The Olympic Games are a grand event showcasing athletes from around the world who strive to achieve historic milestones for themselves and their countries. Winning medals and etching their names into Olympic history is a significant accomplishment. The Games also serve as a convergence point for elite athletes across various sports, all aiming not only for victory but also to break new records and demonstrate that human potential knows no bounds. The Olympics are an ancient tradition, organized today under the supervision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to promote global sports participation and foster peace among nations, using competition as an alternative to conflicts or wars. Additionally, the Games offer host cities and countries a chance to showcase their capabilities and promote tourism.

Ancient Olympic Games

The ancient Olympics were both athletic and religious gatherings held every four years in Olympia, Greece, at the sanctuary of Zeus. Competitions were held among representatives from various Greek city-states in sports, particularly wrestling and chariot racing. It was said that during the Games, all conflicts between participating city-states were put on hold, known as the Olympic Truce. Although some argue this was a myth since Greeks rarely suspended wars, the truce did allow pilgrims traveling to Olympia to pass through warring territories without interference, as they were protected by Zeus.

The origins of the Olympics are rooted in myths involving Hercules and his father, Zeus. According to legend, Hercules was the first to name the Games “Olympic” and established the tradition of holding them every four years. After completing his twelve labors, he built the first Olympic stadium in honor of Zeus. Historians widely accept 776 BC as the start of the ancient Games based on inscriptions in Olympia that list winners of the races starting from that year. Events included running, pentathlon (consisting of jumping, discus throw, javelin, foot race, and wrestling), boxing, and equestrian sports. The first Olympic champion is said to be Corebus, a cook from the city of Elis.

In addition to their athletic significance, the ancient Olympics had religious importance. Ritual sacrifices were made in honor of Zeus and Pelops, the legendary King of Olympia known for his chariot races against King Oenomaus. The Games, held every four years, became a timekeeping unit for the Greeks. They reached their peak in the 6th and 5th centuries BC but declined as Roman power grew in Greece. The most commonly accepted date for the end of the ancient Olympics is AD 393 when Emperor Theodosius I issued a decree abolishing pagan practices, and his successor, Theodosius II, ordered the destruction of Greek temples.

The Modern Olympic Games

Pre-Official Era

The term “Olympic” began to describe certain sporting events in the modern era from the 17th century. The first of these was the Cotswold Olympic Games, an annual event held near Chipping Campden in England, organized by lawyer Robert Dover between 1612 and 1642. The British Olympic Association referenced these Games as the early movements in Britain’s Olympic history during the London 2012 Olympics. In France, the Republican Olympiads were a national festival held annually from 1796 to 1798 during the French Revolution, aiming to replicate ancient Greek Olympic events.

Between 1834 and 1836, the Ramulosa Olympics were held in Sweden, with additional Olympic events in Stockholm in 1843, organized by Gustav Johan Chartau, attracting 25,000 spectators. In 1850, William Penny Brooks initiated the Wenlock Olympics in Shropshire, England, renamed Wenlock Olympian Games in 1859, which continue to this day. From 1862 to 1867, a major annual Olympic festival was held in Liverpool, pioneered by John Hulley and Charles Melly, marking the first amateur international event similar to the modern Olympics. The National Olympic Games in Britain were held at Crystal Palace in London in 1866.

In Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics, efforts to revive them began with the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. Poet Panagiotis Soutsos proposed the revival in his 1833 poem “Dialogue of the Dead.” Greek philanthropist Evangelos Zappas offered to fund the permanent revival of the Games, which led to the first modern Olympics in 1859, held in a stadium in Athens, with athletes from Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Zappas also funded the renovation of the Panathenaic Stadium to host future Olympic Games from 1870 to 1875. The 1870 Games drew 30,000 spectators. In 1890, following the Wenlock Olympian Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and proposed a global Olympic Games every four years. The first IOC session was held in Paris from June 16 to 23, 1894, and it was decided to host the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, with Greek writer Demetrius Vikelas elected as the first IOC president.

