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776 BCE
Ancient Greece
Athletic contests are held at Olympia every four years, between August 6 and September 19. Records reach back as far as 776 B.C., but it is generally accepted that the Olympic Games had already been held for several centuries before that. The Games originally consist only of foot races. Other events are gradually added, starting with wrestling and the pentathlon. -
394 BCE
Cancelling Olympics
Roman Emperor Theodosius I abolishes the Games, as part of a series of reforms against pagan practices. -
IOC
At the urging of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is founded -
Athen´s Games
The first modern Olympic Games. 14 countries are represented by about 245 men, competing in 43 events. No women compete, as de Coubertin feels that their inclusion would be "impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect." -
Paris Games
The second modern Games are overshadowed by, and incorporated into, the Paris Exposition. 1,319 men from 26 countries compete in 75 events, although it's not entirely clear—even to some of the participants—which events are actually part of the Olympics. Eleven women are allowed to compete in lawn tennis and golf. -
St Louis Olympic Games
Only 13 countries show up. Fred Lorz rides in a car for eleven miles during the marathon, but is briefly taken as being the winner anyway. -
Intercaladed Games
The first, last, and only Intercalated Games are held in Athens, as the Greeks plan to hold interim Games between Olympics every four years. While these bolster the Olympics' flagging reputation, medals won here are considered unofficial by the IOC. -
London Games
The 1906 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius requires the Games to move from Rome to London. For the first time, athletes march into the stadium behind their nations' flags. There are more than 2,000 competitors in more than 100 events. Italian Dorando Pietri needs to be helped across the finish line of the marathon, but is declared the winner before being disqualified in favor of Johnny Hayes of the U.S. -
Stockholm Games
American Jim Thorpe dominates the Games, taking the gold in the pentathlon and decathlon. Finland begins its domination of long-distance running events, as Hannes Kolehmainen picks up three gold medals and a silver. Women compete in swimming events for the first time, but none of them are from America, which bars its female athletes from competing in events without long skirts. -
Cancelling Olympics Games
Games cancelled by WW1 -
Antwerp Games
The Olympic flag is introduced, as is the Olympic oath. Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Turkey are not invited, having been on the wrong side of the Great War. Distance runner Paavo Nurmi wins three medals for Finland. Figure-skating events are held for the second time, and ice hockey for the first. Philip Noel-Baker of Great Britain takes the silver in the 1500-meter dash; he later becomes the only Olympian ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. -
Paris Games
Originally planned to take place in Amsterdam, the Games are moved to Paris at the urging of Baron de Coubertin. He's about to retire, and wants to see them in his homeland one last time. Germany is still banned, but the other four nations banned in 1920 are back. Paavo Nurmi wins five gold medals; his teammate, Ville Ritola, wins four. Johnny Weissmuller wins three golds and a bronze in water-based events; he later becomes known for playing Tarzan. -
Amsterdam Games
The Olympic flame is introduced.
Germany returns.
Paavo Nurmi picks up three more medals, including one gold.
Women compete in track and field events for the first time; however, so many collapse at the end of the 800-meter race that the event is banned until 1960.
Luigina Giavotti becomes the youngest medalist of all time, helping the Italian gymnastics team pick up a silver at 11 years and 302 days old. -
Los Angeles games
Paavo Nurmi is barred from the Los Angeles Games, on grounds that, on a trip to a German meet, he had claimed too much money in travel expenses.
There is no soccer event.
Babe Didrikson picks up gold medals in hurdles and javelin. She would have tied for a gold in the high-jump, but her jumping style is ruled illegal. -
Berlin Games
Basketball is admitted as an Olympic sport for the first time. In the final—played on a dirt court in the rain, making dribbling impossible the United States team beats Canada 19-8.
Denmark's 12-year-old Inge Sorensen wins a bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, making her the youngest medalist ever in an individual event.
