The ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC and Continued till 393 AD. They were held in Olympia, Greece every four years for athletes from the Greek world. The modern games began in 1896 and are held around the world for people of all nations. It took 1,503 years for the Olympics to return. The idea to rekindle the games was a Frenchman’s – Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who came up with the idea in 1894. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece from 6 to 15 April, 1896.
Athletes from 14 nations attended the inaugural games, with the largest number from Greece, Germany, France and Great Britain.
The athletes were all male and competed in 43 events – athletics (track and field), cycling, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, shooting and tennis.
Foreign athletes were greeted with parades and banquets by a crowd estimated to be more than 60,000 on the opening day of the competition. The royal family of Greece played an important role in the organization and management of the Games.
There were only two medals to begin with – silver medals for winners and copper medals for the runners up. Today as we know, the International Olympic Committee has converted these to gold and silver with bronze medals for third place.
Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals, with the US bagging the most gold medals at 11. Greece won the most medals overall 47. It has been 126 years since the first modern Olympics.
On 6 April 1896, the American James Connolly won the triple jump to become the first Olympic champion in more than 1,500 years. He also finished second in the high jump and third in the long jump.
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