Olympic Games: References & Edit History
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- athleticsPresentation
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- long-distance running
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- BeijingThe modern city
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- Tokyo-Yokohama Metropolitan AreaThe region since 1912
- Los AngelesThe 1920s and ’30s
- Los AngelesThe contemporary city
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- MontrealEvolution of the modern city
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- VancouverThe contemporary city
- Are Olympic Medals Made of Gold?
- Do Olympic Athletes Get Paid?
- Do Olympic Coaches Get Medals?
- 8 Olympic Cheating Scandals
- Has an Athlete Died During an Olympic Competition?
- How Are Sports Chosen for the Olympics?
- How Do People Qualify for the Olympics?
- Is There an Age Limit for the Olympics?
- list of athletes with the most Olympic medals
- Olympic Games host cities
- OlympicsBoon or Curse?
- OlympicsThe Genetics of Success
- 7 Canceled or Reintroduced Olympic Sports
- 7 Significant Political Events at the Olympic Games
- 7 Ways Hosting the Olympics Impacts a City
- 6 Unusual Olympic Sports
- What Do the Olympic Rings and Flame Represent?
- Who Pays for the Olympics?
- Why Are the Olympics Held Every Four Years?
Additional Reading
General studies of ancient Greek athletics include Mark Golden, Sport and Society in Ancient Greece (1998); H.A. Harris, Greek Athletes and Athletics (1964, reissued 1979); E. Norman Gardiner, Athletics of the Ancient World (1930, reprinted 2002); and Stephen G. Miller, Ancient Greek Athletics (2004). The history of the ancient Olympic Games is examined in M.I. Finley and H.W. Pleket, The Olympic Games: The First Thousand Years (1976); and David C. Young, A Brief History of the Olympic Games (2004).
William Mellors Henry and Patricia Henry Yeomans, An Approved History of the Olympic Games, new ed. (1988); and Nicolaos Yalouris (ed.), The Eternal Olympics, trans. from Greek (1979), are reports of the Games up to modern times. Konstantinos Georgiadou, Olympic Revival (2003); and David C. Young, The Modern Olympics: A Struggle for Revival (1996), use original 19th-century documents to examine the origins of the modern Olympics. Jeffrey O. Segrave and Donald Chu (eds.), The Olympic Games in Transition (1988), explores the development of and changes in the modern Games, and their Olympism (1981) focuses on the philosophy of the Olympics. Olympism is further analyzed in John Hoberman, The Olympic Crisis: Sport, Politics, and the Moral Order (1986). David B. Kanin, A Political History of the Olympic Games (1981), is an important study of the political aspects of the Games. An analysis of politics as well as athletics is found in Allen Guttmann, The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games, 2nd ed. (2002). Bill Mallon, The Olympics: A Bibliography (1984), covers the Games from 1896 to 1980. Ian Buchanan and Bill Mallon, Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement (1995), is a concise but comprehensive reference work. John A. Lucas, Future of the Olympic Games (1992), addresses various problems of the modern Games and proposes solutions. Robert K. Barney, Stephen R. Wenn, and Scott G. Martyn, Selling the Five Rings: The International Olympic Committee and the Rise of Olympic Commercialism (2002), is a thorough history of the growth of commercialism in the Games.
Pierre de Coubertin, Olympic Memoirs (1979, reprinted 1997; originally published in French, 1931), is an autobiographical record of the author’s contribution to the modern Games. John J. MacAloon, This Great Symbol: Pierre de Coubertin and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games (1981), is a scholarly biography. Allen Guttmann, The Games Must Go On: Avery Brundage and the Olympic Movement (1984), concentrates on Brundage’s tenure as president of the IOC (1948–72). Lord Killanin (Michael Morris, Baron Killanin), My Olympic Years (1983), provides a personal account of Killanin’s time as IOC president (1972–80).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- David C. Young
-
Harold Maurice Abrahams
Broadcaster and journalist. Chairman, British Amateur Athletic Board. Olympic Gold Medalist (100-metre dash), whose experiences at the 1924 Olympics provided the subject of the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, which emphasized Abrahams’ Judaism and portrayed his victory as a personal triumph over anti-Semitism. Author of The Olympic Games, 1896-1956.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Added cross-reference. | Jul 27, 2026 | ||
| Replaced expired media. | Jul 09, 2026 | ||
| Expanded the summaries of recent Olympic Games, beginning with the 2018 Winter Olympics. | Feb 26, 2026 | ||
| Revised the Top Questions section. | Feb 21, 2026 | ||
| Revised the Top Questions section. | Feb 18, 2026 | ||
| Revised the Top Questions section. | Feb 15, 2026 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Feb 12, 2026 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 11, 2026 | ||
| Updated list of sports included at the Olympics. Added media. | Feb 10, 2026 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jan 28, 2026 | ||
| Added cross reference to Olympic medals. | Dec 23, 2025 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Dec 19, 2025 | ||
| Added cross references to Nancy Kerrigan, Eric Rudolph. | Dec 05, 2025 | ||
| Added top questions. | Nov 18, 2025 | ||
| Noted that Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe is the current IOC president. | Sep 11, 2025 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 01, 2025 | ||
| Fixed broken link. | Mar 25, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Mar 14, 2025 | ||
| Link added. | Mar 03, 2025 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Aug 01, 2024 | ||
