The Olympic Games Portal
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, alternating between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years in the four-year period.
Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games (Ancient Greek: ? ), held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.
The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for snow and ice sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, the Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18, the five Continental games (Pan American, African, Asian, European, and Pacific), and the World Games for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The IOC also endorses the Deaflympics and the Special Olympics. The IOC has needed to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The abuse of amateur rules by the Eastern Bloc nations prompted the IOC to shift away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to the acceptance of professional athletes participating at the Games. The growing importance of mass media has created the issue of corporate sponsorship and general commercialisation of the Games. World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Olympics; large-scale boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics; and the 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Full article...)
Current Olympic Games
2020 Summer Olympics
The 2020 Summer Olympics (Japanese: 2020, Hepburn: Nisen Nij?-nen Kaki Orinpikku), officially the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (Japanese: , Hepburn: Dai Sanj?ni-kai Orinpikku Ky?gi Taikai), and also known as Tokyo 2020 (Japanese: 2020, Hepburn: T?ky? ni-zero-ni-zero), is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to be held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Originally due to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the event was postponed in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being rescheduled for 2021, the Games have retained the "Tokyo 2020" name for marketing and branding purposes. This marks the first time that the Olympic Games have been postponed rather than cancelled.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 7 September 2013. The 2020 Games will mark the second time that Japan--and specifically Tokyo--has hosted the Summer Olympic Games, the first being in 1964, making it the first city in Asia to host the Summer Olympics twice. Overall, these will be the fourth Olympic Games to be held in Japan, which also hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972 (Sapporo) and 1998 (Nagano). The 2020 Games will also be the second of three consecutive Olympics to be held in East Asia, the first being in Pyeongchang County, South Korea in 2018, and the next in Beijing, China in 2022.
The 2020 Games will see the introduction of new competitions including 3x3 basketball, freestyle BMX, and madison cycling, as well as further mixed events. Under new IOC policies, which allow the host organizing committee to add new sports to the Olympic programme to augment the permanent core events, these Games will see karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding make their Olympic debuts, as well as the return of baseball and softball for the first time since 2008. (Full article...)
All-time Combined Olympic Games Medal Table
| No. | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) |
1127 | 907 | 794 | 2828 |
| 2 |  Russia (RUS) |
726 | 593 | 591 | 1910 |
| 3 |  Germany (GER) |
578 | 589 | 587 | 1754 |
| 4 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
274 | 299 | 310 | 883 |
| 5 |  France (FRA) |
248 | 276 | 316 | 840 |
| 6 |  Italy (ITA) |
246 | 214 | 241 | 701 |
| 7 |  China (CHN) |
237 | 195 | 176 | 608 |
| 8 |  Sweden (SWE) |
202 | 216 | 234 | 652 |
| 9 |  Norway (NOR) |
188 | 174 | 158 | 520 |
| 10 |  Hungary (HUN) |
176 | 149 | 173 | 498 |
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIV Olympic Winter Games (French: Les XXIVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; Chinese: ; pinyin: ), and commonly known as Beijing 2022, is an international winter multi-sport event that is scheduled to take place from 4 to 20 February 2022, in Beijing and towns in the neighboring Hebei province, China.
Beijing was elected as the host city in July 2015 at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These Games will be the first Winter Olympics to be held in China, the fourth in East Asia, and the last of three consecutive Olympics to take place in East Asia, following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Beijing will be the eleventh city to host the Olympic Games twice, but the first to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Games, having previously hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. (Full article...)
Olympic Sports
- Archery
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Beach volleyball
- Boxing
- Canoeing
- Cycling
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Football
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Field hockey
- Judo
- Modern pentathlon
- Rowing
- Rugby
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Swimming
- Synchronized swimming
- Table tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Olympic Games Countdown
| Olympic Games | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paralympic Games | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.JPG)
Selected Article -
Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. Play ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor or if a fault has been called by the umpire, service judge, or (in their absence) the opposing side.
The shuttlecock is a feathered or (in informal matches) plastic projectile which flies differently from the balls used in many other sports. In particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly. Shuttlecocks also have a high top speed compared to the balls in other racquet sports. The flight of the shuttlecock gives the sport its distinctive nature. (Full article...)
Selected Picture -
| [[Image:|center|250px|]] |
Selected Quote -
| " | 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. | " |
| -- Pierre de Coubertin, reviver of the Olympic Games | ||
Selected Athlete -
Current Events
- 17 December 2020 - Russian doping
- After a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling, Russia is banned from international sports for two years, including the 2020 Summer Olympics, the 2022 Winter Olympics, and other World Championships due to doping. (AP)
- 7 December 2020 - Belarus at the Olympics
- The International Olympic Committee announces that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his son Viktor will be banned from all Olympic Games, including the upcoming Tokyo Games. (ABC News)
- 7 December 2020 -
- The International Olympic Committee, after an unanimous vote, decides to make competitive breakdancing a sport, and would appear in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. (Deadline.com)
- 25 November 2020 - Belarus at the Olympics
- The International Olympic Committee announces that they will seek formal punishments for Olympic officials in Belarus for reports of reprisals against athletes during protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. (AP)
- 19 October 2020 -
- The United States Department of Justice announces charges against six current and former Russian military officers for allegedly attempting to engage in malware and hacking in the 2018 Winter Olympics and elections in other countries. (ABC News)
Did You Know...-
- ... that despite being removed from the 1992 Honduras Olympic team and Olympic Village, Polin Belisle still competed in the Olympic marathon?
- ... that Iranian para-archer Zahra Nemati has qualified for both the 2016 Summer Paralympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics?
- ... that the Welsh women's rugby union international Elen Evans rode a lifeboat across the Menai Strait as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay?
- ... that 1976 Summer Olympics decathlon champion Caitlyn Jenner was once a Playgirl magazine cover model?
- ... that U.S. Navy SEAL Faauuga Muagututia was a member of American Samoa's first Winter Olympic team?
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