1.
All-time Olympic Games medal table
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An all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2016, including Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, and a combined total of both, is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee as official Games, the IOC itself does not publish all-time tables, and publishes unofficial tables only per single Games. This table was compiled by adding up single entries from the IOC database. The results are attributed to the IOC country code as currently displayed by the IOC database, usually, a single code corresponds to a single National Olympic Committee. When different codes are displayed for different years, medal counts are combined in the case of a change of IOC code or simple change of country name. As the medals are attributed to each NOC, not all totals include medals won by athletes from that country for another NOC, names in italic are national entities that no longer exist. The totals of NOCs are not combined with those of their predecessors and successors. The table is pre-sorted by the name of each Olympic Committee, to sort by gold, silver, and then bronze, sort first by the bronze column, then the silver, and then the gold. The table does not include the medals revoked, after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio,72 of the current 206 National Olympic Committees,6 historic National Olympic Committees, and the Refugee Olympic Team have not yet won an Olympic medal. The sections above are based on information published by the International Olympic Committee, various sources deal with some of the entries in the preceding sections differently. For the 1900 Summer Olympics several countries are credited with appearances that are not considered official by the IOC, only one of these cases concerns a medal. A gold medal that is added to Frances total is given to Luxembourg. Similar cases of disputed nationality affect the 1904 Summer Olympics, france is credited with a silver medal and Norway with two gold medals. In the table above these medals are listed under the United States, furthermore, Newfoundland is occasionally listed as a separate country at the 1904 Olympics, and would be listed as a historical NOC without medals. Other differences from the table are based on disagreements about which events were Olympic. This affects several of the events in the 1900 and 1904 Olympics. In addition, some include the 1906 Intercalated Games when compiling their medal tables. Germany has competed under five different designations, including as two teams at several Games. Sources vary in how they present the medals won by these teams, the table below shows sourced combinations of these teams, when applied to the updated medal totals from the main table
2.
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
3.
Bids for Olympic Games
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National Olympic Committees select from within their national territory cities to put forward bids to host an Olympic Games. The staging of the Paralympic Games is automatically included in the bid, what follows is a list of the cities that have bid to host any of the Summer and Winter Olympics. No African, Central American, Central Asian, Middle Eastern, the agreement came into effect at the 2008 Paralympic Summer Games in Beijing, and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. The agreement was adjusted in 2003, an extension was signed in June 2006. London is the city to have bid more than once. Detroit has had the most bids whilst failing to win the rights to host the games once, hungary has had the most bids in the Summer Games that have failed to win the rights to host the games at least once. Sweden has had the most bids in the Winter Games that have failed to win the rights to host the games at least once, Beijing is the only city to host both the Summer and Winter Games. International Olympic Committee — Olympic Games IOC Vote History Olympic Games Museum Olympic Bid Election History GamesBids. com TheBidLibrary. com
4.
Olympic Games ceremony
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Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games, the modern Olympic games have opening, closing and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies harken back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry, an example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies. During the 2004 Games, the winners received a crown of olive branches. The various elements of the ceremonies are mandated by the Olympic Charter, even the artistic portion of the opening and closing ceremonies must meet the approval of the International Olympic Committee. The ceremonies have evolved over the centuries, Ancient Games incorporated ceremonies to mark the beginning and ending of each successive game. There are both similarities and differences between the ancient Olympic ceremonies and their modern counterparts, the presentation of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies continue to increase in scope, scale and expense with each successive celebration of the Games, but they are still steeped in tradition. The Ancient Games, held in Greece from ca.776 BC to ca.393 AD, the victory celebration, elements of which are in evidence in the modern-day medal and closing ceremonies, often involved elaborate feasts, drinking, singing, and the recitation of poetry. The wealthier the victor the more extravagant the celebration, the victors were presented with an olive wreath or crown harvested from a special tree in Olympia by a boy, specially selected for this purpose, using a golden sickle. The festival would conclude with the victors making solemn vows and performing sacrifices to the various gods to which they were beholden. There is evidence of changes in the format of the Ancient Games over the nearly 12 centuries that they were celebrated. Eventually, by roughly the 77th Olympiad, a standard 18-event program was established, in order to open a Games in ancient Greece the organizers would hold an Inauguration Festival. This was followed by a ceremony in which took an oath of sportsmanship. The first competition, a competition of trumpeters and heralds. The Olympic opening ceremonies represent the official commencement of an Olympic Games, in recent Olympics, athletic competition began prior to the opening ceremonies. For example, the competitions for both men and women at the 2008 Summer Olympics began two days prior to the opening ceremonies. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, various elements frame the Opening Ceremonies of a celebration of the Olympic Games, most of these rituals were canonized at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. The artistic program is what creates the idiosyncratic element of each ceremony, Coubertins initial vision of the Modern Olympics featured both athletic competitions and artistic achievements. As the modern Olympics have evolved into a celebration of sport, the opening ceremonies are an important ritual of the Olympic games
5.
