembley was, however, the venue for some 2012 Olympic football matches. Likewise, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was the stadium for the 1956 games. Lake Placids 1930 Olympic Stadium was utilized in the 1980 Lake Placid games as the speed skating venue, olympiahalle hosted figure skating and short-track speed skating during the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. Stockholm Olympic Stadium hosted equestrian events for the 1956 Summer Olympics, Olympic Past & Future Stadiums - BALLPARKS. com Summer Olympic Stadiums 1896 - on Google Maps
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Panathenaic Stadium
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The Panathenaic Stadium also known as Kallimarmaro, is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. One of the attractions of Athens, it is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble. A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos c. 330 BC and it was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD and had a capacity of 50,000 seats. After the rise of Christianity in the 4th century it was largely abandoned, the stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875. After being refurbished, it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports and it was used for various purposes in the 20th century and was once again used as an Olympic venue in 2004. It is the point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon. It is also the last venue in Greece from where the Olympic flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place, the stadium is built in what was originally a natural ravine between the two hills of Agra and Ardettos, south of the Ilissos river. Up to the 1950s, the River ran in front of the entrance, and the spring of Kallirrhoe, the sanctuary of Pankrates. Originally, since the 6th century BC, a racecourse existed at the site of the stadium and it hosted the Panathenaic Games, a religious and athletic festival celebrated every 4 years in honor of the goddess Athena. The racecourse had no seating and the spectators sat on the natural slopes on the side of the ravine. In the 4th century BC the Athenian statesman Lykourgos built a 850-foot long stadium of Poros limestone, tiers of stone benches were arranged around the track. The track was 669 feet long and 110 feet wide, IG II²351, records that Eudemus of Plataea gave 1000 yoke of oxen for the construction of the stadium and theater. The stadium of Lykourgos is believed to have completed for the Panathenaic Games of 330/329 BC. Donald Kyle suggests that it is possible that Lykourgos did not built, according to Richard Ernest Wycherley the stadium probably had stone seating only for a privileged few. Herodes Atticus, an Athenian who rose to the highest echelons of power in Rome, was responsible for numerous structures in Greece, in Athens he is best known for the reconstruction of the Panathenaic Stadium. Tobin suggests that Herodes built the stadium soon after Atticuss death, the first Greater Panathenaia following his fathers demise was 139/40, and it is probable that at that time Herodes promised the refurbishment of the stadium. According to Philostratus, it was completed four years later, which would have been in 143/4 and these dates are now widely cited as construction dates of the stadium of Herodes Atticus. Welch writes that the stadium was completed by 143 in time for Panathenaic festival, the new stadium was built completely of ashlar masonry in Pentelic marble, using minimal concrete
6.
1904 Summer Olympics
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The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis. It was the first time that the Olympic Games were held in a majority English language nation, European tension caused by the Russo-Japanese War, and the difficulty of getting to St. Louis, kept most of the worlds top athletes away. Only 62 of the 650 athletes who competed came from outside of North America, 80% of competitors were from the United States, and in over half of the events these were the only competitors. In some cases the U. S. national championship was combined with the Olympic championship, pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, gave in and awarded the games to St. Louis. St. Louis organizers treated the games in a similar to the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Competitions were reduced to a side-show of the Worlds Fair and were overshadowed by other, david R. Francis, the President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, declined to invite anybody else to open the Games and, on July 1 did so himself. Officially, the games lasted for four and a half months, in fact, the Olympic-calibre events were mixed with other sporting events that Sullivan also called Olympic. The IOC later declared that 94 of these events were Olympic, the actual athletics events that formed the bulk of the recognised Olympic sports were held from Monday, August 29 to Saturday, September 3. The participants totalled 651 athletes –645 men and 6 women representing 12 countries, however, only 42 events actually included athletes who were not from the United States. Boxing, dumbbells, freestyle wrestling and the made their debuts. The swimming events were held in a pond near Skinker and Wydown Boulevards. The organizers of the Worlds Fair held Anthropology Days on August 12 and 13, one of the most remarkable athletes was the American gymnast George Eyser, who won six medals even though his left leg was made of wood. Frank Kugler won four medals in wrestling, weightlifting and tug of war. Chicago runner James Lightbody won the steeplechase and the 800 m, sprinter Archie Hahn was champion in the 60 m,100 m and 200 m. In this last race, he set an Olympic record in 21.6, in the discus, after American Martin Sheridan had thrown exactly the same distance as his compatriot, Ralph Rose, the judges gave them both an extra throw to decide the winner. Sheridan won the decider and claimed the gold medal, ray Ewry again won all three standing jumps. The team representing Great Britain was awarded a total of two medals, both won by Irish athletes, the top non-USA athlete was Emil Rausch of Germany, who won three swimming events. Zoltan Halmay of Hungary and Charles Daniels of the United States each won two swimming gold medals, galt Football Club from Canada won the gold medal in football
7.
1908 Summer Olympics
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The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England from 27 April to 31 October 1908. These games were scheduled to be held in Rome, but were re-located on financial grounds following a disastrous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906. They were the fourth chronological modern Olympic Games in keeping with the now-accepted four-year cycle as opposed to the proposed Intercalated Games alternate four-year cycle, the IOC president for these Games was Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Lasting a total of 187 days, or 6 months and 4 days, the selection process for the 1908 Summer Olympics consisted of four bids, and saw Rome selected ahead of London, Berlin and Milan. The selection was made at the 6th IOC Session in London in 1904, italian authorities were preparing to hold the games when Mount Vesuvius erupted on 7 April 1906, devastating the city of Naples. Funds were diverted to the reconstruction of Naples, so a new venue was required, London was selected for the first time to hold the Games which were held at White City alongside the Franco-British Exhibition, at the time the more noteworthy event. The White City Stadium, built in time for the games. The stadium track was three laps to the mile, not the current standard of 400 metres, with a pool for swimming and diving and platforms for wrestling and gymnastics in the middle. The distance from the start of the Marathon to the finish at the stadium was established at these games. ”As a result of changes, the marathon covered a distance of 26 miles 385 yards. The games were surrounded by controversy, on the opening day, following the practice introduced at the Intercalated Games of 1906, teams paraded behind national flags. The Swedish flag had not been displayed above the stadium, so the members of the Swedish team decided not to part in the ceremony. The flag of the United States had also not been displayed above the stadium before the opening, the United States flag bearer, Ralph Rose, refused to dip the flag to King-Emperor Edward VII in the royal box. However, the flag was dipped in the collective greeting of the royal family. Martin Sheridan, Irish American Athletic Club member and American team captain, is believed to have supported Rose by explaining This flag dips to no earthly king. It is claimed that his statement exemplified both American and Irish defiance of the British monarchy, however, research has shown that this quotation by Sheridan was first reported in 1952, some 24 years after his death. The 1908 Olympics also prompted establishment of rules for sports. One reason was the 400 meter race, in which a US runner was accused of interfering with a British runner, part of the problem was the different definition of interference under British and US rules. The race was re-run, but the Americans refused to participate, the British runner, Wyndham Halswelle, won by running around the track on his own, because three of the four original runners had been American, the only walkover in Olympic history
8.
Multi-sport event
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A multi-sport event is an organized sports event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of significance is the modern Olympic Games. Many regional multi-sport events have since founded and modeled after the Olympics. Most have the basic structure. Games are held over the course of days in and around a host city. Countries send national teams to each competition, consisting of individual athletes, athletes or teams are awarded gold, silver or bronze medals for first, second and third place respectively. The games are held every four years, though some are annual competitions. Instead, the Greek sports of racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat. In the late 19th and early 20th century, athletes at events were almost exclusively male. As international womens sport began to develop, events such as the Womens World Games, though short-lived, events such as these led to greater inclusion of women at multi-sport events over the course of the 20th century. Since the establishment of the Olympics, most serial multi-sport events have been organized for specific audiences, after some celebrations, the Olympics became very popular nowadays. The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing, the Paralympic Games is the largest multi-sport event involving athletes with physical disabilities, and is organised by the International Paralympic Committee. Arranged for the first time in 1960 in Rome, Italy, the number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The first Special Olympics International Summer Games were held in Chicago, the most recent Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, United States, involved 25 sports and approximately 6,500 athletes from 177 countries. At the beginning of the 20th century, another multi-sport event and these Games were held in Scandinavia, and the sports conducted were winter sports such as cross-country skiing and speed skating. The Nordic Games were last held in 1926, after which the 1924 Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was declared the first Olympic Winter Games, in the 1920s, all kinds of other multi-sport events were set up. These were usually directed for a group of athletes, rather than everybody. Regional games were another kind of event that was established, such as the Far Eastern Championship Games
9.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
10.
Olympic Games
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The Olympic Games are considered the worlds foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in changes to the Olympic Games. The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, as a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship, World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916,1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games, the Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations, National Olympic Committees, and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, the IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals, gold, silver, the Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies, including boycotts, doping, bribery, every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame. The Games also constitute an opportunity for the host city and country to themselves to the world. The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat such as wrestling. It has been written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or truce and this idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were travelling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus
11.