The First Official Olympics in 1896

The first modern Olympic Games, under the IOC’s supervision, were hosted at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens in 1896. The Games involved 14 countries and 241 athletes competing in 43 events. Zappas and his cousin Konstantinos left a trust fund for future Olympic Games, which helped finance this event. Businessman George Averoff generously contributed to the stadium’s renovation in preparation for the Games, alongside additional funding from the Greek government, expected to be recovered through ticket sales and the sale of the first Olympic postage stamps. Greek officials and the public were enthusiastic about hosting the Olympics again, with many athletes advocating for Athens to be a permanent host city. However, the IOC decided that future Games should be held in different cities worldwide, with the next one in Paris.

Following the success of the first Games, the Olympics faced a period of decline. The 1900 Paris and 1904 St. Louis Games struggled with low participation and viewership. In the 1904 Olympics, out of 650 athletes, 580 were Americans, and the marathon winner was disqualified upon discovery of his car ride during the race. However, the 1906 Athens Games revived interest, attracting international participants and generating significant public attention, marking the beginning of a resurgence in the Games’ popularity.

The Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics were established to feature ice sports that were impractical during the Summer Games. Figure skating and ice hockey were included in the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920. The IOC decided to create a separate Winter Games, with the first Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Initially, the same country was to host both the Summer and Winter Games in the same year, but this plan was abandoned. Since 1994, the Winter Games have been held every four years, two years after each Summer Games.

The Paralympic Games

In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann initiated the rehabilitation of World War II veterans through a multi-sport event among several hospitals coinciding with the London Olympics. This event, originally known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, evolved into an annual sports festival over the next twelve years. In 1960, Guttmann brought 400 athletes to Rome for the first parallel Olympics, which became known as the Paralympics. Since then, the Paralympics have been held every Olympic year. Starting with the 1988 Seoul Games, the host city also organizes the Paralympic Games. In 2001, the IPC signed an agreement with host cities to manage both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, starting with the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

The Youth Olympic Games

In 2010, the Youth Olympic Games were introduced, providing athletes aged 14 to 18 with an opportunity to compete. The idea, proposed by IOC President Jacques Rogge in 2001, was approved at the 119th IOC session. The first Summer Youth Olympics took place in Singapore from August 14 to 26, 2010, and the inaugural Winter Youth Games were held in Innsbruck, Austria. The Youth Games are shorter than the senior Olympics, with the Summer version lasting twelve days and the Winter version nine days. The IOC allows 3,500 athletes and 875 officials for the Summer Youth Games and 970 athletes and 580 officials for the Winter Youth Games.

Evolution of the Olympics

The Summer Olympics have grown from 241 participants representing 14 countries in 1896 to over 11,200 competitors from 207 countries in 2016. Most athletes and officials stay in the Olympic Village for the duration of the Games, which is a self-contained complex with cafes, medical facilities, and places for religious worship.

Recently, the IOC has allowed the formation of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to represent smaller countries, enabling colonies and territories to compete in the Olympics. Examples include Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and Hong Kong, which compete as separate nations despite being legally part of another country. The IOC has also created new guidelines to determine which countries qualify as “independent and internationally recognized” states, with some regions like Sint Maarten and Curaçao currently not permitted to participate.

International Olympic Committee

The Olympic movement includes a large number of organizations and national and international sports federations, as well as recognized media partners, athletes, officials, and institutions that agree to adhere to the rules of the Olympic Charter. As the governing body of the Olympic movement, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for selecting the city that will host the Olympic Games, overseeing the Games, updating and approving the Olympic sports program, and negotiating sponsorship and broadcasting rights. The Olympic movement consists of three main components:

1. International Federations (IFs):
   • These are the governing bodies that oversee sports at the international level, such as FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and the International Volleyball Federation. Currently, there are 35 International Federations in the Olympic movement, each representing an Olympic sport participating in the Games.
2. National Olympic Committees (NOCs):
   • These are responsible for organizing the Olympic movement within each country. For example, the Egyptian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee of Egypt. Currently, there are 206 National Olympic Committees recognized by the IOC.
3. Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs):
   • These are temporary committees responsible for organizing each edition of the Olympic Games and are dissolved after each Games once the final report is submitted to the IOC.

