Olympic Games - реферат

The Olympic Games are the largest international sports competitions, featuring winter and summer sports. They take place every four years at different locations. Thousands of athletes, presenting more than 200 nations, participate in this global sporting event. The tradition was inspired by the idea of Olympic Games, which were held in Ancient Greece from 8BC to 4AD. The city of Games was situated near Mount Olympus, which is how they got their name. The history of modern Olympic Games started in 1894. The person, who revived this ancient tradition, was Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Since then, every four years, excluding the period of World Wars, the Olympic Games are held.

The Games were initially held only in summer. The city of the event changed each time. So the first Summer Olympic Games took place in Athens (Greece), in 1896. The second capital for Games was Paris – the native city of Pierre de Coubertin. First Winter Olympic Games were also held in France, in 1924. They took place in mountainous region Chamonix. If in Ancient Greece the event had religious implication and was held in honor of Zeus, modern competition is mostly run for friendship of nations and new achievements. The official motto of the Olympic Games is “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, which is translated from Latin as “Faster, Higher and Stronger”. It is notable that women were not allowed to participate in this major international sports event until 1910. The first sport they competed in was golf. Starting from 1988 every Olympic Games are followed by Paralympic event, which is established for athletes with a range of disabilities.