International Olympic Committee
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The International Olympic Committee is the supreme authority of the worldwide Olympic movement. It is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Lausanne and its mission is enshrined in the Olympic Charter, to support the development of competitive sport by ethical and environmentally sustainable means. The IOC was created by Pierre de Coubertin, on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president, today its membership consists of 100 active members,32 honorary members, and 1 honour member. The IOC is the authority of the worldwide modern Olympic movement. The IOC organises the modern Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, held in summer and winter, the first Summer Olympics organised by the IOC was held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, the first Winter Olympics was in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year, the first Summer Youth Olympics were in Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 2012. In 2009, the UN General Assembly granted the IOC Permanent Observer status and this decision enables the IOC to be directly involved in the UN Agenda and to attend UN General Assembly meetings where it can take the floor. This has provided the possibility to promote sport at a new level, during each proclamation at the Olympics, announcers speak in different languages, French is always spoken first followed by an English translation and the dominant language of the host nation. The stated mission of the International Olympic Committee is to promote Olympic throughout the world and it is the IOC’s supreme organ and its decisions are final. Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the President or upon the written request of at least one third of the members, among others, the powers of the Session are, To adopt or amend the Olympic Charter. To elect the members of the IOC, the Honorary President, to elect the President, the Vice-Presidents and all other members of the IOC Executive Board. To elect the host city of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Laurel is awarded to individuals for promoting education, culture, development, and peace through sport. For most of its existence, the IOC was controlled by members who were selected by other members, countries that had hosted the Games were allowed two members. When named, they did not become the representatives of their countries to the IOC. The membership of IOC members ceases in the circumstances, Resignation. Non re-election, any IOC member ceases to be a member without further formality if they are not re-elected, age limit, any IOC member ceases to be a member at the end of the calendar year during which they reach the age of 80. Failure to attend Sessions or take part in IOC work for two consecutive years. Transfer of domicile or of main center of interests to an other than the country which was theirs at the time of their election
12.
Olympic Museum
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The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland houses permanent and temporary exhibits relating to sport and the Olympic movement. With more than 10,000 artifacts, the museum is the largest archive of Olympic Games in the world, the Olympic Museum and the Olympic Park are located at Ouchy, south of Lausanne. The headquarters of the International Olympic Committee are located at Vidy, the museum was founded on 23 June 1993, on the initiative of then-president of the IOC Juan Antonio Samaranch. Mexican architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, an International Olympic Committee member, the museum was named the European Museum of the Year in 1995. After 23 months of renovation between 2012 and 2013, the Olympic Museum re-opened on 21 December 2013, during the transformations of the building, a temporary exhibition was set up in a boat of the CGN, in front of the Olympic Park. With the renovation, the surface of the museum increased from 2,000 m2 to 3,000 m2, the permanent exhibition is organized into three major themes on three separate floors, Olympic World, Olympic Games, and Olympic Spirit. A visit begins on the floor, where the Olympic World part of the exhibition informs visitors of the history of the ancient Olympic Games. Highlights include a display of Olympic torches, as well as a video documenting major moments in the history of opening ceremonies history, the second floor focuses on Olympic Games. Sporting equipment for a variety of sports are on display, and visitors are introduced to the Youth Olympic Games, more than 1,000 video clips of Olympic Games events and athletes are can be searched and viewed at individual viewing stations. Olympic medals are also on display, the renovated museum also includes a temporary exhibit space, where the museum regularly hosts traveling exhibits. The Olympic Museum is surrounded by a park containing numerous works of art on the theme of sports, International Olympic Committee Official website Page on the website of the City of Lausanne
13.
Lausanne
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Lausanne is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and the capital and biggest city of the canton of Vaud. The city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva and it faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura Mountains to its north-west. Lausanne is located 62 kilometres northeast of Geneva, Lausanne has a population of 146,372, making it the fourth largest city in Switzerland, with the entire agglomeration area having 420,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area of Lausanne-Geneva was over 1.2 million inhabitants in 2000, Lausanne is a focus of international sport, hosting the International Olympic Committee, the Court of Arbitration for Sport and some 55 international sport associations. It lies in a noted wine-growing region, the city has a 28-station metro system, making it the smallest city in the world to have a rapid transit system. Lausanne will host the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, by the 2nd century AD it was known as vikanor Lousonnensium and in 280 as lacu Lausonio. By 400 it was civitas Lausanna and in 990 it was mentioned as Losanna, after the fall of the Roman Empire, insecurity forced the transfer of Lausanne to its current centre, a hilly site that is easier to defend. The city which emerged from the camp was ruled by the Dukes of Savoy, then it came under Bern from 1536 to 1798 and a number of its cultural treasures, including the hanging tapestries in the Cathedral, were permanently removed. Lausanne has made a number of requests to recover them, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Lausanne became a place of refuge for French Huguenots. In 1729 a seminary was opened by Antoine Court and Benjamin Duplan, by 1750 ninety pastors had been sent back to France to work clandestinely, this number would rise to four hundred. Official persecution ended in 1787, a faculty of Protestant theology was established at Montauban in 1808, during the Napoleonic Wars, the citys status changed. In 1803, it became the capital of a newly formed Swiss canton, in 1964 the city hosted the Swiss National Exhibition, displaying its newly found confidence to host major international events. From the 1950s to 1970s a large number of Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese immigrated, settling mostly in the district of Renens. The city has served as a refuge for European artists, while under the care of a psychiatrist at Lausanne, T. S. Eliot composed most of his 1922 poem The Wasteland. Hemingway also visited from Paris with his wife during the 1920s, in fact, many creative people - such as Edward Gibbon, an historian, and Romantic era poets Shelley and Byron - have sojourned, lived, and worked in Lausanne or nearby. The city has been quiet, but in the late 1960s. Later demonstrations took place to protest against the high cinema prices, the most important geographical feature of the area surrounding Lausanne is Lake Geneva. Lausanne boasts a dramatic panorama over the lake and the Alps, in addition to its generally southward-sloping layout, the centre of the city is the site of an ancient river, the Flon, which has been covered since the 19th century
14.
Intercalated Games
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The Intercalated Olympic Games were to be a series of International Olympic Games halfway between what is now known as the Games of the Olympiad. This proposed series of games, intercalated in the Olympic Games cycle, was to always be held in Athens, however, the only such games were held in 1906. This was a compromise, After the successful games of Athens 1896 the Greeks suggested they could organize the games four years. Since they had the venues, and had proven to be able to hold well-organised games, they received quite a bit of support. However, Pierre de Coubertin did not like this at all, he had intended the first games to be in Paris in 1900 and had no intention of losing not only the première for Paris, thus the second games became the Paris 1900 games. This was a departure of the ancient schedule, but it was expected if the ancient Greek could keep a four-year schedule. As 1902 was now too close, and Greece was experiencing internal difficulties and it desperately needed to recapture the spirit of Athens 1896. It also needed to do so quickly, as to all those who did not participate in St. Louis, by that time there would not be much goodwill left for the Games. And on top of that, Rome was planning an Exhibition, the Athens games being just around the corner must have seemed like a lifeline. De Coubertin still disliked the idea, and did not do anything more than his function required him to, but the IOC as a whole gave the Greek NOC full support for the organisation. The 1906 games were quite successful, unlike the 1900,1904 or 1908 games, they were neither stretched out over months nor overshadowed by an international exhibition. Their crisp format was most likely instrumental in the existence of the games. These Games also were the first games to have all athlete registration go through the NOCs and they introduced the closing ceremony, and the raising of national flags for the victors, and several more less visible changes now accepted as traditional. The Greeks were unable to keep the schedule for 1910, on the one hand problems in the Balkans made things difficult, but on the other, the modern Greeks found out the ancient Greeks were right, A two-year interval was too short. Where there had been a gap of six years before Athens 1906, with Athens 1910 a failure, the faith in Athens diminished, and as a result Athens 1914 got even less support. And then World War I started, and any further Intercalated Games had to wait until after the war, but after the war was over it had been more than a decade since Athens 1906, and the idea of Intercalated Games was given up entirely. As more stress was placed on the sequence of four-year Olympiads. Hence, today the IOC does not recognize Athens 1906 as Olympic Games, the success of Athens 1906, however, may have been what kept the Olympics alive
15.
1896 Summer Olympics
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The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee, which had created by Pierre de Coubertin, it was held in Athens, Greece. Winners were given a medal, while runners-up received a copper medal. Retroactively, the IOC has converted these to gold and silver, ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals. The United States won the most gold medals,11, host nation Greece won the most medals overall,46, the highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spyridon Louis. The most successful competitor was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann, the main venue was the Panathenaic Stadium, where athletics and wrestling took place, other venues included the Neo Phaliron Velodrome for cycling, and the Zappeion for fencing. The opening ceremony was held in the Panathenaic Stadium on 6 April, during which most of the athletes were aligned on the infield. After a speech by the president of the committee, Crown Prince Constantine. Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed an Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras, the 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date, the Panathenaic Stadium, the only Olympic stadium used in the 1800s, overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event. However, the 1900 Summer Olympics were already planned for Paris and, except for the Intercalated Games of 1906, during the 19th century, several small-scale sports festivals across Europe were named after the Ancient Olympic Games. The 1870 Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium, which had been refurbished for the occasion, had an audience of 30,000 people. In 1890, Coubertin wrote an article in La Revue Athletique, Coubertin also took inspiration from the earlier Greek games organised under the name of Olympics by businessman and philanthropist Evangelis Zappas in 1859,1870 and 1875. This the Greek government did despite the fact that the cost of refurbishing the stadium in marble had already been funded in full by Evangelis Zappas forty years earlier. With deep feeling towards Baron de Coubertins courteous petition, I send him, on 18 June 1894, Coubertin organised a congress at the Sorbonne, Paris, to present his plans to representatives of sports societies from 11 countries. Following his proposals acceptance by the congress, a date for the first modern Olympic Games needed to be chosen, Coubertin suggested that the Games be held concurrently with the 1900 Universal Exposition of Paris. Concerned that a waiting period might lessen public interest, congress members opted instead to hold the inaugural Games in 1896. With a date established, members of the congress turned their attention to the selection of a host city and it remains a mystery how Athens was finally chosen to host the inaugural Games
16.