Olympic Charter
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The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 9 September 2013, adopted by International Olympic Committee, it is the codification of the fundamental principles, rules and by-laws. French and English are the languages of the Olympic Charter. Throughout the history of the Olympics, the Olympic Charter has often decided the outcome of Olympic controversy, with its 5 chapters and 61 articles, the Olympic Charter outlines in detail several guidelines and rules. Article 2, The mission of the IOC is to promote Olympism throughout the world, article 6, The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries. Article 8, The Olympic symbol consists of five interlocking rings which, from left to right are blue, yellow, black, green and this chapter outlines the membership, meetings, and guiding doctrines of the International Olympic Committee. Chapter 3 discusses the role of International Federations in the Olympic movement, IFs are international non-governmental organisations that administer to sports at the world level and encompass organisations administering such sports at the national level. For each sport that is part of the Olympic Games, an International Federation exists and these IFs work to ensure their sports are developed in a way that agrees with the Olympic Charter and the Olympic spirit. With technical expertise in its sport, an IF has control over eligibility for competition as well as details of the venue in which the athletic competition takes place. Article 28, The mission of the National Olympic Committees is to develop, promote, the role of NOCs within each country is to promote the spirit of Olympicism, ensure the observance of the Olympic Charter, and to encourage ethics in and development of sports. They are in charge of their countrys representation at the Games, deciding on a host city for the Games, in addition, Section 3 of this chapter discusses applicable protocol for Olympic functions and events. This includes an outline of use of the Olympic flag, flame, the five rings of the Olympic games signify the five continents. Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a whole the qualities of body, will. The goal of Olympism is to sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind. It reaches its peak with the bringing together of the athletes at the great sports festival. Its symbol is five interlaced rings, the practice of sport is a human right. Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter, the Olympic Charter is not simply a matter of unenforced policy for the Olympic Games. Throughout history, it has served as guidance for the proceedings of the Games, below are a few of the most recent examples, May 2004, Bernard Lagat became a US citizen three months before he ran track in Athens and won the silver medal in 2004
6.
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
7.
Lists of Olympic medalists
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This article includes lists of all olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Including military patrol event at 1924 Games, which IOC now refers to biathlon. ^ B, figure skating was held at the 1908 and 1920 Summer Olympic games prior to the establishment of the Winter Olympics. 21 medals were awarded in seven events. ^ C, a mens ice hockey tournament was held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and then added as a Winter Olympics event. The IOC site for the 1900 Olympic Games gives erroneous figure of 95 events, the IOC site for the 1904 Olympic Games gives erroneous figure of 91 events, while the IOC database for the 1904 Olympic Games lists 94 ones. ^ F. The IOC site for the 1920 Olympic Games gives erroneous figure of 154 events, due to Australian quarantine laws,6 equestrian events were held in Stockholm several months before the rest of the 1956 Games in Melbourne. ^ H. The IOC site for the 1956 Olympic Games gives figure of 145 events, factsheet, Records and medals at the Olympic Winter Games. Specific Olympic Review and Revue Olympique
8.
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
9.
Pierre de Coubertin medal
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The medal was inaugurated in 1964 and named in honour of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee. According to the Olympic Museum, it is one of the noblest honours that can be bestowed upon an Olympic athlete, “Nash didnt win because I gave him the bolt. He won because he had the fastest run. ”—Eugenio Monti when interviewed after giving a bolt from his own bobsled to his competitors, Monti was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for his sportsmanship. “It took a lot of courage for him to me in front of Hitler. You can melt all the medals and cups I have. —Jesse Owens after being advised by his competitor, Lutz Long, Long was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for his sportsmanship. Victory due to the inadequate equipment is not a merit. Co-operation among sports people is a part of Olympism. - Australian Justin Harley McDonald, Bobsleigh, who won the Pierre de Coubertin Fair Play Trophy 1994 for Act of Fair Play, McDonald was the first Australian to be awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Fair Play Trophy
10.
