I.

Introduction

Olympic Games, international sports competition, held every four years at a different site, in which athletes from different nations compete against each other in a variety of sports. There are two types of Olympics, the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. Through 1992 they were held in the same year, but beginning in 1994 they were rescheduled so that they are held in alternate even-numbered years. For example, the Winter Olympics were held in 1994 and the Summer Olympics in 1996. The Winter Olympics were next held in 1998, and the Summer Olympics next occurred in 2000.

The modern Olympic Games began in Athens, Greece, in 1896, two years after French educator Pierre de Coubertin proposed that the Olympic Games of ancient Greece be revived to promote a more peaceful world. The program for the 1896 Games, including only summer events (the Winter Olympics were not established until 1924), included about 300 athletes from fewer than 15 countries competing in 43 events in nine different sports. By contrast, when the Summer Olympics returned to Athens in 2004, more than 10,000 athletes from 202 countries competed in 28 different sports.