English and French are the official languages of the Olympic movement. The other language used at each Olympic Games is the language of the host country (or languages if the host country has more than one official language besides French or English). Announcements (such as the introduction of each country during the opening ceremony parade) are made in these three languages (or more) or the two main languages depending on whether the host country is English or French-speaking. English is always spoken first, followed by French, and then the predominant language of the host country (when it is neither English nor French).

Criticisms of the International Olympic Committee

The IOC has often been accused of being an intractable organization with many members serving long terms, sometimes for life. The presidencies of Avery Brundage and Juan Antonio Samaranch were particularly controversial. Brundage’s strong advocacy for amateurism and his opposition to the commercialization of the Olympic Games were seen as conflicting with modern sports realities. The rise of athletes sponsored by Eastern Bloc countries participating as amateurs further eroded the amateur ideology, creating unequal opportunities compared to self-funded Western amateur athletes. Brundage was also criticized for racism due to his resistance to excluding the apartheid system in South Africa and for anti-Semitism. Samaranch’s presidency faced accusations of nepotism and corruption, and his ties with Franco’s regime in Spain were also a source of criticism.

In 1998, it was reported that many IOC members had received gifts from members of the Salt Lake City bid committee, which hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. Four independent investigations were conducted by the IOC, the US Olympic Committee, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and the US Department of Justice. Although no outright illegal activities were found, accepting the gifts was seen as ethically questionable. As a result of the investigations, ten IOC members were expelled, ten others were sanctioned, stricter bidding rules were adopted, and limits were imposed on the amount IOC members could accept as gifts. Additionally, age limits and new membership terms were introduced, and fifteen former Olympic athletes were added to the committee. Despite these issues, the 2002 Winter Olympics were considered one of the most successful winter Games in history from a sporting and commercial perspective, setting records in broadcasting and marketing, with over 2 billion viewers and achieving a significant financial surplus of $40 million.

In 1999, it was reported that the Nagano bid committee spent nearly $14 million entertaining 62 IOC members and their many guests. Exact figures are unknown as the Nagano committee destroyed financial records after the IOC requested non-disclosure of entertainment expenses.

In August 2004, a BBC documentary titled “Panorama: Buying the Games” investigated the reality of bribery in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The documentary alleged that IOC members could be bribed to vote for a particular city. After Paris lost narrowly in its bid to host the 2012 Olympics, its mayor Bertrand Delanoë specifically accused British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the London bid committee of breaching bidding rules. Controversy also surrounded the Turin bid for the 2006 Winter Olympics following allegations of bribery, leading to a wide-ranging investigation.

Symbols and Ceremonies of the Olympic Games

The Olympic movement uses symbols to represent the ideals embodied in the Olympic Charter. The well-known Olympic symbol, the “Olympic Rings,” consists of five interlocking rings representing the unity of the five inhabited continents: Africa, the Americas (considered as one continent), Asia, Europe, and Oceania. The colorful version of the rings—blue, yellow, black, green, and red—on a white field is the Olympic flag. These colors were chosen because every country has at least one of them on its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914 but was first hoisted during the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. Since then, it has been raised during every Olympic celebration. The Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” which means “Faster, Higher, Stronger” in Latin, was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 and has been official since 1924. Coubertin’s Olympic doctrine emphasized that the most important thing in the Games is not winning but participating, and the most important thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.

Months before each Games, the Olympic Flame is lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia in a ceremony reflecting ancient Greek rituals. A representative acting as a priestess, joined by ten other actresses, ignites the flame using a lens to focus the sun’s rays, and then it lights the torchbearer’s torch, usually a Greek athlete. The Olympic torch relay then begins, leading to the Olympic stadium in the host city where it plays a significant role in the opening ceremony. Although the flame has been an Olympic symbol since 1928, the torch relay was only introduced at the 1936 Summer Games to promote the Third Reich. During the Olympic Games, a mascot representing the host country’s cultural heritage, often in the form of an animal or human character, is introduced, starting in 1968.

