Britannica Sources used in this answer

Which event was held at the first recorded Olympic Games in 776 BCE?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

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.

At the first recorded Olympic Games in 776 BCE, there was only one event: a footrace known as the stade.12

This race covered one length of the track at Olympia, measuring approximately 192 meters (210 yards). The term stade also referred to the track itself, which is the origin of the modern English word stadium. The first recorded champion of this event was Coroebus of Elis, a cook.123