Mar 20, 20205 min read

Going for the Gold🏅

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What are the Olympic Games?

I'm sure many of you have seen the Olympic Games on your television. Maybe you watched the opening ceremony, a couple of events during the two weeks the event is held, and the closing ceremony. But, what are the Olympic Games exactly?

History of the Olympic Games

Before today's modern Olympic Games, the ancient Olympic Games took place in Olympia, Greece. The Games were multi-sport events held every four years from 776 BC for almost twelve centuries until 393 AD. There is some evidence suggesting that the Games might have even existed earlier than 776 BC! The Games at the time were held primarily as a part of a religious festival to honor Zeus, the father of Greek gods and goddesses. The ancient Games and all other "pagan" festivals were banned by the Christian emperor, Theodosius I, in 393 AD, and they would not return until 1896.

The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, and we still hold them to this day. A Frenchman by the name of Baron Pierre de Coubertin presented the idea of holding the Games again in 1894. He had intended to serve the modern Games in 1900 in Paris, but delegates from thirty-four countries were enthusiastic about the concept and convinced him to move the games up to 1896 with Athens as the first host. These Games are held with the goal of uniting all people and bringing about world peace through sports.

Watch the history of the Olympics come to life in this video!

The Summer Olympic Games of 2020 are scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan. Check out the link below for more information.

Summer Olympic Games

The first modern Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, were held in 1896, Athens, Greece, and have been held every four years since then. The Games attracted 245 athlete competitors from only fourteen countries that year, but each year it has grown bigger and bigger. In the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, 207 nations participated with a total of 11,238 athletes. Those Games held 306 events in twenty-eight different sports with forty-one disciplines.

How many Summer Olympic Sports can you think of? Make a list and then check out the official Olympic Games website to see their list of summer sports and compare with the list you have made.

Each city which hosts the Olympics receives their own logo as pictured below.

Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games is held for sports practiced on snow and ice. The Winter Olympic Games were first introduced in the 1924 Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France. These Games are also held every four years but alternate with the Summer Olympics. For example, the Winter Olympics were held in the years 2010, 2014, and 2018, and the Summer Olympics were held in the years 2008, 2012, and 2016.

In the 2018 South Korea Winter Olympic Games, ninety-two countries partcipated with a total of 2,925 athletes in seven sports with 15 disciplines.

How many Winter Olympic Sports can you name? Make a list and then compare with the video.

Paralympic Games

The Paralympic Games are multi-sports events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. The first official Paralympic Games were held in 1960 in Rome, Italy. It was originally open to war veterans, and in the first official Paralympics, there were 400 athletes from twenty-three countries. It has grown to having thousands of competitors from over 100 countries. Now, there are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, and ever since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the Games have been held immediately following the Olympic Games.

Here is the link for the official Paralympic Games website.

What is the Olympic flame?

The Olympic flame is a symbol of continuity between the ancient Games and the modern Games. Several months before the start of the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, the place where it all began. The ceremony starts the Olympic torch relay. Many people participate in this event to get the flame to it's final destination, the city which is hosting the Olympic Games for that year. The Olympic flame arrives during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, it is used to light the Olympic cauldron, and it continues to burn for the duration of the Games until it is extinguised during the closing ceremony.

This video shows the different places the Olympic flame has travelled throughout the years.

Athletes from Michigan

There are many athletes from from all over the world who train and try to qualify for the Olympic Games. Here are a couple of athletes who were born in Michigan. They all have made it to the Olympics and won medals.

John Garrels

John Garrels competed in the 1908 Olympic Games, and he was the first person from Michigan to win medals! He participated in the shot put event and won bronze medal. The shot put is a track and field event where a heavy spherical ball (shot) is "putted" (pushed instead of thrown) as far as one can. He also participated in the 110-meter hurdles and placed second, earning himself the silver medal. The 110-meter hurdle race has ten sets of hurdles set on the coure that the runners must get over.

Kate Markgraf

Kathryn "Kate" Markgraf had played football (more commonly known as soccer in the United States) ever since she was a young girl. As a defender, she made the NSCAA All-American team one time and she was chosen for the All-State team for all three season she played. She eventually made it to the Women's Soccer team for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, and as a team, they won silver. Kate Markgraf would return to the Olympics two more times, and each time they received a medal. Both in 2004 and in 2008, her team won gold, and she was the team co-captain in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams is an American professional tennis player and former world No. 1 in woman's single tennis. She began playing tennis at the early age of four, and has been playing since then.

Serena Williams has been to the Olympics four times in total- 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016. She won medals three of the four times. In 2000, she won the gold medal in the Women's Double. She won gold again in the Women's Double in the 2008 Olympic Games. The year 2012 was her year to shine! She won gold in both the Women's Single and the Women's Double. While she participated in the 2016 Games, she went out on her first match in the doubles and on the third round of the singles.

Jordyn Wieber

Jordyn Wieber is a former artistic gymnast who was a member of the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. The team was dubbed the Fierce Five by the media. The team won the gold medal in the team competition, but she did not place to compete in the all-around final due to limiting rule of each participating country only allowing two competitors into the all-around final. She was also a member of the gold-winning American team at the 2011 World Championships. There, she won the individual all-around title as well as the bronze medal on the balance beam.

Wieber is the current head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team.

Charlie White and Meryl Davis

Charlie White and Meryl Davis both began skating at the age of five. They both started off as single skaters, though White did have some experience as an ice dancer before they paired up in 1997. They have been partners in ice dancing ever since and are the longest lasting dance team in the United States. Both attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and they train at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Canton, Michigan.

They have won many medals throughout the years and they have gone to the Olympic Games twice. In 2010, they won the silver medal for ice dancing. In 2014, they won the gold medal for ice dancing and the bronze medal in the team event.