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What are the Olympic Games?

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

  1. What are the Olympic Games?

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

The Olympic Games are held in two different modalities, between which two years pass: the Winter Olympic Games and the Summer Olympic Games, different in their sports modalities, logically. The two events are produced and coordinated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) , an institution that has been in operation since 1894.

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

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

  1. History of the Olympic Games

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

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

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

These ancient Olympic games were held until 393 AD. C. , practically one thousand two hundred years before being retaken by contemporary humanity. The interruption was due to the adoption of Christianity by the Roman Empire, a religion that always looked badly at all kinds of inheritances and pagan holidays.

The tradition of the Olympics was resumed at the end of the 19th century, when a French nobleman, Baron de Coubertin, decided to create an Olympic Committee that coordinated new Olympics, honoring those of antiquity and recovering his message of peaceful competition between the different Peoples of humanity.

The celebration of the Olympics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries modified what was celebrated in the tradition, incorporating new disciplines , creating the Olympic Winter Games and also the Paralympic Games, for athletes with some form of disability , or the Youth Olympic Games, intended for teenage athletes.

  1. Disciplines of the Olympic Games (summer)

The sports disciplines practiced in the Summer Olympics are:

  • Athletics ,
  • Badminton,
  • Basketball,
  • Handball,
  • Baseball,
  • Boxing,
  • BMX,
  • Cycling Mountain ,
  • Track cycling,
  • Road Cycling,
  • Swimming,
  • Synchronized swimming,
  • Jump,
  • Water polo,
  • Horse riding,
  • Fencing,
  • Climbing,
  • Football,
  • Gymnastics on trampoline,
  • Artistic gymnastics,
  • Rhythmic gymnastics,
  • Golf,
  • Weightlifting,
  • Grass hockey,
  • Judo,
  • Karate,
  • Fight,
  • Pentathlon,
  • Whitewater,
  • Calm waters,
  • Rowing,
  • Rugby,
  • Skateboarding,
  • Softball,
  • Surf,
  • Taekwondo,
  • Tennis,
  • Ping pong,
  • Archery,
  • Sport’s shot,
  • Triathlon,
  • Candle,
  • Volleyball ,
  • Beach volleyball.
  1. Disciplines of the Olympic Games (winter)

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

  • Biathlon,
  • Bobsleigh,
  • Skeleton,
  • Curling,
  • Nordic Combined,
  • Alpine ski,
  • Cross country ski,
  • Acrobatic ski,
  • I jump in skiing,
  • Snowboarding,
  • Ice Hockey,
  • Luge,
  • Figure skating on ice,
  • Ice speed skating,
  • Speed ​​skating on short track.

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