Olympic Games - Women, History, Sport

Olympic Games

Table of Contents

Introduction & Top Questions
The ancient Olympic Games
- Origins
- Competition and status
- Women and the Olympic Games
- Demise of the Olympics
The modern Olympic movement
- Revival of the Olympics
- Organization
  - The International Olympic Committee
    - The awarding of the Olympic Games
    - Corruption
    - Political pressures
    - Commercialization
  - National Olympic committees, international federations, and organizing committees
  - Programs and participation
    - Amateurism versus professionalism
    - Doping and drug testing
- Ritual and symbolism
  - Olympic ceremonies
    - The opening ceremony
    - The medal ceremonies
    - The closing ceremony
  - Olympic symbols
    - The flag
    - The motto
    - The flame and torch relay
    - Mascots
History of the modern Summer Games
- Athens, Greece, 1896
- Paris, France, 1900
- St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., 1904
- Athens, Greece, 1906
- London, England, 1908
- Stockholm, Sweden, 1912
- Antwerp, Belgium, 1920
- Paris, France, 1924
- Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1928
- Los Angeles, California, U.S., 1932
- Berlin, Germany, 1936
- London, England, 1948
- Helsinki, Finland, 1952
- Melbourne, Australia, 1956
- Rome, Italy, 1960
- Tokyo, Japan, 1964
- Mexico City, Mexico, 1968
- Munich, West Germany, 1972
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1976
- Moscow, U.S.S.R., 1980
- Los Angeles, California, U.S., 1984
- Seoul, South Korea, 1988
- Barcelona, Spain, 1992
- Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., 1996
- Sydney, Australia, 2000
- Athens, Greece, 2004
- Beijing, China, 2008
- London, England, 2012
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2016
History of the Olympic Winter Games
- Chamonix, France, 1924
- St. Moritz, Switzerland, 1928
- Lake Placid, New York, U.S., 1932
- Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 1936
- St. Moritz, Switzerland, 1948
- Oslo, Norway, 1952
- Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, 1956
- Squaw Valley, California, U.S., 1960
- Innsbruck, Austria, 1964
- Grenoble, France, 1968
- Sapporo, Japan, 1972
- Innsbruck, Austria, 1976
- Lake Placid, New York, U.S., 1980
- Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, 1984
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1988
- Albertville, France, 1992
- Lillehammer, Norway, 1994
- Nagano, Japan, 1998
- Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., 2002
- Turin, Italy, 2006
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2010
- Sochi, Russia, 2014

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

The history of the Olympics: From ancient Greece to now

opening ceremony at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games

For Students

Olympic Games summary

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Although there were no women’s events in the ancient Olympics, several women appear in the official lists of Olympic victors as the owners of the stables of some victorious chariot entries. In Sparta, girls and young women did practice and compete locally. But, apart from Sparta, contests for young Greek women were very rare and probably limited to an annual local footrace. At Olympia, however, the Herean festival, held every four years in honour of the goddess Hera, included a race for young women, who were divided into three age groups. Yet the Herean race was not part of the ...(100 of 24614 words)

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