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When were the first ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia?

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Map of southeastern Europe highlighting Greece and marking the location of Olympia with a red star, indicating its status as a World Heritage Site. Olympia is shown in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula, surrounded by neighboring countries and nearby seas including the Ionian, Aegean, and Mediterranean. — Olympia Olympia was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1989.

The first ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BCE at the sacred site of Olympia, Greece.12

While some myths suggest the games originated earlier, 776 BCE is considered the first reliable date in Greek history for the event, as established by the researcher Hippias of Elis. At these inaugural games, the competition consisted of a single footrace known as the stade, which covered one length of the track. The first recorded Olympic champion was Coroebus of Elis, who won this sprint race.321