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
11.
Olympic symbols
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The Olympic symbols are icons, flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Committee to elevate the Olympic Games. Some—such as the flame, fanfare, and theme—are more commonly used during Olympic competition, the Olympic motto is the hendiatris Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for Faster, Higher, Stronger. It was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin upon the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894, Coubertin borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who was an athletics enthusiast. Coubertin said These three words represent a programme of moral beauty, the aesthetics of sport are intangible. The motto was introduced in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris, a more informal but well-known motto, also introduced by Coubertin, is The most important thing is not to win but to take part. Coubertin got this motto from a sermon by the Bishop of Pennsylvania during the 1908 London Games, the rings are five interlocking rings, colored blue, yellow, black, green and red on a white field, known as the Olympic rings. The symbol was designed in 1912 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. He appears to have intended the rings to represent the five participating continents, Africa, Asia, America, Australia, according to Coubertin, the colors of the rings together with the white of the background included the colors composing every competing nations flag at the time. Upon its initial introduction, Coubertin stated the following in the August 1912 edition of Olympique, the six colors combined in this way reproduce the colours of every country without exception. This, truly, is an international emblem, the 1914 Congress was suspended due to the outbreak of World War I, but the symbol and flag were later adopted. They would first officially debut at the Games of the VII Olympiad in Antwerp, the symbols popularity and widespread use began during the lead-up to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The ceremony was celebrated but the stone was never removed and this has become known as Carl Diems Stone. This created a myth that the symbol had an ancient Greek origin, the rings would subsequently be featured prominently in Nazi images in 1936 as part of an effort to glorify the Third Reich. The current view of the International Olympic Committee is that the symbol reinforces the idea that the Olympic Movement is international and welcomes all countries of the world to join. As can be read in the Olympic Charter, the Olympic symbol represents the union of the five continents of the world, however, no continent is represented by any specific ring. Nevertheless, the logo of the Association of National Olympic Committees places the logo of each of its five continental associations inside the ring of the corresponding color, the Olympic flag was created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914. There are specific Olympic flags that are displayed by cities that will be hosting the next Olympic games and these flags should not be confused with the larger Olympic flags designed and created specifically for each games, which are flown over the host stadium and then retired. The first Olympic flag was presented to the IOC at the 1920 Summer Olympics by the city of Antwerp, at the end of the Games, the flag could not be found and a new Olympic flag had to be made for the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris
12.
Summer Olympic Games
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The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad, first held in 1896, is an international multi-sport event that is hosted by a different city every four years. The most recent Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the International Olympic Committee organizes the games and oversees the host citys preparations. In each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third, the Winter Olympic Games were created due to the success of the Summer Olympics. The Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations in 1896 to 302 events with 10,768 competitors from 204 nations in 2012, eighteen countries have hosted the Summer Olympics. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympics, more than any other nation, four cities have hosted two Summer Olympics, Athens, Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Tokyo is the first city outside of the Western world to host the Summer Olympics multiple times, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics four times in Japan, South Korea, and China. The only Summer Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere have been in Australia, the 2016 Games are the first Summer Olympics to be held in South America and the first to be held during the local winter season. Africa has yet to host a Summer Olympics, only five countries—Greece, Australia, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland—have been represented at every Summer Olympic Games. The only country to have won at least one medal at every Summer Olympic Games is Great Britain. The United States leads the medal table. Qualification rules for each of the Olympic sports are set by the International Sports Federations that governs that sports international competition, for individual sports, competitors typically qualify through attaining a certain place in a major international event or on the IFs ranking list. There is a rule that maximum three individual athletes may represent each nation per competition. Nations most often qualify teams for team sports through continental qualifying tournaments, each nation may be represented by no more than one team per competition a team is two people in some sports. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympic Games, more than any other nation, the United Kingdom hosted the 2012 Olympic Games, its third Summer Olympic Games, in its capital London, making London the first city to host the Summer Olympic Games three times. Australia, France, Germany, Greece, and Japan have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice. Other countries that have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, Brazil, China, Canada, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics three times and will host again in 2020. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Summer Olympics in South America, three cities have hosted two Summer Olympic Games, Los Angeles, Paris, and Athens. Stockholm has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having hosted the games in 1912 and the events at the 1956 Summer Olympics—which they are usually listed as jointly hosting
13.
