Summer Olympic Games

Olympic Games
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The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international sporting event which are held every four years by the International Olympic Committee. The "Games", as they are often called, are held in a different city each time. It is a great honour for a city to be "awarded" (given) the right to hold the Olympic Games. Two years after the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympic Games are held. The Winter Games were held in the same year as the summer Games from 1924 to 1992 and then switched to two years apart in 1994. These are always in a cold, mountainous place because the sports are all snow and ice sports such as skiing. Many more countries send athletes to the Summer Olympics than to the Winter Olympics

The Olympic Games were first held in Ancient Greece more than two thousand years ago. The first modern Summer Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. There were 200 athletes from Greece and 45 athletes from 13 other countries. Since 1904, medals have been given to the three best athletes or teams in each sport.

The earliest Games consisted of 42 events only, but it was expected that 10,500 athletes would compete in the 302 events on the program for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.^[1]

1. ↑ "Beijing 2008: Games Programme Finalised". International Olympic Committee. 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-05-10.