Olympic Games - 2 | Britannica.com
Olympic Games
athletic festival that originated in ancient Greece and was revived in the late 19th century.
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Abrahams, Harold British athlete who won a gold medal in the 100-metre dash at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. Abrahams was born into an athletic family; his older brother Sidney represented Great Britain in the Olympics in 1912. Abrahams participated in the 1920 Olympic...
Agassi, Andre American professional tennis player who won eight Grand Slam titles, as well as the “career Grand Slam” for winning each of the four major tennis tournaments— Wimbledon, the Australian Open, the French Open, and the U.S. Open —at least once. By age 2...
Ainslie, Ben British sailing champion who became the most-decorated Olympic mariner of all time when he captured his fourth career gold medal (fifth medal overall) at the 2012 Games in London. Ainslie was born in the north of England, but when he was seven, his family...
Akii-Bua, John Ugandan athlete who in 1972 became the first, and thus far the only, Ugandan to win an Olympic gold medal when he triumphed in the 400-m hurdles in 47.82 seconds, a world record (b. Dec. 3, 1949--d. June 20, 1997).
Albertville 1992 Olympic Winter Games athletic festival held in Albertville, France, that took place February 8–23, 1992. The Albertville Games were the 16th occurrence of the Winter Olympic Games. The 1992 Games are noted for not only a change in the modern Olympics but a change in the...
Alekseyev, Vasily Ivanovich Soviet weightlifter who was arguably the greatest super heavyweight lifter of all time. Between 1970 and 1978 he set 80 world records and won two Olympic gold medals. Alekseyev was the son of a lumberjack. At age 12 he was felling trees and lifting logs...
Ali, Muhammad American professional boxer and social activist. Ali was the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions; he successfully defended this title 19 times. Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., grew up in the American South...
Altis in Greek religion, the sacred grove of Zeus, or the sacred precinct in Olympia, Greece. It was an irregular quadrangular area more than 200 yards (183 m) on each side, and walled except to the north, where it was bounded by the Kronion (hill of Cronus)....
Amsterdam city and port, western Netherlands, located on the IJsselmeer and connected to the North Sea. It is the capital and the principal commercial and financial centre of the Netherlands. To the scores of tourists who visit each year, Amsterdam is known for...
Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Games athletic festival held in Amsterdam, that took place May 17–Aug. 12, 1928. The Amsterdam Games were the eighth occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. Track-and-field and gymnastics events were added to the women’s slate at the 1928 Olympics. There was...
Andrianov, Nikolay Soviet gymnast who won 15 Olympic medals, a record for male gymnasts. Andrianov began his gymnastics career at age 12, late for his sport, and began to train with coach Nikolay Tolkachov, who would become his surrogate father. He was selected for the...
Anthony, Carmelo American professional basketball player who plays for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Anthony, who grew up in a high-crime neighbourhood in Baltimore, Maryland, was sent by his mother to school in western Virginia for...
Antwerp city, Flanders region, Belgium. It is one of the world’s major seaports. Antwerp is situated on the Schelde (Scheldt) River, about 55 miles (88 km) from the North Sea. The Schelde, together with the Meuse and the Rhine, forms the biggest estuary in western...
Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games athletic festival held in Antwerp, Belg., that took place April 20–Sept. 12, 1920. The Antwerp Games were the sixth occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. The 1920 Olympics were awarded to Antwerp in hopes of bringing a spirit of renewal to Belgium,...
Ashford, Evelyn renowned American sprinter and five-time Olympian. At her high school in California, Ashford was invited to join the all-male track-and-field team when she outdistanced a number of its members in a series of races; she cocaptained the team her senior...
Athens historic city and capital of Greece. Many of Classical civilization’s intellectual and artistic ideas originated there, and the city is generally considered to be the birthplace of Western civilization. Athens lies 5 miles (8 km) from the Bay of Phaleron,...
Athens 1896 Olympic Games athletic festival held in Athens that took place April 6–15, 1896. The Athens Games were the first occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. The inaugural Games of the modern Olympics were attended by as many as 280 athletes, all male, from 12 countries....
Athens 2004 Olympic Games athletic festival held in Athens that took place August 13–29, 2004. The Athens Games were the 25th occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. The 2004 Olympic Games returned home to Greece, birthplace of the ancient Games and site of the inaugural modern...
Atlanta city, capital (1868) of Georgia, U.S., and seat (1853) of Fulton county (but also partly in DeKalb county), in the northwestern part of the state. It lies in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just southeast of the Chattahoochee River. Atlanta...
Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games athletic festival held in Atlanta that took place July 19–August 4, 1996. The Atlanta Games were the 23rd occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. Selected over Athens to host the Centennial Summer Games, Atlanta staged one of the most extravagant Games...
Babashoff, Shirley American swimmer who won eight Olympic medals and was one of the first two women to win five medals in swimming during one Olympic Games (1976). At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Babashoff won silver medals in the 100- and 200-metre freestyle events...
Bailey, Donovan Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter who specialized in the 100-metre dash, winning a gold medal in the event at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Bailey moved to Oakville, Ont., Can., in 1981 to live with his father. He was on the track team in high school,...
Balas, Iolanda Romanian athlete, the dominant performer in the women’s high jump during the late 1950s and ’60s. She won two Olympic gold medals in the event, set 14 world records, and was the first woman to high-jump 6 feet (1.83 metres). Balas was of Hungarian descent...
Balczó, András Hungarian modern pentathlete who dominated the sport in the 1960s and is considered among the greatest of the storied line of Hungarian competitors in the modern pentathlon. A strong swimmer and runner and a consistent fencer, Balczó won individual championships...
Barcelona city, seaport, and capital of Barcelona provincia (province) and of Catalonia comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), northeastern Spain, located 90 miles (150 km) south of the French border. It is Spain’s major Mediterranean port and commercial centre...
Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games athletic festival held in Barcelona that took place July 25–August 9, 1992. The Barcelona Games were the 22nd occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. The 1992 Games were perhaps the most-successful modern Olympics. More than 9,300 athletes representing...
Barkley, Charles American professional basketball player and television personality whose larger-than-life character made him one of the most popular figures in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Over the course of his 16-year NBA career, he became just the...
Baumgartner, Bruce American wrestler who won four Olympic medals and was one of the most successful American superheavyweights of all time. Baumgartner competed in high school wrestling but failed to win his state high school title and as a result was not recruited by...
Beamon, Bob American long jumper, who set a world record of 8.90 metres (29.2 feet) at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. The new record surpassed the existing mark by an astounding 55 cm (21.65 inches) and stood for 23 years, until Mike Powell of the United...
Beijing city, province-level shi (municipality), and capital of the People’s Republic of China. Few cities in the world have served for so long as the political headquarters and cultural centre of an area as immense as China. The city has been an integral part...
Beloglazov, Sergey Soviet freestyle wrestler who won two Olympic gold medals. At the age of 21, Beloglazov became a member of the Soviet national team. That same year, his twin brother, Anatoly, won the world championship at 48 kg (105.5 pounds). Sergey was smaller in...
Benvenuti, Nino Italian professional boxer, Olympic welterweight and world middleweight champion. Benvenuti won the Olympic welterweight title in 1960. He turned professional the following year and won his first 65 matches and the Italian middleweight championship....
Beresford, Jack English sculler and oarsman who accumulated an outstanding record in the Olympics and at the Henley Royal Regatta. During World War I, Beresford was wounded in France in 1918. He then returned to London and joined his father’s furniture-manufacturing...
Berlin capital and chief urban centre of Germany. The city lies at the heart of the North German Plain, athwart an east-west commercial and geographic axis that helped make it the capital of the kingdom of Prussia and then, from 1871, of a unified Germany....
Berlin 1936 Olympic Games athletic festival held in Berlin that took place August 1–16, 1936. The Berlin Games were the 10th occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. The 1936 Olympics were held in a tense, politically charged atmosphere. The Nazi Party had risen to power in 1933,...
Bikila, Abebe Ethiopian marathon runner who won a gold medal and set a world record while running barefoot at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, then bested his own record at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He was the first athlete to win two Olympic marathons. The son of...
Biles, Simone American gymnast who was considered one of the sport’s greatest athletes. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she became the first female U.S. gymnast to win four gold medals at a single Games, and she also was the first gymnast to win three consecutive...
Bilozerchev, Dmitri Russian athlete who is considered to be one of the greatest male gymnasts of all time. Bilozerchev earned his first all-around gymnastics world championship in 1983 at age 16, when he scored an impressive total of 59.85 points out of a possible 60. He...
Blankers-Koen, Fanny versatile Dutch track-and-field athlete, who was the first woman to win four gold medals at a single Olympics. She set world records in seven events. Blankers-Koen first achieved success as a teenager, winning a Dutch national championship in the 800-metre...
