Olympic Games Presentation by: Izzy Thompson
The Purpose
Ê The purpose of the Olympic games is to build a better world through sport, to support development, education, and peace through sport.
Ê The Olympic games serves the purpose of bringing athletes from around the world together to compete in sport, while representing their country. In a way, the event brings nations together.
Ê The main goal of almost all professional athletes is to be able to compete and win at the Olympics.
Ê The Olympic games also promote the participation of women in sports.
The Purpose
Ê In the Olympics, an athlete is given a chance to become a national figure/symbol, and become a part of sport history.
Ê Here are some examples:
Kerri Strug-‐ Gymnastics, USA. She is famous for performing a vault on a broken leg, and landing on one foot, receiving a high enough score for her team to win. Atlanta, 1996
Usain Bolt-‐ Sprinter, Jamaica. He is famous for breaking the world record for the 100 meter spring. Beijing, 2008.
History
Ê According to historical records, the first Olympic Games happened back in 776BC. They were first held in Olympia, in the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Olympia was said to be ruled by the temple of Zeus.
Ê Religiously, the Olympic games were closely linked to the cult of Zeus, but it focused more on improving relations between Greek cities.
Ê Young men from the Greek region would come to Olympia to compete and show their strength. The closing ceremony took place at the temple of Zeus, where the winner and his father and his homeland would be announced. The sacred olive branch wreath would be placed on his head.
The Legend of the Olympic Games There was a famous conflict between Greek gods Zeus and Chronos. All the gods then competed against each other in sport, thus giving birth to the Olympic games.
Some of the games that were played back then were:
-‐ The Pentathlon
-‐ The boxing Horses' races
-‐ The Pancratium
History
Ê The first International Olympic Game run by the IOC was held in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece, in 1896.
Ê 14 nations and 241 athletes participated.
Ê After the first game, there was a time period where the popularity and the chance of survival of the Olympic Games was thin. However, after the 1906 Intercalated games in Athens, (The event was not officially recognized by the IOC), the games regained popularity.
Ê The first Olympic event that allowed women to participate was the 1900 Paris Games. However, they were only allowed to compete in lawn tennis and golf.
History-‐ IOC
Ê The IOC (International Olympic Committee) is a corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ê Today, 205 nations are members of the IOC.
Ê The first Olympic (International) game was organized by Pierre de Coubertin. His aim was to create world peace and communication through the event. That’s him in the picture to the right.
Ê He also created the symbol of the Olympic Games, (Picture to the right bottom) the rings. “These five rings represent the five parts of the world which now are won over to Olympism and willing to accept healthy competition.”-‐ Pierre de Coubertin.
Advantages of Hosting the Olympic Games. o Promotes tourism. People will
travel to the country to see the games. Also, they may go after the games for leisure, because they saw a glimpse of the city on TV during the Olympics.
o Jobs. More jobs will be created for building facilities, advertising, etc.
o Boosts the economy. Tourists and athletes from foreign teams will buy souvenirs and goods from the country.
o The athletes from that country will not have to adjust to a new environment or time zone.
Disadvantages of Hosting the Olympics. o Dangers of terrorism.
Athletes and people involved in the games risk exposure to terrorism.
o Security concerns. Lots of security staff are needed, even weeks or months prior to the games.
o High costs and transport links. Building transportation links for athletes and tourists is expensive, and time consuming.
Human Interest Stories
Oksana Baiul was born in the Ukraine in 1977. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and her father became absent. Baiul’s mother died of cancer when she was thirteen, so Baiul was orphaned. She had no extended family, so her coach at the time looked after her. However, after her coach emigrated to Canada, she had no where to go. She lived on a makeshift bed at her hometown skating rink. She was eventually taken in by Galina Zmievskaya, who coached her through the rest of her career. Baiul won gold in the 1994 Norway Olympic games.
Human Interest Stories Marion Jones is a former track and field athlete, and a professional basketball player for the WNBA. She competed for the USA, and participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She won five medals, but they were taken away in 2007 when she admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs, and lying to a grand jury about it. Investigators found that she had been using these drugs since high school. She is named to be one of the fastest women in the world.
Controversies In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, age controversies regarding two of their female gymnasts became a huge issue. He Kexin (top) won gold in the uneven bars, as well as winning the gold with her team. Her passport shows that her birth date is January 1st, 1992. This was questioned because of her youthful appearance, and because there were online records of her, stating that she was only 14 in 2008. No evidence has been found and no one is sure what to believe. Jiang Ju Yuan (bottom) competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and won two bronze medals. On state run television, she admitted to being fourteen when she competed. This violates the rule regarding the minimum age of the competitor.
Controversies Five weeks before the 1994 Lillehammer winter Olympics, Nancy Kerrigan, (picture) was attacked at her skating rink. A man hit her leg with a baton repeatedly, and fled the scene. She was still able to compete in the Olympics, and she placed second. After the games, her competitor Tonya Harding, who placed eighth in the Lillehammer games was found to be involved in the attack. The man who hit Kerrigan with a baton turned out to be Harding’s husband. Tonya Harding was placed on three years probation, 500 hours of community service, and had to pay a 160,000 fine. She was also thrown off the Figure Skating Association of America. She never competed again.