Winter Olympic Games
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The Winter Olympic Games is a major international sporting event that occurs once every four years. Unlike the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympics feature sports practised on snow, the first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, was held in Chamonix, France. The original five sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, the Games were held every four years from 1924 until 1936, after which they were interrupted by World War II. The Olympics resumed in 1948 and was held every four years. The Winter Games have evolved since its inception, others have been discontinued and later reintroduced, or have been permanently discontinued. Still others, such as speed skiing, bandy and skijoring, were demonstration sports, the rise of television as a global medium for communication enhanced the profile of the Games. It created a stream, via the sale of broadcast rights and advertising. This allowed outside interests, such as companies and corporate sponsors. The IOC has had to address several criticisms, internal scandals, nations have used the Winter Games to showcase the claimed superiority of their political systems. The Winter Olympics has been hosted on three continents by eleven different countries, the Games have been held in the United States four times, in France three times, and in Austria, Canada, Japan, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland twice. Also, the Games have been held in Germany, Yugoslavia, the IOC has selected Pyeongchang, South Korea, to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Beijing, China, to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Twelve countries – Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States – have sent athletes to every Winter Olympic Games. Six of those – Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States – have earned medals at every Winter Olympic Games, Norway leads in terms of number of gold medals and overall number of medals. Germany and Japan have been banned at times from competing in the Games, the Olympic Charter limits winter sports to those. Which are practised on snow or ice, since 1992 a number of new sports have been added to the Olympic programme, which include short track speed skating, snowboarding, freestyle and moguls skiing. The addition of events has broadened the appeal of the Winter Olympics beyond Europe. While European powers such as Norway and Germany still dominate the traditional Winter Olympic sports, countries such as South Korea, Australia, the results are more parity in the national medal tables, more interest in the Winter Olympics and higher global television ratings. Figure skating events were held at the 1908 and 1920 Summer Olympics. ^ Note 2, a mens ice hockey tournament was held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. ^ Note 3
14.
Summer Paralympic Games
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The Summer Paralympic Games or the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event, where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, the Paralympic Games are held every four years, organized by the International Paralympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third. The United States and the United Kingdom have each hosted two Summer Paralympic Games, more than any other nation. Other countries that have hosted the summer Paralympics are Australia, Canada, China, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, in the 2016 Summer Paralympics, Brazil will host the first Summer Games in South America in Rio de Janeiro. Tokyo will be the first city to host the Summer Paralympics more than once,1964 and 2020. Seven of those countries have won at least one medal at every Summer Paralympic Games, Australia, Austria, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands. The United States have been the nation for eight of the Paralympic Summer Games,1964,1968,1976,1980,1984,1988,1992 and 1996. China have been the nation for the four most recent Games,2004,2008,2012 and 2016. Italy, West Germany and Australia have been the nation one time each. Qualification rules for each of the Paralympic sports are set by the International Federation that governs that sports international competition, the first official Paralympic Games, was held in Rome in 1960. 400 athletes from 23 countries competed at the 1960 Games though only athletes in wheelchairs competed, at the 1976 Summer Games athletes with different disabilities were included for the first time at a summer Paralympics. With the inclusion of more disability classifications, the 1976 Summer Games expanded to 1,600 athletes from 40 countries, the 1988 Summer Paralympics were the first to be hosted in the same venues as the Olympics of that year. Since then, all Paralympic Games are now held in the city that hosted the Olympics. Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event, within the ten disability categories the athletes still need to be divided according to their level of impairment. The classification systems differ from sport to sport, and is intended to even the playing field so as to allow as many athletes to participate as possible, classifications vary in accordance with the different skills required to perform the sport. Archery, Archery is open to athletes with a physical disability, classifications are broken up into three divisions, W1, spinal cord injured and Cerebral Palsy athletes with impairment in all four limbs
15.
