Athens 2004 Olympic Games

The 2004 Olympic Games emblem is a wreath made from an olive tree branch, or kotinos. The emblem is a reference to the ancient Olympic Games, where the kotinos was the official award of Olympic champions. In addition, the olive was the sacred tree of Athens. The colours of the emblem symbolise the shades of white and blue found in the Greek countryside.

Biggest Games

A record 201 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Olympic Games. The overall tally for events on the programme was 301 (one more than at the Sydney Games in 2000).

Records tumble

Swimmer Michael Phelps won six gold medals and set a single-Games record with eight total medals. Leontien Ziljaard-van Moorsel became the first female cyclist to earn four career gold medals, reaching a total of six Olympic medals, while canoeist Birgit Fischer became the first athlete in any sport to win two medals in each of five Olympic Games.

Memorable champions

Runner Hicham El Guerrouj won both the 1500m and the 5000m, while on the women's side Kelly Holmes triumphed in both the 800m and the 1500m. In team play, Argentina won the men's football tournament without conceding a goal, and the US softball team outscored their opponents by an aggregate score of 51-1.

NOCs 201
Athletes 10,625 athletes (4,329 women, 6,296 men)
Events 301
Volunteers 45,000
Media 21,500

BEIJING 2008 Olympic games

Beijing was the Games of records and outstanding. The Opening Ceremony was impressive; the athletes’ achievements were astounding, the organisation was admirable; the venues awe-inspiring and the anti-doping tests were stricter. Several hundred million watched worldwide on TV as more than 40 world records and over 130 Olympic records were broken.

First medals

A record 204 National Olympic Committees took part in the Games. Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Mauritius and Togo all experienced podium finishes for the first time. However Mongolia and Panama managed to go one better with their athletes bringing home their country’s first Olympic gold.

Memorable champions

There were many memorable champions but it was Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt who stole the headlines. Phenomenal US swimmer Michael Phelps bettered Mark Spitz’s achievement at the 1972 Munich Games by claiming eight swimming golds and the unbelievable Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt broke both the 100m and 200m world records and claimed a third gold and record with the Jamaican 4 x 100m relay team.

NOCs 204
Athletes10,942 (4,637 women, 6,305 men)
Events 302
Volunteers 100,000 (70,000 Olympic Games, 30,000 Paralympic Games)
Media 24,562 accredited media representing 159 countries

JIM THORPE

Surname: Thorpe
First Name: Jacobus Franciscus, also known as “Jim”
Date and place of birth: 28 May 1888 in Prague, USA
Nationality: American
Olympic achievements: 2 gold medals, pentathlon and decathlonStockholm 1912

At the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Jim Thorpe won the pentathlon and the decathlon. At the victory ceremony, the King oF Sweden told him: “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.”

LEONWAS OF RHODES

Surname: Leonidas of Rhodes
Date and place of birth: 2nd century BC in Rhodes, Greece
Nationality: Greek
Achievements: 12 titles at the Olympic Games in Olympia

Leonidas of Rhodes is unquestionably the most famous runner of antiquity. In 164 BC, he won the three races on the programme of the Olympic Games: the stadium, the diaulos and the race in armour. While the first two of these favoured sprinters, the race ii armour required strength and endurance, which demonstrates the talent of Leonidas.

KYNISKA OF SPARTA

Surname: Kyniska of Sparta
Date and place of birth: 4th century BC in Sparta, Greece
Nationality: Greek
Achievements: 2 titles at the Olympic Games in Olympia

The daughter of King Archidamos II of Sparta, Princess Kyniska was the first woman to appear on the list of ancient Olympic winners. Her chariot won the quadriga (four-horse chariot) race at the Games in 396 and 392 BC. Women were not allowed at the Olympic Games, but in the chariot races, the winner’s crown went not to the auriga but to the owner of the chariot.