History
It was Pierre de Coubertin of France who dreamt up this ambitious project,
although others before him had tried in vain to revive these Games. Drawing
inspiration from the ancient Olympic Games, he decided to create the modern
Olympic Games. With this purpose, he founded the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) in 1894 in Paris. The new committee set itself the objective
of organising the first Olympic Games of modern times.
The date of the first Games, 1896, marked the beginning of an extraordinary
adventure that has now lasted for over a century!
The roots of the Olympic Games are to be found in Ancient Greece [see sheet “The Olympic Games in Antiquity”], and the first modern Games, in 1896,
featured
many references to this legacy of Greek Antiquity:
› The Games were held in Athens, in Greece, the country where the ancient Games
were held.
› Most of the competitions were held in the ancient stadium (the Panathinaiko
Stadium), which had been restored for the occasion.
› Most of the sports on the programme of the ancient Games were included
in the first modern Games.
› The organisers invented a race inspired by an event in antiquity: the marathon.
Generally speaking, the modern Games strive towards a more peaceful world.
The Olympic Truce calling for a halt to all conflicts recalls the concept of the truce
observed during the Ancient Games.
Sacred and respected throughout Ancient Greece, the Olympic Truce announced
by messengers before the Games allowed spectators, athletes and officials
to travel to and from Olympia in safety through the numerous battle zones.
Today, the Olympic Truce is the subject of a United Nations resolution calling
for a halt to hostilities during the period of the Games and the search for means
of peaceful resolution in areas of tension. The athletes who support this initiative
are invited to sign a “Truce Wall” in the Olympic Village.The all-marble Panathenaic Stadium 
was chosen by the Greeks to host the games, but the venue had an ancient track with very sharp corners which forced the sprinters to slow down to stay in their lanes. The 1896 Olympics is also remembered for being the first games to organise a marathon race. The endurance event set off from the Greek town of Marathon and was won by Spyridon Louis, a Greek. As Olympic champion he was awarded a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma. The games lasted just over a week and attracted 280 male competitors (women were not allowed to compete until Paris 1900). Male athletes from the United States dominated the track and field, winning 9 events from 12.
The roots of the Olympic Games are to be found in Ancient Greece [see sheet “The Olympic Games in Antiquity”], and the first modern Games, in 1896,
featured
many references to this legacy of Greek Antiquity:
› The Games were held in Athens, in Greece, the country where the ancient Games
were held.
› Most of the competitions were held in the ancient stadium (the Panathinaiko
Stadium), which had been restored for the occasion.
› Most of the sports on the programme of the ancient Games were included
in the first modern Games.
› The organisers invented a race inspired by an event in antiquity: the marathon.
Generally speaking, the modern Games strive towards a more peaceful world.
The Olympic Truce calling for a halt to all conflicts recalls the concept of the truce
observed during the Ancient Games.
Sacred and respected throughout Ancient Greece, the Olympic Truce announced
by messengers before the Games allowed spectators, athletes and officials
to travel to and from Olympia in safety through the numerous battle zones.
Today, the Olympic Truce is the subject of a United Nations resolution calling
for a halt to hostilities during the period of the Games and the search for means
of peaceful resolution in areas of tension. The athletes who support this initiative
are invited to sign a “Truce Wall” in the Olympic Village.The all-marble Panathenaic Stadium was chosen by the Greeks to host the games, but the venue had an ancient track with very sharp corners which forced the sprinters to slow down to stay in their lanes. The 1896 Olympics is also remembered for being the first games to organise a marathon race. The endurance event set off from the Greek town of Marathon and was won by Spyridon Louis, a Greek. As Olympic champion he was awarded a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma. The games lasted just over a week and attracted 280 male competitors (women were not allowed to compete until Paris 1900). Male athletes from the United States dominated the track and field, winning 9 events from 12.The 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece
The very first modern Olympic Games opened in the first week of April 1896. Since the Greek government had been unable to fund construction of a stadium, a wealthy Greek architect, Georgios Averoff, donated one million drachmas (over $100,000) to restore the Panathenaic Stadium, originally built in 330 BCE, with white marble for the Olympic Games.
Since the Games were not well publicized internationally, contestants were not nationally chosen but rather came individually and at their own expense.
Some contestants were tourists who happened to be in the area during the Games. Athletes wore their athletic club uniform rather than a national team one.
Pole vaulting, sprints, shot put, weight lifting, swimming, cycling, target shooting, tennis, marathon and gymnastics were all events at the first Olympics. The swimming events were held in the Bay of Zea in the Aegean Sea. Gold medalist, Alfred Hoyos Guttmann described it: "I won ahead of the others with a big lead, but my greatest struggle was against the towering twelve-foot waves and the terribly cold water."*
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