Let's Chat About...Summer Olympics
"The Olympic Games are the world's only truly global, multi-sport, celebratory athletics competition. With more than 200 countries participating in over 400 events across the Summer and Winter Games, the Olympics are where the world comes to compete, feel inspired, and be together."
This year the Summer Olympics were held in Paris France from July 26 to August 11, 2024. The official name for this event is "Games of the XXXIII Olympiad" and branded "Paris 2024". Paris was awarded the games on September 13, 2017, after several withdrawals and leaving only Paris and Los Angeles in contention. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved both cities concurrently, Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.
Having previously hosting in 1900 and 1924, Paris became the 2nd city to ever host Summer Olympics 3 times in a row, after London (1908, 1948, 2012)
Paris debuted the 1st time Olympic sport of "Breaking", also known as break dancing. This was introduced as an optional sport and as of now, is not set to be held in Los Angeles 2028. This year's medal winners were:
Men's (Gold - Canada, Silver - France, Bronze -USA)
Women's (Gold - Japan, Silver - Lithuania, Bronze - China)
The first ever Summer Olympics games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904, and the Winter Olympics competition began after the success of the summer games.
At the 1st ever Olympic games in 1896 there were 42 different events and in this year's program there were 329.
Results of the 1896 games:
Country > Total Medals > Total Athletes
Greece > 47 > 169
USA > 20 > 14
Germany > 13 > 19
France > 11 > 12
Great Britain > 7 > 10
Hungary > 6 > 7
Denmark > 6 > 3
Austria > 5 > 3
Switzerland > 3 > 3
Australia > 2 > 1
Top 10 Summer Olympics medal winners from 1896 to current:
USA > 2,755
Soviet Union > 1,010
Great Britain > 981
France > 815
China > 727
Germany > 688
Italy > 658
Australia > 600
Japan > 542
Hungary > 530
Some of the events held at the very 1st Olympic games consisted of: Cycling (Road & Track), Fencing, Gymnastics, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wresting.
This year's events held in Paris included: Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Breaking, Canoeing, Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Field Hockey, Golf, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Pentathlon, Rowing, Rugby, Sailing, Surfing, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Track & Field, Triathlon, Volleyball, Weightlifting and Wrestling.
Fun Facts About the 2024 Paris Olympics:
The Football and Rugby competitions began on July 24th, 2 days prior to the Opening Ceremony.
It was exactly 100 years since Paris lasted hosted in 1924.
Paris & London are the only 2 cities to host the Summer Olympics 3 times.
There were about 10,500 athletes competing from around the world.
Around 10 million tickets were sold to watch this year's Olympics.
For the 1st time ever, the Opening Ceremony was not held in a stadium.
4 new sports have been introduced to the Olympic Games: Breaking (2024), Sport Climbing (2020), Skateboarding (2020) and Surfing (2020).
Michael Phelps is the most decorated USA Olympic Athlete of all time. He has won a total of 28 medals, 23 of them Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze. He is also the youngest Olympian to win the most medals, his career spanning from 2000-20016.
In this year's Summer Olympics, the Unites States had great results earning a total of 95 medals. 36 of these were Gold, 31 Silver and 28 Bronze.
Some of the most decorated athletes this year were:
Simone Biles (Gymnastics - 3 Gold, 1 Silver)
Torri Huske (Swimming - 3 Gold, 2 Silver)
Gabby Thomas (Track & Field - 3 Gold)
Regan Smith (Swimming - 2 Gold, 3 Silver)
Kate Douglass (Swimming - 2 Gold, 2 Silver)
Gretchen Walsh (Swimming - 2 Gold, 2 Silver)
Katie Ledecky (Swimming - 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially known as the "Games of the XXXIV Olympiad" (LA28) will be held in Los Angeles, California, USA! It is scheduled to take place July 14 - 30, 2028 at the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum SoFi Stadium with 35 sports expected.
For more information about LA28, click on the link below:
So, if you have any information to add or experiences to share, please comment below!
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