Olympic Facts
July 5, 2008 by Sandy Mitchell
Filed under Sports Rumors
Image details: Olympics Day 16 – Closing Ceremony served by picapp.com
As the Beijing Games draw closer and closer, here are some more Olympic facts and trivia to get you in the Olympic mood:
1. The founder of the modern Olympic Games was a French sports fan, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who believed that the Games would promote world peace. He was the one who founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894.
2. The athlete to win the most medals is Larysa Latynina, a Soviet gymnast who won 18 medals between 1956 and 1964.
3. The 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team lacked the necessary funds for uniforms, as the country was newly re-organized and independent from the Soviet Union. The team’s star player was a fan of the band, the Grateful Dead, whom he convinced to donate the necessary apparel (tie-dyed, of course). The team won the Bronze medal.
4. Boxing is one of the few Olympic sports still open only to amateurs. Several boxing champions had their first world notice at the Olympic Games, including Muhammed Ali (then, Cassius Clay), Joe Frazier, Floyd Merriweather, and Sugar Ray Leonard.
5. The youngest person to ever compete in the modern Olympics was a coxswain who assisted the Dutch rowing crew to win the Gold medal in 1900. The French boy, whose name is not known, was seven years old.
6. A new Soccer (football) rule, adopted in 1992, set an age limit of 23 years for Olympic players. Each team is allowed three exceptions (called Wild Cards). This was done to limit the number of World Cup players in the Olympics.
7. Javelins used in the Olympic competition were modified in 1986 to limit the distance they could be thrown. Before, officals were concerned for the safety of spectators and other athletes on the field.
how often are the World Olympics played?
you have a great site here.
Hi Jess! Thanks for visiting us. The Summer Games take place every four years. The next will be in London in 2012.
In addition, the Winter Games (ice skating, skiing, bobsled, etc.) take place every four years, two years apart from the Summer Games. The next will be in Vancouver in 2010.
Stay with us for all of the run-up to those games as well as the Paralympics in Beijing in September. We’re a permanent site.
What is the most gold medals won by ONE COUNTRY in ONE Olympic Games?
Hi Thom!
That’s kind of a tricky question. The most medals by one country was by the former Soviet Union in 1980 (195 medals). However, that was the year that the United States and several other countries boycotted the Games.
The second largest amount was by the United States in 1984 (174 medals), but those Games were boycotted by the Soviets. (You see the problem here.)
The third largest amount (and probably the truest answer) was by the United States in 1988 (132 medals).
(all according to the New York Times.)