MODERN O LY M P I C S

BY CADET UTKARSH TRIPAT

HI
ROLL NO : 5378
CLASS : VII
SECTION : B
CONTENTS
• HISTORY OF OLYMPICS
• MORE ABOUT OLYMPICS
• SUMMER AND WINTER OLYMPICS
• TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPICS 2020
• INDIA AT TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPICS
• QUIZ ON OLYMPICS
 HISTORY OF MODERN OLYMPICS
• THE REVIVAL OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES BEGAN WITH BARON PIERRE DE COUBERTIN (1863–1937) OF FRANCE.
COUBERTIN WAS GREATLY INTERESTED IN EDUCATION, AND HE FIRMLY BELIEVED THAT THE BEST WAY TO
DEVELOP THE MINDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE WAS TO DEVELOP THEIR BODIES AS WELL; LEARNING AND
ATHLETICS SHOULD GO TOGETHER. AFTER HE VISITED THE RUINS OF ANCIENT OLYMPIA, IT OCCURRED TO
COUBERTIN THAT PERHAPS THE BEST WAY TO GENERATE WIDESPREAD ACCEPTANCE OF HIS THEORY WAS
TO RESURRECT THE OLYMPIC GAMES. HE HOPED THE NEW GAMES WOULD BRING BACK THE IDEALS OF
PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SPIRITUAL EXCELLENCE DISPLAYED IN THE ANCIENT GAMES, AS WELL AS BUILD
COURAGE, ENDURANCE, AND A SENSE OF FAIR PLAY IN ALL WHO PARTICIPATED. IN ADDITION, HE HOPED THE
GAMES WOULD TURN THE TIDE HE SAW WORLDWIDE OF THE GROWING COMMERCIALISM OF SPORTS.
• IN 1892, COUBERTIN FIRST INTRODUCED THE IDEA OF STARTING THE OLYMPIC GAMES AGAIN. FEW PEOPLE
WERE READY TO ACCEPT HIS IDEA. BUT IN 1894 COUBERTIN FOUNDED THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC
COMMITTEE (IOC) AND BEGAN PLANNING THE FIRST MODERN OLYMPIAD.
 HISTORY OF MODERN OLYMPICS
• THE FIRST MODERN OLYMPIC GAMES WERE HELD IN 1896 IN ATHENS, GREECE — A FITTING PLACE TO REKINDLE THE SPIRIT OF
THE EARLY GREEK GAMES. COUBERTIN REMAINED PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE UNTIL 1925. IN
THIS OFFICE HE DIRECTED THE COURSE THE GAMES WERE TO TAKE. HE WROTE THE OLYMPIC CHARTER, PROTOCOL, AND
ATHLETES' OATH, AND HE ALSO PLANNED THE CEREMONIES.
• ALTHOUGH THE MODERN OLYMPIC GAMES ARE PATTERNED AFTER THE ANCIENT GREEK GAMES, THERE ARE IMPORTANT
DIFFERENCES. UNLIKE ANCIENT GREECE, MODERN NATIONS HAVE NOT STOPPED WARS FOR PEACEFUL ATHLETIC COMPETITION.
BECAUSE OF WORLD WAR I, GAMES WERE NOT HELD IN 1916. NOR WERE THEY HELD IN 1940 AND 1944, DURING WORLD WAR II.
• THE ORIGINAL OLYMPICS WERE ALWAYS HELD AT OLYMPIA. ALMOST EVERY MODERN OLYMPIAD IS CELEBRATED IN OR NEAR A
DIFFERENT CITY OF THE WORLD. THE EARLIER GAMES WERE OPEN ONLY TO GREEK CITIZENS AND ATHLETES FROM OTHER
MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES. THE MODERN GAMES ENCOURAGE ALL NATIONS TO COMPETE. A PERSON MAY ENTER IF HIS OR
HER COUNTRY HAS A NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (NOC) THAT IS RECOGNIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC
COMMITTEE. EVENTS FOR WOMEN HAVE BECOME A MAJOR INTEREST IN THE MODERN GAMES, AND THE WINNERS RECEIVE
HONORS EQUAL TO THOSE GIVEN THE MALE WINNERS.
 HISTORY OF MODERN OLYMPICS
• THE ANCIENT GREEKS FURTHERED CULTURE BY GIVING HONORS FOR CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS
AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES. THE MODERN OLYMPICS HOLD AN ARTS FESTIVAL, WHERE THE CULTURE
OF THE HOST COUNTRY IS SHOWCASED IN VARIOUS ART FORMS.

