Study the following

DATA-BANK

The word “athlete” comes from Aethlius. He was a king of Elis, the part of ancient Greece which included Olympia.

Only men were allowed to take part in the ancient Games.

Originally the Games only lasted one day, but from 472 BC that was changed to five days.

Winners at the first Olympics only received a crown of olive leaves (there were no second or third prizes).

The aims of the Olympic movement are: to promote sport; to create more friendly, peaceful world; to spread Olympic principles; to bring athletes together in a great sports festival every four years.

The flame is a symbol of the search for perfection and victory. It is lit at Olympia from the rays of the sun. Then it is carried to the Games by a series of runners. It burns in the stadium from start to finish at every Olympics.

All Olympic athletes have to be amateurs. Nobody wins any money… only medals, because the most important thing is not to win, but to take part.

Silver and bronze medals are made of solid metal, but gold medals made of gold-plated silver.

The moto of the Olympic movement: “Faster, higher, stronger”.

At the Olympic Ceremony:

– There is a huge display of song, dance and music by people from the host country.

– The flame is lit.

– The Olympic flag is raised.

– The games are officially opened by the host country’s monarch or political leader.

THE ANCIENT GAMES

Nobody knows exactly when the Olympic Games began. The first recorded Games were held at Olympia in 776 BC (Before Christ). That’s when we start to get a clear picture of the ancient prizes, buildings, champions and sports. In the early days there was just one event – a 192-metre race called the”stage”. The games at Olympia grew and grew until they were famous all over the Greece. Athletes traveled long distances to compete in them every four years and the winners became national heroes. This continued for centuries until the Roman Empire conquered Greece. Then the Games slowly began to decline. Finally, the Games were stopped in AD 393 by Theodosius I – who was a Christian and disapproved of Greek gods and festivals.

After that, Olympia – the only city ever completely devoted to sport – remained deserted until it was destroyed by two earthquakes in the sixth century. The site was only rediscovered 1.100 years later. That’s when interest in the Olympics began to revive. But it was one man – Baron Pierre de Coubertin – who did more than anyone else to bring the classical Games back to life.

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