Olympic Celebrations

Opening Ceremony

According to the Olympic Charter, this ceremony takes place on Friday before the start of the sporting events (except for some group-stage football matches and rowing events). The celebration typically begins with the entry of the President of the International Olympic Committee and a representative of the host country, followed by the raising of the host country’s flag and the playing of its national anthem. The host country then presents artistic performances including music, singing, dancing, and theater to showcase its culture. These performances have grown in size, complexity, and skill as successive hosts aim to present a memorable ceremony. It is said that the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics cost $100 million on its own.

Following the artistic part of the ceremony, athletes enter the stadium in delegations, with Greece traditionally being the first to enter as a tribute to the origins of the Olympic Games. The other countries enter alphabetically according to the language chosen by the host country, with the host country’s athletes being the last to enter. During the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, for example, the Greek flag entered the stadium first, while the Greek delegation entered last. Starting with the 2020 Summer Olympics, the previous host city (summer or winter) enters just before the current host in descending order. Speeches are given by the head of the organizing committee, the President of the International Olympic Committee, and the head of state or representative of the host country to officially open the Games. Finally, the Olympic Flame is brought to the stadium and passed to the final torchbearer, usually a successful Olympic athlete from the host country, who lights the Olympic Flame in the stadium’s cauldron.

Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony takes place on Sunday after all sporting events have concluded. Flag bearers from each participating country enter the stadium, followed by the athletes who march in together without national distinction. Three national flags are raised while the corresponding national anthems are played: the flag of the current host country, the flag of Greece to honor the birthplace of the Olympic Games, and the flag of the country that will host the next Summer or Winter Olympics. The head of the organizing committee and the President of the International Olympic Committee deliver their closing remarks, and the Games are officially closed with the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame. In what is known as the “Antwerp Ceremony,” the current mayor of the city that hosted the Games hands a special Olympic flag to the President of the IOC, who then passes it to the mayor of the city hosting the next Olympics. The next host country then briefly introduces itself with artistic performances representing its culture.

The final medal presentation of the Games is part of the closing ceremony, with marathon medals awarded at the Summer Olympics and medals for the team skiing events at the Winter Olympics.

Medal Ceremonies

Medal ceremonies are held after each Olympic competitive sport concludes. The winners and the second and third-place competitors or teams stand on a three-tiered podium to receive their medals from an IOC member. After receiving the medals, the national flags of the top three medalists are raised while the national anthem of the gold medalist’s country is played. Volunteer citizens of the host country also act as hosts during the medal ceremonies, assisting officials with medal presentations and acting as flag bearers. In the Summer Games, each medal ceremony takes place at the venue where the event occurred, but in the Winter Games, ceremonies are typically held in a designated area.

Cost of the Olympics

A 2016 study reported that since 1960, the average cost for Summer Olympic sports has been $5.2 billion, and for Winter sports, $3.1 billion. These figures exclude infrastructure costs such as roads, urban rail, and airports, which often exceed sports-related expenses. The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were the most expensive, costing between $40 to $44 billion, while the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics were the priciest at $51 billion. As of 2016, the average cost per athlete was $600,000, including facilities, staff, and related expenses.

Olympic Sports and Records

The Olympics feature a wide array of sports, with the Summer Games including 33 and the Winter Games 15. The number of sports can vary slightly between Games. Athletes from various countries set new records in numerous disciplines, including swimming, track and field, and gymnastics. The most iconic athletes in Olympic history include Michael Phelps with 23 gold medals and Usain Bolt with multiple world records.

The Olympic Games program includes 35 sports, 30 disciplines, and 408 events. For instance, wrestling is a summer Olympic sport divided into two disciplines: Greco-Roman and freestyle. These are further divided into 14 men’s events and four women’s events, each representing different weight categories. The Summer Olympic program features 26 sports, while the Winter Olympics program includes 15 sports. Athletics, swimming, fencing, and gymnastics are the only summer sports that have never been excluded from the Olympic program. The Winter Games have consistently included cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, ski jumping, and speed skating since their inception in 1924. Sports like badminton, basketball, and volleyball initially appeared as demonstration sports before being promoted to full Olympic status. Some sports featured in past Games have since been removed from the program.

