Free Custom «History of the Olympic Games» Essay Paper

The Olympic Games is a major international competition that different countries take part in different games. These sports occur both during the summer and the winter meaning that they happen after every four years with over 200 countries participating in the competition. Notably, the Olympic Games were inspired by the initial Ancient Olympic Games that were held in Greece at the city of Olympia. However, the new Olympic Games are usually held in different countries after every four years. The Olympic Games were officially launched in 1894. Since then, there has been social, political and technological evolution making the Olympic Games too to evolve. Among the notable evolutions in the games is the introduction of the Paralympics games for the physically disabled peoples and the Youths Olympics for the teenagers.

This essay analyses the Olympic Games history and how they have been evolving since then.

The Olympic Games were launched in 1894 by Baron Pierre after he founded the International Olympic Committee. Since then, the games have had a commendable growth, but at same time faced different challenges. Here is the history of the Olympic Games.

 

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Initially, they were referred to as the ancient Olympic Games that were held at the Olympia City of Greece. These games did not involve many countries since they were not internationally recognized. These games were being held between the 8^th century and the 4^th century. However, they were an inspiration to the foundation of the current Olympic Games that are the most celebrated international games. Attallah (2012, p 55) reiterates that the Olympic Games were founded by Baron Pierre in 1894 after he had found the International Olympic Committee. The International Olympic Committee is the governing body of Olympics up to date defining the structure of the sports. The games are held biennially, after four years, alternating from winter to summer. The biennial occurrence of the games happens in different countries that benefit economically for hosting the games. Normally, the countries that are interested in hosting of the game apply to the governing body then they are listed for voting by the members and the winner is chosen. Apart from that, the country has to meet some stiff standards put in place by the International Olympic Committee. The first Olympic Games were held in 1896 at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. The 1896 games had 14 countries participating with a total of 241 athletes. The games were successful that even the athletes who had participated suggested that Athens should host the games on a permanent basis. However, they reached an agreement of holding the games in Paris that would see women participate for the first time.

Despite the fact that the Olympic Games are the most celebrated games in the world, they have had their ups and downs. The World War I and II affected the Olympics and threatened the fall of the games. The World Wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940 and 1944 games. The organizing committee feared the games could not happen because of political instability as most countries were being involved in warfare. The 1940 to 1944 was the most affected period that saw 8years of no Olympic games making some athletes feel wasted.

The Olympic Games have grown and faced different changes within themselves. Notably, one of the main changes experienced at the Olympics are the introduction of the Paralympics Games for the physically challenged and the Youth Olympics for the youths between age 14 and 18. In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann had a dream of promoting the rehabilitation of the soldiers after the World War II. He went ahead and organized different sports activities at hospitals that coincided with the 1948 Olympics which were held at London. Young (2008, p 34) asserts that later on in 1960, this came to be the Paralympics Olympics when the Olympics were held at Rome. This was dubbed as the first Paralympics since it was the first time they were being incorporated into the Olympics. The games were a success with at least 400 physically challenged athletes participating. In 2001, the International Olympic Committee in collaboration with International Paralympics Committee signed an agreement stating that each host country must be able to cater for both the Olympics and the Paralympics. The agreement came in effect later on in 2008 when the Olympics and the Paralympics were held at Beijing. Additionally, there has been the introduction of the Youth Olympic Games too in the Olympics. The youth Olympics was created to cater for the youths between the age of 14 and 18. The International Olympic Committee noted that there were youths who were talented, but could not qualify to participate in the general Olympics. In 2010, the first Youth Olympics were held in Singapore.

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In conclusion, the Olympic Games are a major international competition that different countries participate in different games. The Olympic Games were established in 1894, but the first event was held in 1896. Notably, the Olympic Games were inspired by the initial Ancient Olympic Games that were held in Greece at the city of Olympia. However, the new Olympic Games are usually held in different countries after every four year. Athens was the first city to host the Olympic Games. The games was successful that even the athletes who had participated suggested that Athens should host the games in a permanent basis. However, they reached an agreement of holding the games at Paris that would see women participate for the first time. Since then, Olympic has evolved with introduction of new games like the Paralympics Olympics and the Youth Olympics.