Pierre de Coubertin
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Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educator and historian, and founder of the International Olympic Committee. He is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games, born into a French aristocratic family, he became an academic and studied a broad range of topics, most notably education and history. The Pierre de Coubertin medal is a given by the International Olympic Committee to athletes that demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship in the Olympic Games. Pierre de Frédy was born in Paris on 1 January 1863 into an aristocratic family and he was the fourth child of Baron Charles Louis de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin and Marie–Marcelle Gigault de Crisenoy. His paintings often centred on themes related to the Roman Catholic Church, classicism, and nobility and his memoirs elaborated further, describing as a pivotal moment his disappointment upon meeting Henri, Count of Chambord, whom the elder Coubertin believed to be the rightful king. But while these events were the setting of his childhood, his experiences were just as formative. This suggests that despite his rebelliousness at home, Coubertin adapted well to the rigors of a Jesuit education. As an aristocrat, Coubertin had a number of paths from which to choose. But he chose instead to pursue a career as an intellectual, studying and later writing on a range of topics, including education, history, literature. The subject which he seems to have been most deeply interested in was education, and his study focused in particular on physical education, in 1883, he visited England for the first time, and studied the program of physical education instituted by Thomas Arnold at the Rugby School. Coubertin credited these methods with leading to the expansion of British power during the 19th century, the inclusion of physical education in the curriculum of French schools would become an ongoing pursuit and passion of Coubertins. In fact, Coubertin is thought to have exaggerated the importance of sport to Thomas Arnold, nonetheless, Coubertin was an enthusiast in need of a cause and he found it in England and in Thomas Arnold. Thomas Arnold, the leader and classic model of English educators, wrote Coubertin, playing fields sprang up all over England. Intrigued by what he had read about English public schools, in 1883, at the age of twenty, Fredy went to Rugby and he described the results in a book, LEducation en Angleterre, which was published in Paris in 1888. This hero of his book is Thomas Arnold, and on his visit in 1886. What Coubertin saw on the fields of Rugby and the other English schools he visited was how “organised sport can create moral and social strength”. Not only did organised games help to set the mind and body in equilibrium, First developed by the ancient Greeks, it was an approach to education that he felt the rest of the world had forgotten and to whose revival he was to dedicate the rest of his life. As a historian and a thinker on education, Coubertin romanticised ancient Greece, Coubertin advocated for these concepts, this triple unity, to be incorporated into schools
17.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
18.
1900 Summer Olympics
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No opening or closing ceremonies were held, competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. The Games were held as part of the 1900 Worlds Fair, in total,997 competitors took part in 19 different sports. Women took part in the games for the first time and sailor Hélène de Pourtalès became the first female Olympic champion, at the Sorbonne conference of 1894, Pierre de Coubertin proposed that the Olympic Games should take place in 1900 in Paris. The delegates to the conference were unwilling to wait six years, a decision was made to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens and that Paris would host the second celebration. Most of the winners in 1900 did not receive medals, but were given cups or trophies, professionals competed in fencing and Albert Robert Ayat, who won the épée for amateurs and masters, was awarded a prize of 3000 francs. This was also the only Olympic Games in history to use live animals as targets during the shooting event, the 1900 Games were held as part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The director of the Exposition Universelle, Alfred Picard, thought holding an ancient sport event at the Exposition Universelle was an absurd anachronism, after thanking de Coubertin for his plans, Picard filed them away and nothing more came of it. A committee was formed for the organization of the Games, consisting of some of the more able sports administrators of the day, British and Irish sports associations announced a desire to compete, as did a number of powerful American universities and sports clubs. Competitors from Russia and Australia also confirmed their intentions to travel to Paris, on November 9,1898, the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques put out an announcement that it would have sole right to any organised sport held during the Worlds Fair. It was an empty threat but Viscount Charles de La Rochefoucauld, the IOC ceded control of the Games to a new committee which was to oversee every sporting activity connected to the 1900 Exposition Universelle. Alfred Picard appointed Daniel Mérillon, the head of the French Shooting Association, between May and October 1900, the new organizing committee held an enormous number of sporting activities alongside the Paris Exposition. The sporting events rarely used the term of Olympic, indeed, the term Olympic Games was replaced by Concours internationaux dexercices physiques et de sport in the official report of the sporting events of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The press reported competitions variously as International Championships, International Games, Paris Championships, World Championships, de Coubertin commented later to friends, Its a miracle that the Olympic Movement survived that celebration. Hélène de Pourtalès became the first female Olympic champion as part of the team in the 1-2 ton sailing event. Charlotte Cooper was the first woman to win an individual Olympic event after winning the singles tennis competition. She later went on to win the doubles tournament. In the coxed pairs and eights events in rowing, crews replaced adult coxswain with children, the identities and ages of these boys were not recorded but they are believed to have been amongst the youngest of all Olympic competitors. 85 events in 20 disciplines, comprising 19 sports, were part of the Olympic program in Paris, weightlifting and wrestling had been dropped since the 1896 Summer Olympics, while 13 new sports were added
19.
Exposition Universelle (1900)
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The style that was universally present in the Exposition was Art Nouveau. The staging of the first International Exhibition in 1855 was motivated by a desire to re-establish pride, the succession of exhibitions followed the same theme, the regeneration of nationality after war. Eight years before the launch of the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, countries from around the world were invited by France to showcase their achievements and lifestyles, the Exposition Universelle was a uniting and learning experience. It presented the opportunity for foreigners to realize the similarities between nations as well as their unique differences, new cultures were experienced and an overall better understanding of the values each country had to offer was gained. The learning atmosphere aided in attempts to increase cultural tolerance, deemed necessary after a period of war, the early announcement and the massively positive response disenchanted the interest that had been circling around the first German International Exposition. It is suspected that the Exposition Universelle did not do as well financially as expected because the public did not have the funds to participate in the fair. The 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle was so expensive to organize and run that the cost per visitor ended up being about six hundred more than the price of admission. The exhibition lost a total of 82,000 francs after six months in operation. Many Parisians had invested money in shares sold to raise money for the event, with a much larger expected turnout the exhibit sites had gone up in value. Continuing to pay rent for the sites became increasingly hard for concessionaires as they were receiving fewer customers than anticipated, the concessionaires went on strike, which ultimately resulted in the closure of a large part of the exposition. To resolve the matter, the concessionaires were given a refund of the rent they had paid. The financial consequences of the 1900 Exposition Universelle were devastating for many Parisians, the Exposition Universelle was where talking films and escalators were first publicized, and where Campbells Soup was awarded a gold medal. At the exposition Rudolf Diesel exhibited his engine, running on peanut oil. Brief films of excerpts from opera and ballet were apparently the first films exhibited publicly with projection of both image and recorded sound, the exposition also featured many panoramic paintings and extensions of the panorama technique, such as the Cinéorama, Mareorama, and Trans-Siberian Railway Panorama. The centrepiece of the Palais de lOptique was the 1. 25-metre-diameter Great Exposition Refractor and this telescope was the largest refracting telescope at that time. The optical tube assembly was 60 meters long and 1.5 meters in diameter, light from the sky was sent into the tube by a movable 2-meter mirror. Partly organized by Booker Washington and W. E. B, du Bois, this exhibition aimed at showing African Americans positive contributions to American society. Many of the buildings constructed for the Exposition Universelle were demolished after the conclusion of the exposition, many of the buildings were built on a framework of wood, and covered with staff, which was formed into columns, statuary, walls, stairs, etc
20.
National Olympic Committee
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A National Olympic Committee is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their peoples participation in the Olympic Games and they may nominate cities within their respective areas as candidates for future Olympic Games. NOCs also promote the development of athletes and training of coaches, there are also nine dependent territories with NOCs, Four territories of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. Three British Overseas Territories, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, one territory from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean, Aruba. The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee was dissolved at the 123rd IOC session in July 2011 as the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist on 10 October 2010, hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. Following an amendment to the Olympic Charter in 1996, NOC recognition can only be granted recognition as an independent state by the international community. The states which thus qualify to participate in the future are the Vatican City, a UN observer state, and Niue, other disputed states face obstacles to being recognized by the IOC. Dependent territories such as Curaçao, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Macau, athletes from those territories can only participate in the Olympics as part of their parent nations national team. This section lists the current,206 National Olympic Committees who are recognised by the International Olympic Committee,8 National Olympic Committees who are recognised by their continental Olympic Associations, but are not recognised by the International Olympic Committee. These committees, however, are not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games, all 22 national governing bodies that form UANOC are also members of both AOC and are eligible to send athletes to either the African or Asian Games. National Olympic Committees from UANOC member countries are noted in the list below, many of these committees were founded many years before their official recognition, while others were immediately accepted after being founded. Former states, are not listed, only the current states derived from them, for example and it was later transformed into the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee, and, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, was re-recognized in 1993. It has, however, participated in the Paralympic Games, the Faroe Islands have a recognised National Paralympic Committee. South Ossetia intends to establish a National Olympic Committee, and representatives from the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic take part in Armenia’s National Olympic Committee, National Paralympic Committee List of IOC country codes District of Columbia Olympic Committee National Olympic Committees. Association of National Olympic Committees website Official website
21.
