Hello folks! We hope your preparation is going well for RRB NTPC. Today we will be studying about Olympics. Indeed, it is one of the most important topics of Sports sections of RRB NTPC General Awareness.
Table of Contents
The Olympics Origin
Initially, the Olympic Games were a festival in Greece. The first Olympic Games are believed to be held in the kingdom of Elis, Greece in 776 BC in honour of Greek God ZEUS. However, religious ceremonies were present even before 776 BC. Women were forbidden and only men were allowed to participate in this religious ceremony but without clothes.
These games were held after every 4 years, in mid-July, for 5 days.
The prize in the first 6 Olympic Games was a portion of sacrificial meat, called “meria”. Later, from the 7th edition onwards, an olive crown was given to the winner. This had much greater significance.
End of Ancient Olympics
Theodosius I (11 January 347 – 17 January 395), the Roman emperor banned the competitions and called the rituals as Pagan manifestations. Also, in 395 AD, Alaric I invaded Rome with the fall of Olympia. Subsequently, the Games came to a sudden end when the Statue and Temple of Zeus were destroyed.
The Revival
Baron de Coubertin (1 January 1863 – 2 September 1937, also known as Pierre de Coubertin) was a French educator and historian. He is credited for the revival of the Modern Olympics. In a conference held in Paris in June 1894, a group of delegates led by him unanimously voted to restore Olympic Games and create an International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.
Modern Olympics
The symbol
5 linked coloured rings form the symbol.
5 colours represent the 5 continents, that is, Black for Africa, Yellow for Asia,
Green for Australia, Blue for Europe and Red for America.
The motto
The motto is “Citius-Altius-Fortius“. Reverend Father Henri Didon gave this motto. It translates to Faster-Higher-Stronger in English.
The flag
It was first recognized in the year 1913, hoisted for the first time in Antwerp Olympic Games in 1920.
The Mascot
The Mascot was introduced in 1972 at the 20th Olympic Games held in Munich and since then an Olympic Mascot is selected for a particular year and venue. The mascots of recent games are given below:
| Games | City | Mascot |
| 2012 Summer Olympics | London | Wenlock |
| 2014 Winter Olympics | Sochi | Bely Mishka (Polar Bear), Snow Leopard (leopard), Zaika (the dore hare) |
| 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro | Vinicius |
| 2018 Winter Olympics | PyeongChang | Soohoran |
For 2020 Summer Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan, Miraitowa is the official mascot of the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Someity is the official mascot of the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Now let us see the performance of India in recent Olympics
Olympics 2012
1. The 2012 Summer Olympics saw an 83-member Indian contingent participating in the games and setting a new best for the country with a total of six medals.
2. Wrestler Sushil Kumar became the first Indian with multiple individual Olympic medals (bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics) since Norman Pritchard in 1900.
3. Saina Nehwal won a bronze medal in badminton in Women’s singles getting the country’s first Olympic medal in badminton.
4. Mary Kom became the first Indian woman to win a medal in boxing with her bronze medal finish in Women’s flyweight.
Olympics 2016
1. India sent 117 athletes to Rio Olympics. This was India’s largest-ever delegation to the Olympic Games.
2. Only two managed to win a medal. The Indian contingent left Rio with just a silver (PV Sindhu in Badminton) and bronze (Sakshi Malik in Wrestling).
India’s Flag Bearers in recent games:
Summary and some important Points:
1. The Olympic Flame was first lit in Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928.
2. The headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in Lausanne, Switzerland. The IOC was founded in 1894.
3. Participation of women in the games started in the 2nd edition, i.e. from 1900.
4. 1st Indian to participate in Olympics- Norman Prichard in 1900, he won two silver medals in Athletics.
5. It was in 1952 at the Helsinki Olympics that India got its first woman Olympian –Mary D’Souza. She took part in the 100m and 200m races.
6. The first Indian woman to ever win an Olympic medal was Karnam Malleswari who won a bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics in the Women’s 69 kg category in Weightlifting.
7. American swimmer Michael Phelps having won 28 medals in both individual and team events (23 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze), has the maximum number of medals in Olympic history.
8. Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina holds this record in the women’s category. She has eighteen Olympic medals, won between 1956 and 1964.
9. Abhinav Bindra is India’s first and only individual Olympic Gold medallist, which he won in the 10-metre Air Rifle event at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing.
10.The only city in the world to be awarded both summer & winter Olympics is Beijing.
Hope you guys found this blog very interesting and informative. Stay Tuned for more such blogs.
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