History of the Modern Olympic Games

The IOC was founded

Mar 25, 1894

The International Olympic Committee was founded in this year. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the committe and took the title of President. Coubertin suggested that the Olympics be an international four-yearly event to be hosted by different countries each time.

The First Modern Olympics

Jun 4, 1896

The first modern Olympic games was held in Athens, Greece. As a way to honor the history and tradition of the ancient olympic games, all award winners were presented with an olive branch and a silver medal

Women Compete for the First Time

Apr 6, 1900

Women competed in the Olympics for the first time. The games were held in Paris, France.

First Olympics in the USA

Jun 14, 1904

The Olympic Games of 1904 were held in St. Louis. Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals for winners were introduced at these games.

Olympics Become Worldwide

Jul 25, 1912

In this year, the Olympic Games were held in Sweden and athletes from all 5 continents came to compete in the events of 1912.

Olympics Cancelled

Jul 28, 1916

In this year, the Olympic Games were cancelled due to the wide spread effects of World War One.

First Ever Winter Olympics

Jan 25, 1924

In this year, the first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France.

First Olympic Flame Lit

Jul 25, 1928

The Olympic flame was lit for the first time and burned throughout the entire competition. Greece led the athletes procession at the opening ceremony, with the host nation at the end for the first time. These games were held in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

First FIFA World Cup

Jun 28, 1930

Jules Rimet abandoned all hope of incorporating football (soccer) into the Olympic games and established a separate competition - the FIFA World Cup. The first World Cup games occured in this year in Uruguary.

First Televised Olympic Games and Basketball Becomes Olympic Sport

Jul 20, 1936

In this year, the Olympics were televised for the first time, however the footage could only be watched on local television. Basketball became an Olympic sport for the first time and was won by the USA.

Cancelled Due to WWII

Mar 25, 1940

In this year, the Olympic games were cancelled due to the devistatind afftects of World War Two.

Cancelled Due to WWII

Jun 6, 1944

In this year, the Second World War continued to cancel the Olympic Games, just like in the year 1940.

Beginning Stages of Paralympics

Jun 13, 1948

A sports event was organized by Ludwig Guttmann to allow recuperating British veterans of World War Two participate in the Olympics. It was called the Stoke Mandeville Games after the leading rehabilitation hospital at Stoke Mandeville and became an annual event.

Disqualification Terms

Jul 14, 1988

11 medalists disqualified for using banned substances in the 1988 summer Olympics. The games were held in South Korea.

Record Breaking Olympians

Jul 2, 2008

43 world records and 132 Olympic records were broken during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Amung the outstanding athletes wat Michael Phelps who won 8 gold medals in swimming, the most ever at a single Olympics by a single person.

First Ever Indoor Olympic Opening Ceremony

Jan 25, 2010

The winter Olympics opening ceremony was held indoors in Vancouver, Canada in this year.

The Most Recent Olympics

Jul 25, 2012

The most recent Olympic games were the summer Olympics that were held in London this past summer. This was the third Olympics held in London.