• FOOTRACES, JUMPING, DISCUS AND JAVELIN THROWING, BOXING, WRESTLING, AND SOME OTHER
EVENTS WERE CARRIED OVER FROM THE ORIGINAL OLYMPIC GAMES. BUT SUCH PRESENT
OLYMPIC CONTESTS AS CYCLING, CANOEING AND SAILING, FOOTBALL (SOCCER), BASKETBALL,
JUDO, RIFLE SHOOTING, AND WATER POLO WERE UNKNOWN IN EARLY TIMES. THE MODERN
PENTATHLON TESTS AN ATHLETE'S ALL-AROUND ABILITY IN SWIMMING (300-METER FREESTYLE),
CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING (4,000 METERS), FENCING WITH THE, HORSE SHOW JUMPING, AND
SHOOTING WITH A TARGET PISTOL AT 10 METERS. ONE OF THE MOST GRUELING EVENTS OF THE
MODERN OLYMPICS IS THE MARATHON. THIS FOOTRACE OVER A DISTANCE OF 26 MILES, 385
YARDS (42.195 KILOMETERS) IS A SUPREME TEST OF THE RUNNERS' ENDURANCE. THE MARATHON
WAS NOT RUN AT OLYMPIA, BUT IT HAS ITS ORIGIN IN ANCIENT GREECE. IN 490 B.C. CYCLES.
 HISTORY OF MODERN OLYMPICS
• THE ATHENIANS DEFEATED AN ARMY OF INVADING PERSIANS AT MARATHON, WHICH IS NORTHEAST
OF ATHENS. FROM THERE, PHEIDIPPIDES, A CHAMPION RUNNER IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES, CARRIED
THE NEWS OF VICTORY TO THE PEOPLE OF ATHENS. TO DO THIS HE HAD TO RUN A GREAT
DISTANCE. ONCE HE REACHED ATHENS AND GASPED OUT HIS NEWS OF VICTORY, HE DIED. IT IS IN
HIS HONOR THAT THE MARATHON RACE IS RUN.

• IN 1924, THE WINTER GAMES BECAME A NEW FEATURE OF THE MODERN OLYMPICS. SUCH COLD-
WEATHER SPORTS AS PAIR AND FIGURE SKATING, ICE HOCKEY, BOBSLEDDING, AND THE BIATHLON
(RIFLE SHOOTING ON A CROSS-COUNTRY SKI COURSE) COULD NEVER HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE
WARM CLIMATE OF GREECE (ALTHOUGH FIGURE AND PAIR SKATING AND ICE HOCKEY HAD BEEN
INCLUDED IN PREVIOUS MODERN GAMES). UNTIL 1992, THE WINTER GAMES WERE HELD IN THE
SAME YEAR AS THE SUMMER GAMES. BEGINNING IN 1994, THE WINTER AND SUMMER GAMES WERE
HELD TWO YEARS APART, ON SEPARATE FOUR-YEAR
 MODERN OLYMPICS
• THE MODERN OLYMPIC GAMES 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 .
