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3000 BCE
First Olympics in Greece
The Olympic Games, which originated in ancient Greece as many as 3,000 years ago, were revived in the late 19th century and have become the world’s preeminent sporting competition. From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. -
China joins the game
The earliest involvement between China and the Olympics dates back to 1894 when Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern event, and the then Greek prince issued an invitation to Qing Dynasty rulers through the French Embassy in China. -
First modern Olympics
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The man responsible for its rebirth was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who presented the idea in 1894. -
United States joins the game
Fourteen competitors from the United States competed in three sports at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. -
Australia joins the game
Australia's first time to join the Summer Games was in 1896 Athens when they sent a single athlete, Edwin Flack, who took home two gold medals from Athletics. That was one of the strongest outings of Australia at the Olympics. -
Great Britain joins the show
Great Britain was one of 14 teams to compete in the first Games, the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, and is one of only three nations (France and Switzerland being the others) to have competed at every Summer and Winter Olympic Games. -
Paris joins the show
Held as part of the Paris World’s Fair, the 1900 Games span five months, with 20 events and 24 countries represented. Because events are so spread out, many athletes and officials don't even realize they are competing in the Olympics. But the 1900 Games introduce several new sports, including rugby, golf, cricket and croquet (the only year croquet is played), as well as equestrian events, archery and soccer. -
Japan joins the game
Japan first participated at the Olympic Games in 1912, and has competed at almost every Games since then. The nation was not invited to the 1948 Games after World War II, and was part of the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. -
The Russian Committee is made
The Russian Committee is created because Russia was banned from the Olympics for illegal drug use. They did not want the Russians to suffer. -
Russia Banned
In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from international sports competitions for four years after the country was found to be running a years-long, state-sponsored doping scheme.
That came after the International Olympic Committee suspended Russia in 2017 for the doping scheme, which was first exposed by a whistleblower in 2016. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Russian athletes who passed drug tests competed under the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) delegation.
