The word Olympiad comes from the ancient Greek city of Olympia, located at the foot of Mount Cronio and on the right side of the river Alpheus. It was the first of July of the year 776 BC, that the first Olympics took place, these were presided over by Heracles (the Roman Hercules) son of Zeus.
These first Olympics were organized in the Sanctuary of Zeus located in Olympia, in this same event a naked athlete who was the cook of Elis Coroebus, was the first Olympic winner in history, winning the unique event a race of approximately 192 meters.
As a result, the ancient Olympic games grew and continued to be held every four years in honor of Zeus for more than 1200 years. Although initially it was a one-day competition in which only wrestling and athletics were practiced, between 472 BC and 350 BC new rules were created that gave the games the way they went down in history. But, it was in 393 AD, that the Roman Emperor Theodosius I abolished these games due to their pagan influences.
The Olympics in the modern era began in 1896, at the initiative of a young French man named Pierre de Coubertin, this was a French aristocrat, born on January 1, 1863. Who founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, Vikelas Demetrious of Greece was selected to be its first president. Coubertin, in addition, created the emblem of the Olympics five intertwined rings in colors that represent; Blue: Europe, Black: Africa, Red: America, Yellow: Asia, Green: Oceania. He chose these colors because every country in the world has one of these colors on its flag.
Athens was chosen as the location for the rebirth of the Olympic Games and planning began. Later they continued, Paris, London, Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Rome, Mexico, Moscow, Montreal, Barcelona, Beijing and Seoul would be the venues of the event. The next Olympics will be in 2012 in London again.
The Olympics to be held in London 2012 will feature twenty-six Olympic sports covering thirty-nine disciplines. Among them are: Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Handball, Boxing, Cycling, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Handball, Boxing, Cycling, Fencing, Weightlifting, Field Hockey, Judo, Wrestling, Soccer, Volleyball, among others.
