olympic games

Sport

2022

We explain what the Olympic games are and what their origin and history are. In addition, we list all the Olympic disciplines.

The Olympics date back to Greek antiquity (around the 8th century BC).

What are the Olympic Games?

The Olympic Games (JJ.OO) (or also Olympics) are the biggest event sports international competition, in which athletes representing practically all existing countries (around 200 in total) compete over several days of a multidisciplinary event organized every four years. It is one of the most televised and famous sporting events of contemporary times.

The Olympic Games are held in two different modalities, between which are two years apart: the Winter Olympic Games and the Summer Olympic Games, different in their sporting modalities, of course. The two events are produced and coordinated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), institution in operation since 1894.

In these Olympic Games, athletes from all over the world measure themselves to establish world records and reward the most talented of the 28 disciplines practiced in the edition of summer and the 15 disciplines of the winter one. Athletes of each sex are separately involved in each competition and a first, second and third place are awarded: gold, silver and bronze medals.

This sporting event enjoys worldwide acceptance and recognition as an icon of the peace between the nations. It has been interrupted on a few occasions since the beginning of its modern tradition at the end of the 19th century, due to the great World Wars of the 20th century. Its origin, however, dates back to the ancient times of Ancient Greece.

History of the Olympic Games

The Greek Olympic Games were held until AD 393. C.

The celebration of the Olympics dates back to Greek antiquity (around the 8th century BC), when they were held to honor the Gods of the Olympic Pantheon to which the ancient Greeks worshiped (hence their name: olympics).

They were great sports parties that brought together all the warriors and fighters of the Greek nations in a series of competitions to choose the best and award them prizes that would make them eternally recognized and remembered. In addition, during the celebration of these competencies the "Olympic peace" was decreed (ékécheira) in which all nations were to lay down their arms and armies.

These ancient Olympic games were held until AD 393. C., practically twelve hundred years before being retaken by the humanity contemporary. The interruption was due to the adoption of Christianity by the Roman Empire, religion who always frowned upon all kinds of inheritances and pagan festivals.

The tradition of the Olympics was resumed at the end of the 19th century, when a French nobleman, Baron de Coubertin, decided to create an Olympic Committee to coordinate new Olympics, paying homage to those of antiquity and recovering its message of peaceful competition between the different peoples of The humanity.

The celebration of the Olympics in the 20th and 21st centuries modified what was celebrated in tradition, incorporating new disciplines, creating the Winter Olympic Games and also the Paralympic Games, for athletes with some form of disability, or the Youth Olympic Games, intended for adolescent athletes.

Disciplines of the Olympic Games (summer)

The sports disciplines practiced in the Summer Olympics are:

  • Athletics,
  • Badminton,
  • Basketball,
  • Handball,
  • Baseball,
  • Boxing,
  • BMX,
  • Cycling Mountain,
  • Track cycling,
  • Road cycling,
  • Swimming,
  • Synchronized swimming,
  • Jump,
  • Water polo,
  • Horse riding,
  • Fencing,
  • Climbing,
  • Football,
  • Gymnastics on a trampoline,
  • Artistic gymnastics,
  • Rhythmic gymnastics,
  • Golf,
  • Weightlifting,
  • Grass hockey,
  • Judo,
  • Karate,
  • Struggle,
  • Pentathlon,
  • White waters,
  • Calm waters,
  • Rowing,
  • Rugby,
  • Skateboarding,
  • Softball,
  • Surf,
  • Taekwondo,
  • Tennis,
  • Ping pong,
  • Archery,
  • Sport's shot,
  • Triathlon,
  • Candle,
  • Volleyball,
  • Beach volleyball.

Disciplines of the Olympic Games (winter)

For their part, the disciplines of the Winter Olympics are:

  • Biathlon,
  • Bobsleigh,
  • Skeleton,
  • Curling,
  • Nordic combined,
  • Alpine ski,
  • Cross country ski,
  • Acrobatic ski,
  • Ski jump,
  • Snowboarding,
  • Ice Hockey,
  • Luge,
  • Figure skating on ice,
  • Speed ​​skating on ice,
  • Short track speed skating.
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