Olympic Games The events Maria Polymerou English teacher in Tefaa mpolymer@pe.uth.gr
Aquatics Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Boxing Canoe-kayak Cycling Equestrian Fencing Football Gymnastics Handball
Hockey Judo Modern pentathlon Rowing Sailing Shooting Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling
Historical facts Summer Olympics held in London The Games of the IV Olympiad were the third to be hosted outside of Athens and were scheduled to take place in Rome, but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 7 April 1906 required the Italian Government to redirect funds away from the Olympics. The events took place between 27 April 1908 and 31 October 1908, with 22 nations participating in 110 events.
1944 Summer Olympics were cancelled The Summer Olympics of 1944 were to be held in London having been awarded in 1939. However, they were cancelled due to World War II.
1948 The 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Games were the first to be held after World War II, with the 1944 Summer Olympics having been cancelled due to the war. 59 nations (Germany and Japan had not been invited due to security reasons) competed in 136 events between 29 July 1948 and 14 August 1948. British athletes finished 12th in the unofficial medal count with only 23 medals.
2000 The UK Bids In December 2000 a report from the British Olympic Association was shown to Government ministers. They had been working on the bid since 1997. 2005 The London 2012 Olympic bid was announced as the winner of the bidding process on 6 July 2005.
2008 Summer Olympics To be held in Beijing, China between August 8, 2008 and August 24, 2008. Concerns have been raised that many events will be compromised by problems with pollution and air quality.
2012 2012 Summer Olympics The Games will take place between 27 July 2012 and 12 August 2012. 2012 Summer Paralympic Games The fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August 2012 and 9 September 2012 at the Summer Olympics venues in London.
Swimming Traditional Swimming races take place over distances ranging from 50 m to 1500 m. Unless it is a Freestyle event, competitors have to use a particular swimming stroke: Breaststroke, Butterfly or Backstroke. There are also Medley events which combine all three strokes. Olympic races take place in a 50 m long pool divided into 10 lanes, with only the middle eight lanes used by swimmers. The swimmer who touches the pool wall first at the end of the race is the winner. A 10 km Open Water race has been added to the Swimming programme for the Beijing 2008 Games. Open Water races are swum outside in areas such as the sea, a lake ora river, and competitors usually swim 2.5km circuits around buoys positioned in the water.
Diving Diving is closely linked to Gymnastics. Competitors jump head-first into a pool from a three-metre springboard or a 10-metre solid platform. They perform a series of twists and somersaults (κυβίστηση)before they hit the water. The aim is to win as many points as possible from a panel of judges who assess each dive for difficulty and style of execution. As well as individual competitions, there are also Synchronised Diving events, in which pairs of athletes dive in tandem and receive an additional mark for their level of synchronisation.
Synchronised Swimming Synchronised Swimming is for women only. It is sometimes called water ballet, as competitors perform short routines to music in the pool. Routines are judged on technical merit and artistic impression. There are two events: Duet (for pairs) and Team (for groups of eight). In each, the winner is the one who gets the most points from the judges based on how well they perform the moves, and how well the routine is put together.
Water Polo Water Polo is a water-based version of Handball. The aim of the game is to score more goals than the other team by putting the ball in the back of a net that sits on top of the water and is three metres wide and 90 centimetres high. Each team only has 30 seconds to score before the ball is passed to the opposition. As well as ball skills, players need stamina: you are not allowed to touchthe bottom or the side of the pool during a match, which lasts for four periods of seven minutes each.
At the first three modern Olympic Games, Swimming took place in open water - in seas, rivers and lakes. A pool was used for the first time at the London 1908 Games, where the rules were finally standardised. Diving has been part of the Games since St Louis 1904, although Synchronised Diving events have only been held since Sydney 2000. Synchronised Swimming, by contrast, featured as far back as London 1948, but the sport did not achieve medal status until Los Angeles 1984. The newest Aquatics event in the Games is Women s Water Polo, which was introduced in Sydney 2000-100 years after the first men s competition took place in Paris 1900.
Canoe Sprint In the Sprint competitions, paddlers race across calm water over distances of 500m and 1000m. There are events for single athletes (C1, K1), pairs (C2, K2) and fours (K4). Athletes compete head-to-head, in one of nine lanes with the aim of crossing the finish line first. Canoe Slalom
Canoe Sprint reached the Olympic Games as a demonstration event in 1924. It became a full medal sport at Berlin 1936, with women first competing (Kayak only) in London 1948. The white-water Slalom form of the sport was introduced in Munich 1972. Like Flatwater, Slalom has usually been dominated by European countries.
Triathlon: Triathlon is thought to be the fastest-growing individual sport in the United Kingdom. It attracts a wide range of athletes because it combines three different disciplines: Swimming, Cycling & Running. The sport developed from the fitness craze that swept California in the early 1970s, and the first race held in San Diego in 1974.