Bleibtrey, Ethelda American swimmer who overcame a crippling illness to win three gold medals at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp. Bleibtrey began swimming as therapy to counteract the effects of polio. Because she swam without stockings in 1919, she was given a summons...
Boggs, Phil American diver who won a gold medal in springboard diving at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. After competing at Florida State University (1967–71), Boggs enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. While in the service, he continued diving, winning the world...
Bolt, Usain Jamaican sprinter who won three gold medals (in the 100-metre race, the 200-metre race, and the 4 × 100-metre relay) in an unprecedented three straight Olympic Games and is widely considered the greatest sprinter of all time. Bolt, the son of grocers...
Borg, Arne Swedish athlete, one of the dominant swimmers of the 1920s. Between 1921 and 1929 Borg set 32 world records in swimming. He was the winner of two silver medals and a bronze medal at the 1924 Olympics in Paris and a gold and a bronze medal at the 1928...
Borzov, Valery Soviet athlete who won five Olympic medals, including two gold medals. A master of all aspects of running, with a strong, smooth style, Borzov was the greatest Soviet sprinter. As a graduate student at the Kiev Institute of Physical Culture, Borzov studied...
Boston, Ralph American athlete who set a world record in the long jump and was the first man to jump more than 27 feet (8.23 metres). Boston attended Tennessee State University, where, in addition to the long jump, he excelled in the high and low hurdles, the high...
Bradley, Bill collegiate and professional basketball player who later served as a U.S. senator. Bradley began to play basketball at age nine and became one of the best players in Missouri high school basketball history. At Princeton University (N.J.), Bradley, a forward,...
Bragg, Don American athlete who won a gold medal in the pole vault at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. On Feb. 13, 1959, he set a world indoor record by vaulting 15 feet 9 1 8 inches (4.8 m), and on July 2, 1960, he established a world outdoor mark of 15 feet 9...
Brumel, Valery Soviet athlete who held the world record in the high jump from 1961 to 1971. Brumel was educated at the Central Institute of Physical Culture (Moscow), graduating in 1967; he was made an honoured master of sport of the Soviet Union in 1961 and became...
Brundage, Avery American sports administrator who was the controversial and domineering president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1952 to 1972 and did more to set the tone of the modern Olympic Games than any other individual. Brundage competed in...
Bryant, Kobe American professional basketball player, who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to five championships (2000–02, 2009–10). Bryant’s father, Joe (“Jelly Bean”) Bryant, was a professional basketball player who...
Bubka, Sergey Ukrainian athlete, the first pole-vaulter to clear 6.1 metres (20 feet). Bubka began pole-vaulting at age 9. When his coach, Vitaly Petrov, was transferred to Donetsk, Ukraine, Bubka, at age 15, followed. Bubka won the pole vault at the 1983 world track-and-field...
Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games athletic festival held in Calgary, Alta., Can., that took place Feb. 13–28, 1988. The Calgary Games were the 15th occurrence of the Winter Olympic Games. The city of Calgary first organized a bidding committee for the Winter Olympics in 1957; 24 years...
Calhoun, Lee American athlete, the first to win successive gold medals in the Olympics for the 110-metre hurdles. Calhoun competed for North Carolina College, winning national collegiate championships in the 120-yard hurdles in 1956 and 1957; he was national outdoor...
Campbell, Milt American athlete who was the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal in the decathlon (at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games); he set an Olympic record in the event. Campbell had previously earned a silver medal in decathlon at the 1952 Helsinki...
Čáslavská, Věra Czech gymnast who won a total of 34 medals, including 22 gold medals, at the Olympic Games and at world and European championships in the 1950s and ’60s. Her career was curtailed after she expressed support for greater freedom in her homeland. Čáslavská...
Caulkins, Tracy American athlete, considered one of the most versatile swimmers ever. She is the only swimmer to set U.S. records in every stroke, and she won a record 48 U.S. national swimming titles. Caulkins began swimming when she was eight years old and won her...
Cecil, David George Brownlow British athlete and Olympic champion who was an outstanding performer in the athletics (track-and-field) events of hurdling and running. He was also the eldest son and heir of the 5th marquess of Exeter. Cecil was born into an aristocratic family. He...
Chamonix 1924 Olympic Winter Games athletic festival held in Chamonix, France, that took place Jan. 25–Feb. 5, 1924. The Chamonix Games were the first occurrence of the Winter Olympic Games. The Chamonix Games were originally staged as International Winter Sports Week, a meet sponsored...
