The wonderful history of the Olympics

There is no greater sporting event in the world than the Olympics, you just cannot argue with that fact. Every four years over 200 countries from across the world come together, with athletes competing to see who can emerge as victorious in a number of disciplines ranging from shot-put to triple jump, swimming to Greco-Roman wrestling.

The London 2012 Olympics are bound to be one of the most fondly remembered games for the people of Britain too, as this proved to be one of the most successful competitions of the last century, and Team GB also achieved a record medal tally too.

London 2012 was a landmark of course, however in the context of Olympics history it was just another happy stepping stone in its remarkable existence that stretches all the way back to Ancient Greece. Here at Winzum we’ve done our research, so standby for an insight into Olympics history, and if you enjoy it why not check out our other article on the history of the Football World Cup? [a history of the football world cup].

Ancient Greece

Amazingly, Olympics history stretches back to the Ancient Greeks, where most historians tend to agree that the first iteration was held in 776 BC at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia. The Olympics at this time mainly featured athletic disciplines, and they held special importance as a cultural and religious festival too.

The Ancient Greek Olympic Games were held every four years just like today, and the Ancient Greeks actually used this “Olympiad” as a crucial unit of time too. In this part of Olympics history it was pretty much only Greeks from across the many city-states that could compete, and as the Roman Empire started to rise in power the games slowly diminished in importance, ending around 426 AD.

First modern Olympics

It would be more than two thousands years since the first modern Olympic Games were held in the Athens city square a few decades after the Greeks won independence from the Ottoman Empire. This was in 1859, however by 1870 the original ancient Panathenaic Stadium had been rebuilt, and this hosted the next few Olympic Games.

1896 was a crucial moment in Olympics history, as this was the first Olympic Games to be overseen by the International Olympics Committee. The 1896 Games were also held in Greece, however after this the practise of moving location each Olympiad started, with the next being held in Paris.

Olympics in a time of war

Olympics history has occasionally been blighted by warfare, with the first cancellation of the modern Olympic Games coming in 1916 due to the onset of WWI. The Olympics were also cancelled twice during WWII, and the 1936 Berlin Games were highly controversial due to the Nazi Party’s rule over Germany.

At these games Adolf Hitler and his supporters were intent on using the opportunity to further their ideas of racial superiority, however in a famous and beautiful turn of fate the African American track star Jesse Owens won four gold medals.

London 2012 and beyond

Olympics history has had more than a few landmark moments, but one of the most special for Brits was of course the London 2012 Games, one that was hailed too as being a standout iteration. Since then Rio 2016 was also held in high regard, and we have seen the rise of famous Olympic athletes such as Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and Mo Farah.

Unfortunately the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however they are scheduled to happen in 2021. Let’s hope they go ahead!