As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games bring out the competitive spirit in thousands of athletes from across the globe, they also bring out my competitive trivia spirit. So here are 27 weird Olympics facts to memorise and win the gold medal at your next trivia night.
In just a few days, athletes from around the globe will descend upon Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games, and compete for the glory of their country in their chosen sport.
Of course you’ve got the classics like track and swimming events, plus some new sports like skateboarding and speed-climbing. But once again my favourite sport, competitively sharing weird facts, has been snubbed.
Despite the fact that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is yet to respond to my requests to add trivial pursuit to the roster of events, like the Olympic Flame, my passion cannot be extinguished.
So without further ado, here are 27 weird and interesting facts about the Olympic Games, to get you in the spirit for Paris 2024.
27 Fun Facts about the Olympics
1. The gold medals aren’t solid gold
The so-called “gold” medals that lucky athletes receive for coming first in their events may look gold, but in reality they are mostly silver.
According to rules set by the IOC, gold medals must be plated with at least 6g of pure gold. Solid gold medals have not been used since 1912 at the Stockholm Olympics.
2. Early Olympians competed naked
Though many believe that the first Olympians competed in the nude, this isn’t entirely true. Ancient Greek legend says that in 720 BC an athlete named Orsippus of Megara was racing when his loincloth came off. Despite this, he continued to win the race.
Following Orsippus’ success, the trend of athletes competing in the buff became normalised, supposedly as a tribute to Zeus. Thankfully, clothing returned when the Olympics became popularised again in the 1800s.
3. The first Olympics were in 776 BC
Held in Athens, the first Olympics were one of the central ritual festivals in Ancient Greece. The date of the first Games is attributed to Aristotle, who said they were in about 776 BC. This has been consistent with archaeological finds from the time period.
4. The Olympics were always held every four years
Coinciding with the Leap Years of the modern Gregorian Calendar, the ancient Olympics were also held every four years. This was because they were used to mark the passing of time, which was not counted in years, but in Olympiads, which lasted four years.
5. The modern Olympics started in 1896
It would be a list of Olympic facts if we didn’t talk about the French historian, Pierre de Coubertin, who sought to revive the Olympics in 1894, and managed to do it two years later. After a 1,500 year hiatus, the first Olympics was held again in Athens in 1896 after Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee. Only a dozen countries competed.
6. The first Winter Olympics were in 1924
Held in the French city of Chamonix, the first Winter Olympics came around as a result of the success of the Summer Olympics. Originally the Winter Games were protested in creation by various Scandinavian countries, who feared that the event would create competition with their Nordic Games, which featured many of the same events.
Notably, the Winter Olympics took place in the same year as the Summer Olympics up until 1992.
7. Arts used to be an Olympic sport
Painters, sculptors, architects, writers, and musicians all used to be able to compete for medals in the modern Olympics, between 1912 and 1948. Each of these separate arts was considered their own sport, with multiple events for various arts. They were scrapped after the 1948 Games when the number of artists entering had declined.
8. The first year every country sent a female athlete was 2012
Though the first year that an Olympics had women compete in every single sport was 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, it wasn’t until London’s 2012 Games when every participating country also sent a female athlete to compete.
Brunei, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar included female athletes in their team for the first time this year. Female athletes made up 44 per cent of those competing in that year’s Games.
9. Tug of war used to be an Olympic sport
Plenty of events have been scrapped as Olympic sports, but none more iconic than tug of war. Joining it on the list of discontinued events is pigeon racing, croquet, and rope climbing. You would not have known this fun Olympic fact otherwise.
10. The Olympic Rings represent the five inhabited continents
“These five rings represent the five parts of the world now won over to Olympism and ready to accept its fertile rivalries. Moreover, the six colours thus combined reproduce those of all the nations without exception,” wrote Coubertin when he designed the iconic rings.
Read more about their significance and symbolism here!
11. The Olympics weren’t held in South America until 2016
The Rio 2016 Summer Olympics marked the first time that the Games were ever held on the continent.
Benefitting from the home-ground advantage, Brazil nabbed itself a total of 19 medals at its own Games.