Winter Paralympic Games
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The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, the Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter Olympic Games. The Winter Paralympics are also hosted by the city hosted the Winter Olympics. The International Paralympic Committee oversees the Winter Paralympics, medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, following the tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904. The Winter Paralympics began in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden and those Games were the first Paralympics that featured athletes other than wheelchair athletes. The Games have expanded and grown to be part of the largest international sporting event after the Olympic Games, given their expansion the need for a very specific classification system has arisen. This system has given rise to controversy and opened the door for cheating. Winter Paralympians have also been convicted of use and other forms of cheating unique to Paralympic athletes. The origins of the Winter Paralympics are similar to the Summer Paralympics, injured soldiers returning from World War II sought sports as an avenue to healing. Over 400 wheelchair athletes competed at the 1960 Paralympic Games, which known as the first Paralympics. Sepp Zwicknagl, a pioneer of sports for disabled athletes, was a double-leg amputee Austrian skier who experimented skiing using prosthetics. His work helped pioneer technological advances for people with disabilities who wished to participate in winter sports, advances were slow and it was not until 1974 that the first official world ski competition for physically impaired athletes, featuring downhill and a cross-country skiing, was held. The first Winter Paralympics were held in 1976 at Örnsköldsvik, Sweden from February 21–28, Alpine and Nordic skiing for amputees and visually impaired athletes where the main events but ice sledge racing was included as a demonstration event. There were 198 participating athletes from 16 countries, and it was the first time athletes with other than wheelchair athletes were permitted to compete. Starting in 1988 the Summer Paralympics were held in the same host city as the Summer Olympic Games and this was due to an agreement reached between the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee. The 1992 Winter Paralympics were the first Winter Games to use the facilities as the Winter Olympics. Athletes have cheated by over-representing impairment to have an advantage. German skier Thomas Oelsner became the first Winter Paralympian to test positive for steroids in 2002 and he had won two gold medals in the alpine events but was stripped of his medals
16.
Youth Olympic Games
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The Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, the age limitation of the athletes is 14 to 18. The idea of such an event was introduced by Johann Rosenzopf from Austria in 1998 and these Games will also feature cultural exchange programs and opportunities for participants to meet Olympic athletes. The Youth Games are modelled after these sporting events, the YOG are also a successor to the discontinued World Youth Games. Even though this exceeded initial estimates, the YOG are still smaller in size as well as shorter than their senior equivalents. The next Summer YOG to take place will be the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games of Buenos Aires, the next Winter YOG to take place will be the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games of Lausanne. The concept of the Youth Olympic Games came from Austrian industrial manager Johann Rosenzopf in 1998 and this was in response to growing global concerns about childhood obesity and the dropping participation of youth in sport activities, especially amongst youth in developed nations. It was further recognized that a version of the Olympic Games would help foster participations in the Olympic Games. Despite these reasons for having an Olympic event for young people, Jacques Rogge, IOC President, formally announced plans for the Youth Olympic Games at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City on 6 July 2007. The city of Singapore was announced as the host of the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics on 21 February 2008, on 12 December 2008 the IOC announced that Innsbruck, host of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, would be the host of the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. The scale of the Youth Olympic Games is smaller than that of the Olympics, potential host cities are required to keep all events within the same city and no new sports venues should be built. Exceptions to this building include a media center, amphitheater facilities for classes and workshops. This village is to be the heart of the Games for the athletes, no new or unique transportation systems are required as all athletes and coaches will be transported by shuttles. According to bid procedures, the track and field stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies must hold 10,000 people, the IOC has stipulated that costs for infrastructure and venues is to be paid by the host city. The IOC will pay travel costs to the host city and room and board for the athletes and judges, the funding will come from IOC funds and not revenues. The budgets for the two bids for the inaugural Summer Games came in at $90 million, much higher than the estimated costs. The cost of the first games in Singapore escalated to an estimated S$387 million, sponsors have been slow to sign on for the YOG, due to the fact that it is a new initiative and corporations are not sure what level of exposure they will get
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Special Olympics World Games