Olympic Village
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An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to all participating athletes, as well as officials. After the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympics, the Villages have been made extremely secure, only athletes, trainers and officials are allowed to room at the Village, though family members and former Olympic athletes are allowed inside with proper checks. Press and media are also barred, the idea of the Olympic Village comes from Pierre de Coubertin. Up until the 1924 Summer Olympic Games, National Olympic Committees rented locations around the host city to house participants, for the 1924 Summer Olympics, the organizers built cabins near the Stade Olympique de Colombes to allow the athletes to easily access the Games venues. It has been reported that the Village is known for its hedonism once the athletes are done competing - with large quantities of alcohol. For the 2014 games in Sochi,100,000 free condoms were provided by the IOC for the 6,000 athletes in attendance, despite seemingly large numbers, several instances have occurred where smaller orders have resulted in shortages. Sydney famously only provided 70,000 condoms but ran out, Athens 1906, The Zappeion, which was used during Athens 1896 as the main Fencing Hall, was used in 1906 as a Olympic Village. Paris 1924, In Paris in 1924, a number of cabins were built near the stadium to house visiting athletes, Los Angeles 1932, The first Olympic Village is constructed in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. For male athletes only, the Village consisted of several hundred buildings, including post and telegraph offices, an amphitheater, a hospital, a department. Female athletes were housed at the Chapman Park Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard, the village was dismantled after the games. Used as barracks for over 50 years, only ruins remain, jesse Owenss house has been restored. Helsinki 1952, The first Olympic Village, Olympiakylä, was constructed in the Käpylä district of Helsinki for the planned 1940 Summer Olympics, another Olympic Village, Kisakylä, was built nearby for the 1952 Olympics. Kisakylä couldnt accommodate all athletes so other villages were also designated for instance in Otaniemi, both Olympiakylä and Kisakylä areas are listed by Docomomo as significant examples of modern architecture in Finland. Melbourne 1956, The area in Heidelberg West, Victoria, where the athletes stayed is still called Olympic Village, after the games, athlete residences were used for public housing. The area now consists of a center, a primary school, shopping strip, a community health centre which also houses a registered training organization. Rome 1960, consist of 33 buildings with two, three, four and even five floors, squaw Valley 1960, Four identical three-story apartment buildings, two of which still stand, modified into condominiums. Mexico City 1968,904 apartments distributed in 29 multi-story buildings in the Miguel Hidalgo Olympic Village Complex, Munich 1972, Multiple buildings of 25,22,20,19,16,15, and 12 stories, used now as Olympic Village student housing
22.
Zappeion
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The Zappeion, is a building in the National Gardens of Athens in the heart of Athens, Greece. It is generally used for meetings and ceremonies, both official and private, the ancient Panathenian stadium was also refurbished as part of the works for the Olympic Games. Following some delay, on 20 January 1874, the cornerstone of the building was laid, finally, on 20 October 1888, the Zappeion opened. The Austrian Parliament Building was also designed by Hansen and followed the theme in the exterior. The Zappeion was used during the 1896 Summer Olympics as the fencing hall. A decade later, at the 1906 Intercalated Games, it was used as the Olympic Village and it served as the first host for the organizing committee for the 2004 Games from 1998 to 1999 and served as the press center during the 2004 games. In 1938, the Athens Radio Station, the countrys first national broadcaster, the building continued to house the National Radio Foundation until the inauguration of the House of Radio in 1970. The head of Evangelos Zappas is buried underneath his statue which is located just outside the Zappeion, the Zappeion is currently being used as a Conference and Exhibition Center for both public and private purposes. The building contains about 25 distinct rooms that range in size from 97 square metres to 984 square metres, in the obverse of the coin, a front view of the building is depicted. Official Zappeion Megaron Website Virtual Tour of the Zappeion Zappeion Remodelling Project,2000 Old Photos of Zappeion
23.
Zappas Olympics
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The Zappas Olympics, simply called Olympics at the time, were a series of athletic events held in Athens, Greece, in 1859,1870, and 1875 sponsored by Greek businessman Evangelis Zappas. These games were one of the first revivals of the ancient Olympic Games in the modern era and their success provided further inspiration for William Penny Brookes in England, whose games had been running since 1850, and the International Olympic Committee series from 1896. The same stadium would also host the first IOC Games of 1896, the 1906 Intercalated Games, and archery, sporadic references to the revival of the ancient Olympic Games were made by various personalities during the 19th century, inspired by a certain degree of romanticism. In his 1833 poem Dialogue of the Dead, the Constantinople-born, Panagiotis Soutsos editor of a Greek newspaper, soon after, he explicitly proposed the revival of the games by the newly formed Greek state, even sending a memorandum to that effect to the Greek government in 1835. His proposal was accepted by King Otto of Greece, but in the event, nothing was done, in 1852, the German archaeologist Ernst Curtius, during a romantic lecture, also stated that the Olympic events would be revived. Evangelis Zappas, a businessman and member of the Greek diaspora in Romania, was inspired by Soutsos and resolved to revive this ancient tradition through his own efforts. In early 1856, Zappas sent a letter through diplomatic channels to King Otto of Greece, offering to fund the project of the Olympic revival. However, this initiative was not without opposition, there was a wide belief among part of the Greek politicians that athletic games were just a throwback to archaic times. They feared that Greece would seem primitive among the nations of Europe if it revived, as they claimed. In July 1856, an article in the Greek press by Panagiotis Soutsos, finally, Otto agreed upon competitions at four-year intervals, on the occasion of industrial and agricultural expositions, and allowed the realization of athletic events with Zappas full sponsorship. Consequently, Zappas offered the necessary funds to the Greek government in order to establish an Olympic Trust Fund, on November 15,1859 the first modern revival of the athletic Olympic Games took place in Athens. As the renovation of the ancient Panathenaic stadium was not yet complete, although they could be termed as the first Olympic Games of the present tradition, it was far from being an international festival. They had a national character, since the participants were exclusively of Greek ethnicity. Athletes competed in a variety of disciplines, similar to those of the ancient Olympic games, running, discus, javelin throwing, wrestling, jumping and pole climbing. Attendees included the king, officers and other dignitaries in rows of seats, since it was one of the first mass gatherings in the citys modern history, neither the people nor the police had any previous experience with maintaining the order at such an event. The site was also unsuited for the sports and the weather was too cold, who were attracted by the monetary prizes of the Games. Even a beggar, who pretended to be blind, participated in the races, the Wenlock Prize was the largest prize on offer and was won by Petros Velissarios of Smyrna from the Ottoman Empire who was of Greek ethnic descent. In July 1869, the dates of the 1870 Olympics were announced, followed by organizational plans, the committee paid for participating athletes to undergo three months of training prior to the Games
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Javelin throw
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The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about 2.5 m in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area, Javelin throwing is an event of both the mens decathlon and the womens heptathlon. The javelin was part of the pentathlon of the Ancient Olympic Games beginning in 708 BC in two disciplines, distance and target throw, the javelin was thrown with the aid of a thong, called ankyle wound around the middle of the shaft. Athletes would hold the javelin by the thong and when the javelin was released this thong unwound giving the javelin a spiraled flight, throwing javelin-like poles into targets was revived in Germany and Sweden in the early 1870s. In Sweden, these developed into the modern javelin, and throwing them for distance became a common event there. The rules continued to evolve over the decades, originally, javelins were thrown with no run-up. Limited run-ups were introduced in the late 1890s, and soon developed into the modern unlimited run-up, swedens Eric Lemming, who threw his first world best in 1899 and ruled the event from 1902 to 1912, was the first dominant javelin thrower. Competitions for the hand only were less common, though not unknown. At the Olympics a both-hands contest was only once, in 1912, Finland swept the medals. Hungarys Mór Kóczán used a freestyle end grip to break the 60-meter barrier in 1911, the first known womens javelin marks were recorded in Finland in 1909. Originally, women threw the same implement as men, a lighter, shorter javelin for women was introduced in the 1920s, womens javelin throw was added to the Olympic program in 1932, Mildred Babe Didrikson of the United States became the first champion. For a long time, javelins were made of wood, typically birch. The current mens record is held by Jan Železný at 98.48 m. Of the 69 Olympic medals that have been awarded in the javelin,32 have gone to competitors from Norway. Finland has, however, never been nearly as successful in the womens javelin, the javelin was also part of some of the many early forms of womens pentathlon, and has always been included in the heptathlon after it replaced the pentathlon in 1981. The size, shape, minimum weight, and center of gravity of the javelin are all defined by IAAF rules. In international competition, men throw a javelin between 2.6 and 2.7 m in length and 800 g in weight, the javelin has a grip, about 150 mm wide, made of cord and located at the javelins center of gravity. Unlike the other throwing events, the used to throw the javelin is dictated by IAAF rules
25.
