Sunday, Jul 21, 2024 00:30 [IST]
Last Update: Saturday, Jul 20, 2024 19:00 [IST]
The greatest show of
earth “Olympic Games” will be held in
Paris, France from July 26-August 11.
This year there are 329 events in
total, with roughly 10,500 athletes
from 184 countries taking part. Breakdancing is making its first
appearance at the games this year. After 1900 and 1924 this is for the
third time Paris, the French capital city has played host to the Olympics. There
will be a total of 206 countries
represented in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 2024 Paris Olympics will
feature 329 medal events, second most in the history of the Games (339 at the
2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics).
Brief history of Olympic
Games:
The Games were named for their location at Olympia,
a sacred site located near the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula in
southern Greece. Their influence was so great that ancient historians began
to measure time by the four-year increments in between Olympic Games, which
were known as Olympiads. The five (5) rings of the Olympic symbol designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin,
co-founder of the modern Olympic Games represent the five inhabited continents of the
world. The six colours blue, yellow,
black, green, red and the white background were chosen because every nation’s national flag
contains at least one of them. The first Olympic Games took place in the 8th
century B.C. in Olympia, Greece. They were held every four years. Then, in the
4th century A.D., all pagan festivals were banned by Emperor Theodosius I and
the Olympics were no more. The first modern Olympics were held in 1896 in
Greece. Women have been allowed to compete in the Olympics since 1900. From
1924-1992, the Winter and the Summer Olympics took place in the same year. Now,
they’re on separate cycles and alternate every two years. The Olympic torch is
lit the old-fashioned way in an ancient ceremony at the temple of Hera, in
Greece. Actresses, wearing costumes of Greek priestesses, use a parabolic
mirror and sun rays to kindle the torch. From there, the torch starts its relay
to the host city. It is usually carried by runners, but it has also travelled
on a boat and on an airplane. The 2012 London Games were the first Olympics in
which all participating countries sent female athletes. The Olympic Games have
been hosted by 23 different countries. The first official Olympic mascot was Waldi,
the dachshund, at the 1972 Games in Munich. Currently, the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) states that an official Olympic gold medal must consist
of at least 92.5% silver, and must contain a minimum of 6 grams of
gold. The United States leads the world by hosting 8 Olympic Games including 4
Summer Olympics and 4 Winter Olympics (1904, 1932, 1984, 1996, 1932, 1960,
1980, 2002). London became the first
city to have hosted three Games with the 2012 Summer Olympics. Paris will become the
second city to do this with the 2024 Summer Olympics, followed by Los Angeles
as the third in 2028.
The Paris 2024 Olympic mascot is “Phryge”. It represents freedom and showcases
important historical figures of the French Republic. Marianne is the symbol of
Paris Olympic. Marianne is the personification of the bold spirit of creativity
that inspires games. Marianne, symbol of the French Republic, represents the
same values we find in sport, the Olympics and the Paralympics humanism, fraternity, generosity and sharing.
Records & Gold medals:
Michael
Phelps of
USA (2008 to 2016) is the most successful olympian of all times with a total
number 23 gold medals in Swimming
and the record has not yet broken. Nadia
Comaneci of Romania has five times gold medalist in gymnastics with perfect 10 point record at Montreal Olympic
(total 9 nos). Usain Bolt, Jamaican
sprinter is considered to be the greatest
sprinter of all time. He is an eight time Olympic gold medalist and the
world record holder in the 100 metres (9.63 seconds), 200 mwtres and 4x100
metres relay race. Michael Johnson of
USA is generally considered as one of the greatest and most consistent
sprinters in the history of track and field. He remains the only athlete to
have broken 200 metres (19.4 seconds) and in 400 metres (43.4 seconds). Sergey Bubka of undivided Soviet Union
is the first Poll-vaulter to clear 6.1 metres in Olympics. He won gold at the
1988 Seoul Games with an outstanding vault
of 5.90 metres breaking his own record in 1988 (Seoul Olympic). In
long jump, the Olympic records for the event are 8.90 m (29 ft 21?4 in) for
men, set by Bob Beamon in 1968
(Mexico Olympic), and 7.40 m ( 24 ft 31?4 in) for women, set by Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1988 (Seoul Olympic).
Charles Austin of USA has records for the high jump event
are 2.39 m (7 ft 10 in) for men in 1996 (Atlanta Olympics) and 2.06
m (6 ft 9 in) for women set by Yelena
Slesarenko of Russia in 2004 (Athens, Greece). Gerd Wessig of Germany is the only man to have set a world record
in the Olympic high jump, having done so in 1980 (Moscow Olympic) with a mark
of 2.36 m (7 ft 83?4 in).
