The ancient Greeks began to celebrate the tradition of athletic ability and prestige in their Olympic Games, held every four years to commemorate the mythological god Zeus. In 1896, thousands of years of tradition were revived to modern times Olympic GamesThe first Olympic Games in the summer of 1896, with participants from Europe and the United States, was held in Athens to commemorate the origin of the Olympic Games. In the following years, the Olympic Games began to have athletes from almost every country on the planet participate. Just like ancient Greece, there was fierce competition and drama both inside and outside the stadium.
To celebrate the history of international sports cooperation, Stacker Looking back at the groundbreaking events held in Athens, the modern Olympic Games was born in 1896. Read on to learn more about the athletes, spectators and sports of this iconic event.
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French founder Pierre de Coubertin
After many years of advocacy and organization in France and throughout Europe, the bearded Baron Pierre Coubertin founded the modern Olympic Games, which is impressive. He played an important role in organizing the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is the body that rebuilds the Olympics.
The First International Olympic Committee
The picture shows the members of the first International Olympic Committee (IOC). Pierre de Coubertin played an important role in organizing the institution, and Demetrios Vikelas served as the first chairman of the institution . Vikeras is of Greek origin and has spent some time in London and Paris, which makes him eligible to revive the Athens Olympics. The International Olympic Committee is still the governing body of the modern Olympic Games.
80,000 people crowded the Panathenaic Stadium
The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece was built in 330 BC for ancient games. After centuries of negligence, this crumbling building was excavated and restored in the 19th century for the Zappas Olympic Games. This was the revival of the Olympic Games in Greece and the cornerstone of the multinational Olympic Games in 1896. The stadium was fully restored and hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1896 Olympic Games. It also served as the venue for several games.
Participants from 14 countries
The picture shows the athletes standing in a row on the court, surrounded by crowds of Pan-Athens Stadium.This 14 countries Except for the United States, they are all Europeans. The guiding ideology of the initial competition was that participants cannot be professional athletes, which restricted people’s interest and caused most countries to be reluctant to send participants.
The 100-meter race: a historic start
The picture shows a sprinter preparing for the 100-meter race. On April 6, 1896, Thomas Burke, who represented the United States, won the championship. The only runner Start with a crouching position-now it is standard.
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Princeton four athletes
Princeton University students Albert Tyler, Francis Lane, Robert Garrett Jr. and Herbert B. Jamison traveled to Athens to participate in the first modern Olympic Games. Garret won the discus throw and Tyler finished second in the pole vault.
U.S. wins the discus contest
It is difficult to host the first modern Olympics. Attracting amateur athletes from outside Europe who have to pay to go to Athens is one of the biggest obstacles facing organizers.Princeton Team receive help Provided by the family of student athlete Robert Garrett Jr. who funded the trip. Garrett continues to win the top prize in the discus competition.
Germany wins gymnastics competition
Karl Schumann sat on the shoulders of Alfred Fratto and Hermann Weingartner, who represented Germany in the first Olympics. Schumann is one of the most successful athletes in the competition, winning four gold medals and participating in gymnastics, wrestling and weightlifting competitions.
France dominates cycling
Leon Flameng (left) and Paul Masson won the gold medal in the first cycling event, setting the standard for cycling in France. Flameng won the 100km race, while Masson won the sprint, 2,000m and 10,000m cycling events.
The Olympic Games hosts the first athletic marathon
In this photo, the winner of the 40-kilometer marathon, the Greek Shepherd Spiridon Louis and King George I of Greece ran on the last lap. King George I opened the first Olympic Games and, after success, requested that all future games be held in Athens. However, the next round of competition has been planned to be held in Paris to coincide with the 1900 World Exposition. Athens did not host the Olympic Games again until 2004.
John Boland’s tennis finals turned from spectators to competitors
Shown here is the tennis men’s doubles final. The pair on the right includes Irishman John Boland, who went to Athens as a spectator to watch the Olympics, but participated in a tennis match after a friend signed up. Despite wearing leather-soled shoes with high heels, he still won doubles and singles.
The winner gets a silver medal
The actual medals awarded to the winners in the 1896 Olympics are different from what we are familiar with today: silver (and olive branch) for the first prize, and bronze (and laurel branch) for the second prize. The medal depicts Zeus and Nike. The 1904 Olympics introduced gold, silver and bronze medals.
Portrait of the winner picnic
Mrs. Bakhmetev, wife of the Russian Minister of Athens, organized a picnic party for a group of medal winners. These include marathon champion Spyro Louis and 800m and 1500m running champion Edwin’Teddy’ Flack.
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