Bringing Light to Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL- Beginning on August 5th, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the 31st Olympics will kick off. Interestingly, Brazil will be the first South American country to host the Olympics Games. Rio de Janeiro is a great city for the Olympics because of its history and landmarks including Christ the Redeemer and the Sugar Loaf Mountain. The country has been preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games for six years, and now, it is nearly here. Currently, in Brazil, they are testing the courses for several Olympic events. In the U.S., the athletes are training in Colorado Springs to prepare for the Games including Michael Phelps, a veteran swimmer of the Olympic Games, and Missy Franklin, a standout swimmer from the London Olympics in 2012. Before going into the details about the 2016 Olympics, let’s take a look at the history of the Olympics.

The Olympics began in ancient Greece around 3000 years ago. In Olympia, a city located in the western Peloponnese peninsula, the ancient Olympics were held as a way to honor the god Zeus every four years between August 6th and September 19th from the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. There is a legend about how the Olympics started. According to a History Channel article called “The Olympic Games,” “Heracles (the Roman Hercules), son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcene, founded the Games.” The Olympic Games were named after the location, Olympia, “a sacred site located near the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece,” according to the History Channel article. The four year time period between the Olympics was known as the Olympiads. Sadly, the ancient Olympic Games were only for “freeborn male citizens of Greece” because there were no events for women. Also, no married women were allowed to attend the competitions. The first Olympic champion was named Coroebus who was a cook in the year 776 B.C. He won the only competition in the Olympics at that time which was the 192-meter foot race called the stade. By the end of the 6th century B.C., the Olympics was the most famous Greek sporting event.

According to “The Olympic Games” article, “After the Roman Empire conquered Greece in the mid-2nd century B.C., the Games continued, but their standards and quality declined.” Finally, in the year 393 A.D., after 12 centuries of the Olympic tradition, Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, ended the Games because he believed it was a “pagan” festival. However, many centuries later, a young man was motivated by the idea of the Olympics and wanted to bring the tradition back. “Dedicated to the promotion of physical education, the young baron [Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France] became inspired by the idea of creating a modern Olympic Games after visiting the ancient Olympic site,” according to the History Channel article. In November 1892, during the Union des Sports Athletiques meeting in Paris, the baron decided to propose the idea for having an international athletic competition, similar to the Olympics, held every four years. Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France finally got his approval for the international games, two years later. He founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is the governing body of the modern Olympic Games.

According to “The Olympic Games” article, “The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.” The first 280 competitors were from 13 nations and competed in 43 events including wrestling, shooting, weight lifting, gymnastics, fencing, etc. (Again, the first participants in the modern day Olympics were all males.) The only times in the Olympic history that the event did not take place was during wars including WWI in 1916 and WWII in the years 1940 and 1944. Currently, there are 42 sports in the Olympic Games this year. There are 306 events throughout the competition, and there will be 37 venues used for these Games. One of these venues include the new Olympic Stadium that was built in Rio de Janeiro. According to the article, “New-look Olympic Stadium to host Rio 2016 athletics test event,” “It is here at the Olympic Stadium that the blue riband athletics events of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place.” (The Paralympic Games begin on September 7th, right after the Olympics, and end September 18th.) The incredible runner, Usain Bolt, will defend his gold medal in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m for the third time in a row in this arena. (He won gold in these events in the Beijing 2008 Olympics and London 2012 Olympics.) Over 200 countries will be represented in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Now, we will see the official symbol of the Olympic Games waving in Rio de Janeiro. According to the History Channel article, “The official symbol of the modern Games is five interlocking colored rings representing the continents of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia.” The Olympic flag, the official symbol on a white background, was first flown in 1920 during the Antwerp Games. We will see again very soon. Always, there have been many precautions granted to protect the athletes during the Olympics. Over 80,000 police and military have been deployed and a massive web of 3,000 city-wide cameras have been put in place. The Zika virus is a concern for the athletes because of the side effects of the disease including joint pain and flu like symptoms which can affect the performance of the competitors. However, the officials are doing everything they can to limit the spread of the illness. There are under 100 days left until the Olympic Games. Don’t forget to watch the greatest show on earth when the torch finally brings light to Rio in 2016!

Citations:

History Channel. (n.d.) The Olympic Games. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/olympic-games

Rio2016. (10 May 2016). New-look Olympic Stadium to host Rio 2016 athletics test event. Retrieved from https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/rio-2016-athletics-test-event-to-unveil-new-look-olympic-stadium

Renoux, Matt. (26 Apr. 2016). Road to Rio: Preparing for the Olympics. Retrieved from http://www.9news.com/sports/olympics/road-to-rio-preparing-for-the-olympics/154704136