OLYMPICS-THE BEST SPORT EVENT

--History of Olympics--

Although, the ancient Games were staged in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC through 393 AD, it took 1503 years for the Olympics to return. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The man responsible for its rebirth was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who presented the idea in 1894. It was Heracles who gave the name "Olympics". He was the son go the Greek god Zeus and he was known highly for his 12 punishments. Olympics started on the 6th of April 1896.

Heracles - Son of Zeus

--Organisation--

The man responsible for Olympics rebirth was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who presented the idea in 1894. The organisation of the Olympic Games is a sports governing body that is entrusted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the country of the host city as well as to the host city itself.

-- Order of the Events--

· First they start with the lighting of the lamp. The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece.

· The link given below shows the lighting of the lamp in 2016 Olympics in Greece.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hl4Ly6bWNzE

· Next it is continued by the opening speech by the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

· *They continue with the traditional part of the ceremony with a "Parade of Nations", during which most participating athletes march into the stadium, country by country. It is not compulsory for athletes to participate in the Opening ceremony. For every Opening ceremony each host country has a theme. As per tradition, the team from Greece leads the Parade of Nations during the Opening ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

*Did you know that each Olympic Games have a slogan?

My favorite out of all is, “Talent wins games, and Teamwork wins championships”. This is the motto I always follow.

Next is the main event of the whole occasion. The sports mentioned below are some of the events in an Olympic Game.

* Aquatics (including diving, swimming, artistic, water polo)

* Archery.

* Athletics.

* Badminton.

* Baseball/softball (NEW)

* Basketball.

* Boxing.

* Canoeing and many more.

* Usually Olympics are conducted for 16 days.

* After all the events are done, there is a closing ceremony conducted. In this ceremony, The medallists national flags are hoisted and the national anthem of the gold medalist's country is played .The receiving mayor then waves the flag eight times.

* Later, the president of the host country's Olympic Organising Committee makes a speech, followed by the IOC president, who at the end of his speech formally closes the Olympics, by saying:

“I declare the Games of the ... Olympiad/... Olympic Winter/Summer Games closed and, in accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in ... to celebrate the Games of the ... Olympiad/... Olympic Winter/Summer Games”.

The Olympic Flame is extinguished, and while the Olympic anthem is being played, the Olympic Flag that was hoisted during the opening ceremonies is lowered from the flagpole and carried horizontally from the stadium.

* The flame is carried by relay all the way to its final destination in the stadium. Although it is usually carried by runners on foot, other modes of transport are also used .The highlight of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics is the entrance of the Olympic flame into the stadium.

THE TORCH IS BEING TAKEN IN AN AIRPLANE BY AN ATHLETE

* Athletes require good, competent, generous coaches. One can never plan to be an Olympic coach, but athletes without coaches almost never make the games (with very few exceptions). And if you are good enough as an athlete to make it, YOU CAN MAKE IT!!

§ --Great Success--

1. Michael Phelps

Swimming- Michael Phelps is an American swimmer who is the most decorated Olympian, having won 28 medals in both individual and team events (23 gold, 3 Silver, and 2 bronze). He has also won more individual events than any other Olympian with 16 medals (13 gold, silver, and 1 bronze). He is the only man who won the most number of medals! (28 Olympic medals, the most medals won by a person. He won 23 gold medals in the Olympics!)

2. Gao Ling

* Badminton- Gao Ling is the all-time leader for the most Olympic medals in badminton with 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal.

3. Paavo Nurmi

* Paavo Nurmi-The best all-time performing Track and Field athlete at the Olympic Games is Finnish distance runner who competed between 1920 and 1928, and won 12 medals including 9 gold medals. He was only slightly ahead of US Carl Lewis who also won 9 gold medals.

4. Hima Das

* Hima Das - she became India's first athlete to win a medal in Track event at an IAAF competition with her 400 m gold medal.

5. Magnus Carslen

* Magnus Carlsen - Since 2014, the schedule has settled on a two-year cycle with a championship held in every even year. Magnus Carlsen has been World Champion since he defeated Viswanathan Anand in 2013. He successfully defended the title in 2014, 2016 and 2018, and is next due to defend the title in late 2020.

6. Kathleen McKane Godfree and Venus Williams

Kathleen McKane Godfree and Venus William respectively.

Kathleen McKane Godfree-(one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes) and Venus Williams (four gold, one silver) are the all-time record holders for the most Olympic medals in Tennis .

