Centuries ago, the people in ancient Greece gathered in Olympia every fourth year in July to witness the greatest spectacle on earth. The Olympics history had a different brand of Champions during those days. Thousands of people from the four corners of Greece found their way to the arena for these sporting events. Olympics history showed people were as passionate back then as they are today when it came to this celebration of athleticism.
A Brief Look At The Olympics History
I often wondered how the first Olympic games looked like when it started as early as 8th Century BC. Ancient athletes did not have the same sports equipment that we have today which must be agonizing for sprinters to run barefooted.
The earliest race was 200 meters. Then came the 400-meter race, followed by 5000 meters. This later evolved to the “Pentathlon”, which involves running, jumping, wrestling, discuss, and javelin. The first Olympic champions were rewarded with honor in the name of Zeus.
Here’s a short video about a brief history of the Olympics by WatchMojo.com
A portrait of how Greek wrestling in the earliest Olympics may have looked like.
Image via blogspot
The very first Olympic Games came in the form of a religious festival, dating back as far as 776 B.C. But these games were banned because they were pagan in nature. After all, the Olympians worshipped the all-mighty Zeus back then. If modern-day Olympic athletes were rewarded with medals, ancient Greece considered their champions as supreme beings.
A historic photo of the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece in 1896.
Image via irishmirror
Baron Pierre de Coubertin wanted to revive the ancient Olympic tradition. Through his proposal, he paved the way for Modern Olympics.
Bulgaria enters in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Image via wikipedia
The Olympics started its 4-year celebratory gap only in 1994. In addition, the Summer and Winter Olympics are celebrated every 2 years.
The Olympics is a victory for people all over the world because it brings nations together to celebrate and compete in sports at the same time. I should say every Olympic year is historic in the sense that great new talents could emerge to shatter old records and give birth to new names in sports. Modern athletes may have dominated the record books with the aid of science to be in tip top shape, but I can’t help thinking that the first Olympians must have super human strength back in those days.
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