Olympics Timeline: Ancient Greece - 1940s
Olympics Timeline
From ancient Greece to   the present day
by Shmuel Ross
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.
A.D. 394
Roman Emperor Theodosius I abolishes the Games, as part of a         series of reforms against pagan practices.
At the urging of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the International         Olympic Committee (IOC) is founded.
1896
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.
1904
St. Louis Games
Only 13         countries show up.
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.
1908
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.
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.
1913
Jim Thorpe's medals are taken away, when it is discovered that he was paid $25 a week for playing baseball in 1909 and 1910. The         Olympics are strictly limited to amateur players.
Games cancelled due to World War         I .
1920
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 .
Chamonix Winter Games
The         "International Winter Sports Week" takes place in Chamonix, and is         dominated by the Scandanavians. Two years later, this is retroactively         given the status of the first Olympic Winter Games.
Due to an         error in computing the scores, American Anders Haugen is placed in         fourth in ski jumping, behind Norway's Thorleif Haug. This is         discovered in 1974, and Haugen is awarded the bronze in a special         ceremony.
Summer 1924
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.
Top
1925
The IOC explains that "An amateur is one who devotes himself to         sport for sport's sake without deriving from it, directly or         indirectly, the means of existence. A professional is one who derives         the means of existence entirely or partly from sport." They forbid         such practices as compensating athletes for time taken away from work         to compete, making it hard for working-class athletes to         participate.
Winter 1928
St. Moritz Winter Games
The         Winter Games are plagued with warm weather, slowing some events and         cancelling the 10,000-meter speed-skating race.
Gillis         Grafström of Sweden wins the last of his three consecutive gold         medals in figure skating; Norwegian Sonja Henie will equal that feat,         winning the first of her three consecutive gold         medals in figure skating here at the age of 15.
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.
1930
The Federation Internationale de         Football Association (FIFA) holds soccer's first World Cup         tournament in Montevideo, Uruguay, largely due to the Olympics'         restrictions against professional athletes.
The World Cup is         held every four years from this time onward, excepting World War II         years.