 SYMBOLS OF OLYMPICS
• THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT USES SYMBOLS TO REPRESENT THE IDEALS EMBODIED IN
THE OLYMPIC CHARTER. THE OLYMPIC SYMBOL, BETTER KNOWN AS THE
OLYMPIC RINGS, CONSISTS OF FIVE INTERTWINED RINGS AND REPRESENTS THE UNITY
OF THE FIVE INHABITED CONTINENTS (AFRICA, THE AMERICAS (IS CONSIDERED ONE
CONTINENT), ASIA, EUROPE, AND OCEANIA). THE COLORED VERSION OF THE RINGS—
BLUE, YELLOW, BLACK, GREEN, AND RED—OVER A WHITE FIELD FORMS THE OLYMPIC
FLAG. THESE COLORS WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE EVERY NATION HAD AT LEAST ONE OF
THEM ON ITS NATIONAL FLAG. THE FLAG WAS ADOPTED IN 1914 BUT FLOWN FOR THE
FIRST TIME ONLY AT THE 1920 SUMMER OLYMPICS IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM. IT HAS SINCE
BEEN HOISTED DURING EACH CELEBRATION OF THE GAMES
 MOTTO OF OLYMPICS FLAME OF OLYMPICS

• THE TRADITIONAL OLYMPIC MOTTO IS THE • THE OLYMPIC FLAME IS A SYMBOL OF CONTINUITY
HENDIATRIS CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS WHICH IS BETWEEN ANCIENT AND MODERN GAMES THE
LATIN FOR "FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER". IT WAS OLYMPIC GAMES, SEVERAL MONTHS BEFORE. THE
PROPOSED BY PIERRE DE COUBERTIN UPON THE OLYMPIC FLAME IS LIT AT OLYMPIA, GREECE. THIS
CREATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC CEREMONY STARTS THE OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY,
COMMITTEE. COUBERTIN BORROWED IT FROM HIS WHICH FORMALLY ENDS WITH THE LIGHTING OF THE
FRIEND HENRI DIDON, A DOMINICAN PRIEST WHO OLYMPIC CAULDRON DURING THE
WAS AN ATHLETICS ENTHUSIAST. COUBERTIN SAID OPENING CEREMONY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES. THE
"THESE THREE WORDS REPRESENT A PROGRAMME FLAME THEN CONTINUES TO BURN IN THE
OF MORAL BEAUTY. THE AESTHETICS OF SPORT ARE CAULDRON FOR THE DURATION OF THE GAMES,
INTANGIBLE."THE MOTTO WAS INTRODUCED IN 1924 UNTIL IT IS EXTINGUISHED DURING THE
AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN PARIS. OLYMPIC CLOSING CEREMONY.
SUMMER OLYMPICS
• THE SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMESARE A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MULTI-SPORT EVENT
NORMALLY HELD ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS. THE GAMES WERE FIRST HELD IN 1896
IN ATHENS, GREECE, AND WERE MOST RECENTLY THE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS HELD
IN 2021 IN TOKYO, JAPAN. THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) ORGANISES
THE GAMES AND OVERSEES THE HOST CITY'S PREPARATIONS. IN EACH OLYMPIC
EVENT, GOLD MEDALS ARE AWARDED FOR FIRST PLACE, SILVER MEDALS ARE
AWARDED FOR SECOND PLACE, AND BRONZE MEDALS ARE AWARDED FOR THIRD
PLACE; THIS TRADITION BEGAN IN 1904. THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES WERE CREATED
OUT OF THE SUCCESS OF THE SUMMER OLYMPICS.
WINTER OLYMPICS
• THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES IS A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MULTI-SPORT EVENT HELD ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS
FOR SPORTS PRACTICED ON SNOW AND ICE. THE FIRST WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES, THE 1924 WINTER OLYMPICS,
WERE HELD IN CHAMONIX, FRANCE. THE MODERN OLYMPIC GAMES WERE INSPIRED BY THE ANCIENT OLYMPIC
GAMES, WHICH WERE 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 SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES IN ATHENS, GREECE IN 1896. THE IOC IS THE GOVERNING BODY OF
THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT, WITH THE OLYMPIC CHARTER DEFINING ITS STRUCTURE AND AUTHORITY.
• THE ORIGINAL FIVE WINTER OLYMPIC SPORTS (BROKEN INTO NINE DISCIPLINES) WERE BOBSLEIGH, CURLING,
ICE HOCKEY, NORDIC SKIING (CONSISTING OF THE DISCIPLINES MILITARY PATROL,CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING,
NORDIC COMBINED, AND SKI JUMPING), AND SKATING (CONSISTING OF THE DISCIPLINES FIGURE SKATING AND
SPEED SKATING).[NB 3] THE GAMES WERE HELD EVERY FOUR YEARS FROM 1924 TO 1936, INTERRUPTED IN 1940
AND 1944 BY WORLD WAR II, AND RESUMED IN 1948. UNTIL 1992, THE SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES AND THE WINTER
OLYMPIC GAMES WERE HELD IN THE SAME YEAR, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE 1986 DECISION BY THE IOC TO
PLACE THE SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES AND THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES ON SEPARATE FOUR-YEAR CYCLES IN
ALTERNATING EVEN-NUMBERED YEARS, THE NEXT WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES AFTER 1992 WERE HELD IN 1994.