Jesse Owens
In what may be the most famous incident in Olympic history, Jesse Owens wins four gold medals, showing up German claims of Aryan superiority -
Cancel Olympics
They are cancelled the olympics during WW2 -
London Games
Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen wins four gold medals, the equivalents of the ones Jesse Owens had won twelve years earlier. Right-handed Hungarian Karoly Takcaz, a member of the national pistol-shooting team, had that hand shattered by a grenade in 1938. He teaches himself to shoot with his left, and wins the gold in the rapid-fire pistol event this year. -
Helinski Games
Russian athletes participate for the first time in forty years. Soviet Maria Gorokhovskaya—unhindered by the limits set on female competitors at earlier Games—sets a record for most medals won by a woman in one Olympics, with two golds and five silvers. The U.S. edges out the U.S.S.R. in the overall medal count, 76-71. Czechoslovakian Emil Zátopek sets Olympic records in the 5,000 meter race, 10,000 meter race, and the marathon, an event he'd never run before. -
Melbourne Games
As quarantine laws don't allow the entry of foreign horses, equestrian events are held in Stockholm in June. The rest of the Games start in late November, when it's summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden boycott the games in protest of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq do the same as a result of the Suez crisis. The People's Republic of China refuses to participate due to the inclusion of the Republic of China -
Rome Games
A record 5,348 athletes from 83 countries compete. Cassius Clay
18-year-old boxer Cassius Clay—later to be known as Muhammad Ali—is the light heavyweight boxing champion. Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila, running barefoot, becomes the first black African to take home a gold medal. American Wilma Rudolph wins three gold medals for running. After taking amphetamines, Danish cyclist Knuth Jensen collapses during a race, fatally fracturing his skull. -
Tokyo Games
Japan spends about $3 billion to rebuild Tokyo for the Olympics, revitalizing a city that had been devastated by earthquakes and World War II bombings. 25 Olympic and world records are broken in the course of the Games, and Japan's worldwide image gets a significant boost. Abebe Bikila again wins the marathon, this time less than six weeks after having his appendix removed. Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina wins six medals for the third time in a row; she remains the Olympic athlete . -
Mexico City Games
These Games are controversially held at the highest altitude ever: 7,349 feet. The thin air is bad for athletes in endurance events, but it leads to records in short races, relays, and jumping events. Bob Beamon shatters the long-jump world record by more than 21 inches. Dick Fosbury revolutionizes the high-jump with his back-first "Fosbury flop" technique, taking home the gold. Al Oerter wins the discus toss a fourth time. -
Munich Games
The Olympic Oath is taken by a referee for the first time. Mark Spitz
Mark Spitz sets seven world records and wins seven gold medals in swimming events. The Games are overshadowed when members of the Black September terrorist group kidnap eleven Israeli athletes from the Olympic Village, killing two and taking the other nine hostage. During a failed rescue attempt by German authorities, the remaining athletes and all but three of the terrorists are killed. -
Montreal Games
The original estimated cost of the Montreal Games had been $310 million, but labor problems, financial mismanagement, the addition of an extravagant stadium, and other expenses—plus increased security, clearly needed after the events of Munich—drive the price tag past $1.5 billion. Canada bars the Republic of China (Taiwan) team from the country, then allows them to enter if they agree not to compete as "the Republic of China"; the Taiwanese consider this unacceptable and withdraw. -
Moscow Games
The first Games to be held in a communist country. Due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Carter calls upon the U.S. Olympic Committee to boycott the Games. The Olympic Charter requires such committees to "resist all pressures of any kind whatsoever, whether of a political, religious or economic nature," but theory and practice diverge; the Americans stay home, and many other countries follow suit. 80 nations participate in the Games, down from 122 at Munich. -
Los Angeles Games
A record 140 nations show up, but, without the Soviets and East Germans, the Americans win almost three times as many medals as their closest competitors. American Carl Lewis repeats Jesse Owens' 1936 feat, winning gold medals in the same four events. 16-year-old Mary Lou Retton earns her place on Wheaties boxes by winning four gymnastics medals—including a gold in all-around gymnastics—just six weeks after undergoing knee surgery. -
Seoul Games
Canadian Ben Johnson beats Carl Lewis in the 100-meter dash with a world-record time of 9.79. Shortly thereafter, he tests positive for steroid use and is stripped of his medal. Florence Griffith Joyner of America wins four medals, three of them gold, in running events, while sister-in-law Jackie Joyner-Kersee wins the long jump and heptathlon. Greg Louganis hits his head on the diving board but successfully defends his Olympic springboard title a few days later. -
Barcelona Games
For the first time in decades, every single nation with an Olympic Committee shows up, even Cuba, North Korea, and South Africa. A record 172 nations participate, represented by 10,563 athletes. Magic Johnson
With the door open to professional athletes, the U.S. sends a Dream Team including Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Karl Malone. As expected, they go undefeated. Carl Lewis wins two more gold medals, bringing his total to eight. -
Atlanta Games
Muhammad Ali lights the cauldron at the start of the Centennial Games. 179 nations participate; 79 win medals. A pipe bomb in Centennial Olympic Park kills one person and injures 111, but the Games go on. Michael Johnson
America's Michael Johnson wins both the 200m and 400m races; France's Marie-José Perec does the same. Carl Lewis gets his ninth gold medal by winning the long jump.
The United States returns to the top of the standings, followed by Russia and Germany. -
Sydney Games
10,651 athletes (4,069 of them women) from 199 nations participate; the only nation excluded is Afghanistan. North and South Korea enter the stadium under one flag. Australian Aboriginal Cathy Freeman lights the cauldron at the start of the game, and goes on to win the 400m race. British rower Steven Redgrave becomes the first athlete to win gold medals in five consecutive Olympics. The U.S. softball team defends its title; Michael Johnson does the same in the 400m race. -
Athens Games
The Games return to Greece. -
Bejing Games
On Aug. 8, 2008, the 2008 Summer Games commenced in Beijing with music, dancing, and fireworks at the opening ceremony. The 2008 Summer Games ended on Aug. 24 with the United States, China, and Russia taking home the most medals. Despite skepticism, the Beijing Games were widely praised as a success. -
London Games
The 2012 Games were the first in which each of the 205 participating countries sends at least one woman athlete.July 31, 2012Michael Phelps won his 19th Olympic medal, becoming the winningest Olympic athlete of all time. He surpassed the record held by Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina.August 2, 2012Phelps won his 20th medal, a gold in the 200m individual medley.August 4, 2012Phelps ended his Olympic swimming career with another gold medal. He amassed 22 medals in his Olympic career. -
Rio Games
More than 11,000 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees, including first time entrants Kosovo, South Sudan, and the Refugee Olympic Team, took part.[1][2] With 306 sets of medals, the games featured 28 Olympic sports, including rugby sevens and golf, which were added to the Olympic program in 2009. These sporting events took place at 33 venues in the host city, and at five in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília, and Manaus.