Pentathlon
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A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek, combining the words pente, the first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the jump, javelin throwing. With the revival of the Olympic Games in the modern era, the athletics pentathlon was a modern variation on the original events, with a competition over five track and field events. The modern pentathlon, invented by Pierre de Coubertin, was a variation on the aspect of the Ancient pentathlon. It focused on the skills required by a soldier, with competitions in shooting, swimming, fencing, equestrianism. A prominent aspect of modern pentathlons is the point system, whereby each competitor is awarded a number of points based on their performance in each specific event. The overall winner is the competitor with the highest point total at the end of the five pentathlon events, the first documented pentathlon occurred in 708 BC in Ancient Greece at the Ancient Olympic Games, and was also held at the other Panhellenic Games. The name derives from Greek words for five competitions, the event proved popular and lent itself to illustrations on pottery. It also featured in Greek mythology, the mythical hero Perseus fulfilled a prophecy by accidentally killing Acrisius with a discus while competing in the pentathlon. 1912 Olympic gold medal winner Ferdinand Bie referenced that story after completing the events, by the 77th Olympics, the athletic event was usually ordered into the triagmos, followed by the stadion foot race, and wrestling as the final event. Unlike modern athletics, the first three events did not appear as individual events outside of the pentathlon format, other variations on the format included boxing or pankration instead of the stadion race. The pentathlon made its return as an Olympic event at the 1906 Games in Athens, consisting of a long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, 192-metre run. The 1912 Summer Olympics saw the introduction of two new types of pentathlon, the competition featured at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics but was discontinued thereafter. Competitors score points based on their performance in each event and the winner is the one with the highest total points at the end of the fifth competition. The mens individual competition has been held at every Olympic Games since 1912, also, a mens team event was held between 1952 and 1992. An athletics pentathlon event for women was introduced at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, featuring the 80 metres hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump, and 200 metres. The 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics versions changed the format from 80 to 100 metres hurdles, the event was discontinued in 1984, when it was replaced by the heptathlon, thus there is currently no athletics pentathlon at the Summer Olympics
26.
Ray Ewry
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Raymond Ray Clarence Ewry was an American track and field athlete who won eight gold medals at the Olympic Games and two gold medals at the Intercalated Games. This puts him among the most successful Olympians of all time, Ewry was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and contracted polio as a young boy. In his childhood, he used a wheelchair, and it was feared that he might become paralysed for life, however, Ewry did his own exercises and overcame his illness. Ewry attended Purdue University in 1890–1897, where he captained the track and field team, played American football, after receiving a graduate degree in mechanical engineering at Purdue, he moved to New York. There he worked as a engineer and became a member of the New York Athletic Club. He specialized in now defunct events, the jumps, the standing high jump, the standing long jump. These events are identical to their modern, normal versions but are contested without a run-up, Ewry proved to be the best standing jumper in the world. At his first Olympics, held in Paris, he won medals in all three standing jumps. Incidentally, all three finals were held on the same day, at the 1904 Summer Olympics, Ewry successfully defended all three of his titles. The 1906 Intercalated Games are currently not officially recognised by the IOC, most historians do consider them as real Olympics, though. The standing jumping events were no longer held in the Olympics after 1912, ewrys superiority is also displayed by the fact that his world record in the standing long jump was still standing when the event was discontinued internationally in the 1930s. In 1974 he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and he currently holds the record for the most Olympic medals with a 100% record -8 individual golds. List of multiple Olympic gold medalists List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event
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2008 Summer Olympics
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A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events. China became the 22nd nation to host the Olympic Games and the 18th to hold a Summer Olympic Games. It was the time that the Summer Olympic Games were held in East Asia and Asia, after Tokyo, Japan, in 1964 and Seoul, South Korea. Beijing was awarded the Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, the Government of the Peoples Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transportation systems. A total of 37 venues were used to host the events, the official logo of these Olympic Games, titled Dancing Beijing, refers to the host city by featuring a stylized calligraphic character jīng. The Games were the second most watched Olympics in history, attracting 4.7 billion viewers worldwide, there were 43 world records and 132 Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. An unprecedented 86 countries won at least one medal during the Games, Chinese athletes won the most gold medals with 51, and with 100 medals in total became only the 7th different Olympic team to top an overall medal tally. The United States won the most total medals with 110, the games were deemed highly successful with the rising standard of competition among nations across the world. Beijing was elected as the host city for the 2008 Summer Olympics on 13 July 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, defeating bids from Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities had submitted bids to the IOC, after the first round of voting, Beijing held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only six votes and was eliminated, in the second round, Beijing was supported by a majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds. Torontos bid was their 5th failure since 1960, the size of China, its increased enforcement of doping controls, and sympathy concerning its loss of the 2000 Summer Olympics to Sydney were all factors in the decision. Eight years earlier, Beijing had led every round of voting for the 2000 Summer Olympics before losing to Sydney by two votes in the final round. Human rights concerns expressed by Amnesty International and politicians in both Europe and the United States were considered by the delegates, according to IOC Executive Director François Carrard, Carrard and others suggested that the selection might lead to improvements in human rights in China. In addition, a number of IOC delegates who had formerly been athletes expressed concern about heat and air quality during the Games, China outlined plans to address these environmental concerns in its bid application. The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimates the outturn cost of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics at USD6.8 billion in 2015-dollars and this includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e. g. The Beijing Olympics cost of USD6.8 billion compares with costs of USD4.6 billion for Rio 2016, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion. They went on to claim that revenues from the Games would exceed the original target of $16 million
28.
Michael Phelps
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Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the records for Olympic gold medals, Olympic gold medals in individual events. In winning eight medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitzs 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row. He has won 83 medals in international long course competition, of which 66 were gold,14 silver, and 3 bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazines Sportsman of the Year award, after the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but in April 2014 he made a comeback, at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, his fifth Olympics, he won five golds and one silver. Phelps was chosen to be a captain of the 2016 US Olympic team, Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School, Phelps is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue Debbie Phelps, is a school principal. His father, Michael Fred Phelps, is a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in school and college. Phelps is of English, German, Irish, Scottish, and his parents divorced in 1994, when he was nine years old, and his father remarried in 2000. He graduated from Towson High School in 2003, Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. After retirement in 2016, he stated The only reason I ever got in the water was my mom wanted me to just learn how to swim and my sisters and myself fell in love with the sport, and we decided to swim. When Phelps was in the grade, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. By the age of 10, he held a record for his age group. More age group records followed, and as of 2016 Phelps still holds 12 age group records
29.
1976 Summer Olympics
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The 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, officially called the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event in Montreal, Quebec, in 1976, and the first Olympic Games held in Canada. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12,1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and it is so far the only Summer Olympic Games to be held in Canada. Calgary and Vancouver later hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1988 and 2010, the vote occurred on May 12,1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Los Angeles was eliminated after the first round and Montreal won in the second round, Moscow would go on to host the 1980 Summer Olympics and Los Angeles the 1984 Summer Olympics. One blank vote was cast in the second and final round, toronto had made its third attempt for the Olympics but failed to get the support of the Canadian Olympic Committee, which selected Montreal instead. Robert Bourassa, then the Premier of Quebec, first asked Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to advise Canadas monarch, Elizabeth II, however, Bourassa later became unsettled about how unpopular the move might be with sovereigntists in the province, annoying Trudeau, who had already made arrangements. The Oxford Olympics Study estimates the outturn cost of the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics at USD6.1 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 720% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the committee for the purpose of staging the Games. The competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, the cost overrun for Montreal 1976 is the highest cost overrun on record for any Olympics. The cost and cost overrun for Montreal 1976 compares with costs of USD4.6 billion, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion, average cost overrun is 176%. The ceremony marked the opening of the Games of the XXI Olympiad, the queen entered the Royal Box with her consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and her son, Prince Andrew. The parade of athletes began moments later with the arrival of the Greek team, All other teams entered the stadium according to French alphabetical order. Although most would eventually boycott the Games in the days to follow, much of the music performed for the parade was arranged by Vic Vogel and was inspired by late Quebec composer, André Mathieu. Immediately following the parade, a troupe of 80 women dancers dressed in white performed a dance in the outline of the Olympic rings. Following that came the official speeches, first by Roger Rousseau, head of the Montreal Olympic organizing committee and her Majesty was then invited to proclaim the Games open, which she did, first in French, then in English. Accompanied by the Olympic Hymn, the Olympic flag was carried into the stadium, the flag was carried by eight men and hoisted by four women, representing the ten provinces and two territories of Canada. As the flag was hoisted, a choir performed an a cappella version of the Olympic Hymn. Once the flag was unfurled, a troupe of Bavarian dancers, representing Munich, host of the previous 1972 Summer Olympics, following a brief dance, that flag was then passed from the Mayor of Munich to the IOC President and then to the Mayor of Montreal
30.
