essay on ancient olympic games

Perspectives Sports

The ancient olympics and other athletic games.

Highlights from The Met collection illustrate the many athletic games held in ancient Greece, featuring celebrity athletes, grand prizes, and the mythical origins of the first Olympics.

Alexis Belis

Jul 23, 2021

The ancient Olympic Games, held every four years at Olympia in honor of the god Zeus, were celebrated for over a millennium and serve as the inspiration for the modern competition. Surviving inscriptions and literary sources list the names of about eight hundred ancient Olympic champions; the first recorded victor was Koroibos of Elis, who won the stadion (footrace) in 776 B.C. By the sixth century B.C., Panhellenic games—from pan (all) and hellenikos (Greek)—were also held at Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia and attracted athletes from all over the Greek world. Many local festivals, including the Panathenaia in Athens, were modeled on these four games.

Each Panhellenic festival was marked by a truce, or ekecheiria , which literally means “holding of hands.” Inscribed on a bronze diskos displayed at Olympia, the truce not only allowed athletes and fans to travel safely, but also provided a common basis for peace among the Greeks. Today’s Olympics continue this spirit in the form of a resolution adopted by the United Nations entitled “ Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal .”

Mythical history of the games

Bronze balsamarium decorated with lion-skins and herms , late 1st–early 2nd century A.D. Roman, mid-Imperial. Bronze, 3 in. (7.6 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of John J. Medveckis in honor of Emily Rafferty and in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2021 (2021.19.2)

The decoration on this bronze balsamarium —an oil flask used by athletes to clean their skin—evokes the Olympic games’ mythical origins. Statues of Herakles (Hercules in Latin) and the god Hermes, depicted on the left and right respectively as herms  (pillars surmounted by busts) covered with lion skins, were traditionally set up in the gymnasium where athletes trained.

Evidently according to myth, many Greek gods and heroes competed in the first games at Olympia: Zeus wrestled his father, Kronos, for the throne; Apollo outran Hermes and beat Ares at boxing; and Herakles, often credited with founding the Olympic games, won victories in wrestling and the pankration , a no-holds-barred combat sport.

Greek athletes looked to their heroic predecessors for inspiration. Milo of Croton, a famed wrestler from antiquity, styled himself after Herakles, even wearing the hero’s trademark lion skin to complement his six Olympic wreaths. The Athenian boxing champion Dioxippos was renowned for defeating a fully equipped Macedonian soldier while “dressed” as a victorious athlete—in the nude, with his body oiled, crowned with a victory wreath—and armed as Herakles, carrying only a club. And the legendary boxer Diagoras of Rhodes was proclaimed the son of Hermes for his “super-human” athletic achievements.

Events and training

Terracotta skyphos (deep drinking cup) , ca. 500 B.C. Greek, Attic. Attributed to the Theseus painter. Terracotta, 6 ½ × 9 in. (16.2 × 22.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1906 (06.1021.49)

The ancient games featured many competitions that still take place in the modern Olympics, such as foot races, jumping, discus throwing, javelin throwing, wrestling, the pentathlon (a combination of the previous five events), and boxing. As today, athletes specialized in certain events and worked intensively with professional trainers.

The ancient Greeks competed in a brutal full-contact combat sport similar to mixed martial arts called the pankration , a combination of wrestling, boxing, and kicking but with virtually no rules—only biting and eye-gouging were prohibited. This skyphos shows a trainer closely supervising this life-threatening competition. Some fighters boasted nicknames reflecting their signature combat technique. Sostratos, a fighter from the city of Sikyon, was known as “Fingertips” because he would break his opponent’s fingers at the start of a match. It’s no wonder the Greeks became experts in sports medicine!

Terracotta pelike (wine jar) , ca. 510 B.C. Greek, Attic. Attributed to the Acheloös painter. Terracotta, 13 ¼ in. (33.3 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1949 (49.11.1)

The ancient Greeks believed that music improved coordination and movement, whether for dancing or military drills or even manual labor. So, in addition to personal trainers, professional musicians also played an important role in athletic games. The man on this pelike  plays an aulos (a double pipe). He accompanies two boxers stepping lively and shadowboxing in synchronization.

One boxing champion named Melankomas of Caria went down in history for his unique fighting technique—he managed to defeat his opponents without ever dealing a blow, or ever being hit himself. Because of his exceptional condition and endurance, he was able to hold up his arms in defense until his opponent eventually became exhausted and submitted.

Ancient games at Athens

Terracotta Panathenaic prize amphora (jar) , ca. 510 B.C. Greek, Attic. Attributed to the Leagros group. Terracotta, 25 in. (63.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1907 (07.286.80)

Athens, the venue for the first modern Olympics in 1896, also held athletic games in antiquity. Every four years at the end of the month Hekatombaion (early August), the Athenians gathered to celebrate the Greater Panathenaia—an extended and more elaborate version of the city’s most important annual festival, held in honor of its patron deity, Athena. This event became one of the most important festivals of international competition outside the Panhellenic games.

The Greater Panathenaia involved traditional athletic, musical, and equestrian competitions, such as the horse race depicted on this prize amphora. However, it also entailed an eclectic program of more unusual events, including contests in male beauty, dancing in armor, a chariot-mounting and dismounting race (while the chariot was in motion!), and torch- and boat-races.

Terracotta Panathenaic prize amphora (jar) , ca. 510 B.C. Greek, Attic. Terracotta, 24 ½ in. (62.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Fletcher Fund, 1956 (56.171.4)

Victors in the Panathenaic games were awarded olive oil harvested from the sacred groves of Athena. The oil was presented in an amphora that held nearly forty liters and was typically illustrated with the winner’s event. On the opposite side of each vase was the games’ official emblem: the goddess Athena, fully armed, striding between two columns. An inscription running along one of the columns identified each vessel as one “of the prizes from Athens.”

This amphora was the prize for a four-horse chariot race, the most prestigious event in the games and the grand finale of the program. According to tradition, Erechtheus, the legendary first king of Athens, introduced the contest and is even credited with the invention of the quadriga (four-horse chariot). As many as 140 amphorae, and the valuable oil they contained, were awarded to the winner of this race—more than for any other competition in the games.

Prizes for the games

Left: Bronze hydria (water jar) , mid-5th century B.C. Greek, Argive. Bronze, 20 ¼ in. (51.41 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1926 (26.50). Right: Bronze hydria (water jar) , early 4th century B.C. Greek. Bronze, 19 × 18 ¼ in. (48.3 × 46.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1957 (57.11.12)

There were no medals in the ancient games, but victory prizes were an important part of Greek athletic competitions; the word “athletics” is even derived from athlon , meaning “prize.” These awards varied depending on the host city, and often included monetary prizes and valuable objects, such as bronze vessels.

We know from the inscription on the hydria on the left that it was awarded at games held for the goddess Hera at her sanctuary in Argos. Before the mid-third century B.C., these games were called the Hekatomboia (a festival with the sacrifice of one hundred oxen), and attracted participants from all over Greece.

The hydria on the right has two inscriptions on the lip. One gives the name of the presiding official, Kalliar, and the other indicates that the contestants dedicated the prize to Herakles, for whom the games were held. This inscription implies that the hydria was given collectively to the hero because there was no individual winner.

Marble relief fragment depicting athletic prizes , 2nd century A.D. Roman. Marble, 12 ¾ × 26 ½ in. (32.5 × 67.7 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1959 (59.11.19)

This fragment  from a Roman relief represents the standard prizes awarded at four venues in Greece: an amphora of olive oil from the Panathenaic games at Athens, a pine wreath from Isthmia, a bronze shield from Argos, and a celery wreath from the games at Nemea. Symbolic wreaths made from sacred trees or plants, including the olive wreath from Olympia, were just as prestigious as more expensive awards.

