Olympic Games: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026

News •

Tearful Smith switches allegiance to Netherlands • Nov. 11, 2026, 3:19 AM ET (BBC)

Spain's women's flag football team seeks Olympic spot as NFL helps boost the sport • Nov. 7, 2026, 6:00 AM ET (AP)

Olympic champ Shaidorov 5th as Miura leads figure skating Cup of China • Nov. 6, 2026, 9:25 AM ET (AP)

NFL and TMRW Sports unveil pro flag football league launching before the sport makes Olympic debut • Nov. 2, 2026, 1:05 PM ET (AP)

Senegal is hosting Africa's first Olympic event as citizens battle a cost of living crisis • Nov. 2, 2026, 4:46 AM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	Olympiad
Notable Honorees	Eleanor Holm • Harrison Dillard • Ben Johnson • Karen Josephson • Wolfgang Linger • Andreas Linger • Aldo Nadi • Butch Reynolds • Pablo Morales • Oscar De La Hoya • Tessa Virtue • Scott Moir • Sarah Josephson • LeBron James • Lionel Messi • Muhammad Ali • Simone Biles • Serena Williams • Chris Paul • Russell Westbrook • Rafael Nadal • Kevin Durant • Jayson Tatum • Bill Russell • Amber Glenn • Lisa Carrington • Brittney Griner • Sarah Nurse • Dawn Staley • Katie Ledecky • Mikaela Shiffrin • Yuto Horigome • Devin Booker • Allyson Felix • Sue Bird • Carissa Moore • Emma McKeon • Sabrina Ionescu • Carlos Alcaraz • Venus Williams • Spencer Haywood • Stephen Curry • James Harden • Neeraj Chopra • Michael Jordan • Anna Meares • Jimmy Butler • Oleksandr Usyk • Michael Phelps • Suni Lee • Emma Twigg • Ariarne Titmus • Megan Rapinoe • Kobe Bryant • Kōhei Uchimura • Alex Morgan • Carmelo Anthony • Ryan Lochte • Joan Benoit Samuelson • Candace Parker • Grant Hill • Usain Bolt • Dwyane Wade • Caeleb Dressel • Hayley Wickenheiser • Natalie du Toit • Yulimar Rojas • Diana Taurasi • Sha’Carri Richardson • Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce • Hamish Bond • Valerie Adams • Yelena Isinbayeva • Andre Agassi • Ye Shiwen • Mo Farah • Jessica Fox • Julie Foudy • Jim Thorpe • Lisa Fernandez • Magic Johnson • Andy Murray • Chris Hoy • Bart Conner • Meseret Defar • Nathan Adrian • Sally Pearson • Shaquille O’Neal • Cheryl Miller • Bradley Wiggins • Laurie Hernandez • Quan Hongchan • Steve Yzerman • Arshad Nadeem • Jesse Owens • Babe Didrikson Zaharias • Nastia Liukin • Lennox Lewis • Michelle Akers • Wu Minxia • Hanyu Yuzuru • Scottie Pippen • Trinity Rodman • Abby Wambach • Charles Barkley • Missy Franklin • Russell Coutts • Libby Trickett • Noureddine Morceli • Nancy Lieberman • Jackie Joyner-Kersee • Carolina Klüft • Ashton Eaton • Misty May-Treanor • Fanny Blankers-Koen • Guo Jingjing • Carl Lewis • Michael Johnson • Pernell Whitaker • Gabby Douglas • Kerri Walsh Jennings • Anne Donovan • Karch Kiraly • Abhinav Bindra • Tirunesh Dibaba • Shi Tingmao • Joe Frazier • George Foreman • Sugar Ray Leonard • Sophia Smith • Donovan Bailey • Shirley Strickland de la Hunty • Michelle Smith • Inge de Bruijn • Věra Čáslavská • Sebastian Coe • Ben Ainslie • Dick Fosbury • Ferenc Puskás • Irena Szewińska • Ian Thorpe • Sheryl Swoopes • Rafer Johnson • Vitaly Scherbo • Peter Snell • Nadia Comăneci • Halil Mutlu • Teófilo Stevenson • Floyd Patterson • Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev • Emil Zátopek • Dot Richardson • Paavo Nurmi • Arne Borg • Teresa Edwards • Paavo Yrjölä: The Farmhand • Iolanda Balas • Nino Benvenuti • Gong Lijiao • Bill Bradley • Murray Rose • Paul Elvstrøm • Tommy Kono • Caitlyn Jenner • Mia Hamm • Naim Süleymanoğlu • Steven Holcomb • Sergey Bubka • Gertrude Ederle • Karl Malone • Tracy Caulkins • Kristin Otto • Cynthia Cooper-Dyke • Mary Lou Retton • Harry Mallin • Evelyn Ashford • Oscar Robertson • Bob Richards • John Stockton • Christian d’Oriola • Abebe Bikila • Aleksandr Karelin • Nedo Nadi: Following in Father’s Footsteps • Tommie Smith • Suzanne Lenglen • Micheline Ostermeyer • Liu Xiang • Steve Ovett • Steven Redgrave • John J. Flanagan • Aileen Riggin • Jessica Ennis-Hill • Pat McCormick • Marie-José Pérec • Tani Ryōko • Eddie Eagan • Donna de Varona • Shane Gould • Tamara Press
Related Facts And Data	Tokyo - Facts