Summer Olympic: Overview

Every four years, the Summer Olympic Games, sometimes known as the Olympiad Games, are a major international multisport event. After being postponed until 2021, the Summer Olympics were finally hosted in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021. The first Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece in 1896.

Organizing the Games and making sure they go well in the host city are the responsibilities of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Gold medals are awarded first place in each Olympic event, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place; this practice dates to 1904. The Winter Olympic Games were created as a result of the success of the Summer Olympics. It is considered the world's largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event.

History

Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue, and historian formed the Worldwide Olympic Committee in 1894 to promote international understanding through sports competition. The inaugural Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896, with just 245 athletes competing, more than 200 of them were Greek, and only 14 nationalities represented. Despite this, no previous international events of this size had been organized. Female athletes were not permitted to compete, but one lady, Stamata Revathi, completed the marathon route on her own, claiming, "If the committee does not allow me to compete, I will go after them regardless."

After World War II

In 1948, the first postwar Games were held in London, with Germany and Japan being barred. Fanny Blankers-Koen, a Dutch sprinter, matched Owens' feat in Berlin by winning four gold medals on the track.

2020 Summer Olympics

The 2020 Summer Olympics were initially slated to occur in Tokyo, Japan, from July 24 to August 9, 2020. The city became just the fifth in history to hold the Olympics twice and the first in Asia to do so. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the International Olympic Committee, and the Tokyo Organizing Committee announced that the 2020 Olympic Games would be postponed until 2021.