The athletic games established in ancient Greece flourished under the Roman Empire. Many Greek cities continued to host them, and competitors—such as the winner from Rhamnous who commissioned this relief—gained fame and fortune from victories in games across Greece. Some athletes became astronomically wealthy. The career winnings of Gaius Appuleius Diocles, a Roman chariot racer in the second century A.D., were estimated at 36 million sesterces—enough to pay the salary of the entire Roman army for over two months.

From ancient to modern

Opening of the 1896 Olympics at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece. Public-domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

In A.D. 393 the Roman emperor Theodosius I issued an edict banning the ancient games as pagan festivals. The last reported victor at the Olympic games was Zopyros, a boxer from Athens, in A.D. 385. Yet inscriptions and literary sources confirm that athletic games continued into the early fifth century at prestigious venues, including Olympia and Athens.

Nearly a millennium and a half later, the Olympics returned, reviving the ancient spirit of competition and community on a global scale. Appropriately, the opening ceremony for the first modern Olympics took place in Athens in the Panathenaic Stadium, originally constructed in the fourth century B.C., which had been restored for the occasion.

Marquee: Terracotta Panathenaic prize amphora (detail), ca. 530 B.C. Greek, Attic. Attributed to the Euphiletos painter. Terracotta, 24 ½ in. (62.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1914 (14.130.12)

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The Ancient Olympics: Bridging past and present

Introduction.

Our modern Games and the Ancient Olympics are different in many respects – today’s Olympics are strictly secular, whilst the Ancient Olympics were steeped in religion; our modern Games have 42 disciplines, compared to the six of the Classical world; today, men and women of all nationalities are invited to compete, whilst, according to the Greek author Pausanias (V.6.7-8) [ Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. ( Hide tip ) ] , any woman of marriageable age discovered at the Ancient Olympic festival supposedly risked being thrown off a cliff; today athletes wear light clothes (often emblazoned with their nation’s flag), whilst Ancient Greek athletes competed – and trained – completely naked.

Clearly things have changed in some respects, but a series of underlying principles and values inherited from Ancient Greece are still central to the modern Olympic spirit. For example, the London 2012 theme of ‘truce’echoed the Ancient Olympic tradition of ekecheiria (sacred peace); Classical ideals of equality and self-improvement still motivate athletes to compete fairly and push themselves to the limit; the Rio theme song , ‘The Gods of Olympus visit Rio de Janeiro’, includes references to Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hercules, Artemis, Hephaestus and Zeus; and modern programmes such as the Rio 2016 Culture Festival remind us of Classical associations between sport, poetry, music, and prose composition.

This course highlights the similarities and differences between our modern Games and the Ancient Olympics and explores why today, as we prepare for Rio's 2016 Olympics, we still look back at the Classical world for meaning and inspiration.

Please note that within this course, animations of athletes contain scenes of nudity in order to give a more realistic representation of the Ancient Olympic games.

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Ancient Olympic Games and Modern Day Olympics Research Paper

The purposeful correlation of modern day Olympic sport with ancient Olympic Games provides a solid foundation for the hypothesis of continuity with an era of moral ethics. Ancient sport practice was immaculate and less blemished by the current association with actions for profit, loss of amateur concepts and change-over to professionalism, aggression and anabolic drugs misuse. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, looked at the ancient Olympic Games as the provider of an insightful and a great resource of motivation. Homer, in the living works The Iliad and The Odyssey , described Olympic Games as providing an imminent look onto the interlinking of the athletic achievements and commemoration of sport. Homer also clarified the extent to which sports reflected a cultural ideal based on harmonizing the physical and intellectual excellence (McIntosh, p. 20-23). As McIntosh (20-23) remarked, sports in the Homeric days was noble, he also approached the gradual control of commercial ideas and the shadow of political objectives on the games.

If the ambition to ideal ethics and principles is a part of the explanation for the unique characteristic position of sport in modern society, then the association between amateurism and sporting excellence should make an equally influential input. In most European and North American countries, the growing commercial ideas of the game intimidates the commitment to amateurism dominated Olympic Games during the first half of the 20 th Century. Amateurism highlighted the authenticity of sport’s allegation to higher ethical standards by protecting Olympic sport, and sports in general, from the distortion brought to by professional and commercial ideas (Brohm, p. 112).

The Olympic Games started in Peloponnesus, in Greece. No one can tell exactly the date when it started, however most authorities give the date of 776 BC, as the earliest archaeological documentation points out. The sport contests took place at Olympia; from here the name, Olympic Games came. The ancient Olympic Games took place every four years. The Greeks called this four years epoch of time Olympiad. It made up their date systems for events (for example, 2 months after the Olympiad or 8 months before the Olympiad). At that time, Greece was not a unified state, instead, it composed of multiple economically and politically independent cities communities given the name city-states. Olympic Games in Greek history was an important event as it was the occasion for all the Greek people to come together, besides it was of significant religious impact. The Greeks enjoyed the games in honor of Zeus and believed that Zeus grants the winners’ prizes. Athletes were always naked in both training and contests aiming to display the human body perfection and synchronization of body and mind work. All athletes taking part in Olympic Games were Greek free men, as the rules forbade women, slave, and foreigners from participation (Olympic Museum English Report 658).

All games were individual sports, with no team or water sports celebrated. The sport events took place over five days period. On the first day, the opening ceremony, athletes as well as judges took the Olympic oath to respect the rules and not to cheat. Then a parade of trumpet players and heralds followed the oath ceremony. On the second day morning, horsing events took place in a special arena (hippodrome), the most popular of which was the four-horse, four-wheel chariots race. Winners of horse races were the owners not the players. On the afternoon, discus, javelin, long jump, boxing, and wrestling (pentathlon) competitions took place. The third day was the peak of the games, 100 cows sacrificed to Zeus and other Gods, and all engaging athletes invited to a feast sharing the meat of the sacrificed cows. Racing and combat competitions took place in the fourth days, while celebrating the winners occurred in the fifth day. There was only one winner for each competition, and the prize was a circular shaped crown of olive leaves. The Olympic Games went on this pattern for almost a thousand years, until the Christian Emperor Theodosius the first forbade polytheist religious festivals including the Olympic Games in 393 AD (Olympic Museum English Report 658).

The Modern Days Olympic Games are the biggest all sport events of the present time. Athletes from all over the world share in the events with no race, gender or age limits. With the Olympic flag showing, five rings represent the international nature of the Games. Although the Olympic Games take place every four years like other tournaments (FIFA World Cup and Euro cup), yet Olympic Games are not like any other sports events. They are the largest sporting event considering the number of sports in one tourenament, the number of athletes taking part in the events and the number of people gathered including media, spectators, politicians, society stars, and guests. Olympiad is a renowned event in itself; however, it takes place within the context of the Olympic Movement that still holds to the same ancient noble sport objectives. The Modern Days Olympic Games include the Olympiad (the Summer Olympic Games) and the Winter Olympic Games. Since 1992, the Winter Games take place between two summer Olympiads that is two years from the Summer Games instead of taking place in the same year. However, Winter Olympics still take place every 4 years. In summer Olympiads, athletes compete in a 28 sports individual, team, indoors or outdoors and in field, track or arena. In Winter Games, athletes compete in seven sports on snow and ice, whether indoors or outdoors (Olympic Museum English Report 668).

The first Modern Days Olympic Games took place in 1896. The International Olympic Committee decided to celebrate this Olympiad in Athens memorizing the ancient Olympic Games. For this occasion, restoration of the ancient stadium took place. Besides, the committee introduced the Marathons race for the first time memorizing the Greek soldier who ran nearly 34 Km form Marathon to Athens carrying the news of the defeat of the Persian invasion. Since then, innovations continued, introducing more games, women joining the competitions with baseball and boxing as the only games not open for them until now. Standardization of the gold, silver, and bronze medals was at Amsterdam Olympiad in 1928, medals kept the same shape and symbols until Sydney Olympiad in 2000 where the symbols changed for the first time. Unlike summer Olympiads, Winter Olympic medals are not standardized. Other materials like crystal, granite are added; in other occasions (as in Tokyo Winter Olympiad), polishing of medals with lacquer took place (Olympic Museum English Report 668).