Alberto Juantorena
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For the Italo-Cuban volleyball player, see Osmany Juantorena Portuendo Alberto Juantorena is a Cuban former track athlete. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, he became the athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m Olympic titles. Juantorena was born in Santiago de Cuba, as a 188 cm 14-year-old, he was first considered a potential star at basketball and was sent to a state basketball school. Juantorena was ready for the change because as he states himself he was a bad basketball player and his idol when young was an athlete, only a year later, Juantorena was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 400 m event at the Munich Olympics. In the next years Juantorena won a medal at the World University Games. He was unbeaten in 1973 and 1974, but underwent two operations on his foot in 1975 and he only seriously took up running the 800 meters in 1976, so few thought he was a candidate for the Olympic gold that year. His coach, Zabierzowski, had tricked him in to trying an 800 race by convincing him the other runners need a pacemaker. However, Juantorena made it to the Olympic final, and led the field for most of the race and he was the first non-English speaking athlete to win Olympic gold in this event. Three days later, he won the 400 meter final. In 1977, he set world record in the 800. He also won both the 400 m and 800 m at the 1977 IAAF Athletics World Cup in Düsseldorf, Germany. The latter race featured a duel with his great rival Kenyas Mike Boit. Juantorena, now known at home as El Caballo, continued his career, Juantorena had been born with flat feet that caused feet and back problems, and he had to have corrective surgery in 1977. In 1978 he was unbeaten at the 400 m, but suffered his first ever defeat at 800 meters. Injuries, particularly hamstring injuries, hampered his training and racing leading up to the 1980 Moscow Olympics, however, when Cuba joined the boycott of those Olympics his last chance of international glory was ended. He also married Yria, a former gymnast, and is still a keen fun runner, running c.10 kilometers a day and participating in marathons. Juantorena has also appointed as a member of the IAAF Council. His nephew Osmany Juantorena is a volleyball player
31.
Canadians
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Canadians are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural, for most Canadians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Canadian. Elements of Aboriginal, French, British and more recent immigrant customs, languages and religions have combined to form the culture of Canada, Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic and economic neighbour, the United States. Canadian independence from the United Kingdom grew gradually over the course of years since the formation of the Canadian Confederation in 1867. World War I and World War II in particular gave rise to a desire among Canadians to have their country recognized as a sovereign state with a distinct citizenship. Canadas nationality law closely mirrored that of the United Kingdom, legislation since the mid 20th century represents Canadians commitment to multilateralism and socioeconomic development. As of 2010, Canadians make up 0. 5% of the total population, having relied upon immigration for population growth. Approximately 41% of current Canadians are first- or second-generation immigrants, and 20 percent of Canadian residents in the 2000s were not born in the country. Statistics Canada projects that, by 2031, nearly one-half of Canadians above the age of 15 will be foreign-born or have one foreign-born parent. Aboriginal peoples, according to the 2011 Canadian Census, numbered at 1,400,685 or 4. 3% of the countrys 33,476,688 population. The French originally settled New France, in present-day Quebec and Ontario, approximately 100 Irish-born families would settle the Saint Lawrence Valley by 1700, assimilating into the Canadien population and culture. This arrival of newcomers led to the creation of the Métis, after the War of 1812, British, Scottish and Irish immigration was encouraged throughout Ruperts Land, Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Between 1815 and 1850, some 800,000 immigrants came to the colonies of British North America and these new arrivals included some Gaelic-speaking Highland Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances to Nova Scotia. Descendants of Francophone and Anglophone northern Europeans who arrived in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries are often referred to as old stock Canadians. Beginning in the late 1850s, the immigration of Chinese into the Colony of Vancouver Island, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 eventually placed a head tax on all Chinese immigrants, in hopes of discouraging Chinese immigration after completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The population of Canada has consistently risen, doubling approximately every 40 years, from the mid- to late 19th century, Canada had a policy of assisting immigrants from Europe, including an estimated 100,000 unwanted Home Children from Britain. Block settlement communities were established throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some were planned and others were spontaneously created by the settlers themselves. Canada was now receiving a number of European immigrants, predominantly Italians, Germans, Scandinavians, Dutch, Poles
32.
Billy Sherring
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Billy Sherring was a Canadian athlete of English and Irish descent, winner of the marathon race at the 1906 Intercalated Games. During the decade of the early 1900s, Sherring, from Hamilton and he had won a second place behind a fellow countryman Jack Caffery at the Boston Marathon in 1900. He also had won the Hamilton Around the Bay Road Race on two occasions, in 1906, Sherring – an athlete of St. Patricks Athletic Club – was chosen to represent Canada in the Athens Olympic Games. However, it was left up to him, a man with meager resources. Sherring managed to collect an amount claimed to be between $45 and $90, which he then bet on a horse named Cicely which won with good odds and he arrived to Athens seven weeks before the Olympic Games and started to work as a porter at the Athens railway station. Prince George of Greece ran the last 50 metres of the marathon alongside Sherring, Sherring received a live lamb and a statue of Athena as a reward. When he returned to Canada, Hamilton City Council awarded him $5000, baron Pierre de Coubertin wrote a letter to the Governor General of Canada, Albert Grey, protesting the gifts as inconsistent with the Olympic ideal of sport for sports sake. So far as is known, Sherring got to keep his money, upon his triumphant return from the marathon, Sherring quit athletics and worked as a customs officer in Hamilton until his retirement in 1942. Sherring is thought to have inspired the founders of Panathinaikos to adopt the shamrock as the Greek multi-sport clubs official emblem in 1918
33.
Marathon
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The marathon is a long-distance running race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres, usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, more than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants. The name Marathon comes from the legend of Philippides or Pheidippides and it is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming νενικήκαμεν, before collapsing and dying. Lucian of Samosata also gives the story, but names the runner Philippides, there is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend. In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides, in 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheidippides. Brownings poem, his story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend. This route, as it existed when the Olympics were revived in 1896, was approximately 40 kilometres long, and this route is considerably shorter, some 35 kilometres, but includes a very steep initial climb of more than 5 kilometres. When the modern Olympics began in 1896, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, the idea of a marathon race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics. The Greeks staged a race for the Olympic marathon on 10 March 1896 that was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. The winner of the first Olympic marathon, on 10 April 1896, was Spyridon Louis, the marathon of the 2004 Summer Olympics was run on the traditional route from Marathon to Athens, ending at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics. The womens marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds. It has become a tradition for the mens Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, often, the mens marathon medals are awarded during the closing ceremony. The Olympic mens record is 2,06,32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya, the Olympic womens record is 2,23,07, set at the 2012 Summer Olympics by Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia. The mens London 2012 Summer Olympic marathon winner was Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, per capita, the Kalenjin ethnic group of Rift Valley Province in Kenya has produced a highly disproportionate share of marathon and track-and-field winners. Johnny Hayes victory at the 1908 Summer Olympics contributed to the growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States. Later that year, races around the season including the Empire City Marathon held on New Years Day 1909 in Yonkers, New York
34.
Prince George of Greece and Denmark
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He served as high commissioner of the Cretan State during its transition towards independence from Ottoman rule and union with Greece. From 1883, George lived at Bernstorff Palace near Copenhagen with Prince Valdemar of Denmark, the queen had taken the boy to Denmark to enlist him in the Danish royal navy, and consigned him to the care of Valdemar, who was an admiral in the Danish fleet. Feeling abandoned by his father on this occasion, George would later describe to his fiancée the profound attachment he developed for his uncle from that day forward. In 1891, George accompanied his cousin the Tsarevich Nicholas on his voyage to Asia, George, along with his brothers Constantine and Nicolas, were involved with the organization of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. George served as president of the Sub-Committee for Nautical Sports, although much of modern Greece had been independent since the 1820s, Crete remained in Ottoman hands. For the rest of the 19th century, there had many rebellions. A Greek force arrived to annex the island in 1897 and the Great Powers acted, occupying the island and dividing it into British, French, in 1898, Turkish troops were ejected and a national government was set up, still nominally under Ottoman suzerainty. Prince George, not yet thirty, was made High Commissioner, however, this was not enough to satisfy Cretan nationalists. Eleftherios Venizelos was the leader of the movement to unite Crete with Greece and he had fought in the earlier revolts and was now a member of the Assembly, acting as minister of justice to Prince George. George, a staunch royalist, had assumed absolute power, Venizelos led the opposition to this. In 1905, however, he summoned an illegal assembly in Theriso, in the hills near Chania, the then capital of the island. During the revolt, the newly created Cretan Gendarmerie remained faithful to George, in this difficult period, the Cretan population were divided, in the 1906 elections the pro-Prince parties took 38,127 votes, while pro-Venizelos parties took 33,279. But the Gendarmerie managed to execute its duties without taking sides, finally, British diplomats brokered a settlement and in September 1906 George was replaced by former Greek prime minister Alexandros Zaimis, and left the island. In 1908, the Cretan Assembly unilaterally declared enosis with Greece, in October 1912 George returned from Paris to Athens so that he could join the naval ministry as Greece prepared for war against Turkey. Later he served as aide-de-camp to King George who, however, was assassinated in March 1913, George went to Copenhagen to settle his fathers financial affairs there, as he had never ceased to be a Prince of Denmark. Although she belonged to one of the branches of the Bonaparte dynasty. George wed Marie civilly in Paris on 21 November 1907, and in a Greek Orthodox ceremony in Athens the following December, by March Marie was pregnant and, as agreed, the couple returned to France to take up residence. On a later visit, Marie Bonaparte carried on a flirtation with Prince Aage
35.