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The Special Olympics World Games are an international sporting competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities, organized by Special Olympics. Although local Special Olympics events and competitions are held around the world every day, the goal is to showcase the skills and accomplishments of people with intellectual disabilities on a global stage. The World Games feature more than a week of competitions involving thousands of athletes, through media coverage of the Games, the stories and achievements of children and adults with intellectual disabilities are made known to millions of people worldwide. Special Olympics World Games take place two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games, a schedule similar to the Olympics and Paralympics. Attracting as many as 350,000 volunteers and coaches, plus thousands of athletes. Special Olympics athletes can compete in 32 Olympic-style summer or winter sports, the athletes are adults and children with intellectual disabilities who can range from gifted, world-class competitors to average athletes to those with limited physical ability. Its a fundamental rule of Special Olympics competitions that athletes are matched up according to their ability and this “divisioning” process is an effort to make every competition fair, competitive and exciting for athletes as well as fans. In 1991, the name was changed from International Special Olympics Summer/Winter Games to Special Olympics World Summer/Winter Games. In 2011, Special Olympics World Summer Games were held on June 25 – July 4 in Athens, Greece, the most recent 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Los Angeles, California from July 25 – Aug.2,2015. These games were the first Special Olympics World Summer Games held in the United States in 16 years since the 1999 Summer Games held in Raleigh, the next World Winter Games will be the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Graz and Schladming in Styria, Austria. This marks a return, Salzburg and Schladming, Austria hosted the fifth Special Olympics World Winter Games in 1993 and these were the first Special Olympics World Games held outside the United States. The 2017 World Winter Games will be held March 14-March 25,2017
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African Games
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All of the competing nations are from the African continent. The first Games were held in 1965 in Brazzaville, Congo, the International Olympic Committee granted official recognition as a continental multi-sport event, along with the Asian Games and Pan American Games. Since 1999, the Games have also included athletes with a disability, the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa was the organisation body for the game. The organization of the African Games is now managed by three parts, the AU, the ANOCA and the AASC, after running previous 11 editions as the All-Africa Games, the games has been renamed the African Games. The decision for the change was arrived at, during the Executive Council meeting of the African Union held in Addis Ababa. Modern Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin conceived the Pan African Games as early as 1920, the colonial powers who ruled Africa at the time were wary of the idea, suspecting the unifying aspect of sport among African people would cause them to assert their independence. Attempts were made to host the games in Algiers, Algeria in 1925 and Alexandria, Egypt in 1928, but despite considerable preparations taken by coordinators, the efforts failed. The International Olympic Committees first African member, Greek-born Egyptian sprinter Angelo Bolanaki, donated funds to erect a stadium, in the early 1960s, French-speaking countries of Africa organized the Friendship Games. The Games were organized by Madagascar and then Côte dIvoire, the third games were set for Senegal in 1963. The Games were granted recognition by the IOC as being on par with other continental Games such as the Asian Games. In July 1965, the first games were held in Brazzaville, Congo, from 30 countries, around 2,500 athletes competed. Egypt topped the medal count for the first Games, in 1966, the SCSA was organized in Bamako, it manages the All-Africa Games. The second edition were awarded to Mali in 1969, but a military coup forced the cancellation of the Games, lagos, Nigeria stepped in as host for the Games in 1971. Those Games were finally held in 1973 due to the Biafra War, in 1977, the 3rd Games were scheduled to take place in Algeria but due to technical reasons had to be postponed for a year and were held in 1978. Continuing the pattern, the next Games were scheduled to take place in Kenya in 1983, the four-year Olympic rhythm has not missed a beat since, and the Games have been organized in Cairo, Harare, Johannesburg, and Abuja. In 2007, Algiers once again hosted, becoming the first repeat host, the 2011 edition of the All-Africa Games was held in Maputo, Mozambique in September 2011. Brazzaville hosted the 2015 edition in honor of the Games 50th anniversary, all 53 members affiliated to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa are eligible to take part in the Games. In history, the 53 National Olympic Committees have sent competitors to the Games, morocco was banned from the games from the 1987 All-Africa Games onwards because of a political dispute over Western Sahara
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Pan American Games
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The Pan-American or Pan American Games is a major sporting event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, the only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. The Pan American Sports Organization is the body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure. The XVII Pan American Games were held in Toronto from July 10–26,2015, since 2007, host cities are contracted to manage both the Pan American and the Parapan American Games, in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with one another. The Parapan American Games are held following the Pan American Games. The Pan American Games Movement consists of sports federations, National Olympic Committees that are recognized by PASO. As the decision-making body, PASO is responsible for choosing the host city for each Pan American Games, the host city is responsible for organizing and funding