With increasing number of athletes having the urge to share in the event, the International Federation of every sport organize qualifying competitions. Each country’s National Olympic Committee becomes responsible for the entry of its qualified athletes into the Olympic Games. All athletes as well as the organizing committee must stand for the Olympic Charter. Being in the front position in the international arena, Olympic Games are prone to be used as a propaganda tool (1936 Olympiad in Berlin during the Nazi regime rule). The games may be a tool in political conflicts as happened in 1980 in Moscow and in 1984 in Los Angeles. Because of the media overspread of Olympic events and global interest in watching and following the events, Munich Olympiad has turned to be a political conflict stage. The hostages’ situation mounted to the assassination of two Israeli members of the delegate and a police officer. Terrorists were eventually killed by the antiterrorist force, however the incident will remain alive in the people’ minds. On the other hand, Olympiads can be a stage for political recognition (as with the former Soviet Union republics). Besides it can be a chance for peaceful diplomatic approach (in Sydney, 2000 when the two delegates of South and North Korea paraded together) (Olympic Museum English Report 668).

Fire has always been associated with values of purity and light, in addition, played an important role in the life of humankind and the development of civilization. Thus, the Olympic Torch represents the perspective of these positive values. The method of lighting the Olympic Torch making use of sunrays ensures the purity of the flame. The question is what happens if on the day decided to lighten the torch the sun does not come up? As a safeguarding measure, on a previous rehearsal sunny day, lighting a torch as dictated by the conventional then keeping that torch in a security glass to use it on the ceremony day if the sun is not out. The leaving point of the Olympic Torch is always Olympia highlights the tie between the Ancient and Modern Day Games and stresses the philosophical link between these two events. The Olympic torch is then relayed to its final destination. Planning the course of the Olympic Torch occurs in two phases; first phase is from Olympia to Athens (Panathenaic stadium), and it is the responsibility of the Greek Olympic Committee. Second phase is fro Athens to the host city in relay and this is the responsibility of the Olympic Games Organizing Committee. Olympic Torch relay is mainly by foot carried by athletes or runners. The identity of the last person to lighten the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony is kept secret until the last few minutes. He or she is usually a world sport celebrity or a young child representing hope in the future (Olympic Museum English Report 655).

Both ancient and modern days Olympic Games share certain characteristic; only symbolic prizes for the winners. Second, athletes always seek for the honor of taking part in the games trying to show who is stronger, faster, and higher. Finally, the watching crowds share the joy and happiness. The Modern Day Olympic Games were lost three times since the beginning in 1896, during World War I (1916) and World War II (1940 and 1944). Ancient Olympic Games was a time of truce between fighting communities, would it not be suitable to revive this tradition in our effort aiming to keep the Olympic Spirit.

Works Cited

Brohm, J. M. Sport, A prison of Measured Time. London: Pluto Press, 1978.

McIntosh, P. Sport in Society (revised edition). London: West London Press, 1987.

Olympic Museum en_report_655. “The Modern Olympic Games”. The Olympic Museum, 2nd edition. The Olympic Museum. 2007.

Olympic Museum en_report_658. “The Olympic Games in Antiquity”. The Olympic Museum, 2nd edition. The Olympic Museum. 2007.

Olympic Museum en_report_668. “The Modern Olympic Games”. The Olympic Museum, 2nd edition. The Olympic Museum. 2007.

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IvyPanda. (2021, October 29). Ancient Olympic Games and Modern Day Olympics. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ancient-olympic-games-and-modern-day-olympics/

"Ancient Olympic Games and Modern Day Olympics." IvyPanda , 29 Oct. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/ancient-olympic-games-and-modern-day-olympics/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Ancient Olympic Games and Modern Day Olympics'. 29 October.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Ancient Olympic Games and Modern Day Olympics." October 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ancient-olympic-games-and-modern-day-olympics/.

1. IvyPanda . "Ancient Olympic Games and Modern Day Olympics." October 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ancient-olympic-games-and-modern-day-olympics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Ancient Olympic Games and Modern Day Olympics." October 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ancient-olympic-games-and-modern-day-olympics/.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Competitive Sports — The Origin and History of Olympic Games

The Origin and History of Olympic Games

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Published: Dec 5, 2018

Words: 682 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Works Cited:

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187 Olympic Games Essay Topics: Modern, Ancient, Special Olympics & More

Did you know that the Olympic Games have existed for over 2,700 years?

The Olympic Games have a significant cultural influence and a rich history you can explore through research and writing.

This article will give you the tools to write an informative and engaging essay about the Olympic Games. Below, our expert team has provided topics and guidelines for writing a successful paper about this sports event.

• 🔝 Top 10 Olympic Games Topics

✍️ Olympics Writing Prompts

🏐 modern olympic games essay: topic ideas.

• 🏺 Ancient Greece Olympics: Topics Ideas
• 🦼 Essay on Special Olympics
• 🪧 Politics and the Olympics Essay

📝 The Olympics Essay: How to Write

🔗 references, 🔝 top 10 olympic games essay topics.

• The history of the Olympic Games.
• The most successful nations in the Olympic Games history.
• The influence of the Olympic Games on the host city and country.
• The role of technology in the Olympic Games.
• The economics of the Olympic Games.
• The controversy surrounding the Olympic Games.
• The future of the Olympic Games.
• The cultural significance of the Olympic Games.
• The impact of COVID-19 on the 2020 Olympic Games.
• The athletes to watch in the upcoming Olympic Games.

Do you need help deciding what to write about in your Olympics essay? Here are the most popular and researchable topic prompts you may use. They cover the main aspects of the Olympics-related issue and clarify what your essay or research paper may be about.

Prompt for Ancient Olympics vs. Modern Olympics Essay

This topic can be assigned to test your comprehension of the history of the Olympic Games and their timeline, dynamics, and development until modern times. In this compare-and-contrast essay, you can raise questions about how sports activities changed and analyze the key aspects of this event in old times and modernity:

• Were ancient athletes awarded with medals as modern champions are?
• Who carried the Olympic flag ?
• How are ancient Greek and Roman traditions embodied in modern games?

Your essay can take a historical, comparative, or analytical perspective on all these subjects.

Prompt for Winter Olympic Games Essay

There’s so much to discuss about the Winter Olympic Games ! Consider some ideas:

• Analyze the early history of the Winter Olympics.
• Review the changes in the number of sports activities included in the list of competitions.
• Explore the Winter Olympics during the 20th century (during and between the World Wars).
• Discuss the 21st-century procedures connected to preparing and hosting the Olympics in the wintertime.

Some other interesting aspects include the complexities of host city nomination, glorious stories of Winter Olympics’ winners, the issue of doping, and the political side of sports (e.g., the 1980 boycott of the Taiwan national team in response to its tensions with China).

Prompt for Beijing Olympics Essay

Beijing hosted two Olympic Games – in 2008 and 2022 – so you’ll have plenty of material to write about when preparing an essay or article about this topic.

Since there were 14 years between these two grand events, the preparation and the country’s self-presentation during these two Olympics differed. You can prepare a well-researched comparative analysis of these differences. Consider comparing the following aspects:

• The economic and political image of China during these events.
• The organization of Olympic festivities.
• The style of political leadership China revealed.
• The global perception of China in 2008 and 2022.

It’s also interesting to examine how the restrictions on human rights and liberties were lifted during the Olympic Games and how these international events generally affected democracy in the PRC.

Prompt for Essay about Olympics 2012

The 2012 Olympics in London became notorious for many events:

• Doping scandals. Many weightlifting athletes were caught using Turinabol and Stanozolol. So, the problem of stripping one person of their medals turned into massive defamation.
• Athletic achievements. The 2012 Olympics were marked by numerous groundbreaking records and victories.
• Economic impact. The event also stimulated the economy of London and the UK significantly.

All these topics can lay the basis for your reading and persuasive writing assignments on the London Olympic Games.