Amateurs vs. Professionals

The exclusion of professional athletes from the Olympics has been a subject of controversy throughout the history of the modern Games. For example, Jim Thorpe, the pentathlon and decathlon champion of 1912, had his medals stripped when it was discovered that he had played professional baseball before the Games. The International Olympic Committee reinstated his medals posthumously in 1983 for humanitarian reasons. Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter Games in protest against the ban on their coaches, who were considered professionals because they earned money from the sport.

The rise of full-time amateur athletes sponsored by Eastern Bloc countries diluted the concept of amateurism, disrupting the level playing field between them and self-funded Western amateurs. The Soviet Union assembled teams of athletes who were actually paid by the state to train full-time, which significantly disadvantaged athletes from the United States and Western Europe, contributing to the decline in American medal counts during the 1970s and 1980s. In response, Western countries allowed individuals to focus full-time on sports, shifting the Olympics away from the amateurism envisioned by Pierre de Coubertin. The inclusion of professional athletes was permitted only in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its diminished influence within the IOC.

Boycotts

Greece, Australia, France, and the United Kingdom are the only countries represented in every Olympic Games since their inception in 1896. Some nations have occasionally boycotted the Games due to various reasons such as insufficient qualified athletes or political protests. For instance, the Irish Olympic Council boycotted the 1936 Berlin Games because the IOC insisted that their team represent only the Irish Free State rather than the entire island of Ireland. Similarly, the 1956 Melbourne Games saw boycotts from the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland in response to the Soviet Union’s suppression of the Hungarian Revolution. Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon boycotted the Games due to the Suez Crisis, and the People’s Republic of China boycotted because of Taiwan’s participation.

In 1972 and 1976, several African countries threatened to boycott the Olympics to compel the IOC to ban South Africa and Rhodesia due to their racial policies. New Zealand was also targeted by the African boycott because its national rugby team toured apartheid South Africa. The IOC complied with the initial request but refused to ban New Zealand on the grounds that rugby was not an Olympic sport. Taiwan was excluded from the 1976 Games by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s order, which was widely criticized as politically motivated. Taiwanese athletes did not participate again until 1984 under the name “Chinese Taipei” with a special flag and anthem.

During the Cold War, the U.S. and 65 other countries boycotted the 1980 Moscow Games in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, reducing the number of participating countries to 80, the lowest since 1956. In retaliation, the Soviet Union and 15 other countries boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Despite the Soviet-led boycott, a record 140 National Olympic Committees participated, and Romania, despite Soviet demands for a boycott, competed and received a warm welcome from American spectators. The Eastern Bloc countries organized their own alternative event, the “Friendship Games,” in July and August.

Calls for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Games were made in protest of China’s human rights record in response to the Tibetan unrest. No country ultimately supported the boycott. In August 2008, the Georgian government called for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in response to Russia’s involvement in the 2008 South Ossetia war. Ongoing human rights violations in China led to “diplomatic boycotts,” where athletes competed, but diplomats did not attend the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, notably from the United States.

Politics

Despite the noble ideals of the Olympic Games, they have been used as a platform to promote political ideologies since their early days. Nazi Germany, hosting the 1936 Games, sought to portray the National Socialist party as peace-loving while using the Games to showcase Aryan superiority. However, the remarkable victories of African-American athlete Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals, and Hungarian Jewish athlete Ibolya Csák, undermined the Nazis’ aims. The Soviet Union did not participate in the Olympics until the 1952 Helsinki Games, instead organizing international sporting events called “Spartakiads” during the interwar period, aiming to counter what they termed “bourgeois” Olympics.

