Olympic Games Research Paper

Submitted By cmitchell1592
Words: 2035
Pages: 9

Olympics Have you ever met someone from a different culture or different country? Olympic athletes get to meet someone from a different country every 4 years in what is worldwide event to promote worldwide peace. This is also an event of pride for your home country which is originally what the Olympics were made for. The Olympic Games that we enjoy so much actually goes back to thousands of years and has a rich history. The Olympics were started in 776 BC. These game were dedicated to the Olympian gods and they were on the Olympic Plains. They were more than a time to show off physical ability, but were also a time when the people of Greece gave different things to their gods, such as the god of Zeus. The Greek took the Olympics very seriously as it was a part of their religion as many were a part of the Zeus cult who had joined and the Olympics. The Olympics in 776 BC were open to any free male who wanted to compete no matter his social status. Women on the other hand couldn’t attend if they were married, but if unmarried they could attend the games. The Olympic Games first started they were only one day long and had a total of 8 events. These events include running, long jump, shot put, javelin, boxing, pankration and equestrian and wrestling. If you were luck to be the first place winner, you received a ribbon. The other athletes received nothing. The Olympics games began to grow with many more games added to be played, the time period of the games grew and soon the event lasted for four consecutive days with different awards.
The games changed very early on because when the Olympics first started it was only supposed to be for the Greeks. Shortly after they started, the Roman Empire came into power and the games were considered sacrilegious and the games almost stopped. But in the 1800’s the revival of the games began. The final decision for the Olympic Games to finally take place again was in Paris, 1894, with the games starting back where it originally began – Athens. In 1896, the first official modern Olympic Games took place and was the largest sporting event ever held on an international level. This was also the first year the medals were handed out. The first place winners were given a silver medal and diploma, the second place finisher got a copper medal and diploma and the third received nothing. The year 1896 was a big year for the Olympics not only were the first medals being handed out but this was also the first modern Olympics with fourteen nations being represented and over 43 events taking place in the original location that it all started in Athens. It was due to this popularity that it was decided that the games would take place every 4 years. With such a production, it might be asked who oversees or governs such an event? The main actor is the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This committee was created by Pierre Baron De Coubertin on June 23, 1894 became the supreme authority of the Olympics. Mr. Coubertin believed that “if the Olympic Games have been reborn, it was perhaps during those instants when every heart beat as one.”(Guttmann, 14). It was him that decided who the governing body and who suggested that the IOC be as “politically independent as possible.” To achieve this goal, the members were asked to be “ambassadors from the committee to their respective countries. Mr. Coubertin wanted the members to “remember it was the man that mattered, not the country.” (Guttmann, 15).The IOC first priority is to “promote the Olympic movement and to reinforce the unity among its various entities and individuals who accept the guidance of the Olympic Charter that is drawn up” (Chappelet 26). The committee is made up of the President, four Vice-Presidents, and ten other members. The IOC holds full legal rights to the Olympic Games and because of those rights, it has “generated considerable, exponentially growing incomes.” (Chappelet 26). The roles of the committee include many rules