Chand, Dhyan Indian field hockey player who was considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. Chand is most remembered for his goal-scoring feats and for his three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, while India was dominant in...
Charlton, Boy Australian swimmer who won five Olympic medals. In 1923, at the age of 15, Charlton set his first world record, swimming 880 yards in 11 min 5.2 sec. En route to the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, Charlton’s adoptive father, who had become his coach, suffered...
Chukarin, Viktor Ivanovich first of the great Soviet gymnasts, who won 11 medals in international competition. Chukarin graduated in 1950 from the Institute of Physical Culture in Lvov (now Lviv), where in 1963 he became an assistant professor. At the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki,...
Cierpinski, Waldemar East German runner, the second marathon runner (after Abebe Bikila) to win two Olympic gold medals. Originally a successful steeplechase runner, Cierpinski entered his first marathon in 1974. He was little known when he ran his fifth marathon at the...
Coachman, Alice American athlete who was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Coachman first attracted attention in 1939 by breaking Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) high school and college women’s high-jump records while barefoot. She won the AAU outdoor...
Coe, Sebastian British athlete, who won four Olympic medals and set eight world records in middle-distance running. His great rivalry with fellow Briton Steve Ovett dominated middle-distance racing for much of the 1980s. Coe studied economics and social history at...
Coleman, Georgia American diver, the first woman to perform a forward 2 1 2 somersault dive in competition. She won several Olympic medals, including a gold in the springboard event. Coleman had been diving for just six months when she entered the 1928 Olympic Games...
Comăneci, Nadia Romanian gymnast, the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. Comăneci was discovered by Bela Karolyi, later the Romanian gymnastics coach, when she was six years old. She first competed in the national junior...
Cooper, Cynthia American basketball player who was the first Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). In the WNBA’s inaugural season (1997), Cooper led the league in scoring while leading her team, the Houston Comets, to the...
Cooper, Malcolm English shooter who, at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, became the first Olympic competitor from Britain to win a gold medal for rifle shooting since the 1908 Games in London. Cooper earned his medal in the small-bore rifle (three positions) event. When...
Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Olympic Winter Games athletic festival held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, that took place Jan. 26–Feb. 5, 1956. The Cortina d’Ampezzo Games were the seventh occurrence of the Winter Olympic Games. Originally awarded the 1944 Winter Games, which were canceled because of World...
Coubertin, Pierre, baron de French educator who played a central role in the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896, after nearly 1,500 years of abeyance. He was a founding member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and served as its president from 1896 to 1925. As a republican...
Coutts, Russell New Zealand yachtsman who led his country’s team to its first America’s Cup victory in 1995. Coutts won his first regatta at age nine, steering a 2.13-metre (7-foot) wooden dinghy off the windy coast of Dunedin, South Island. Nine years later he became...
Crabbe, Buster American swimmer whose Olympic gold medal led to a long acting career. Crabbe, who grew up in Hawaii and swam for the University of Southern California, competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, winning a bronze medal in the 1,500-metre freestyle and...
Curtis, Ann American swimmer who dominated her sport during the 1940s, with three Olympic medals and five world records, as well as 34 national titles and 56 American records. She began swimming at age nine and two years later won the freestyle race for girls under...
Cuthbert, Betty Australian sprinter, who starred at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, where she won three gold medals; she added a fourth gold medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Cuthbert began running at age eight and was trained by a schoolteacher in...
Daniels, Charles American swimmer who won seven Olympic medals and was the originator of the “ American crawl,” which became the predominant freestyle form. At the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, Daniels was America’s star swimmer, winning gold medals in the...
Davenport, Willie American athlete who, competed in four Summer (1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976, as a hurdler) and one Winter (1980, on the four-man bobsled team) Olympic Games—one of very few athletes to have competed in both Summer and Winter Games—and had his best moment...
Davis, Glenn American world-record holder in the 400-metre hurdles (1956–62) who was the first man to win the Olympic gold medal twice in that event. Davis excelled in track for Barberton (Ohio) High School, often scoring more individually than entire opposing teams....
Davis, Victor Canadian swimmer, an aggressive competitor who won four Olympic medals. At the 1982 world championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Davis set a world record and won a gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he won a...
de Bruijn, Inge Dutch swimmer whose eight Olympic medals (2000, 2004) and five world championships made her one of the most successful competitors in women’s swimming history. De Bruijn began swimming at age 7 and participated in her first international meet at age...
de Varona, Donna American athlete and sportscaster who, after a record-breaking amateur career as a swimmer, established herself as an advocate for women’s and girls’ sports opportunities. De Varona became a household word among Olympic Games enthusiasts in 1960 when,...