• The role of Pierre de Coubertin in the modern Olympics.
• Paying College Athletes: Reinforcing Privilege or Promoting Growth.
• Modern Olympics as a globalized cultural and sporting event.
• Olympics as a catalyst for urban change in the hosting countries.
• Women at the modern Olympics.
• Sports Marketing and How Its Affected by the Internet.
• Olympic torch: changing symbolism.
• The challenge of defining modern wrestling styles at the Olympics.
• The philosophy behind the modern Olympics.
• Future of the Olympic Games.
• Pepperdine Basketball Team Coach’s Leadership Style.
• Doping: now and in ancient times.
• The Olympics and advertising .
• Neomodern Olympic Games.
• Sociocultural analysis of contemporary Olympics.
• Sports Psychologist: Working With Athletes.
• Fundamentals of the modern Olympic movement .
• Women’s sport and the Olympics.
• The Olympics and clean sport.
• Coping with Stress in Athletes.
• Ideas, values, and ideals behind the Olympics.
• Paradoxes of Olympism.
• A country’s home advantage at the Olympics.
• How did the Olympic urbanization take place?
• Comparing: Football and Soccer.
• Ceremony vs. show at the modern Olympics.
• Commercialization of the modern Olympic Games.
• Preparing to Be an Effective Follower in Sports.
• Legacies of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
• The theory of sports spectacle: a case of the Olympics.
• Factors of eligibility and success at the ancient versus modern Olympics.
• Coubertin’s rationale for reviving the Olympic Games.
• Anthropology of the Olympic Games.
• Corporate Social Responsibility in Sports Organizations.
• Introduction of wrestling to the list of Olympic Games.
• Budapest vs. Athens: options for Olympic revival.
• Olympic Agenda 2020.
• Professional Athletes Allowed to Use Steroids.
• Olympics at the intersection of tradition and modernity.
• Rules and reforms at the Olympics.
• Predictability of gold medal performances at the Olympics.
• Analysis of the National Basketball Association.
• Olympics and visual art: visual content of Olympic posters.
• Identity and management of the Olympic culture.
• Olympic athletes’ nutrition : doping concerns.
• Olympic marketing.
• Positive Self-Talk and Its Impact on Athletes.
• The International Olympic Committee and its legal status.
• Rebranding of the Olympics: from oblivion to international significance.
• Olympic education: core values.
• Steroid Usage in Professional Sports.
• The arts in the Olympics: evolution of status.

🏺 Essay about Ancient Greece Olympics: Topic Ideas

Looking for the best Olympic Games topic? Here are some exciting and fresh ideas for writing an essay about the Olympic Games of ancient times.

• The rationale and mythology surrounding the Olympic Games.
• The origin of the Olympic Games.
• The concept of Ekecheiria (Olympic truce) in ancient times.
• Mesoamerican Ballgame: The Origin, Cultural, Formal and Material Aspects .
• The impact of the ancient Olympics on the spread of Hellenistic culture .
• Religious festivities during the Olympics.
• Eligibility criteria for athletic participation in the Olympics.
• The fate of the Olympic winner: what privileges were they awarded?
• Competing mythological stories about the origin of the Olympics: Heracles vs. Pelops.
• Athletic events in the Mediterranean as the roots of the Olympics.
• The peculiarities of the ancient Olympiad calendar.
• Evolution of the Olympics from regional competitions to part of the Panhellenic Games.
• Olympic vs. Pythian games.
• Health Care Career Choice: Athletic Trainer.
• The Olympic Games during the imperial period .
• Robbery of the Olympia by General Sulla.
• Revival of the Olympics under Emperor Augustus.
• Unanimous winner: the infamous story of the Olympic Games and Emperor Nero.
• The second revival of the Olympic Games under Philhellenic rulers.
• Decline of the Olympics in the 3rd century AD: causes and processes.
• Evolution of location choices for hosting ancient Olympic Games.
• The culture of the Olympics: from religion to broader cultural significance.
• Olympics and politics in ancient Greece.
• Athletic activities included in the ancient Olympics.
• Training for Olympic competitions in the ancient period.
• Running as an ancient Olympic kind of sport.
• The role of pentathlon in the ancient Olympics.
• Sports Coaching Career and Its History.
• Variety of equestrian events in the ancient Olympics.
• The most famous Olympic athletes of ancient times.
• The origins of the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.
• Exclusion of women from the ancient Olympics Games.
• Cheating in the ancient Olympics.
• Religiosity as the central aspect of the ancient Olympics.
• VR technology for the reconstruction of the ancient Olympics.
• The myth around universal eligibility of athletes.
• Travel routines of ancient Olympic Games spectators.
• Conditions for athletes and spectators at the ancient Olympics.
• The first Olympic Games.
• The fundamentals of the Olympic spirit: games for the gods.
• Olympic Games’ lessons for peace .
• The concept of athletic excellence in the ancient vs. modern Olympics.
• The cultural significance of the ancient Olympics.

🦼 Essay on Special Olympics: Topics

• Arguments against Special Olympics.
• What drives Special Olympic athletes to participate?
• Contribution of Special Olympics to social acceptance of people with mental disabilities.
• Special Olympics and community integration of disabled athletes.
• How Do Sports Affect Disabled People Psychologically?
• The potential benefits of Special Olympics for the physically disabled.
• Volunteering motivations among Special Olympics participants.
• Self-concept and participation in Special Olympics.
• The role of Special Olympics in making mental handicaps more understandable to the community.
• Segregation of the Special Olympics program from other Olympic events.
• Damaging effects of participant labeling as handicapped at the Special Olympics.
• The stigmatizing effect of the term “special” in Special Olympics.
• History and rationale behind Special Olympics’ creation.
• Shriver’s ideas behind the Special Olympics program.
• The symbolism of the Special Olympics logo .
• Host cities for the Special Olympics World Games.
• Eligibility criteria for participation in Special Olympic games.
• List of sports activities covered in the Special Olympics program.
• The concept of Unified Sport.
• Health screenings for Special Olympics participants – the Healthy Athletes initiative.
• Special Olympics and paternalism.
• “We Want More Diversity but…” in Sports Clubs.
• Psychosocial consequences of involvement in the Special Olympics.
• Postural stability in Special Olympics athletes.
• Ethical concerns surrounding the Special Olympics program.
• Parental justifications for Special Olympics participation.
• Commercialization of Special Olympics.
• Special Olympics as a controversial program for people with severe disabilities .
• Social skills development among Special Olympics athletes.
• Disabled athletes and team sports .
• Promoting social inclusion for people with severe disabilities via sport.
• Cardiovascular health of Special Olympics participants.
• Coaching at the Special Olympics.
• Effects of Special Olympics participation on the self-efficacy of people with Down syndrome.
• Prevalence of obesity among Special Olympics participants.
• Injuries sustained during the Special Olympics contests.
• Is Special Olympics a sport or social event?

