The Olympics

With the London 2012 Olympics just around the corner I thought Id take a look at the history of the Olympic Games.

Many of the Games Olympics has inspired me in my own sport from sprinters like Linford Christie to Marathon Runners like Paula Radcliff and so many others.

The origins of the games goes back to the ancient Greece times when people from all over the Greek World would gather to watch and take part in an event that would show a multitude of sport from athletics, combat and even chariot racing.

These games even then were staged every 4yrs and in the valley of Olympia and was held in the honour of Zeus the king of the gods.

After the rise of the Roman Empire the Games lost its popularity and eventually stopped.

The Modern Olympics was revived in 1894 by Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who was fascinated by the ancient Greeks and believed that the event could bring together like minded people.  So in 1896 the first ever modern Olympic Games was held in Athens Greece.

Since 1896 the Games popularity and participants has risen from 241 competitors representing 14 countries to 11,000 competitors and 204 countries at the 2008 Olympics.

Category: Olympics