奥林匹克运动简史一 Part 1 Background Information on Olympic Games 奥林匹克运动简史

　　Olympic English (1) 奥运风情 （1）

　　Part 1 Background Information on Olympic Games 奥林匹克运动简史

　　The Brief History of the Ancient Olympic Games:

　　According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. Yet the first Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BCE (though it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years already). At this Olympic Games, a naked runner, Coroebus, won the sole event at the Olympics, the stade - a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards). This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history. The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. At ancient Olympic Games, women were not allowed to compete, even to be the spectators.There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of athletes from any country. Also, the games were always held at Olympia instead of moving around to different sites every time.

　　In 393 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, abolished the Games because of their great influences.

　　The Brief History of the Ancient Olympic Games:

　　Approximately 1500 years later, a young Frenchmen named Pierre de Coubertin began their revival. Coubertin is now known as le Rénovateur. Coubertin was a French aristocrat born on January 1, 1863. He was only seven years old when France was overrun by the Germans during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Some believe that Coubertin attributed the defeat of France not to its military skills but rather to the French soldiers’ lack of vigor. After examining the education of the German, British, and American children, Coubertin decided that it was exercise, more specifically sports, that made a well-rounded and vigorous person.

　　However Coubertin’s attempt to get France interested in sports was not met with enthusiasm. Still, Coubertin persisted. In 1892, Coubertin constructed an international committee to organize the Games. Two years later, this committee became the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Demetrious Vikelas from Greece was selected to be its first president. Athens was chosen for the revival of the Olympic Games and the planning was begun.