Peter O'Connor (athlete)
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Peter OConnor was an Irish track and field athlete who set a long-standing world record for the long jump and won two Olympic medals in the 1906 Intercalated Games. Born in Millom, Cumberland, England on 24 October 1872, OConnor grew up in Wicklow, County Wicklow and he joined the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1896. In 1899 he won All-Ireland medals in long jump, high jump and hop, step, over the next ten years he consistently beat British athletes in international competitions. The Amateur Athletic Association invited him to represent Britain in the Olympic Games in 1900, as of June 1900, the world record for the long jump was held by Myer Prinstein of Syracuse University, at 24 ft 7¼ins. In 1900 and 1901, competing with the Irish Amateur Athletic Association and he set an officially recognised world record of 24 ft 9ins at the Royal Dublin Society’s grounds in Dublin on 27 May 1901. On 5 August 1901 he jumped 24ft 11¾ins in Dublin and this was the first IAAF recognised long jump world record. It remained an Irish record for a remarkable 89 years, in 1906 OConnor and two other athletes, Con Leahy and John Daly, were entered for the Intercalated Games in Athens by the IAAA and GAA, representing Ireland. They were given green blazers and cap with a shamrock. However, the rules of the games were changed so that only athletes nominated by National Olympic Committees were eligible, Ireland did not have an Olympic Committee, and the British Olympic Council claimed the three. On registering for the Games, OConnor and his fellow-athletes found that they were listed as Great Britain, not Irish, the only judge for the competition was Matthew Halpin, who was manager of the American team. OConnor protested, fearing bias, but was overruled and he continued to protest Halpins decisions through the remainder of the competition. The distances were not announced until the end of the competition, when they were, Prinstein was declared the winner, with OConnor in Silver Medal position. In the hop, step and jump competition two days later, OConnor beat his fellow-countryman, Con Leahy, to win the Gold Medal, at 34 he was the oldest ever Gold Medal winner in this event. Prinstein, the champion in 1900 and 1904, did not feature in the medals, OConnor won no more titles after 1906. He remained involved in all his life. He was a member and first Vice-President of Waterford Athletic Club. He practised as a solicitor in Waterford, and was married with nine children and he died in Waterford on 9 November 1957. The King of Spring - The Life and Times of Peter OConnor
36.
Triple jump
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The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the horizontal jumps, the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit. The triple jump was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympics event since the Games inception in 1896. The current male and female world record holders are Jonathan Edwards of Great Britain, with a jump of 18.29 m, both records were set during 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. Historical sources on the ancient Olympic Games occasionally mention jumps of 15 meters or more and this led sports historians to conclude that these must have been a series of jumps, thus providing the basis for the triple jump. The triple jump was a part of the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens, in fact, the first modern Olympic champion, James Connolly, was a triple jumper. Early Olympics also included the standing jump, although this has since been removed from the Olympic program and is rarely performed in competition today. The womens triple jump was introduced into the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, in Irish mythology the geal-ruith, was an event contested in the ancient Irish Tailteann Games as early as 1829 BC. The athlete sprints down a runway to a mark, from which the triple jump is measured. The takeoff mark is commonly a physical piece of wood or similar material embedded in the runway and these boards are placed at different places on the run way depending on how far the athlete can jump. Typically the boards are set, 40ft, 32ft, and 24ft and these are the most common boards you see at the high school and collegiate levels, but boards can be placed anywhere on the runway. There are three phases of the jump, the hop phase, the bound or step phase. These three phases are executed in one continuous sequence, the hop starts with the athlete jumping from the take off board on one leg, which for descriptive purposes will be the right leg. The objective of the first phase is to hop out, focusing all momentum forward, the hop landing phase is very active, involving a powerful backward pawing action of the right leg, with the right take-off foot landing heel first on the runway. This leads to the familiar step-phase mid-air position, with the take off leg trailing flexed at the knee. The step landing forms the beginning of the take-off of the final phase, the jump phase is very similar to the long jump although most athletes have lost too much speed by this time to manage a full hitch kick, and most use a hang or sail technique. When landing in the pit, the jumper should aim to avoid sitting back on landing. The sand pit usually begins 13m from the take off board for international competition, or 11m from the board for international female
37.
Long jump
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The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point. Along with the jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a group are referred to as the horizontal jumps. This event has a history in the Ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympic event for men since the first Olympics in 1896 and for women since 1948. If the competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot past the foul line, a layer of plasticine is placed immediately after the board to detect this occurrence. An official will also watch the jump and make the determination, therefore, it is in the best interest of the competitor to get as close to the foul line as possible. Competitors are allowed to place two marks along the side of the runway in order to assist them to jump accurately. At a lesser meet and facilities, the plasticine will likely not exist, at a smaller meet, the number of attempts might also be limited to four or three. Each competitor has a set number of attempts and that would normally be three trials, with three additional jumps being awarded to the best 8 or 9 competitors. All legal marks will be recorded but only the longest legal jump counts towards the results, the competitor with the longest legal jump at the end of competition is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, then comparing the next best jumps of the tied competitors will be used to determine place. In a large, multi-day elite competition, a set number of competitors will advance to the final round, a set of 3 trial round jumps will be held in order to select those finalists. For record purposes, the maximum accepted wind assistance is two metres per second, the long jump is the only known jumping event of Ancient Greeces original Olympics pentathlon events. All events that occurred at the Olympic Games were initially supposed to act as a form of training for warfare, the long jump emerged probably because it mirrored the crossing of obstacles such as streams and ravines. After investigating the surviving depictions of the ancient event it is believed that unlike the modern event, the athletes carried a weight in each hand, which were called halteres. These weights were swung forward as the athlete jumped in order to increase momentum and it is commonly believed that the jumper would throw the weights behind him in midair to increase his forward momentum, however, halteres were held throughout the duration of the jump. Swinging them down and back at the end of the jump would change the center of gravity and allow the athlete to stretch his legs outward. The jump itself was made from the bater and it was most likely a simple board placed on the stadium track which was removed after the event. The jumpers would land in what was called a skamma, the idea that this was a pit full of sand is wrong
38.
Cross-border flag for Ireland
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There is no cross-border flag universally accepted as representing both jurisdictions in Ireland. This can be a problem in contexts where a body organised on an all-island basis needs to be represented by a flag in an international context, the island is politically divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, but all-island organisations are common. Examples include the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the Church of Ireland, the Gaelic Athletic Association, and the Irish Rugby Football Union. The Saint Patricks Saltire was incorporated into the Union Flag in 1801 by way of the Act of Union 1800 to represent Ireland within the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Today, those who regard the tricolour as specific to the Republic of Ireland, or excluding unionists and this follows the practice of other Anglican churches in England, Scotland, and Wales, which fly the flags of their respective patron saints instead of the Union Flag. Modified versions have been used formerly by the Irish Rugby Football Union, and currently by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Commissioners of Irish Lights. The tricolour of green, white and orange, the flag of the state of Ireland, is considered by Irish nationalists. Gerry Adams said in Dáil Éireann in 2011, Above this Chamber flies the flag of this nation — all Thirty-Two Counties — the flag of green, white, mcSparran, We are having interruptions already. It is the flag of the Irish Republic. The Gaelic Athletic Association flies this flag at matches regardless of either or both teams are from Northern Ireland. It is also used for the Ireland international rules football team, the Golfing Union of Ireland covers the whole island and competes under the tricolour in international events such as the World Cup, Alfred Dunhill Cup and the Eisenhower Trophy. The four provinces flag is a quartering of the arms of the four provinces of Ireland, the order of the provinces varies. This flag was used on the Shannon–Erne Waterway, which is bisected by the border. Rather than flying a flag, boats fly this green, white. It is endorsed by the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, an all-island organisation, the harp has long been a symbol of Ireland. It first featured on Irish coins in the reign of Henry VIII around 1534, during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the harp became adorned with progressively more decoration, ultimately becoming a winged maiden. In the nineteenth century, the Maid of Erin, a personification of Ireland, was a holding a more realistic harp than the winged maiden. This style of harp was also used in Irish flags
39.
Martin Sheridan
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Martin John Sheridan was one of the greatest athletes has ever known according to his obituary in the New York Times. He was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ireland, and died in St. Vincents Hospital in Manhattan, New York, the day before his 37th birthday and he is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York. He was part of a group of Irish-American athletes known as the Irish Whales, at 63 and 194 lbs, Sheridan was the best all-around athlete of the Irish American Athletic Club, and like many of his team mates, served with the New York City Police Department. Sheridan was so respected in the NYPD, that he served as the Governors personal bodyguard when the governor was in New York City. He won the discus event at the 1904,1906, and 1908 Summer Olympics as well as the shot put at the 1906 Olympics. At the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens he also won medals in the standing high jump, standing long jump. However, careful research has shown that this was first reported in 1952, Sheridan himself made no mention of it in his published reports on the Games and neither did his obituary. The Fourth Olympiad London 1908 Official Report, the Story of the Olympic Games,776 B. C. to 1976. Philadelphia and New York, J. B. Lippincott Company
40.
