Olympic Games see interesting moments in history
As Paris is set to host the 33rd edition of the Olympic Games later this week, Anadolu highlights some interesting moments throughout its history.
From disqualifications and gold medal stories to the expenses and preparations for the Games, here are some of the more interesting facts:
In ancient Greece, athletes used to compete naked in Olympia.
- The shortest event in the history of the modern Olympic Games was the 1896 Athens Olympics, the first summer Olympics, held for nine days (April 6 - 15). It was held in nine categories with 241 athletes from 14 countries.
- At the 1900 Paris Olympics, winning athletes were presented with paintings instead of medals. The French argued that the paintings were more valuable than medals.
- In flying target shooting, real pigeons were used in the 1900 Paris Games instead of “clay pigeons” and 300 pigeons were killed in the competition.
- In 1904, American marathon runner Fred Lorz was disqualified in St. Louis when it was discovered his manager gave him a lift in his car and drove him almost 11 miles.
- The 1908 Games, the first Olympics hosted by London, lasted more than six months, from April to October. The Games were originally scheduled for Rome but following a violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius, it was relocated.
- US Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor Johnny Weissmuller, known for his role as "Tarzan" in movies, won five gold medals in swimming at the 1924 and 1928 Games.
- At the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Australian sculler Henry Pearce stopped his boat while racing in the quarterfinals to give way to a flock of ducks crossing the river. Despite his setback, Pearce managed to secure gold.
- The first televised Games were the Berlin Games in 1936.
- At the 1948 London Olympics, when the Games were delayed until dusk due to bad weather, the arena had to be lit by car headlamps.
- Black athletes did not win a marathon at the Olympics until 1960. The first Black to win was Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila, who ran barefoot in 1960.
- The first woman to light the Olympic cauldron was Norma Basilio at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968.
- At the 2012 London Olympics, 525 bird boxes and 150 bat boxes were placed in Olympic Park to protect wildlife.
Football, rugby matches at Paris Olympics to start Wednesday
Several football, rugby matches to be held ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.
Football and rugby matches at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will begin Wednesday ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.
The Argentina vs. Morocco at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne, and the Uzbekistan vs. Spain at Paris' Parc des Princes, both to kick-off at 1300GMT, will be the first football matches of the summer games.
Rugby sevens will also start with the match between Australia and Samoa at 1330GMT at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis.
The Paris 2024 Olympics will start on Friday with an exceptional opening ceremony across the River Seine.
It will be the first time that an opening ceremony of the Olympics will not be held at a stadium.
Israel, after they were allowed to play at the Paris 2024 Games despite the country's ongoing war on Gaza, will face Mali in a Wednesday football match at Parc des Princes.
In previous months, there were global calls to ban Israel from the Olympics.
From rights groups to athletes, demands are growing for a boycott of Israel over the atrocities taking place in the Gaza Strip, which have led to the death of more than 39,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7 last year.
Wednesday's football and rugby fixtures:
Argentina vs. Morocco (Geoffroy-Guichard)
Uzbekistan vs. Spain (Parc des Princes)
Guinea vs. New Zealand (Nice)
Egypt vs. Dominican Republic (La Beaujoire)
Iraq vs. Ukraine (Lyon)
Japan vs. Paraguay (Bordeaux)
France vs. US (Marseille)
Mali vs. Israel (Parc des Princes)
Rugby Sevens
Australia vs. Samoa (Stade de France)
Argentina vs. Kenya (Stade de France)
France vs. US (Stade de France)
Fiji vs. Uruguay (Stade de France)
Ireland vs. South Africa (Stade de France)
New Zealand vs. Japan (Stade de France)
Australia vs. Kenya (Stade de France)
Argentina vs. Samoa (Stade de France)
France vs. Uruguay (Stade de France)
Fiji vs. US (Stade de France)
Ireland vs. Japan (Stade de France)
New Zealand vs. South Africa (Stade de France)
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