April 6, 1896 marked the first modern Olympic Games.
The Olympics are a long lost tradition of ancient Greece and were finally reborn after nearly 1,500 years of being dormant. They were banned by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I.
At the opening of the new modern-day Olympics in Athens, King Georgios I of Greece and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed athletes from 14 nations to the international competition, according to history.com.
Samantha Moore / Art Director
There were a total of 243 athletes and 43 events that they participated in that lasted until April 15.
The nations with the largest number of athletes included Greece, Germany, France and Great Britain, according to olympic.org.
“On 6 April 1896, the American James Connolly won the triple jump to become the first Olympic champion in more than 1,500 years. He also finished second in the high jump and third in the long jump,” according to olympic.org.
The mission behind the Olympic games is to contribute to building a better world through peace and educating the youth that sports should be practiced without discrimination.
“Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles,” Olympic Charter, Fundamental principles, paragraph 1.
For some time, Boston, Massachusetts, was a candidate for the Olympic Games, but there are some crucial ways that a city goes from being a candidate to actually becoming a host city.
It takes around 10 years for a city to reach host city status, with a long process that requires much planning.
Along with this planning comes the following, according to olympic.org: “Olympic Agenda 2020 has highlighted the need for a shift in the candidature process in order to accommodate different solutions to meet Games needs within different cities’ contexts. To enable this, the I[nternational] O[lympic] C[ommittee] has placed even further emphasis on sustainability and legacy. In addition, the IOC has carried out a thorough review of Games’ needs in order to reinforce alignment between a city’s long-term development plans and the Games, enabling cities to pursue the promotion of sustainable Games solutions and feasible long-term impacts which meet their needs.”
The next summer Olympic games will be in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan and the next Winter Olympic games will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018.
According to olympic.org, “The Olympic Movement encompasses organisations, athletes and other persons who agree to be guided by the principles of the Olympic Charter.”
Mary Curtin can be contacted at mcurtin@kscequinox.com
