The Olympics Games

1. The Olympics Games By Mattias Lindell

2. Purpose of the Games The Olympics has developed from it's original purpose to honour the gods of Greece, but has developed into something more of an international gathering of the worlds best athletes. A Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin, in the 1890's proposed to resurrect the Olympic Games in his home country of France. He admired the athleticism that the Greeks had, and wanted to this his fellow countrymen aspire to be great citizen and sportsmen such as the Greeks. Nurturing and pushing the body was as important to Coubertin as challenging the mind. He proposition to hold them in France did not go so well, but he was determined, and so on June 16th 1894 he framed the idea that the game would be a diplomatic opportunity to mend a fractured world. His idea was supported by Belgium, England, Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, USA, and even his homeland France. Coubertin still wanted to host the games in France, but the committee decided to pay homage to the original games and so the first Olympic Games of 1896 was held in Greece. The committee also decided that from then on, the Olympic Games would be held every 4 years, in a different location. Coubertin's dream eventually did come true as the Olympic Games was held in France in 1900.

3. History As the Olympics were originally held in the honour of the ancient Greek gods, it was held in Olympia, Greece every four years to honour the god, Zeus. Denizens from all over Greece, came to watch the games, which is thought to have begun in 776 B.C. Later on in Greek history, the Romans invaded and declared Christianity in the country, and viewed the Olympic games as a pagan celebration and was eventually banned in 393 A.D. At the originally games usually only young men were allowed to play, and usually naked, which was initially suggested by either the Spartans or the Megarian Orsippus. In the beginning there was only one event, which was a footrace of 190 meters, (measured after the feet of Hercules). Back in the day, winning the Olympics did not mean that you received a gold medal, but instead were glorified with prestige, honour and the satisfaction of wearing the Olive Wreath. The champions then lived on through statues and poems. 

4. Advantages Of Holding The Olympics Games There are many advantages that can come from hosting the Olympic Games. Here are a few of them • It is prestigious to host such an event, and can bring tourism and economic wealth • The facilities which are built for the event, can be used by the public after the Olympic games • The event can also show that the country is capable of holding such an event • It also gives the athletes in the country a reason to want to compete if it's in their own nation • Business near the area can profit immensely, from hotels to souvenirs, and tickets for the event. •  In the case of the 2012 London Olympics, unused land is now being used

5. Disadvantages of Holding The Olympic Games Also there are some magnificent advantages of hosting the Olympic games it comes with it's fair share of disadvantages, such as • Having to relocate citizens, in order to build stadiums and facilities for the games • Extreme congestion in the city where it is being held, as by traffic jams, tourists, and a mass amount of people everywhere • It costs a lot of money to build stadiums and facilities, and in the end might become a financial loss if not enough profit is made.  • Prices for a lot of things might sharply rise, in order to profit • Very high amounts of security to avoid terrorism, and hooliganism

6. Human Interest Stories Eric Moussambani- Eric Mossambani, aka Eric The Eel, was born May 31st, 1978 in Equatorial Guinea, a small nation in Africa. Moussambani managed to get gain entry to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney via a wild card which encourages developing countries to participate. He had only started to practice 8 months before the games, in a hotel pool in Malabo (capital of Equatorial Guinea). He swam the 100m freestyle, and finished the race with a whopping 1:52.72, a time even I would be embarrassed to swim. This was twice as slow as his other two competitors, and even outside the 200m record, but in a good turn of events, his other two competitors were disqualified and therefore won the race. While, Pieter van den Hoogenband had set a new world record in the event, Moussambani had managed to not only set a new personal best, but also written himself in Equatorial Guinea history, with a national record.

7. Lopez Lomong- Born Janurary 5th 1985, in South Sudan as Lopepe Lomong, is an American citizen, and part of the USA National Track and Field Team. Lomong was a victim of the Second Sudanese civil war and at age 6 was abducted from his school. He was presumed dead by his family. He almost died in captivity but managed to escape, and ran for three days until crossing into Kenya, where he spent the next 10 years. In 1995 a charity moved him into the United States, where after seeing Michael Johnson in 2000 Olympic was inspired to run. A year after obtaining his US citizenship he qualified for the 1500 meter race for the 2008 Olympics. After his success in the 2008 Olympics he signed professionally with Nike. He was unfortunately eliminated in semifinals of the 1500 in Beijing.

8. Controversies Munich 1972- What some might consider the biggest tragedy in the history of the Olympics, the Munich Massacre occurred in the 1972 Munich, Olympics. Early in the morning of September 5th, 8 members of the a terrorist group called Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village where the athletes were staying, and during the night managed to take 9 members of the Israeli National team hostage (athletes + coaches). The hostages were kept together in the apartment while the event was televised nationwide. The terrorists kept the hostages with them until, in an unsuccessful ambush by German Police, killed all the remaining Israelis. This is truly a tragic event, and because of this the Olympic games were halted for the first time ever. This event also led to the Israeli Government launching Operation Wrath Of God, where Mossad agents were put in charge to assassinate 3 of the remaining gunmen, and other associated with the massacre.  After the massacre, the rest of the Israeli National Team left Munich, and Jewish athletes were put under guard. American Swimmer Mark Spitz also left Munich, fearing that might be a target.

9. Peru vs Austria 1936 In the summer of 1936 in Berlin, Germany, Peru played Austria in Quarterfinal game. The Austrians were leading 2-0, but Peruvians managed to tie the game 2-2. The game went into overtime were the Austrians were slaughtered by the Peruvians who managed to score 5 goals; but in an unfortunate turn of events the referee disallowed 3 of the goals, and the match ended 4-2.  The Austria claimed that Peru had manhandled the Austrian team, and begged to FIFA for a rematch. FIFA sided with the Austrians, and a rematch was scheduled. This decision infuriated Peruvians who refused to replay the match, called this a sign of discrimination and left Berlin along with Colombia. Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Mexico also expressed their solitude with Peru. The game was then awarded to Austria by default. In Peru, there was mass protesting who torn down any Olympic Flags, threw stones at German consulates, and refused to dock any German ships in the port of Callao. It is widely believed that Hitler and the Nazi authorities were involved in the decision of the rematch.