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General Knowledge for SSC Exams (The World of Sports)

Olympic Games

The origin of the ancient Olympic Games is shrouded in mystery. The first historical mention of the Game was in 776 B.C. Iphites (King of Elis) in collaboration with Cleosthenes (King of Pisa) and Lycurgus (King of Sparta) is reported to have promoted or initiated the Games at Olympia.

The revival of the Games was undertaken by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French nobleman, a brilliant educator and a practical dreamer. The Games were revived after nearly 1500 years. Baron Pierre de Coubertin was born in a family of Italian origin which had settled in France. On November 25, 1892, during a conference at Sorbonne about ‘history of physical exercise’, he pronounced the famous six words in public: ‘The Restoration of the Olympic Games’. Coubertin wanted Paris to be the site of the First Modern Olympics and he proposed that the same should be started in the year 1900. But it was decided that the Games he started in the year 1896 itself. Venue of the First Modern Olympics was Athens (Greece). The first Modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. The Games are declared open by the head (of the state) of host nation.

Olympic Motto, Emblem And Flag

Motto :“Citius, Aitius, Fortius”. These are Latin words, which mean ‘Swifter, Higher and Stronger’.
It was composed in 1897 by Rev. Father Didon, a friend of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, and introduced in the 1920 games for the first time.

Emblem : Is composed of five inter-twined rings, each of a different colour, representing five continents of the world. It is placed in the centre of the Olympic Flag.

Colour of Ring	Continent Represented
Blue ring	Europe
Yellow ring	Asia
Black ring	Africa
Red ring	America
Green ring	Oceania

Flag : The Olympic flag is white in colour (originally made of cotton) 3m×2m. The emblem placed in the middle is 206cm×60cm. The flag was designed by Coubertin himself in 1913 and it was first hosted in 1920 at the Antwerp Games and the motto was then added to it.

Epigram : “The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well”. The epigram was given by the Bishop of Pennsylvania in 1908. It means the importance of the Olympics is not the winning but taking part in it.
The torch used to kindle the flame is first lit by the sun’s rays at the shrine of Zeus (Greece). It is then carried overland by a relay of runners to the site of the games and placed in a bowl during the period of the Games.

The Olympic Torch Relay : The practice of Torch Relay from Olympia (Greece) to the venue of the Games was first introduced by German Olympic Committee for the Berlin Games in 1936 and, has since become part of the Olympic games.

Olympic Mascot : It was introduced in 1972 at the 20th Olympic Games held at Munich and since then an Olympic Mascot is selected for a particular year and venue. The following have been the Mascot so far.