How to play and win The Olympic Triathlon starts with a 1500m swim in open water. Competitors then cycle 40km before finishing with a 10km run. The gaps between the stages are known as transitions. These often prove crucial to the end result as athletes gain or lose time on their rivals by taking off their wetsuit and putting on their shoes. Triathlon at the Games Triathlon made its Games debut at Sydney 2000 where half a million spectators lined the streets to watch the event. Since then, the sport has continued to grow in popularity around the world, producing world class athletes on every continent.
In all, 46 events are held on the track or in the field. They involve running, walking, throwing or jumping. Running Running and Walking races are held over distances ranging from 100m to 50km. Apart from the Marathon and Race Walk events, which take place on the road, Running events are held in the stadium, on a 400m oval track. Most of the racing is done on the flat, but Hurdles and Steeplechase competitions require athletes to jump over barriers on the way to the finish line. To succeed it takes speed, strength and stamina as well as a good race strategy.
Jumping In High Jump, you have to get over a bar that is raised each time you succeed. You get three attempts at every height, and the winner is the one who clears the bar at the greatest height. Pole Vault follows the same rules, but athletes use a long pole to help launch themselves into the air. In Long Jump, athletes sprint down a runway before jumping as far as they can into a sand pit. Triple Jump looks very similar, but you have to complete a hop and skip before you make your jump. All these events require a combination of speed and smooth technique.
Throwing The throwing disciplines are Shot Put, Javelin, Discus and Hammer. Competitors get six attempts to throw the object as far as they can into a field. Speed, strength and technique are needed. Combined events In Decathlon competitions for men and Heptathlon competitions for women, athletes take part in a range of different Running, Jumping and Throwing events 10 for men, seven for women. They win points according to the times they run and the distances they throw and jump. Competition takes place over two days; the winner is the one with the highest total of points at the end.
Modern Pentathlon: Modern Pentathlon has its origins in a 19th-century legend. It is said that a young French cavalry officer was sent on horseback to deliver a message. To complete his mission he had to ride, fence, shoot, swim and run the same five challenges that face competitors in Modern Pentathlon today.
How to play and win Athletes compete in five different sports. The order of events is Shooting, Fencing, Swimming, Riding and Running. Points are awarded according to how well the athletes do in the first four events. These decide the starting positions for the final event - the cross-country run. The winner is the one who crosses the finish line first. Modern Pentathletes need all-round fitness as the wholecompetition takes place in just one day.
Modern Pentathlon has been part of every Games since Stockholm 1912. The sport was invented by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who founded the modern Olympic movement. He saw the event as the equivalent of the Pentathlon at the ancient Games, which was introduced for the first time at the 18th Olympiad in 708 BC, probably by the Spartans as a method of training soldiers. It consisted of running the length of the stadium, jumping, throwing the spear, throwing the discus and wrestling. The Pentathlon held a position of unique importance in the Games and was considered to be the climax, with the winner ranked as Victor Ludorum ( Winner of Games ).
The grace, strength and skill of Olympic gymnasts have been amazing audiences ever since the ancient Games were first held in Greece. In those days, people went to a 'gymnasium' to exercise their minds as well as their bodies, and to take part in cultural activities like philosophy and music. The close links between physical exertion (άσκηση)and artistic expression can still be seen across the sport s various modern-day disciplines.
How to play and win Gymnasts perform short exercises with the aim of scoring as many points as possible according to the rules of the sport. Scores are awarded by two panels of judges who assess the difficulty and execution of each exercise.
Artistic Artistic Gymnastics is the oldest and best known of the Olympic disciplines. It is performed using apparatus. Men compete in six events Floor, Pommel Horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars and High Bar. Women compete in Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam and Floor.
Rhythmic Rhythmic Gymnastics is for women only, and is a combination of gymnastics and dance. Gymnasts perform routines to music using a small piece of hand apparatus a Rope, Hoop(στεφάνη), Ball, Clubs or Ribbon(κορδέλα). There are events for both Individual Gymnasts and Groups (of five women). Trampoline Trampoline is the newest addition to the Olympic Gymnastics programme. Gymnasts compete on a springy (μαλακό)'bed' that can launch them 10m in the air, allowing them to perform a series somersaults and twists. Individual competitions are held for both men and women.
Gymnastics has featured in all of the modern Olympic Games, and is traditionally one of the most popular events with spectators around the world. The spectacular skill and charisma of Gymnasts like Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci have made their mark on Olympic history, inspiring children across the globe to learn to twist and tumble. Rhythmic Gymnastics was introduced at Los Angeles 1984. Trampoline first appeared at the Sydney 2000 Games
Olympic Games Maria Polymerou English teacher in Tefaa mpolymer@pe.uth.gr