It's Olympic Games time! July 26 through August 11, 2024.
I've compiled a list of some Olympics Trivia.
Although numbers vary widely from sources - Here is an estimate - this is for entertainment purposes not legitimate statistics.
1896 - Olympic Movement founder Pierre de Coubertin played a central role in the revival of the Olympic Games.
1912 - The Olympic symbol was created.
The five rings are interconnected and represent the union of the five inhabited continents, symbolizing how the games bring the world together to compete.
Each continent has a specific color corresponding with the colors of their flags.
Africa (yellow), the Americas (red), Asia (green), Europe (black), and Oceania (blue).
Olympism is a philosophy of life, a set of values highlighted in the Olympic charter, which encourages the blending of sport with culture and education. Fitness of mind and body, promoting teamwork, social responsibility, and internationally recognized human rights.
The Olympic flame traces its origins back to an ancient Greek tradition of the eternally burning fire on the altar of the goddess Hestia.
It represents peace, unity, and friendship among nations.
“Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter” The new Olympic motto means “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”.
Athletes do not compete as citizens of countries but as members of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team (EOR).
The IOC Refugee Team has been in place since 2016 and provides a team for displaced refugees to compete.
This year, Russia and Belarus were banned from competing due to the war in Ukraine, but the athletes from these countries can compete as "Individual Neutral Athletes" - It's nice to know that they are not made to suffer because of what their leaders are doing.
Now on to the numbers...
In the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games, 10,500+ athletes are expected to participate in 206 NOC and 1 EOR teams.
Top 10 NOC teams with most participants represented this year:
United States - 593.
France - 573
Austria - 460
Germany - 427
Japan - 404
Italy - 403
China - 388
Spain - 382
Great Britain - 327
Canada - 318
The average number of athletes over the decades to participate was:
1900-1930s: Roughly 2,000-3,000.
1940s-1970s: Approximately 4,000-7,000.
1980s-1990s: Around 7,000-10,000.
2000-2020: Consistently around 10,000-11,000.
As of 2024, there have been 30 Summer Olympic Games, even though it is marked by the Roman numeral XXXIII, there have been 3 Olympic Games canceled, 1916, 1940, and 1944.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature 329 events across 32 sports.
Aquatics (swimming, marathon, artistic, diving, water polo)
Archery
Athletics
Badminton
Basketball (3x3, traditional)
Boxing
Breaking*
Canoe (sprint, slalom)
Cycling (BMX freestyle, BMX racing, road, track)
Equestrian (eventing, dressage, jumping)
Fencing
Football
Golf
Gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic, trampoline)
Handball
Hockey
Judo
Modern Pentathlon
Rowing
Rugby (rugby sevens)
Sailing
Shooting
Skateboarding
Sport Climbing
Surfing
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis
Triathlon
Volleyball (beach and court)
Weightlifting
Wrestling (Greco-Roman, freestyle)
*The newest event added to the 2024 Paris Olympics is Breaking (Breakdancing):
Most Medals earned per country since 1896.
USA 2655
Soviet Union 1010
Great Britain 930
Germany 797
France 773
China 636
Italy 632
Austria 541
Hungary 515
Japan 499
The second most successful nation is the Soviet Union, which only took part between 1952 and 1988. They acquired 1010 medals in just ten summer Olympics!
That's it for my Olympic Trivia this week.
Enjoy the games.
Check out the Olympic Anthem.
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