Irish American Athletic Club
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The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Established on January 30,1898, originally as the Greater New York Irish Athletic Association and they purchased a plot of land in what was then called Laurel Hill, Long Island, near Calvary Cemetery, Queens, and built a state-of-the-art athletic facility on what was farmland. At one time they had clubs in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Yonkers and he also came 5th in both the 60 m dash and 400 m. In Athens 1906 he again won the long competition, beating the world record holder, Irishman. Swedish-born Ernie Hjertberg, himself a US track and field champion, was appointed coach, under his leadership, the IAAC turned into a national track power. The Irish American Athletic Club won the Amateur Athletic Union national outdoor track and they also won the national indoor track and field team championship titles in,1906,1908,1909,1911,1913,1914 and 1915. Individual athletes of the IAAC won 81 national outdoor titles and 36 individual national indoor championship titles. From 1900 to 1924, men who were at one members of the Irish American Athletic Club won 54 Olympic medals for the U. S. Olympic team. Who passed the baton to Mel Sheppard, to win the gold in the 1,600 meter medley relay, eighty-nine men contributed to this splendid showing, gaining points only in track and field games. The IAAC medalists on the 1912 U. S, the other IAAC members of the 1912 U. S. Olympic team were, John Eller, Emil Muller, Edwin Pritchard, John J. Reynolds, James Rosenberger and Michael J. Ryan. Before a crowd of 30,000 spectators at Newark, New Jerseys Weequahic Park, the club disbanding a year later, when the U. S. became a combatant in the First World War. The Fourth Olympiad London 1908 Official Report, abel Kiviat, National Champion, Twentieth-Century Track & Field and the Melting Pot. Syracuse, New York, Syracuse University Press, the Story of the Olympic Games,776 B. C. to 1976. Philadelphia and New York, J. B. Lippincott Company, making the Irish American, History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States. New York, Glucksman Ireland House / NYU Press, gold, Silver and Green, The Irish Olympic Journey 1896–1924. The Olympic Games Stockholm -1912, New York, American Sports Publishing Company. Martin Sheridan-Early Discus Star Winged Fist Organization 1910 Mecca and Hassan Cigarettes Irish-American Athletic Club athlete cards
41.
Shot put
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The shot put is a track and field event involving throwing/putting a heavy spherical object —the shot—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, homer mentions competitions of rock throwing by soldiers during the Siege of Troy but there is no record of any dead weights being thrown in Greek competitions. The first evidence for stone- or weight-throwing events were in the Scottish Highlands, in the 16th century King Henry VIII was noted for his prowess in court competitions of weight and hammer throwing. The first events resembling the modern shot put likely occurred in the Middle Ages when soldiers held competitions in which they hurled cannonballs, shot put competitions were first recorded in early 19th century Scotland, and were a part of the British Amateur Championships beginning in 1866. Competitors take their throw from inside a marked circle 2.135 metres in diameter, the following rules are adhered to for a legal throw, Upon calling the athletes name, the athlete may enter from any part of the throwing circle. They have sixty seconds to commence the throwing motion otherwise they are banned from the game, the athlete may not wear gloves, IAAF rules permit the taping of individual fingers. The athlete must rest the shot close to the neck, the shot must be released above the height of the shoulder, using only one hand. The athlete may touch the surface of the circle or toe board. Limbs may however extend over the lines of the circle in the air, the shot must land in the legal sector of the throwing area. The athlete must leave the circle from the back. The athlete may enter the circle at the location of their choice. Foul throws occur when an athlete, Does not pause within the circle before beginning the throwing motion, does not complete the throwing movement within sixty seconds of having their name called. Allows the shot to drop below his shoulder or outside the plane of his shoulder during the put. At any time if the shot loses contact with the neck then it is technically an illegal throw, during the throwing motion, touches with any part of the body, the top or ends of the toe board the top of the iron ring anywhere outside the circle. Throws a shot which either falls outside the sector or touches a sector line on the initial impact. Leaves the circle before the shot has landed, does not leave from the rear half of the circle. The following are either obsolete or non-existent, but commonly believed rules within professional competition, the athlete entering the circle, then exiting and re-entering it prior to starting the throw results in a foul. Each competition has a set number of rounds of throws, typically there are three preliminary rounds to determine qualification for the final, and then three more rounds in the final
42.
Discus throw
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The discus throw is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-B. C, although not part of the modern pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least to 708 BC. Discus is a part of most modern track-and-field meets at all levels and is a sport which is particularly iconic of the Olympic Games. The mens competition has been a part of the modern Summer Olympic Games since the first Olympiad in 1896. Images of discus throwers figured prominently in advertising for early modern Games, such as fundraising stamps for the 1896 games, the discus was re-discovered in Magdeburg, Germany, by Christian Georg Kohlrausch and his students in the 1870s. His work around the discus and the throwing techniques have been published since the 1880. The first modern athlete to throw the discus while rotating the body was František Janda-Suk from Bohemia. He invented this technique when studying the position of the statue of Discobolus. After only one year of developing the technique he gained the silver in 1900. The womens competition was added to the Olympic program in the 1928 games, the mens discus is a heavy lenticular disc with a weight of 2 kilograms and diameter of 22 centimetres, the womens discus has a weight of 1 kilogram and diameter of 18 centimetres. Under IAAF rules, Youth boys throw the 1.5 kilograms discus, the Junior men throw the unique 1.75 kilograms discus, in international competition, men throw the 2 kg discus through to age 49. The 1.5 kilograms discus is thrown by ages 50–59, women throw the 1 kilogram discus through to age 74. Starting with age 75, women throw the 0.75 kilograms discus, the typical discus has sides made of plastic, wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber or metal with a metal rim and a metal core to attain the weight. The rim must be smooth, with no roughness or finger holds, a discus with more weight in the rim produces greater angular momentum for any given spin rate, and thus more stability, although it is more difficult to throw. However, a higher rim weight, if thrown correctly, can lead to a farther throw, a solid rubber discus is sometimes used. To make a throw, the starts in a circle of 2.5 m diameter. The thrower typically takes an initial stance facing away from the direction of the throw and he then spins anticlockwise around one and a half times through the circle to build momentum, then releases his throw. The discus must land within a 34. 92-degree sector, the distance from the front edge of the circle to where the discus has landed is measured, and distances are rounded down to the nearest centimetre
43.
Standing long jump
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The standing long jump, also known as the standing broad jump, is an athletics event. It was an Olympic event until 1912 and it is one of three standing variants of track and field jumping events, which also include the standing high jump and standing triple jump. In performing the standing jump, the jumper stands at a line marked on the ground with the feet slightly apart. The athlete takes off and lands using both feet, swinging the arms and bending the knees to provide forward drive, in Olympic rules, the measurement used was the longest of three tries. The jump must be repeated if the athlete falls back or takes a step at take-off, ray Ewry set the first world record for the standing long jump at 3.47 m on 3 September 1904. The current record is held by Byron Jones, who recorded a jump of 3.73 m at the NFL Combine on 23 February 2015, beating the competition world record of 3.71 m set by Norwegian shot putter Arne Tvervaag from Ringerike FIK Sportclub in 1968. When indoor arenas were built, the long jump began to disappear as an event. Today, Norway is the country where the standing long jump is a national championship event. The Norwegian Championships in Standing Jumps has been held in Stange every winter since 1995, in the Brazilian police forces, a minimum performance in a standing long jump test is required to join the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police
44.
Bohola
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Bohola is a village, in the barony of Gallen, County Mayo, Ireland located along the N5 national primary road, which gives its name to the parish of Bohola. It consists of 2 pubs, a post office and a Catholic church, the village is located near Lough Conn. Bohola is a village with a population of 235 as of 2006. This is an increase of 14. 6% from 205 residents in 2002, people living in the Parish of Bohola play Gaelic Football with Bohola Moy Davitts. Bohola Moy Davitts is a team consisting of Straide, Foxford. Among the teams achievements are its Feile Doire 2010 All-Ireland title, dundalk F. C. player John Mountney hails from the village. Brendan Shine wrote a song called Three Pubs in Bohola, the three pubs listed by Shine were McDonaghs, Clarkes and Roches, however locals will be the only ones who would be able to confirm the accuracy of his lyrics. List of towns and villages in Ireland Bohola, County Mayo bohola The Band Bohola Cemetery County Mayo, Ireland
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County Mayo
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County Mayo is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, it is part of the province of Connacht and is named after the village of Mayo, Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 130,638 at the 2011 census, the boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time. It is bounded on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by County Galway, the east by County Roscommon, Mayo is the third-largest of Irelands 32 counties in area and 15th largest in terms of population. It is the second-largest of Connacht’s five counties in size and population. There is a distinct difference between the west and the east of the county. The west consists largely of poor subsoils and is covered with areas of extensive Atlantic blanket bog. Agricultural land is more productive in the east than in the west. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001, the County is divided into four municipal areas Castlebar, Ballina, Claremorris and West. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, the county town is at Áras an Contae in Castlebar the main population centre located in the centre of the county. For national elections half of the Claremorris Municipal District is in Galway West, murrisk south west containing Westport, Louisburgh, Croagh Patrick etc. These are followed by Westport, which has 5,543 residents and Claremorris, a survey of the terrestrial and freshwater algae of Clare Island was made between 1990 and 2005 and published in 2007. A record of Gunnera tinctoria is also noted, consultants working for the Corrib gas project have carried out extensive surveys of wildlife flora and fauna in Kilcommon Parish, Erris between 2002 and 2009. This information is published in the Corrib Gas Proposal Environmental impact statements 2009 and 2010, County Mayo has a long history and prehistory. At Belderrig on the north Mayo coast, there is evidence for Mesolithic communities around 4500 cal, BC. while throughout the county there is a wealth of archaeological remains from the Neolithic period, particularly in terms of megalithic tombs and ritual stone circles. The first people who came to Ireland – mainly to areas as the interior was heavily forested – arrived during the Middle Stone Age. Artefacts of hunter/gatherers are sometimes found in middens, rubbish pits around hearths where people would have rested and cooked over open fires. Once cliffs erode, midden-remains become exposed as blackened areas containing charred stones, bones and they are usually found a metre below the surface
46.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
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