 A SPECIAL SUMMER OLYMPICS
TOKYO OLYMPICS 2020
• TOKYO WAS SELECTED AS THE HOST CITY DURING THE 125TH IOC SESSION IN
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, ON 7 SEPTEMBER 2013. ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO TAKE
PLACE FROM 24 JULY TO 9 AUGUST 2020, THE EVENT WAS POSTPONED TO 2021 IN
MARCH 2020 AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE FIRST SUCH INSTANCE IN
THE HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES (PREVIOUS GAMES HAD BEEN CANCELLED BUT
NOT RESCHEDULED). HOWEVER, THE EVENT RETAINED THE TOKYO 2020 NAME FOR
MARKETING AND BRANDING PURPOSES. IT WAS LARGELY HELD
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS WITH NO PUBLIC SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO THE
DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN THE GREATER TOKYO AREA IN RESPONSE
TO THE PANDEMIC. THE SUMMER PARALYMPICS WILL BE HELD BETWEEN 24 AUGUST
AND 5 SEPTEMBER 2021, 16 DAYS AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE OLYMPICS.
 TOKYO OLYMPICS 2020
• THE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS TORCH WAS SCHEDULED TO ONLY VISIT THE TWO COUNTRIES OF GREECE AND THE HOST NATION JAPAN.
THE FIRST PHASE OF THE RELAY BEGAN ON 12 MARCH 2020, WITH THE TRADITIONAL FLAME LIGHTING CEREMONY AT THE
TEMPLE OF HERA IN OLYMPIA, GREECE. THE TORCH THEN TRAVELLED TO ATHENS, WHERE THE GREEK LEG OF THE RELAY CULMINATED
IN A HANDOVER CEREMONY AT THE PANATHENAIC STADIUM ON 19 MARCH, DURING WHICH THE TORCH WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE
JAPANESE CONTINGENT. THE FLAME WAS PLACED INSIDE A SPECIAL LANTERN AND TRANSPORTED FROM
ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON A CHARTERED FLIGHT TO HIGASHIMATSUSHIMA IN JAPAN. THE TORCH WAS THEN EXPECTED TO
BEGIN THE SECOND PHASE OF ITS JOURNEY ON 20 MARCH, AS IT TRAVELED FOR ONE WEEK AROUND THE THREE MOST AFFECTED
AREAS OF THE 2011 TŌHOKU EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI—MIYAGI, IWATE AND FUKUSHIMA—WHERE IT WOULD GO ON DISPLAY UNDER
THE HEADING "FLAME OF RECOVERY". AFTER LEAVING NARAHA ON 26 MARCH, THE TORCH WOULD COMMENCE ITS MAIN RELAY
AROUND JAPAN, INCORPORATING ALL 47 PREFECTURAL CAPITALS.

• AFTER THE DECISION TO POSTPONE THE GAMES WAS MADE, THE TORCH WAS PLACED AGAIN IN A SPECIAL LANTERN ON DISPLAY IN
THE CITY OF FUKUSHIMA FOR A MONTH. AFTER THAT, THE LANTERN WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE TOKYO PREFECTURE, WHERE IT WAS
KEPT SAFE UNTIL THE RESTART OF THE RELAY IN 2021. [117] ON 23 JULY 2020 (ONE YEAR AHEAD OF THE RESCHEDULED OPENING
CEREMONY), A PROMOTIONAL VIDEO WAS RELEASED FEATURING JAPANESE SWIMMER RIKAKO IKEE CARRYING THE LANTERN INSIDE
JAPAN NATIONAL STADIUM, DRAWING COMPARISONS BETWEEN EMERGENCE FROM THE PANDEMIC AND HER OWN RETURN TO SPORT
AFTER BEING DIAGNOSED WITH LEUKEMIA.[118] ON 20 AUGUST 2020, IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE TORCH RELAY WOULD BEGIN AGAIN
IN NARAHA, FUKUSHIMA ON 25 MARCH 2021, NEARLY A YEAR LATER THAN ORIGINALLY PLANNED.

• THE RELAY ENDED AT TOKYO'S NATIONAL STADIUM ON 23 JULY, WITH TENNIS PLAYER NAOMI OSAKA LIGHTING THE OLYMPIC CAULDRON
AT THE FINALE OF THE OPENING CEREMONY.
