Long history of the Olympic Games.

Sports have a very important place in everyone's life, especially the Olympic games. Because the Olympic Games is a wonderful organization that includes dozens of athletes and sports from every nation and allows a sweet competition. So when did the Olympic games first start?

There is no certain information about where and when the ancient Olympic games first started.Although there is no exact information about where and when the Olympic games first started, there are countless myths about it. According to one of them, the games started at the time when the sacrifices were presented to Pelops, who was the Olympian king and gave his name to Peloponnisos.

According to another source, Elis King Ifitos went to Pythia and consulted the oracle in order to protect his kingdom and its people from war in the 9th century BC. The oracle tells him to please them by arranging games in honor of the gods. As a result, Ifitos begins to organize games, and Spartan enemies do not attack them as long as these games continue. The games are held on Mount Olympia, where the gods live, and the games take their name from the fact that they are held on this mountain.

The history of the Olympics dates back to 776 BC.

The ancient Olympic games began in 776 BC. However, the debate about the Olympic history still continues. Although it is accepted that the games were first held on Mount Olympia, the first places where these games were held were the cities of Elis and Pisa on the Peloponnese. In addition, the 12-meter statue of Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the world, is also located on this mountain.

Olympic games are held every 4 years

The Olympic games were held every four years. Even the Greeks adjusted their methods of counting years according to these games. The time between two games was called an "Olympiad" and the date was determined accordingly. In fact, the Ancient Greek historian Ephorus, who lived in the 4th century BC, used the terms pre-Olympic and post-Olympic to describe the date.

In the first period of the Olympic games, there was only stadium sports.

The stadium running track, which was determined by measuring according to the steps of Heracles, was 190 meters. The word stadium used today comes from "stadion", which means foot race in Ancient Greece.

The city where the Olympic games were held was held in high esteem. In addition, the city that organized the games would be more advantageous politically than other cities. For this reason, city-states constantly fought each other to organize the games.

Only free Greek-speaking people could participate in the ancient Olympic games.

This was the case with the ancient Olympic games, although this has changed in the modern Olympic games. People from overseas colonies were also admitted to the Olympic games. In addition, there have been many people who participated in the Olympic Games from the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts and won.

A person had to train for at least 10 months before participating in the ancient olympic games

In order to participate in any game, a competitor had to enter the audition first and then have his name written on the authorized person. In addition, only young people were allowed to participate in the games. Another requirement for participation was that the person train in front of the statue of Zeus for at least 10 months and take an oath not to cheat.

Over the years, new sports began to be added to the Olympic games.

With the following years, new sports branches began to be added to the Olympics. Boxing, wrestling and kariot were among the new sports that received the most attention. While boxing was a normal sport, it started to get very tough over time. While boxing athletes used to cover their hands with soft leather pieces, they later put metal inside the leather pieces.

The games, which were held at the same time as the five-day festivals, continued for three days. In the remaining two days, religious duties were held. The athlete who won a competition in any branch of the Olympic games was honored with a crown made of olive leaves. In addition, the winner received a large cash prize and became famous all over Greece.

The first woman to compete in the ancient Olympic games was the Spartan princess Cynisca

Only men were allowed to participate in the ancient Olympic games and all competitions held in Greece. In later periods, women were only allowed to participate in equestrian competitions. Cynisca, a Spartan princess in 396 and 392 BC, won equestrian competitions.

The beginning of the modern Olympics was the turning point in Olympic history

In 1892, during a lecture at the Sorbonne University in Paris, the French Baron Pierre de Coubertin came up with the idea of an international sports organization. On June 23, 1894, under the leadership of Coubertin, the International Olympic Committee met for the first time with 13 countries and 79 representatives, and they decided to reorganize the Olympic Games and to hold the first Olympics in Athens in 1896.

241 athletes from 14 countries participated in the first modern Olympics held in 1896. The Olympic Games have continued to be held since then. However, due to the 1st and 2nd World Wars, the games in 1916, 1940 and 1944 were not held.

Today, the Olympic Games are held every four years in two separate categories, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

The Olympic Games, the world's most comprehensive sporting event, represent more than 200 countries. In addition, within the scope of the Olympic Games, more than 13.000 athletes in total compete in more than 400 categories.