🪧 Politics and the Olympics Essay: Topics

• Nationalism and identity at the modern Olympics.
• China’s soft power strategy at the Beijing Olympics.
• Sports Analysis: Steroids and HGH in Sports.
• A political history of the modern Olympics.
• Olympics and Its Economic Impact.
• Rebranding of China at the Olympics: Beijing vs. Rio.
• Language policy in the planning of Olympic events.
• Economic Impact of the London 2012 Olympics on the UK Economy.
• Nation branding and country image: how the Olympic Games help shape them.
• The concept of sport nationalism .
• Institutions and governance of sport: a case of the Olympics.
• Participation in the Olympic Games during warfare.
• Physical Therapy Services for Sports Injuries.
• China’s Olympic dream.
• Dilemmas of intersecting sports and politics at the Olympics.
• Political heritage of the Olympic Games.
• Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs and in World of Sport.
• Olympics as a tool of power and protest.
• London 2012 Olympic Games.
• Eurocentrism in the modern Olympic games.
• Policy analysis of gender inequality in the Olympics.
• Determinants of national success at the Olympics.
• Modern Olympics as a celebration of capitalism.
• Human Resource Management for Tourism, Sports and Creative Industries.
• Mega-event Olympic politics: lessons for the hosting cities.
• Jews and the Olympics.
• Agenda 2020: promise and reality of organizational change .
• The politics of Olympic doping: 1960-2008.
• Behind the scenes of Olympic politics.
• Gender politics of the Olympics.
• Global politics and the Olympics.
• The fundamentals of sports politics.
• The 1936 Nazi games in Berlin.
• Children Participation in Sports.
• Political steering at the 2012 London Games.
• Apoliticism and power games at the Olympics.
• How to keep politics out of sports? The case of the Olympic Games.
• Bribery charges in the IOC.
• 2008 Olympic Games in China.
• The Olympic Charter’s position on misconduct .
• Corruption in the bidding process at the Olympics.
• Macro-politics and the Olympic hegemony.
• Sports-Related Problems and Conflicts.
• Attempts to challenge the Olympic supremacy with alternative sports competitions.
• Colonialism and sport at the Olympics.

In this section, we will explain how to write an essay about Olympic Games. Below, you will find detailed explanations and examples.

Olympic Game Essay: Introduction

The introduction should give the reader a clear understanding of the paper’s content and significance. This section should be engaging and informative, setting the stage for the rest of the essay.

Body Paragraph on Olympic Games

Use transitions to ensure your essay flows smoothly. Each section should build on the previous one and contribute to the overall argument or thesis statement.

Olympic Essay Conclusion

Then, reflect on the significance of the topic and its implications for the readers or society. Avoid presenting new information or arguments in the conclusion . Instead, this section should provide a sense of closure and leave a lasting impression of the writer’s ideas.

Now it’s time to follow the tips and guidelines outlined in this article to write a successful paper. Pick a topic that interests you, do research, and organize your essay logically. Use our free online topic generator if you need more ideas for your paper.

• More Than the Games: The Olympics and the Global Spotlight on Societal Issues | University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• The Necessity of Considering the Challenges Facing Olympic Movement | ResearchGate
• The Dirty Games: How London 2012 Became Tainted | The Guardian
• Beijing Olympics Then and Now | NBC News
• The Olympics — Then and Now | UCI School of Humanities
• How to Write a Strong Body Paragraph for an Essay | MasterClass
• Going for Gold: Research Topics on the Olympic and Paralympic Games | Frontiers
• The History of the Olympic Games | BBC
• Olympics: Topics in Chronicling America | Library of Congress

414 Proposal Essay Topics for Projects, Research, & Proposal Arguments

725 research proposal topics & title ideas in education, psychology, business, & more.

Essay on Olympic Games

Students are often asked to write an essay on Olympic Games in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Olympic Games

Introduction.

The Olympic Games are a global sports event held every four years. They bring together athletes from all over the world to compete in a variety of sports.

The Olympics originated in ancient Greece around 776 BC. Back then, it was a religious festival to honor the god Zeus.

Modern Olympics

The modern Olympics started in 1896, thanks to Pierre de Coubertin. They include summer and winter games, with thousands of athletes participating.

The Olympic rings symbolize unity. The five rings represent the continents of the world, united by the spirit of sportsmanship.

The Olympic Games promote peace, unity, and friendship among nations through sports. They are a testament to human strength and determination.

Also check:

• 10 Lines on Olympic Games
• Paragraph on Olympic Games

250 Words Essay on Olympic Games

The Olympic Games, a global sporting event held every four years, is the epitome of athletic excellence and international camaraderie. It traces its origin back to 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, where it was held as a religious festival to honor Zeus, the king of the Greek gods.

Evolution of the Games

The modern Olympics, inaugurated in 1896, has grown from a primarily European event to a truly global phenomenon. The Games have evolved to include more sports, athletes, and nations over the years. They are now divided into Summer and Winter Olympics, accommodating a diverse range of sports activities.

Symbolism and Values

The Olympics represent more than just competition. They symbolize unity, peace, and the human spirit’s indomitable will. The five interlocked rings on the Olympic flag signify the global nature of the Games, bringing together athletes from five continents.

Impact of the Olympics

The Olympics have significant socio-economic impacts on the host cities and countries. They stimulate infrastructure development, create jobs, and boost tourism. However, they also pose challenges, including high costs and potential environmental damage.

In conclusion, the Olympic Games are a testament to human potential and global unity. Despite the challenges, they continue to inspire generations, fostering a sense of global community and shared humanity. The Olympics embody the spirit of perseverance, resilience, and mutual respect, transcending the barriers of nationality, race, and creed.

500 Words Essay on Olympic Games

The Olympic Games, a quadrennial international multi-sport event, is one of the most significant global sporting phenomena. Originating in ancient Greece around 776 BC, the Olympics symbolize unity, sportsmanship, and global camaraderie.

Historical Overview

The ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece, as a religious and athletic festival to honor Zeus, the king of Greek Gods. The Games were marked by a sacred truce, encouraging peace among the warring city-states. However, in 393 AD, they were abolished by Emperor Theodosius I, who considered them a pagan ritual.

Revived in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator and historian, the modern Olympics have come a long way. Coubertin’s intention was to promote international understanding and peace through sporting competition. His vision has largely been realized, with the Games evolving into a global event that brings together athletes from over 200 nations.

The Olympic Ideals

The Olympic Games are more than just a sporting event; they embody ideals that resonate deeply with human values. The Olympic Charter, the codified rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games, emphasizes the role of sport in promoting a peaceful society and preserving human dignity. The five interlocking rings on the Olympic flag represent the unity of the five continents, reinforcing the vision of global unity and peace.

Impact on Globalization

The Olympics have played a significant role in globalization. They have become a platform for nations to showcase their cultural heritage, technological advancements, and economic prowess. The Games’ global audience also facilitates cultural exchange and understanding, thereby fostering global unity and peace.

Controversies and Challenges

Despite its noble ideals, the Olympics have not been without controversies and challenges. Issues such as doping, corruption within the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and political boycotts have often marred the Games. The high costs of hosting the event have also led to debates about its economic viability and sustainability.

The Olympic Games, with their rich history and global impact, are a testament to the unifying power of sport. Despite the challenges, they continue to inspire millions worldwide, promoting values of fair play, perseverance, and unity. As we move forward, it is essential to uphold these values and ensure that the Games remain a beacon of hope and unity in an increasingly divided world.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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A complete history of the summer Olympics, covering every host city

T he history of the Summer Olympics does not just show us how sports have evolved over time, but also holds a mirror up to the political and social contexts of the period.

In preparation for this summer’s Paris Olympics, Telegraph Sport has detailed the history of the modern Summer Olympics since the Games were first held in Athens in 1896, listing all summer Olympics host cities. 

This year’s Olympics begin on Friday, July 26 with Paris hosting the summer Games for the third time - and first time in 100 years.

Click on the links below to go to a specific summer Olympics:

Athens 1896 | Paris 1900 | St Louis 1904 | London 1908 | Stockholm 1912 | Antwerp 1920 | Paris 1924 | Amsterdam 1928 | Los Angeles 1932 | Berlin 1936 | London 1948 | Helsinki 1952 | Melbourne 1956 | Rome 1960 | Tokyo 1964 | Mexico City 1968 | Munich 1972 | Montreal 1976 | Moscow 1980 | Los Angeles 1984 | Seoul 1988 | Barcelona 1992 | Atlanta 1996 | Sydney 2000 | Athens 2004 | Beijing 2008 | London 2012 | Rio 2016 | Tokyo 2020 | Paris 2024

Olympic Games list

Athens 1896 - where it all began.

1,500 years after the end of the ancient Olympics, the modern Olympic Games we know and love today were born. It was organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had been created by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin.

Fourteen nations, represented solely by men, battled it out across 43 events in the newly-renovated Panathenaic stadium that was originally opened in 566 BC. 