Individual athletes have also used the Olympics to promote their political agendas. At the 1968 Mexico City Games, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who finished first and third in the 200 meters, performed the Black Power salute on the podium. Australian silver medalist Peter Norman wore a human rights badge to support Smith and Carlos. In response, IOC President Avery Brundage expelled Smith and Carlos from the team and barred them from the Olympic Village. When the American Olympic Committee refused to comply, Brundage threatened to ban the entire track team, resulting in the athletes being removed from the Games. In another notable instance, Soviet gymnast Natalia Kuchinskaya controversially won the gold medal in the 1968 Games while Czech gymnast Vera Caslavska quietly bowed her head in silent protest against the recent Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Caslavska’s actions were supported by her fellow Czechs, but she faced severe repercussions from the new regime, including exclusion from sports and international travel until the fall of communism.

Currently, the Iranian government has taken steps to avoid competition between its athletes and those from Israel. For example, Iranian judoka Arash Miresmaeili did not compete against an Israeli opponent at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and despite being officially ineligible due to weight issues, Miresmaeili received a $125,000 reward from the Iranian government, a sum given to all Iranian gold medalists.

Doping

In the early 20th century, many Olympic athletes began using performance-enhancing drugs to boost their athletic abilities. For example, in 1904, marathon gold medalist Thomas Hicks was given strychnine by his coach. At that time, such substances were allowed as there was little data on their effects on athletes. The only Olympic death associated with performance-enhancing drugs occurred at the 1960 Rome Games when Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen fell from his bike and later died. The autopsy revealed he was under the influence of amphetamines. By the mid-1960s, sports federations began banning performance-enhancing drugs, and the IOC followed suit in 1967.

According to British journalist Andrew Jennings, Soviet intelligence officers allegedly posed as IOC anti-doping officials to undermine doping tests, and Soviet athletes escaped detection at the 1980 Moscow Games. An Australian study from 1989 suggested that almost no medalists in Moscow avoided doping, with the event being termed “the Chemists’ Olympics.” Documents obtained in 2016 revealed the Soviet Union’s plans for a doping system for track and field in preparation for the 1984 Los Angeles Games. These documents were dated before the country decided to boycott the Games and detailed current doping practices along with suggestions for further improvements.

The first Olympic athlete to test positive for doping was Swedish pentathlete Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall at the 1968 Summer Olympics, who lost his bronze medal. One of the most notable doping disqualifications occurred after the 1988 Seoul Games when Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who won the 100 meters, tested positive for stanozolol.

In 1999, the IOC established the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to organize research and detection of performance-enhancing drugs. A sharp increase in positive drug tests occurred at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics due to improved testing conditions. Several medalists in weightlifting and skiing from post-Soviet countries were disqualified for doping offenses. During the Beijing Games, 3,667 athletes were tested by the IOC under WADA’s supervision, with urine and blood tests detecting banned substances. Over 6,000 athletes, including Paralympians, were tested before the London Games, resulting in 107 positive samples, and these athletes were not allowed to compete.

Russian Doping Scandal

Russia is the most prolific user of doping, having been stripped of 44 Olympic medals due to such violations, a number three times greater than the runner-up and more than a quarter of the global total. From 2011 to 2015, over a thousand Russian athletes benefited from doping across various sports, including summer, winter, and Paralympic events, resulting in partial suspension from the 2016 Summer Olympics.

In December 2019, Russia was banned from participating in all major sporting events for four years due to doping and deception of WADA. The ban meant Russian athletes could only compete under the Olympic flag and after passing doping tests. Russia appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which upheld the ban but allowed Russia to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Games as “Russian Olympic Committee” athletes.

The Russia doping scandal led to the discovery of a systematic state-run doping program involving secret laboratories and data manipulation. Russian authorities appealed the suspension, which was reduced from four to two years by CAS. However, this appeal did not prevent Russian athletes from competing under a neutral flag.

In Closing

The Olympics have evolved from a local Greek festival to a global event with a complex history marked by controversies, including boycotts, political issues, and doping scandals. Despite these challenges, the Games remain a symbol of international unity and athletic excellence.

Summer Olympic Cities:

Winter Olympic Cities: