Olympic Facts
With the Summer Olympics opening ceremony on August 8th, I thought it would be fun to share some facts and fun information with you:
THE OLYMPIC CREED:
“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
THE OLYMPIC FLAG:
The five rings symbolize the five significant continents and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be gained from the international competitions. The rings are blue, yellow, black, green, and red; and were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country in the world.
OLYMPIC MEDALS:
The Olympic medals are designed especially for each individual Olympic Games by the host city’s organizing committee.
The last Olympic gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912.
OLYMPIC FACTS:
Ø The first recorded ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BCE with only one event, the stade. The stade was unit of measurement, about 600 feet, and also became the name of the foot race. Hence, the origin of the word stadium.
Ø During the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team, followed by all the other teams in alphabetical order (in the language of the hosting country).
Ø The honor of holding the Games is always given to a city rather than a country.
Ø Women were first allowed to participate in 1900 at the second modern Olympic Games.
Ø Because of WWI and WWII, there were no Olympic Games in 1916, 1940, 1944.
Ø An Olympiad is a period of four successive years. For the modern Olympic Games, the first Olympiad celebration was in 1896. Every four years celebrates another Olympiad and even the Games that were cancelled (1916, 1940, 1944) count as Olympiads.
More information can be found at http://en.beijing2008.cn
Enjoy the Games!