The competition’s first ever gold medal was awarded to American James Connolly for triple jump. He also finished second in the high jump and third in the long jump.

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Organisers under-promoted the Games - spread across five months and held as part of the World’s Fair - so much that many participants were reportedly not even aware they had competed in the Olympics. 

Women made their first appearance in the modern Olympics, with 22 women competing across five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, golf and equestrian. 

Equestrian sport made its Olympic debut in Paris, including long and high jump competitions for the first and only time in Olympic history. Tennis was one of five sports where athletes from different nations competed on the same team. The four others were football, polo, rowing and tug of war.

St Louis 1904

Just 12 countries competed in the 1904 Olympics, with US athletes accounting for 83 per cent of participants.  Again, the Games were spread out over a long period - four-and-a-half months- as part of the World’s Fair.

Women were only permitted to compete in archery out of the approximately 100 sports available. For the first time, gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for first, second and third place.

American gymnast George Eyser took home six medals, three gold, after competing with a wooden left leg.

London 1908

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 forced the Olympics to relocate from Rome to London with very little notice, in what ended up being the longest Games in history (187 days). For the first time, a stadium was built especially for the Games, with the site in London’s Shepherd’s Bush becoming the centrepiece of the event, while swimming and diving events were held in a pool for the first time.

Athletes from Finland, then part of the Russian rule, chose not to march with a flag in protest against Russian rule’

Finnish athletes protested against Russian rule; several Irish competitors refused to compete as subjects of the British crown and Ralph Rose, the US shot-putter, refused to dip the American flag to King Edward VII.

Stockholm 1912

Japan was the first Asian country to ever compete when they joined the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

The first ever death while competing occurred when Portuguese runner Francisco Lazzaro died during the marathon, a number that has since only risen to two. 

Boxing doesn’t take place for the only time in history as Swedish law banned it.

Berlin 1916 - cancelled due to World War 1

Antwerp 1920.

Belgium, still reeling from the devastation of World War One, bravely took on the challenge of hosting, with Germany, Austria, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria and the new Soviet Union not invited to attend.

The infamous five-ring flag is seen for the first time in the Opening Ceremony. The Olympic oath was taken for the first time by athlete on  behalf of competitors.

Sweden’s Oscar Swahn becomes the oldest medalist in Olympic history at 72 with silver in the double-shot running deer event.

A Games of firsts - the first Olympic village, first official closing ceremony and first standard 50m pool. The number of nations attending went from 29 to 44, with the mass appear of the Olympics as a major event growing. 

The Games were later immortalised in 1981 film ‘Chariots of Fire’, telling the story of British gold medal-winning athletes Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams.

It was also the last time tennis was played as a full medal sport until Seoul 1988, with American Titanic survivor Richard Norris Williams winning mixed doubles gold.

Amsterdam 1928

The only Olympics to be held in the Netherlands brought with it the start of some of today’s most sacred Games traditions.

The Olympic flame was lit in the cauldron for the first time and Greece led the parade of nations, like they will down the Seine in July, with hosts France last. The number of female athletes more increased again, with women allowed to compete in gymnastics and athletics.

Australian rower, Henry Pearce, stopped mid-race to let a family of ducks pass and still secured gold.

Los Angeles 1932

Despite the fact the 1932 Olympics took place during the Great Depression, and the number of participants was the lowest since 1904, the sheer scale and quality of the Coliseum Olympic stadium shocked the world and set a new standard for hosting for years to come. 

1932 marked the beginning of the new shortened schedule (16 days on this occasion) with previous games taking place over at least 79 days.

Only 126 women competed, making up only approximately 9.6% of competitors, a stark difference to Tokyo 2020 where 49.2% of athletes were female.

Berlin 1936

Adolf Hitler controversially opened the Berlin Games, which many Jewish athletes chose to boycott. 

However, no nations abstained from competing, despite threats from the United States. Berlin 1936 was the first televised Games whilst also being the first to feature the Olympic torch relay, which was carried from Olympia to Berlin. 

American Jesse Owens left a lasting impact on the world when he took home four gold medals, single-handedly ‘crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy’, and went on to be one of the most famous athletes in track history.

Basketball, canoeing and field handball all appeared for the first time.

London 1944 and Tokyo 1940 - cancelled  

London 1948.

The Games made a long-awaited return to London after disruption from World War Two resulted in a 12-year hiatus.

Germany and Japan were not on the guest list, and the Soviet decided not to attend. Dutch runner Fanny Blankers-Koen became the first woman to ever win four gold medals in a single Olympics, while Bob Mathias won the decathlon for America aged 17, only four months after taking up the sport.

Helsinki 1952

Israel and the Soviet Union took to the Olympic stage for the first time in history, while women were allowed to compete with men in the first mixed equestrian events.

Czech runner Emil Zátopek achieved an incredible feat when he won gold in his first ever marathon, as well as sweeping to victory in both the 5,000 and 10,000m races.

Melbourne 1956

Oceania’s first Olympics took place later in the year, during Australia’s summer.

The first ever Olympic boycott took place when Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland all refused to take part in an act of disapproval of the Soviet invasion of Hungary, and China boycotted too in protest of Taiwan competing as its own nation. Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon were also absent to protest against the invasion of Egypt by France, Israel and the UK after Egypt nationalised the Suez canal.

The deep cold war hostilities showed when the USSR water polo team played Hungary, in a clash known as the ‘blood in the water’ match.

Muhammad Ali, back when he was known as Cassius Clay, took gold in Rome in the light-heavyweight boxing category, kickstarting a memorable sporting career.

Abebe Bikila, representing Ethiopia, became the first Black African gold medal winner when he won the marathon barefoot.

Asia’s first Olympics was the first Games to be broadcasted internationally, revolutionising Olympic coverage forever. It was also the last Games where hand timing by stopwatch was used for official timing.

Volleyball and men’s judo made their debuts on the centre stage while Yoshinori Sakai, a Hiroshima native born the day the atomic bomb was dropped, lit the torch in a poignant tribute to those lost in the tragedy.

Mexico City 1968

Latin America’s first Games saw a woman - Mexican hurdler Enriqueta Basilio - light the cauldron for the first time and mandatory doping tests for winners.

A big year for the US that saw Bob Beamon set the standard for long jump with a world record that would go on to stand for almost 23 years. The super heavyweight gold boxing medal went to George Foreman.

In a symbolic moment of protest, Black American sprinters Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) took a stand for civil rights, bowing their heads and raising their black-gloved fists as ‘Star Spangled Banner’ rang out in the Olympic Stadium. They were suspended and banned from the Olympic Games for life by the IOC. Critics called Smith and Carlos’ actions a politicising of the Olympic Games.

Munich 1972 - Motto: ‘The Cheerful Games’

The largest Games to date at the time saw 195 events, 7,134 athletes and 121 nations compete. 

A dark shadow was cast over the celebrations on September 5 when the Palestinian Black September militant group stormed the Olympic Village, killing two members of the Israeli team and taking nine hostages. A total of 17 individuals lost their lives.

The Games were temporarily suspended for the first time in history out of respect for those killed before recommencing with IOC president Avery Brundage stating: “The Games must go on!”

Montreal 1976 - Motto: ‘Long Live the Montreal Games’

Canada’s first time as summer Olympic Games hosts.  The victim of another boycott, this time by more than 20 mostly African nations due to the fact the New Zealand rugby union had toured apartheid stricken South Africa and the nation was due to compete at the Games.

Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn Jenner, smashed the decathlon record, winning gold for the US and 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci won everyone’s hearts when she scored the first perfect 10 in history on the uneven bars.

Moscow 1980 

A quiet Olympics, after a boycott led by US president Jimmy Carter against the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan resulted in the fewest number of participating nations since 1956.

A lacklustre 80 competing countries resulted in a forgettable competition.

Los Angeles 1984 - ‘Play a Part in History’

Yet another boycott, this time by the USSR after a US-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games, prevents 14 Soviet nations from competing but to little avail more widely.

