Olympics Facts – 55 Interesting Facts About Olympics

Olympic trivia facts

The modern day Summer Olympics started in 1896 and is considered the first Olympiad. The first Olympiad had 241 male athletes but no female

The restart of the games was largely due to the efforts of by Pierre de Coubertin and it was held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.

In the beginning of 19 century European philanthropists thought of reviving the Ancient Olympics as a means to improve the physical and moral health of the masses.

Greek philanthropists Evangelos and Konstantinos Zappas provided finance for the restoration of the ancient Panathenaic Stadium

In 1890 Baron Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin visited the village of Wenlock in Shropshire which was hosting its own version of Olympics since 1850 devised by local doctor William Penny Brookes and is still held to this day.

Strangely, the winners of the first Olympiad were given silver medals and the runners-up received copper medals.

Later the International Olympic Committee changed it into Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

The last time pure Gold medals were distributed was in 1912. The Gold medals are actually made of silver and covered with gold plating.

14 nations participated in the games and the US won the highest number of medals.

The opening ceremony and most of the events were hosted by the Panathenaic Stadium, where athletics and wrestling took place