| Media added. | Jun 07, 2024 | ||
| Added a banner to the 2024 Paris Olympics page. | Jun 07, 2024 | ||
| Added cross-references. | May 16, 2024 | ||
| Media added. | May 06, 2024 | ||
| Media added. | May 06, 2024 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Apr 19, 2024 | ||
| Media added. | Mar 27, 2024 | ||
| Updated estimation of the number of athletes competing at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. | Mar 19, 2024 | ||
| Updated for style and removed expired photographs. | Mar 01, 2024 | ||
| Cross-reference added. | Oct 11, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Humanities LibreTexts - Olympic games. | Oct 18, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Penn Museum - The Games. | Apr 01, 2022 | ||
| Media added. | Jul 16, 2021 | ||
| Noted the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics. | Mar 25, 2020 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 22, 2019 | ||
| Added the host cities for the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games. | Sep 15, 2017 | ||
| All mentions of "Aborigine" were changed to reflect EB standards. | Jun 21, 2017 | ||
| Added section on the 2016 Rio Olympics and made other revisions throughout article. | Feb 21, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: PBS LearningMedia - Origins of the Olympics | The Greeks. | Feb 16, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Science Kids - Fun Science and Technology for Kids! - Summer Olympic Games Facts. | Dec 06, 2016 | ||
| Noted the sports that were added to the 2020 Summer Olympics program. | Sep 09, 2016 | ||
| In The modern Olympic movement section, updated sports that are included in the Summer Olympics program. | Jul 26, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Enchanted Learning - The PyeongChang Olympic Games. | Jun 24, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - Ancient Olympic Games. | Jun 24, 2016 | ||
| Corrected cross-reference to Vancouver. | Jun 14, 2016 | ||
| Updated to mention that Beijing was awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics. | Jul 31, 2015 | ||
| Mentioned that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia also competed in the 1992 Barcelona Games as independent countries. | Mar 27, 2015 | ||
| Added video. | Feb 03, 2015 | ||
| Added image of a 2014 Sochi Games poster. | Jul 03, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Olympics. | Mar 28, 2014 | ||
| Added section on the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games. | Mar 22, 2014 | ||
| Added photos from the 2012 Olympic Games. | Feb 07, 2014 | ||
| Updated article to mention that Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic Games. | Sep 12, 2013 | ||
| Added section describing the London 2012 Olympic Games to article. | Dec 13, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Telegraph - Olympic Coverage for London 2012. | Jul 02, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Telegraph - Olympic Coverage for London 2012. | Jul 02, 2012 | ||
| Removed references at beginning of article to Britannica articles on the 2008 and 2010 Olympics. | Jun 13, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Sports-Reference - Olympics Statistics and History. | Apr 05, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Sports-Reference - Olympics Statistics and History. | Apr 05, 2012 | ||
| Added highlights of the 2010 Winter Games to the Vancouver, Canada, 2010 section. | Dec 02, 2011 | ||
| Mentioned that Pyeongchang was chosen to host the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. | Jul 06, 2011 | ||
| Changed "Pyeongchang" to "P'yongch'ang." | Jul 06, 2011 | ||
| Changed "Jarome Ingila" to "Jarome Iginla." | Feb 26, 2010 | ||
| Added cross-reference to Vancouver 2010 article. | Dec 24, 2009 | ||
| Added the new sports that will be added to the Olympic Games programs in 2012 and 2014, as well as a summary of the 2008 Beijing Games. | Oct 22, 2009 | ||
| Updated to reflect the selection of Rio de Janeiro as the site of the 2016 Summer Games. | Oct 06, 2009 | ||
| Changed "United Kingdom" to "Great Britain" throughout article. | Feb 23, 2009 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Aug 04, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jul 30, 2008 | ||
| Media added. | May 29, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | May 05, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: HistoryWorld - History of the Olympic Games. | Apr 28, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Olympic Games. | Feb 08, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Summer Olympics. | Feb 08, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Dec 12, 2007 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 09, 2007 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 26, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Official Site of the European Olympic Committees. | Jul 19, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Ancient Olympics - A Special Exhibit of the Perseus Digital Library Project. | Jun 20, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Ancient Olympics - A Special Exhibit of the Perseus Digital Library Project. | Jun 20, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: None. | Jun 05, 2006 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Apr 27, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Olympic Movement. | Apr 20, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Dec 08, 2005 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 12, 2004 | ||
| Article revised. | Nov 20, 2003 | ||
| Article revised. | Apr 26, 2002 | ||
| Article revised. | Jan 17, 2002 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 16, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 16, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Jan 12, 2000 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 20, 1998 |