Matters of fact
Fun Olympic facts.
The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad take place in Paris, France this summer, exactly 100 years after the 1924 Paris Olympics. An equal amount of male and female athletes are set to compete, making the 2024 games the first in Olympic history to reach full gender parity.
Here are some more fun facts to get you into the Olympic spirit.
A long, long time ago …
The ancient Olympic Games took place in Olympia, Greece from 776 BCE to 393 AD as part of a celebration to honour the god Zeus. The games began as a one-day event, but gradually extended to five days of competition. Events, for men only, included running, wrestling and horse racing. After a lengthy break, French scholar Baron Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympics, and the first modern games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.
The Olympic rings
Introduced in 1913 and virtually unchanged today, the Olympic symbol stands for global unity in the spirit of the games. Five interlaced rings represent the five inhabited continents – Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania. Each nation’s flag includes at least one of the colours of the rings: blue, yellow, black, green and red.
The flame and torch relay
Months before the games begin, the Olympic torch is lit using a parabolic mirror and the sun’s rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece. Once lit, the torch begins its relay across the world to the host city, where it is used to light the cauldron to mark the official opening of the games. Usually carried by runners, the flame has also travelled by boat, horse, underwater and once via satellite.
Out with the old
A variety of sports have come and gone since the 1896 Olympics. Some of the more bizarre events that were once part of the games included tug of war, pistol duelling, live pigeon shooting, equestrian vaulting (acrobatic feats on top of a horse’s back) and art (by musicians, painters and writers).
In with the new
The International Olympic Committee allows a host country to include sports or events that are popular in their region. Four new sports have been chosen for the 2024 Paris games: Breaking (or breakdancing), sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding.
Medal mania
The most decorated medallist of all time is American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won an outstanding 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals across five Olympics. Larisa Latynina, a gymnast from the Soviet Union who made her debut at the 1956 Olympics, is the most decorated female athlete with 18 medals to her name.
What are the odds?
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. —Baron Pierre de Coubertin
While getting to the podium is the ultimate goal for Olympians, sometimes it’s an athlete’s journey that makes the biggest impact. Here is a look at some inspirational Olympic moments.
At the 2000 games in Sydney, Eric “the Eel” Moussambani, a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, gained the respect of thousands of spectators. He was able to compete at the games thanks to a wild-card draw meant to encourage participation from developing countries lacking proper training facilities. Eric had started swimming only eight months prior, did not have a professional coach and had never even seen an Olympic-sized pool, much less swum in one. Moussambani struggled to swim the last 50 metres of his 100-metre freestyle race, but he persevered, winning his heat.
Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux planned on winning the race at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. However, high winds caused a competitor’s boat to capsize, injuring its two sailors. In a completely selfless act, Lemieux left the race to help save them and resumed only once the rescue team arrived. While Lemieux didn’t get a spot on the podium (he finished in 21st place), he was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for Sportsmanship.
Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila became famous at the 1960 games in Rome. Sure, he won the gold and was crowned the Olympic marathon champion, but the most amazing part is that he ran the entire race barefoot. He also set a new world record at the time.
At the age of 30, Dutch runner Fanny Blankers-Koen was thought to be too old to race at the 1948 Olympic games in London. She was also a mother of two – and many of her peers thought she should have stayed home to look after her children instead. But Fanny had the last laugh. She competed in the 100-metre and 200-metre races, the 80-metre hurdles and anchored the 4 x 100-metre relay. Fanny won gold in all of them (she was also three months pregnant at the time) and earned the nickname “The Flying Housewife.”
Olympic-sized costs
A ticket to an event at the Paris games ranges from about 24 to 950 Euros (not including ceremonies – those can cost up to 2,700 Euros).
The average cost of a room at a three-star hotel during the Paris games is approximately US$700 per night.
Canadian athletes who win a medal also get a bonus: gold CDN$20,000, silver CDN$15,000, bronze CDN$10,000.
The total cost of the Paris games is estimated at about 8 billion Euros.
The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics were the most expensive games ever, costing over US$50 billion.
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