Olympic Trivia

Whether you are a regular "sports fan" or not, chances are you've watched at least some of the Olympic Games. I find myself fascinated, even mesmerized, by the athletic ability, sportsmanship, and showmanship displayed in the Games.

Corey and Laura's Olympic Site has an amazing collection of facts, statistics, and trivia about the Olympics. Here are 13 bits of information from their site. Click on the link to see more!

1. More athletes than spectators attended the 1900-Paris Games.

2. The idea of an Olympic Flame burning from the start of the games to the closing was first introduced at the 1928 Amsterdam games.

3. Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci scored perfect 10's seven times at the 1976 Montreal games.

4. The first games to be televised were the 1936 Berlin Games.
Hungarian Aladar Gerevich won medals in 6 consecutive Olympic games.

5. The Olympic Flag made its debut at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. At the end of each Olympic Games, the mayor of that host-city presents the flag to the mayor of the next host-city. It then rests at the town hall of the next host-city for four years until the Opening Ceremony of their Olympic Games.

6. The five rings represent the five major regions of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Every national flag in the world includes at least one of the five colors, which are (from left to right) blue, yellow, black, green, and red.

7. Although the ancient games were staged in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC through 393 AD, it took 1,503 years for the Olympics to return.

8. Hungarian Aladar Gerevich won medals in 6 consecutive Olympic games.

9. The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius." These three Latin words mean "Swifter, Higher, Stronger."

10. Communist China entered its first games in 1984-Los Angeles.

11. American Mildred "Babe" Didriksen won medals in high-jumping, hurdling, and the javelin in 1932-Los Angeles. She is the only athlete to ever medal in all three events.

12. Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila was the first man to successfully defend the marathon title. (1960 and 1964). He only wore shoes for the second victory.

13. At the start of each Olympics, every athlete promises to play fairly and obey all of the Olympic rules. One athlete from the host country takes this oath at the Opening Ceremonies on behalf of all athletes. The chosen athlete holds a corner of the Olympic Flag while repeating the oath.