The Olympic Games are said to have originated in the ancient Greek civilization.
The first recorded and documented Olympic Games were held in 776 BC.
A runner named Coroebus was the first person to receive an Olympic championship.
Even in ancient times, Olympic Games were held once in four years.
They were abolished for 1200 years by Roman Catholic rulers.
The Olympic Games were revived in 1896 due to the persistent efforts of a Frenchman

Modern Olympic Games:

• The very first modern Olympic Games were held in April 1896.
• The events took place at a renovated Panathenaic Stadium.
• 300 athletes from 13 countries participated in the 1896 Olympics.

Some of the sports included at the first Olympic Games were:

• Pole vaulting, sprints
• Shot put
• Weight lifting
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Target shooting
• Tennis
• Marathon
• Gymnastics

Host Countries for Olympics:

Since the first Olympic Games in Athens, the following countries have hosted the games:

• 1896 Olympic Games - Athens
• 1900 Olympic Games - Paris
• 1904 Olympic Games - St. Louis
• 1908 Olympic Games - London
• 1912 Olympic Games - Stockholm
• 1916 Olympic Games - Not held
• 1920 Olympic Games - Antwerp
• 1924 Olympic Games - Paris
• 1928 Olympic Games - Amsterdam
• 1932 Olympic Games - Los Angeles
• 1936 Olympic Games - Berlin
• 1940 Olympic Games - Not held
• 1944 Olympic Games - Not held
• 1948 Olympic Games - London
• 1952 Olympic Games - Helsinki
• 1956 Olympic Games - Melbourne
• 1960 Olympic Games - Rome
• 1964 Olympic Games - Tokyo
• 1968 Olympic Games - Mexico City
• 1972 Olympic Games - Munich
• 1976 Olympic Games - Montreal
• 1980 Olympic Games - Moscow
• 1984 Olympic Games - Los Angeles
• 1988 Olympic Games - Seoul
• 1992 Olympic Games - Barcelona
• 1996 Olympic Games - Atlanta
• 2000 Olympic Games – Sydney

Important Landmarks in Olympic History:

• 1896: United States track and field team won nine out of twelve events.
• 1912: A Native American, Jim Thorpe, won the Decathlon and the Pentathlon in the same year.
• 1936: Jesse Owens won four gold medals including a team medal.
• Fanny Blinkers- Koen of The Netherlands was the first woman to win three individual gold medals.
• The first athletes to win the decathlon twice were Bob Mathias of the United States, in 1948 and 1952, and Daley Thompson of Great Britain, in 1980 and 1984.
• 1976: Nadia Comaneci of Romania scored a perfect 10.00 in gymnastics and got seven perfect scores and three gold medals.
• 1964: Linda Skoblikova from Russia became the first speed skater to win four individual gold medals.
• 1972: American swimmer Mark Spitz won seven gold medals in a single year.
• The all-time individual medal winner was the American track athlete Ray C. Ewry, who won eight events in the 1900, 1904, and 1908 Games.
• 1972: 11 Olympic team members were killed in terrorist attacks in Munich, West Germany.
• Due to boycott by 30 African nations, 1976 Olympics in Montreal were called off.
• 1988: Drug related controversies came to light as many athletes were charged with steroid abused. Some were even suspended from the games.
• 1992: There were no Soviet teams as the Soviet Union had split up.