Olympic+History

The Summer Olympics started in Ancient Greece; as a matter of fact, we do the same games as they did in Ancient Greece today. For example, the discus, you would take a stone Frisbee type object and launch it as far as you can. Legend has it that Hercules destroyed a building with a discus in an Olympic event. The foot race is the first event held in the modern Summer Olympics because that was the first and main event in Ancient Greece; actually, the foot race was the only event in the Ancient Greece at one time. Could you imagine? The Olympics started out as a religious festival to honor the great god, Zeus. When a person won the Olympics, they would receive an Olive Branch instead of a medal. When the Romans took over Greece, slaves would have gone up against wild animals as an Olympic event. It lost a lot of people’s interests.
 * __ The Olympic History __**
 * Have you ever wondered where the Olympics began? **

The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France. The Olympic flame was introduced in 1928. The relay went from Ath ens, Greece to Berlin. The flame lights four columns at every Olympics. The first gold was won by America’s speed skater Charles Jewtraw in any modern Olympics. Eddie Eagan (USA), Jacob Tullin Thames, Christa Luding Rothenburger (East Germany) and Clara Hughes (Canada) are the only athletes who medaled in both summer and Winter Olympics. Short track speed skater Apollo Anton Ohno won the most Winter Olympics medals for USA, 8, which is more than anyone in the winter Olympics ever. Bjorn Dahlie won 12 medals, more than anyone else in the Winter Games. Gymnast Larissa Latynina won 18 medals, more than anyone else in the Summer Olympics. Norway has the most medals in the Winter Games, 47. Think that was a lot? USA won 2,189 medals in the Summer Olympics over all the years, more than any other country in the world. ** I want to tell you a bit about the mascots of the 2010 winter games. Quatchi is a mascot that lives in the Forest’s of Canada. He is a Sasquatch or Bigfoot. He eats al kinds of foods. He loves hockey, travel and photography. His favorite color is blue. Sumi is another mascot that lives in Whistler. He is a spirit. He loves cocoa. He adores fern green. He also likes skiing. Miga is a sea bear that lives on the coast of Vancouver Island. She enjoys anything fun and exciting. She likes wild salmon and loves forest green. **