The Olympic Games of 1900 were held in Paris, France. The schedule had 19 sports, 10 more than during the inaugural modern Olympic Games in 1896. There were 1,595 athletes from 41 countries participating.
The first Olympics to be called "modern" were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. These games included 22 events, most of which can still be found on the program for today's Olympics. Modern pentathlon was added at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The next Olympics after that were held in Berlin, Germany, and they are known as the German Olympiad or Deutsche Olympisideenbundesgames. They were held from 14 August to 21 August 1936. A total of 11,000 athletes from 80 countries participated in these games. They were supposed to be a replacement for the cancelled Olympic Games in Nazi Germany but they also turned out to be their own unique event that has never been repeated.
The final game to be held under that name was the Berlin Olympics of 1948. They were originally planned to be held in Germany after World War II but they were postponed until Germany could rebuild itself. A total of 18 nations took part in these games, which were held from 15 August to 2 September.
1896 The Modern Olympic Games In 1896, thirteen countries competed in the Athens Games. Cycling, fencing, gymnastics, lawn tennis, shooting, swimming, track and field, weight lifting, and wrestling were among the nine sports on the program. The 14-man United States team dominated the track and field events, winning 9 of the 12 events. American William Smith became the first gold medalist in the modern pentathlon.
At the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, the modern marathon race was held for the first time. A Canadian named John McDougall is credited with introducing this form of exercise into Canada. Before that time, people used to jog or walk long distances - sometimes even across country - but this was first of its kind at a competitive level.
In 1908, a new event was added to the program: soccer. It had been played at several games before then, but now it was an official event of its own. The U.S. team defeated Sweden 4-1 in the final game to claim their first title.
The 1912 Stockholm Olympics saw the introduction of another new event: boxing. This was originally part of the modern pentathlon program but was dropped after one event. Boxers could be either men or women and the only requirement was that they had to be over 15 years old. There was no limit on how many times a boxer could compete.
The 1920 Paris Games introduced a new type of event: speed skating.
As many as 280 competitors, all male, from 12 nations competed in the first modern Olympics. Athletics (track and field), cycling, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, shooting, and tennis were among the 43 events. The games were held in Athens, Greece, from 18th to 29th August 1896.
The following countries sent representatives to the inaugural Olympic Games: Argentina, Australia, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom. Notable omissions included the United States and Cuba. Organizing committees for the games were selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and they were chosen by lottery from a list of candidates proposed by the national sports organizations concerned. These committees selected athletes who had not previously represented their countries at international competitions. They also selected officials who would help run the games and report back on how they went.
Athens was chosen as the host city after voting by members of the IOC. The games were originally going to be held in Paris but this proposal was rejected by the Greeks and Italians who both wanted to hold the games in their countries. The Greeks wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Marathon every year so as to remind everyone of their victory over the Persians.
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