The LA Games, officially opened by president Ronald Reagan, attracted a then-record 140 countries, and net profits of $223million (£176m)

Controversy erupted when US favourite Mary Decker tripped after colliding with Britain’s Zola Budd in the women’s 3,000m. 

Seoul 1988 - ‘Harmony and progress’

Tennis bounced back onto the international stage after a 64-year absence with Steffi Graf concluding her Grand Slam season by winning gold. Table tennis was also introduced.

The decision to not allow North Korea to co-host was not well received, and with Cuba, Nicaragua and Ethiopia joining them in boycotting the Games.

The drama didn’t stop there - Canada sprinter Ben Johnson set a world record in the 100m before being disqualified for taking steroids - the first notable athlete to be disqualified for using drugs.

Barcelona 1992 - ‘Friends for Life’

The Barcelona Olympics gave us the iconic snap of Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo using his arrow to light the torch in the Opening Ceremony.

The US basketball ‘Dream Team’ shone, with legendary trio Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird owned the court and took home gold.

The Games also featured a newly reunified Germany team competing, South Africa’s return after the end of apartheid and the 12 of the 15 new countries following the dissolution of the Soviet Union competing as a Unified Team.

Badminton and women’s judo were introduced, baseball was made a medal-winning sport and canoe slalom returned to the Olympic program.

Atlanta 1996 - ‘Centennial Olympic Games’

A summer of great achievement and innovation was overshadowed by the explosion of a pipe bomb in a terror attack at the Centennial Olympic park, claiming two lives and injuring over a hundred.

A star-studded Opening Ceremony included President Bill Clinton with boxing legend Muhammad Ali lighting the iconic cauldron.

US women swept the floor in softball, basketball, football and the gymnastics team event, while Michael Johnson became the first man in Olympic history to win both the 200m and 400m.

New sports included beach volleyball, mountain biking, lightweight rowing and women’s football.

Sydney 2000 - ‘Games of the New Millennium’

EPO detection and blood tests were introduced in a crackdown on doping, and the divided North and South Korea stood as a united front as they marched into the Opening Ceremony under one flag.

Taekwondo and the triathlon made its Olympics debut, and women competed in weightlifting and the modern pentathlon for the first time.

Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, competing in his hometown, got his big break with three golds and two silvers to mark him out as the most successful athlete at the 2000 Games.

Britain’s Sir Steve Redgrave also made it five golds at consecutive Games - an Olympic rowing record.

Athens 2004 - ‘Welcome Home’

The birthplace of the Games played host once more, 108 years after the first in 1896. 

There were a record number of teams (201) and a debut from Kiribati and East Timor under its own flag added to the diversity of the cohort. 

American swimming great Michael Phelps won six gold medals and set a single-Games record with eight medals in total.

German kayaking champion Birgit Fischer came out of retirement for one last hurrah and became the first to win two medals in five different Games, solidifying her place in the kayaking hall of fame.

Beijing 2008 - ‘One World, One dream’

Beijing 2008 was China’s first Olympics, with no expense spared.  Setting a new standard with their glitzy opening ceremony, which cost reportedly over $10 million (£7.9m), it set the tone for future Games.

Phelps took home a whopping eight gold medals, bettering his achievements from four years previously, while it remains a feat nobody else has been able to top. 

Jamaica’s best sprinter Usain Bolt also made a stunning impression, winning three golds in both the 100 and 200m sprints and the 4x100m relay. 

London 2012 - ‘Inspire a Generation’

The London Games, centred around the Olympic Park in East London, were a great one for women, with Saudi Arabia allowing women to compete for the first time and Team USA having a higher ratio of female athletes to males.

The now-disgraced household name Oscar Pistorius made headlines as the first amputee to compete in an Olympic track event,  representing South Africa. 

Sir Mo Farah famously gold in both the men’s 10,000m and 5000m, with the former coming on what was dubbed ‘Super Saturday’ with Great Britain’s most successful day (six golds) at an Olympics since 1908.

Rio 2016 - ‘A New World’

Zika virus concerns plagued the first Olympic Games held in South America. However, it was one to remember too with the city’s stunning backdrop catching the eye. 11,238 athletes from 207 nations took part, including first-time entrants Kosovo, South Sudan and the Refugee Olympic Team.

Rugby sevens made its Olympic debut with rugby having last featured in 1924. Likewise, golf made is return after 112 years off the program.

US gymnast Simone Biles stunned judges in her first Olympic appearance, taking home four gold medals, and fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad made history as the first Muslim American athlete to compete in a hijab.

Tokyo 2020 - ‘United by Emotion’

An interesting year for sport to say the least, with the Olympic Games, like so many other sporting events, postponed for 12 months to 2021 due to the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

When Japan did then get to play host (for the second time in the summer after 1964) the Games were played out in front of empty arenas with spectators banned due to the pandemic, making it the first time in Olympic history a crowd-less Games had taken place.

Aiming to appeal to a new, younger generation, sports such as skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and karate appeared for the first time, as did events such as BMX freestyle and 3x3 basketball. The Games were also declared the first gender-balanced Olympic Games in history by the IOC.

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Paris becomes the second city after London to host the Summer Olympics three times after 1900 and 1924. It is expected to be the first to feature an identical number of male and female athletes. Breaking (also known as breakdancing) will make its Olympic debut.

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Track Will Be First Sport to Pay Olympic Gold Medalists

Winners in Paris will get $50,000 each from track and field’s governing body, as Olympic amateurism continues to fade away.

By Victor Mather

Track and field will be the first sport to give direct cash payments for Olympic gold medals, the sport’s federation announced Wednesday.

For decades, the Olympics trumpeted the ideal of amateurism. It took pride in being a competition where elite athletes battled for nothing more than the joy of representing their country.

Amateurism was touted as the best way to keep sports clean, fair and honest. “Professionalism” was looked down on as vulgar and mercenary. But the notion of amateurism at the Olympics has eroded over the last three decades, as professional athletes have been allowed to participate.

Now World Athletics, the global governing body for track and field, will break new ground by making payments to competitors more straightforward: All individual gold medalists in the sport at the Paris Games this summer will receive $50,000. (Winning relay teams will share the money.) The federation said it would begin paying silver and bronze medalists lesser amounts in 2028.

The federation president, Sebastian Coe, a two-time gold medalist in the amateur era, called the decision “a pivotal moment for World Athletics and the sport of athletics as a whole, underscoring our commitment to empowering the athletes and recognizing the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games.”

Mr. Coe is considered a leading candidate to be the next president of the International Olympic Committee, and could perhaps pave the way for an expansion of the payments to other sports.

Depending on the athlete, the prize money could be a significant reward. “On the surface, $50,000 probably does not seem like a great deal of money for an Olympic champion,” said Kyle Merber, a former elite miler and a contributor to the track and field news website Citius Mag. “But for many of the individuals in non-premier events, who perhaps compete for a smaller country, this money can go a long way.”

The ideal of amateurism, which developed as a concept in the 19th century, was also a convenient way for the Olympics to keep out working-class athletes who couldn’t afford to skip work to compete against “gentlemen.”

As professional leagues in many sports started popping up around the world in the 20th century, the Olympics drew a hard line, disqualifying any athletes who were tainted by accepting filthy lucre. Most notoriously, the American Jim Thorpe, regarded as the world’s greatest athlete, was stripped of his two gold medals from the 1912 Games when it was discovered he had accepted a few dollars for playing professional baseball some years before. (That decision was not fully reversed until 2022.)

Amateurism was taken extremely seriously. A seemingly harmless proposal to allow amateurs and professionals to compete in the same events was described as a “radical scheme” in The New York Times in 1913.

Eventually, as the Olympics grew in global popularity, amateurism allowed the International Olympic Committee to benefit from essentially free labor and keep as much of the billions of dollars in TV money it earned as possible.