--Medal History--

· Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav

The picture above is Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav. After Norman Pritchard, he has won two silver medals in athletics in 1900 under colonial India. Khashaba was the first individual athlete from independent India to win a medal at the Olympics.

· Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra brings India's first individual gold in the field of shooting. He registers India's first-ever individual Olympic Games gold medal with victory in the 10m air rifle event in Beijing 2008.

Indian athletes have won 28 medals, all at the Summer Games. For a period of time, India national field hockey team was dominant in Olympic competition, winning eleven medals in twelve Olympics between 1920 and 1980. The run included 8 gold medals and (six successive gold medals from 1928–1956.)

I learnt that the United States is the nation that has the most number of medals in the Olympics. They won a total of 2,523 medals (1,022 of them gold) at the Summer Olympic Games and another 305 (105 of them gold) at the Winter Olympic Games

Have you ever wondered how the decision is made for which country will host the next Olympics?

Well, this is how it goes….

1) The city must prove that it is big enough to handle the Olympics. With the games come a huge number of tourists, athletes, journalists, and politicians. They must show that they can host the games in new stadiums and venues, house all the people in adequate hotels, and they have to transport everyone from one place to the next with a reliable mass transit system. They also need to show that they can handle the high level of security needed at the games.

2) The city needs to convince residents that the expenses of covering the Olympics (which may be covered by raising taxes) are worth it in city improvement and new jobs.

3) The cities need to maintain a highly positive media exposure to carry the games. Fourth, the tangible effects of hosting the Olympic Games may not prove beneficial if the bid committees do not exercise proper judgment in developing the city to host the Olympics .If the IOC decides that a city has fulfilled the criteria mentioned above, the city is considered a "Candidate City" and goes into the second phase of the process. After submitting an application and an application fee, the IOC makes a final judging on which city is the best candidate for the coming summer or Winter Olympic Games.

--Interesting Facts--

1. Gold medals are mostly made of silver. (The gold medals are coated with 6g of gold)

2. At least one of the Olympic Rings' colors appears in every National flag in the world.

3. Only one person has ever won gold medals during the summer and Winter Olympics. (Christa Luding-Rothenburger in speed skating).

4. Two athletes have won gold medals competing for two different nations. (Daniel Carroll - rugby).

5. The Olympics include the summer games, winter games, and Paralympic Games. Each type of games is held every four years, with the winter and summer games held two years apart from each other.

6. World Events can disrupt the Olympics. Since the opening of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, the international sports competition has only been cancelled three times: once during World War I (1916) and twice during World War II (1940, 1944), and now in 2020 due to COVID-19 breakdown.

7. Did you know that, till now 28 Summer Olympic Games have been held in 23 cities, and 23 Winter Olympic Games held in 20 cities.

8. *The 1972 Summer Olympics, in Munich, featured 121 nations, the highest total yet.

Paralympics'

* There is also something known as Youth Olympics in which children aged 14-18 years can participate. Did you there is also baby Olympics! I know you won't believe it but it exits!

The link below gives you more info on this.

(https://youtu.be/0pJU3jm0zkI).

--Attending an Olympic game--

Attending the Olympic Games can be both thrilling and challenging, with all of the usual travel logistics ratcheted up to an Olympic level. Here are the essential Olympic travel guidelines and tips you need to know as you’re planning your trip.

Note that most of the following tips apply to both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which tend to occur about two weeks apart. The two-week break makes it very tough to attend both, but the Paralympic Games are typically less crowded and even more exciting and inspiring, so they’re worth consideration in and of themselves.

--Getting Tickets to the Olympics--

Event pre-sales are handled by a single vendor depending on where you live; in the United States, ticketing is handled by Co Sport. Here is the full list of authorized vendors by country for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Additionally, on October 17, Co Sport debuted hospitality pass package sales, which combine high-demand tickets with access to a cultural hospitality experience at Japan’s National Theater, where entertainment, fine food, and beverage combine into a world-class Olympic experience (these are still available).

-- This year there is no Olympics--

2020 Summer Olympics have been postponed for a year due to corona virus pandemic. After being postponed for a year due to corona virus, the 2020 Tokyo Games will have to be cancelled if not held next summer, according to the head of the International Olympic Committee!

JAI HIND!

--References--

www.wikipidea.com

www.quora.com

www.olympic.org and such more websites.