Countries having most
number of gold medals in a particular event:
India won gold medals in seven (7) out of eight Olympics from 1928 to 1964. India has
been the most successful team at the Olympics, having won a total of 12 medals
(8 Gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze). India won their last gold medal in Hockey in
1980 (Moscow Olympic). Hungary has won most number of gold medals in football
in Olympics (3 times). China has won highest number of gold medals (20) in badminton
in Olympics. China has also won 32 gold medals in table tennis in the Olympics.
Soviet Union has won highest number of gold medals (72) in gymnastics. USA has
the record of most number of gold medals in “Track & field” events (343) in
Olympics. USA has a record of highest number of gold medals in Boxing as well.
Countries with highest
number of gold medals in Olympics:
1. United States (USA):
1229 nos 2. Soviet Union: 473 nos 3. Germany: 384 nos 4. China: 384 nos 5. Great Britain (UK): 325 nos
6. France: 312 nos 7. Italy: 299 nos 8. Sweden: 233 nos 9. Japan: 229 nos 10.
Norway: 221 nos
Indians
in Olympics:
In Paris 2024 Olympics
commencing from 26th July, 82-member
squad Indian players are qualified for taking part in the various events
which includes eight athletes, who were part of the Indian contingent at the
Tokyo Olympics (2020). The Paris-bound squad includes 17 men and 11 women
athletes. Our players will take part in the events like shooting, Athletics,
Wrestling, Boxing, Hockey as team event, Archery, Table tennis, Rowing,
Sailing, Badminton, Tennis, Golf, Judo and Swimming. P.V Sindhu and Sarath Kamal will be the India’s National Flag
bearer in the opening ceremony.
Milkha
Singh
known as the Flying Sikh for his speed off the blocks in the 200 m and 400 m
races, Milkha Singh was arguably Independent India’s first sporting hero and
inspired generations with his exploits on the track. He had famously finished
fourth at the Rome 1960 Olympics - 0.13 seconds behind bronze medallist Malcolm
Spence of South Africa. His timing of 45.73s in Rome stood as a national record
for four decades. PT Usha came agonizingly
close to winning independent India’s first Olympic track and field medal.
However, she finished fourth in the 400m hurdles at the Los Angeles (1984)
Olympics and missed a medal by just 0.01 seconds. Anju Bobby George’s best performance came at the Athens (2004)
Olympics, finishing fifth in the women’s long jump with a distance of 6.83m, a
distance which still stands as the national record. India's first woman to win
an Olympic medal is Karnam Malleswari
in Weightlifting. At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, weightlifter Karnam
Malleswari marked her place in Olympic with a Bronze medal. Sakshi Malik became the first Indian
women's wrestler to win an Olympic medal. She won a bronze medal at the 2016
Rio Olympics. She was the fourth Indian woman to have won an Olympic medal. Babita Kumari won the gold medal at the
2014 Glasgow Olympics in the 55 kg weight category. Dhyan Chand is most remembered for his goal-scoring feats and for
his three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, while
India was dominant in the sport. Tarundeep Rai is a three time
Olympian represented Sikkim in Archery. He is selected to take part in the
2024 Summer Olympic Games at Paris in both individual and team events.
At Tokyo Olympics (2020), Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian track and field athlete to
win a gold medal at the Olympics. He
is also a world, Asian and Commonwealth Games champion. P.V Sindhu is the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro (2016)
Olympic Games and a bronze at the Tokyo (2020) Olympic Games. Saina Nehwal also won Bronze medal in
2012 Olympic Games in London. Abhinab
Bindra is the first ever individual gold
medalist in shooting for our country in 2008 Beijing Olympics. Leander Paes is the Bronze medal winner
in Men’s singles at Atlanta Olymics (1996). Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won Silver medal in Shooting at Athens Olympics
(2004). Vijender Singh is a Bronze
medal winner in boxing at the Beijing Olympic (2008). Sushil Kumar has a record of winning two Olympic medals. He won Silver in wrestling in London Olympics
(2012) and Bronze in the same event at Beijing Olympics (2008). Vjay Kumar won Silver medal in Men’s
pistol shooting at London Olympics (2012). Mary
Kom made us proud in winning Bronze medal in boxing at London Olympics
(2012). Yogeshwar Dutt won Bronze
medal in wrestling at the London Olympics (2012). Gagan Narang is the Bronze medal winner rifle shooting at London Olympics
(2012). Mirabai Chanu also made us
proud in winning Silver medal in weightlifting at Tokyo Olympics (2020). Lovlina Borgohain from Assam is a
Bronze medal winner in Boxing at Tokyo Olympics (2020). Ravi Kumar Dahia won Silver medal in wrestling at Tokyo Olympics
(2020). Bajrang Punia is a Bronze
medal winner in Men’s wrestling at Tokyo Olympics (2020).