Defar, Meseret Ethiopian long-distance runner, world champion, and Olympic medalist who broke a number of world records, including those in the 3,000-metre, 5,000-metre, and 2-mile races. Defar began her running career in primary school and won several primary and...
Deng Yaping Chinese table tennis player, who won six world championships and four Olympic championships between 1989 and 1997. She is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Deng began playing table tennis at age five, and four years...
Desjardins, Pete Canadian-born American diver who won a silver medal in the springboard at the 1924 Olympics in Paris and gold medals in the springboard and platform events at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, an achievement that was not matched by a male diver until Greg...
Devers, Gail American track athlete who overcame physical adversity to win Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996. Devers began running in high school. Later, at the University of California at Los Angeles, she won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)...
Dibaba, Tirunesh Ethiopian distance runner who at the 2008 Beijing Olympics became the first woman to win gold in both the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre races. She defended her gold medal title in the 10,000 metres at the 2012 London Olympics, making her the first woman...
Dibiasi, Klaus Austrian-born Italian diver who dominated the platform event from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, winning three Olympic gold medals. He was the first Italian to win a gold medal in a swimming or diving event. Dibiasi was coached by his father, Carlo...
Donovan, Anne American basketball player who is often credited with revolutionizing the centre position in women’s basketball. She later had a successful coaching career. As a 6-foot 8-inch (2.03-metre) college freshman, Donovan faced high expectations when she entered...
d’Oriola, Christian French foil fencer who between 1947 and 1956 won four world titles and six Olympic medals, cementing his stature as one of the great fencers in the history of the sport. D’Oriola was born to a sporting family—a cousin won two Olympic gold medals in equestrian...
Douglas, Gabby gymnast who, at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, became both the first American to claim gold medals in the team and individual all-around events and the first African American to win the all-around title. Douglas grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia,...
Draves, Victoria American diver who was the first woman to win Olympic gold medals in both springboard and platform diving in the same Olympiad, accomplishing this feat at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. Her father was Filipino, and, growing up in San Francisco during...
Dumas, Charles American athlete who, was the first high jumper to clear seven feet and months after accomplishing the feat won a gold medal in the event at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Knee injuries ended his career in 1964.
Eagan, Eddie American boxer and bobsledder who was the only athlete to win gold medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. After their father died in a railroad accident when Eddie was only a year old, he and his four brothers were raised by their mother, who...
Ederle, Gertrude first woman to swim the English Channel and one of the best-known American sports personages of the 1920s. Ederle early became an avid swimmer. She was a leading exponent of the eight-beat crawl (eight kicks for each full arm stroke) and between 1921...
Edwards, Teresa American basketball player who was the most decorated player in the history of the U.S. national team. From her point-guard position, Edwards guided the U.S. national team to gold medals in 14 of 18 major international tournaments between 1981 and 2000,...
Egerszegi, Krisztina Hungarian swimmer, the youngest athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming. She won the 200-metre backstroke at the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games, becoming only the second swimmer (after Dawn Fraser) to win an individual event at three...
Elek, Ilona Hungarian fencer who was the only woman to win two Olympic gold medals in the individual foil competition. In addition to her success in the Olympics, Elek was world champion in women’s foil in 1934, 1935, and 1951. She won more international fencing...
Elis ancient Greek region and city-state in the northwestern corner of the Peloponnese, well known for its horse breeding and for the Olympic Games, which were allegedly founded there in 776 bc. The region was bounded on the north by Achaea, on the east by...
Elliott, Herb Australian middle-distance runner who was world-record holder in the 1,500-metre (metric-mile) race (1958–67) and the mile race (1958–62). As a senior runner he never lost a mile or a 1,500-metre race. Elliott began running competitively at the age of...
Elvstrøm, Paul Danish yachtsman who dominated Olympic Finn class sailing between 1948 and 1960. He won four consecutive gold medals in that event and competed in the Olympics as late as the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea. He is considered the greatest sailor in Olympic...
Ender, Kornelia East German swimmer who was the first woman to win four gold medals at a single Olympics. Ender’s natural ability was spotted when she was a child playing on family vacations, and she was trained from a young age by demanding East German coaches who...