a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter and rules. The Pan American Games program, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games, is determined by PASO, the celebration of the Games encompasses many rituals and symbols, such as the flag and torch, and the opening and closing ceremonies. Over 5,000 athletes compete at the Pan American Games in 36 sports, the first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. At the first Pan American Sports Congress, held in Buenos Aires in 1940, the plans had to be postponed because of World War II. A second Pan American Sports Congress held in London during the 1948 Summer Olympics reconfirmed Buenos Aires as the choice of host city for the inaugural games, countries that were part of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Canada did not compete at the first Pan American Games. The second games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, competitions started on March 12 and included 2,583 athletes from 22 countries, competing in 17 sports. The Pan American Games were held every four years in the cities of Chicago, United States in 1959, São Paulo, Brazil in 1963 and Winnipeg. While the inaugural 1951 Games hosted 2,513 participants representing 14 nations, during the games most athletes and officials are housed in the Pan American Games village. This village is intended to be a home for all the participants. It is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression, PASO allows nations to compete that do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that other international organizations demand. As a result, colonies and dependencies are permitted to set up their own National Olympic Committees, examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico and Bermuda which compete as separate nations despite being legally under the jurisdiction of another power. There have been attempts to hold Winter Pan American Games throughout the history of the games, reliable winter snow in the Americas is limited to two countries, the United States and Canada
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Asian Games
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The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a Pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation from the first Games in New Delhi, India, since the 1982 Games they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia, after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation. The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games, in its history, nine nations have hosted the Asian Games. Forty-six nations have participated in the Games, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in 1974. The most recent games was held in Incheon, South Korea from 19 September to 4 October 2014, while the games will be held in Jakarta and Palembang. The Far Eastern Games were first held in Manila in 1913 with 6 participating nations, ten more Far Eastern Games were held until 1934. Consequently, the Far Eastern Games scheduled for 1938 were cancelled, after World War II, a number of Asian countries became independent. During the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, a conversation between sportsmen from China and the Philippines raised the idea of restoring the Far Eastern Games. As a result, he proposed to sports leaders the idea of having a new competition – which came to be the Asian Games. This led to an agreement to form the Asian Athletic Federation, a preparatory committee was then set up to draft the charter for this new body. Starting in 1962, the Games were hit by several crises, first, the host country Indonesia, refused to permit the participation of Israel and Taiwan due to political and religious issues. As a result, the IOC removed its sponsorship of the Games, the Asian Football Confederation, International Amateur Athletics Federation and International Weightlifting Federation, also removed their recognition of the Games. Prior to the Games, Japan was asked to host the Games and this edition also marked the first time the Games have a television broadcasting throughout the world. In Tehran, in 1974, the Games formally recognized the participation of China, North Korea, the last is 1978, Pakistan dropped its plan to host the Games in 1975 due to financial crisis and political issues. Thailand offered to help and the Games were once held in Bangkok. However, once again, like in 1962, Taiwan and Israel were refused the participation by Games Federation, amid political issues and security fears. Several governing bodies protested against the ban, like IAAF, threatened to bar the players from 1980 Summer Olympics. Following this series of crises, the National Olympic Committee in Asia decided to revise the constitution of the Asian Games Federation, a new association, named the Olympic Council of Asia, was created in November 1981 with the exclusion of Israel
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European Games
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The European Games is an international multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from European nations. The Games were envisioned and are to be governed by the European Olympic Committees, the 2015 European Games, the first edition of the event, took place in Baku, Azerbaijan in June 2015, and further editions are planned every four years thereafter. The 2019 edition is scheduled for Minsk, Belarus, having previously awarded to the Netherlands. The European Games are the final continental Games to be initiated, after the Asian Games, Pan-American Games, Pacific Games, as of 2015, every continent will have a continental games in the Olympic tradition. The Games have been criticised for being an addition to the sporting calendar and for the lack of high quality in totem events such as athletics. The first edition of the Games has received criticism from such as Sport for Rights calling for athletes to speak out against human rights violations in Azerbaijan. Many regime opponents were jailed in the run-up to the Games, the following sports were contested at the first event in Baku in 2015. Olympic Games European Youth Olympic Festival Pan American Games Asian Games African Games World Games Pacific Games European Sports Championships Commonwealth Games Official website
