TRIVIA AND FACTS FROM PAST OLYMPICS
- At the 1952 Olympic Games, Russian gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya won an overall record seven medals.
- Australian swimmer Murray Rose won six Olympic medals and was the first man to swim the 1,500-metre freestyle in less than 18 minutes.
- When Australia won the right to host the Olympics in 2,000 it forced the homeless and poor out of Sydney, so rich overseas tourists would not have to look on poor people, and to hide from the world Australias shocking homeless problem.
- Because of the outbreak of major world wars, the modern Olympics did not hold competitions in 1916, 1940, and 1944.
- In 1896, only first and second place finishers of the Olympics were awarded medals. The winners received silver medals and crowns of olive branches, while second place finishers received bronze medals.
- In 1912 in Stockholm, the first electric timing devices and public address system was used at the Olympics.
- In 648 B.C., horses were first introduced into sports with the entrance of riders in the Olympic Games.
- In the opening procession of the Olympics, the team representing the host nation always marches last.
- Iranian women competed in the Olympics for the first time at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
- Korea marched under a single flag at the 27th Olympiad at Sydney, Australia, the first time in Olympic history.
- London has hosted the Olympic Summer Games twice, 1908 and 1948.
- Micronesia made its Olympic Games debut at Sydney, Australia, in September 2000.
- Norway has won more total medals at the Winter Olympic Games than any other nation.
- Olympic testing of athletes for anabolic steroids began in 1976
- Slovakia participated as an independent nation at the Olympic Games for the first time in Atlanta in 1996.
- The balance beam used in Olympic gymnastic competition is 16 feet, 3 inches long and 4 inches wide.
- The bow used by Olympic archers measures a maximum of 6 feet for men, 5¼ feet for women.
- The first Olympic games were held in Ancient Greece in 776 B.C.
- The first Winter Olympics Games were open in Chamonix, France, on 25th January, 1924.
- The immediate site of the ancient Olympiads, the Stadium of Olympia, was about 643 feet in length and about 97 feet wide.
- The key word "amateur" was eliminated from the Olympic Charter in 1971.
- The official Olympic Games flag was introduced in 1920, at the Games played in Belgium.
- The Olympic symbol is made up of five interlocking rings, standing for the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America.
- Tug-of-war was an Olympic event from 1900 - 1920.
When the Olympics were held in France, in 1900, the winners were given a valuable piece of art instead of a medal.
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