TOKYO OLYMPICS 2020
• IN FEBRUARY 2017, THE TOKYO ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCED AN ELECTRONICS RECYCLING PROGRAM IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH JAPAN ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION CENTER AND NTT DOCOMO, SOLICITING DONATIONS OF
ELECTRONICS SUCH AS MOBILE PHONES TO BE RECLAIMED AS MATERIALS FOR THE MEDALS. AIMING TO COLLECT
EIGHT TONNES OF METALS TO PRODUCE THE MEDALS FOR THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES, COLLECTION
BOXES WERE DEPLOYED AT PUBLIC LOCATIONS AND NTT DOCOMO RETAIL SHOPS IN APRIL 2017. A DESIGN
COMPETITION FOR THE MEDALS WAS LAUNCHED IN DECEMBER OF THAT YEAR.
• IN MAY 2018, THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE REPORTED THAT THEY HAD OBTAINED HALF THE REQUIRED 2,700
KILOGRAMS OF BRONZE BUT WERE STRUGGLING TO OBTAIN THE REQUIRED AMOUNT OF SILVER; ALTHOUGH BRONZE
AND SILVER MEDALS PURELY UTILIZE THEIR RESPECTIVE MATERIALS, IOC REQUIREMENTS MANDATE THAT GOLD
MEDALS UTILIZE SILVER AS A BASE. THE COLLECTION OF BRONZE WAS COMPLETED IN NOVEMBER 2018, WITH THE
REMAINDER ESTIMATED TO HAVE BEEN COMPLETED BY MARCH 2019.
• ON 24 JULY 2019 (ONE YEAR AHEAD OF THE ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED OPENING CEREMONY), THE DESIGNS OF THE
MEDALS WERE UNVEILED. THE MEDALS FOR THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES WERE DESIGNED BY JUNICHI
KAWANISHI FOLLOWING A NATIONWIDE COMPETITION. A NEW FEATURE SHARED WITH THE PARALYMPIC MEDALS IS
THAT THE RIBBONS CONTAIN ONE, TWO, OR THREE SILICONE CONVEX LINES TO DISTINGUISH GOLD, SILVER, AND
BRONZE MEDALS, RESPECTIVELY.
SPORTS AT TOKYO OLYMPICS
TOKYO OLYMPICS 2020 PLAYERS COUNT
COUNTRIES PERFORMANCE AT TOKYO OLYMPICS
THE UNITED STATES TOPPED THE MEDAL COUNT BY BOTH TOTAL GOLDS (39) AND TOTAL MEDALS
(113), WITH CHINA FINISHING SECOND BY BOTH RESPECTS (38 AND 88). HOST NATION JAPAN
FINISHED THIRD, SETTING A RECORD FOR THE MOST GOLD MEDALS AND TOTAL MEDALS EVER
WON BY THEIR DELEGATION AT AN OLYMPIC GAMES WITH 27 AND 58. GREAT BRITAIN FINISHED
FOURTH, WITH A TOTAL OF 22 GOLD AND 65 MEDALS, BECOMING THE FIRST NATION AT THE
SUMMER OLYMPICS TO INCREASE OR EQUAL THEIR TOTAL MEDALS WON IN THE TWO GAMES
SUBSEQUENT TO HOSTING THEM. THE RUSSIAN DELEGATION COMPETING AS THE ROC FINISHED
FIFTH WITH 20 GOLD MEDALS AND THIRD IN THE OVERALL MEDAL COUNT, WITH 71 MEDALS.
BERMUDA, THE PHILIPPINES AND QATAR WON THEIR FIRST-EVER OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS.
BURKINA FASO, SAN MARINO AND TURKMENISTAN WON THEIR FIRST-EVER OLYMPIC MEDALS.
INDIA PERFORMANCE AT TOKYO OLYMPICS
• INDIA HAS APPEARED IN EVERY EDITION OF THE SUMMER OLYMPICS SINCE
1920, ALTHOUGH IT MADE ITS OFFICIAL DEBUT AT THE 1900 SUMMER OLYMPICS
IN PARIS. THE NATION SENT ITS LARGEST-EVER CONTINGENT OF 126
COMPETITORS TO THE 2020 GAMES. TO DATE, THE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS
ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL GAMES FOR INDIA SINCE ITS FIRST REGULAR
OLYMPICS APPEARANCE IN 1920, WITH INDIAN OLYMPIANS WINNING 7 MEDALS
(1 GOLD, 2 SILVER AND 4 BRONZE). THE INDIAN CONTINGENT PARTICIPATED IN
A RECORD 69 EVENTS, AND EARNED MEDALS ACROSS 18 ATHLETIC
DISCIPLINES.