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Pacific Games
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The Pacific Games is a multi-sport event, much like the Olympic Games, with participation exclusively from countries around the South Pacific Ocean. It is held four years and began in 1963, hosted by Suva. The idea of holding the South Pacific Games originated with Dr A. H. Sahu Khan who was one of Fijis representatives at a meeting of the South Pacific Commission held at Rabaul during 1959. The idea was adopted and led to a meeting of nine Territories, held in Nouméa during March 1961, during 1962, the South Pacific Commission founded the South Pacific Games Council, with the first ever Games being held at Suva, Fiji. In the 40 years since, Games have been held in 12 countries and territories within the region, initially the Games were held at three-year intervals although this was subsequently expanded to four following the Tumon Games in Guam. As time went on, fledgling nations gradually achieving sovereignty of their own sought to extricate themselves from their colonial past and new national anthems, nevertheless, English and French remain the official languages of the Games. Like other sporting events, the South Pacific Games has experienced slight controversies, a minor dispute that still continues today is the scheduling of events landing on a Sunday. Throughout the Pacific, the Christian Sabbath remains very important and scheduling at such a time would be frowned upon, however other larger nations within the region or those loosely associated with more secular states are more moderate in this regard. Other global and regional events have also influenced and shaped the Games history, in 1995, the year Papeete, Tahiti hosted the Games, many countries took the decision to boycott as a direct protest at French nuclear testing in the Pacific. The Games, however, returned to near full regional participation in the event in 1999. The Games were initiated to promote and develop sport amongst the nations, after fifty years in existence, The South Pacific Commission changed its name to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in 1998. The XII South Pacific Games held in Suva, Fiji saw for the first time the introduction of a program of 32 sports. That program included sports that are synonymous with the Pacific region as well as sports that have a participation and are generally not well established. A strong corporate sponsorship package a first for the games enabled the organizers to work with a hand towards their aims of making the games a success. A colorful and effective media and publicity campaign generated much interest, schools and youth groups were involved in interactive programs such as the adopt-a-country program also a first for the games. The XIII Pacific Games were hosted in Apia, Samoa and they were the 13th to have been held since 1963. Potential debt positions notwithstanding, five nations bid for the 2015 Pacific Games, the Games were ultimately awarded to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and follow the 2011 Pacific Games held in Nouméa, New Caledonia. However the rising cost and the burden of putting on the games continue to threaten countries abilities to host the event
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Ancient Olympic Games
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The Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honor of Zeus, and the Greeks gave them a mythological origin, the first Olympics is traditionally dated to 776 BC. The games were held four years, or olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies. During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their cities to the games in safety, the prizes for the victors were olive leaf wreaths or crowns. The games became a tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the games, and in times of war, the games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations, the statue of Zeus at Olympia was counted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Sculptors and poets would congregate each olympiad to display their works of art to would-be patrons, the ancient Olympics had fewer events than the modern games, and only freeborn Greek men were allowed to participate, although there were victorious women chariot owners. The games were held at Olympia rather than moving between different locations as is the practice with the modern Olympic Games. Victors at the Olympics were honored, and their feats chronicled for future generations, to the Greeks, it was important to root the Olympic Games in mythology. During the time of the ancient games their origins were attributed to the gods and these origin traditions have become nearly impossible to untangle, yet a chronology and patterns have arisen that help people understand the story behind the games. The earliest myths regarding the origin of the games are recounted by the Greek historian, according to the story, the dactyl Heracles and four of his brothers, Paeonaeus, Epimedes, Iasius and Idas, raced at Olympia to entertain the newborn Zeus. He crowned the victor with an olive wreath, which also explains the four year interval. The other Olympian gods would also engage in wrestling, jumping and running contests, another myth of the origin of the games is the story of Pelops, a local Olympian hero. The story of Pelops begins with Oenomaus, the king of Pisa, Greece, according to an oracle, the king would be killed by her husband. Now, the kings chariot horses were a present from the god Poseidon and were therefore supernaturally fast, Pelops was a very handsome young man and the kings daughter fell in love with him. Before the race, she persuaded her fathers charioteer Myrtilus to replace the bronze axle pins of the chariot with wax ones. Naturally, during the race the wax melted and the fell from his chariot and was killed
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