Amateurism also gave the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries a big edge in international competition after World War II. Since there were nominally no professional athletes in a Communist system, entrants from those countries could compete in the Olympics through their 20s and 30s while earning a living as “coaches” or “teachers.” Western athletes often quit competing in the Games after college to play professionally or get a real job. Opponents of the system denounced it as “shamateurism.”

With the Olympic committee eager to lure the world’s best athletes to the Games, strict amateurism rules started to ease in the 1990s. It worked, most notably with the likes of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson playing basketball for the United States. But the newly arrived professional athletes still were not directly paid prize money for their medals, although certain national federations often offered cash bonuses.

Amateurism is no longer the watchword of the Olympic movement: The word appears nowhere in the 112 pages of the current Olympic Charter . Much like athletes competing in the nude, as they did at the ancient Greek Games, Olympic amateurism may be slipping into history.

Scott Cacciola contributed reporting.

Victor Mather covers sports as well as breaking news for The Times. More about Victor Mather

How to make Michael Twitty’s matzoh ball gumbo, a soup of Black and Jewish cuisines

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With a rainbow knitted kippah affixed to the crown of his head, Michael Twitty is paced and intentional as he moves through the test kitchen at the L.A. Times. He’s here to make one of his classic Passover dishes, matzoh ball gumbo, which combines two recipes from his food memoir “ Koshersoul .”

The crimson stew adds buoyant, scallion-studded matzoh balls to a heartening okra gumbo, joining two staple dishes from Jewish and Black Southern cuisines. Chicken broth and diced tomatoes lend the finished gumbo their umami, with a Creole spice blend that imparts a gentle, humming heat.

Twitty, who hails from the Washington, D.C., area, says he’s always wanted to winter in Los Angeles. He’s been living at the junction of Beverly Hills, Pico-Robertson and West Hollywood since November and, following a short trip back to the East Coast in March, plans to stay through June.

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After hosting a conversation at chef Martin Draluck’s Black Pot Supper Club series in February, Twitty will take over the kitchen at Baldwin Hills’ Post & Beam restaurant with his “Koshersoul” dinner pop-up on Wednesday, May 15. The evening will include back-to-back dinners with recipes from the book. The first service will lean into Twitty’s Jewish background with West African brisket and peach rice kugel, as well as matzoh ball gumbo. The second will embrace a cookout vibe with the same brisket plus barbecue chicken and lamb (all of the meat will be kosher), baked beans and collard green lox wraps.

“Koshersoul,” the follow up to his James Beard Award-winning “The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History,” details Twitty’s journey as a Black, gay and Jewish man and draws meaningful links between Afro-Atlantic and global Jewish culinary practices, including the contributions of Jews of color. It was named the 2023 book of the year at the National Jewish Book Awards, making Twitty the first Black author to win the distinction. Currently, Twitty is working on a cookbook with essential recipes from the American South and has plans to write another food memoir and history that will serve as a queer journey through the culinary world.

Michael Twitty became the first African American author to win the National Jewish Book Award in 2023 for his book “Koshersoul.”

Chef and author Michael Twitty adds matzoh balls to okra gumbo in a Passover recipe from his “Koshersoul” book.

He credits food historian Marcie Cohen Ferris for inspiring the matzoh ball gumbo recipe. Published in 2010, Ferris’ book “ Matzoh Ball Gumbo ” explores the historic foodways of Southern Jews, including the influence of Black Southerners and Black women in particular.

“When I make this dish, I’m thinking how can we connect to that past and history, and recount the people who were often nameless?” says Twitty. He says that for European Jews assimilating in the Deep South in the early and mid 20th century, food, often prepared by Black domestic workers, was a conduit for belonging.

Rather than a blending or “fusion” of culinary styles, Twitty sees his matzoh ball gumbo as an act of preservation. It’s a continuation of Southern food stories, highlighting the traditions that extend across the African and Jewish diasporas.

“You can compare it to soup and dumplings from Jamaica, or omo tuo from Ghana,” he says. “In West and Central Africa, the main meal is often a soup, sauce or stew with a starch — sauce and fufu, sauce and banku, sauce and millet or rice balls. There are so many parallels there.”

He continues, saying that, “Jewish tradition is extremely fluid and flexible. We eat foods that have their roots in very ancient ideas, but bear very little resemblance to their original concept.”

Twitty begins by methodically chopping the herbs and vegetables for his gumbo and matzoh balls: parsley, green onions, garlic and the “holy trinity” of onion, celery and bell pepper.

Next, he makes the dough for the matzoh balls. Cooking alongside Twitty reminds me of sharing kitchen space with my late great-grandmother Madea, a born-and-raised Mississippian. Like her, he measures in pinches, makes last-minute adjustments (such as substituting salt for baking powder in the matzoh ball dough) and gives a deep, satisfied grunt when his taste-testing yields the desired results.

Once the matzoh ball dough is finished, Twitty seals the bowl with plastic wrap and puts it in the refrigerator to rest.

As he slices the okra into razon-thin rounds, our conversation winds from the Yiddish words for matzoh ball and Passover (kneidlach and Pesach, respectively) to his experiences traveling to Italy and various countries in West Africa.

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We’re weeks away from Passover, but the atmosphere feels similar to a Seder Twitty might host. The conversation is peppered with laughter, and topics that are usually avoided at the dinner table — namely, religion and politics — are met with curiosity and understanding. Such discussions, Twitty says, are integral to the spirit of Passover. He describes a long history of Seders that supported early labor movements, women’s rights and Black and Jewish liberation.

“It’s exactly what Pesach is supposed to do, which is open those gates of liberation and lack of constraints to the rest of humanity,” he says. “It can be both an origin story moment for the Jewish people, and a human liberation story for all of mankind. It was always meant to be that way.”

Twitty pauses to give the roux his full attention. He stirs slowly, peeking into the deep-bottomed pot to gauge its progress. The potato starch that he uses instead of flour takes longer to brown, about 15 minutes. Twitty dips a spoon in to taste; his throaty purr tells us that it’s ready for more broth.

Green and red onion, ginger and garlic add aromatic, peppery notes to chef Michael Twitty’s matzoh ball gumbo.

Sliced okra is added into a pot of simmering gumbo.

After adding the cooked vegetables, tomatoes, okra, thyme and Creole seasoning, we let the concoction simmer and turn our attention back to the matzoh balls. We fill a large pot with salted water and wait for it to reach a rolling boil. Twitty shapes the dough into walnut-sized spheres.

One by one, the matzoh balls get dropped into the pot with boiling water. In a departure from the recipe in his book, Twitty takes them out early and transfers them to the gumbo, where he lets them simmer under a lid for an additional 15 minutes.

Finally, we ladle the gumbo into bowls, at least two or three matzoh balls per serving. The okra retains a pleasant crunch and the matzoh balls are savory, a persuasive replacement for rice or even chicken. Someone notes the rare silence that has befallen the kitchen — this gumbo is good.

There are several of us in the kitchen, and Twitty’s gumbo speaks to different parts of each of our heritages. For me, the okra and tomato-rich broth recalls my maternal Mississippi roots, while the matzoh balls take someone else back to childhood experiences making them alongside their Bubbe.

“We have to remember that we co-created the Southern culture with Indigenous people, with white people, with immigrants from all over the world,” Twitty says. “And all of those stories have to be told for it to be a true, full and honest recounting of how we got here, and what mistakes we should refuse to make going forward.”

Find Michael Twitty at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Sunday, April 21, at Booth 410, where he’ll have signed copies of “Koshersoul” available to purchase, 2-3 p.m. Tickets are available for Twitty’s “Koshersoul” dinner pop-up at Post & Beam on Wednesday, May 15, and can be purchased via Eventbrite .

The Recipes

Matzoh Balls

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Danielle Dorsey is the assistant editor and writer of guides for the Food section. Previously, she was the senior West Coast editor at Thrillist, where she covered food, drink and travel across the California region. She grew up across San Diego and Riverside and has happily called Los Angeles home for more than 15 years.

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