12. The Paris Olympics gave athletes 300,000 condoms
Organisers have confirmed that they will be providing the thousands of competitors with 300,000 condoms, following the tradition of providing athletes at Olympic Village with condoms that started in 1988’s Seoul Olympics.
The record for most condoms provided by an Olympics belongs to Rio 2016, who gave out 450,000.
13. About 10,500 athletes will compete in the Paris Olympics
Approximately 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will be giving their best to win gold for their home nation at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The all-time record for most athletes competing in an Olympics belongs to the Tokyo 2021 Games, who had 11,400 competitors.
14. The Olympics have only been cancelled three times
Another Olympic fact is that since they were revived in the 19th century, the Olympics have only been cancelled three times. The first time was in 1916, during World War I.
The second two times were during World War II, in 1940 and 1944.
15. Olympics were first televised in 1960
The 1960 Olympics in Rome were the first Games to make it to TV screens around the world. The number of viewers broke records at the time, with viewership peaking at 150,000.
16. There are 65 countries that have never won a medal
Plenty of countries have never won a single medal at any Olympics, ever. Bangladesh is the country with the highest population and still no medal.
Some of the reasons for low medal reception include the fact that less wealthy countries struggle to send athletes due to having higher national financial priorities than winning a medal at the Olympics.
17. The United States are the all time highest medal scorers
With a total of 1,061 gold, 830 silver, and 738 bronze medals to its name, the US dominate the scoreboard for most medals scored in the modern Olympics.
Behind the US’ tally is Russia, who have a total of 1,000 less medals than their American competition. Germany has the third most, followed by Great Britain and then China.
18. Michael Phelps has the most gold medals for an individual
American swimmer Michael Phelps has won 23 gold medals over his career, as well as three silver and two bronze medals.
19. The Games are held by cities, not countries
The International Olympic Committee gives the privilege of hosting a Summer or Winter Olympics to cities, not to countries. This is chosen via a vote by the members of the IOC, who are not allowed to vote for the country they hail from.
20. Only five countries have competed in every Summer Olympics
Greece, Switzerland, Great Britain, Australia, and France are the only countries to have sent an athlete to compete in every Summer Olympics.
21. The Olympic Flame is lit by the Sun
Just like how the Ancient Olympians used to, the Olympic Flame is first lit by the Sun before being taken out on the Torch relay. It gets lit using a complex set of parabolic mirrors which focus the Sun’s power on the Torch.
Additionally, following Ancient Olympic tradition it is lit each year in Olympia by Greek actresses dressed as High Priestesses.
22. Hosting an Olympics costs billions
The most expensive Summer Games was Beijing 2008, which cost an estimated $52.7 billion. These Games were also the first where the public realised how little profit that a country made from hosting an Olympics, with it only generating about $3.6 billion.
Meanwhile, the 2014 Sochi Winter Games are the most expensive Games ever, costing approximately $59.7 billion.
23. The US has hosted the most Olympics.
With four Summer and four Winter Games under its belt, the US leads the world in terms of hosting the Olympics the most. Hosting years include: 1904, 1932, 1984, 1996, 1932, 1960, 1980, 2002.
In 2028 it will hold it’s ninth Olympics in Los Angeles.
24. Paris is the first Olympics to pay winning athletes
Though athletes are not paid by the IOC for competing in the Olympics, and any money they make usually comes from their home country’s Olympic body, or sponsors.
However, for the first time in Olympic history, athletes in Paris 2024’s track and field events will win $100K for gold medals, $50K for silver, and $25K for bronze.
25. The first Olympic village was at the 1932 Games
Los Angeles 1932 Olympics were the first to have a specifically made residence for athletes, that over the years has become known as the Olympic Village.
26. The mascots are horrifying
And now, the final Olympic fact. For each Olympics since 1972, the host city goes to a new effort to create some form of ungodly horror that it then uses to promote its Games with. For some reason they are always the stuff of nightmares.
This is a fact, not an opinion.
27. Alcohol is banned at the Olympic Village
Any athletes at Paris 2024 looking to enjoy a celebratory drop of something cheeky to commemorate a medal, won’t be able to do it in the Paris Olympic Village.
For details on when and where to watch all of the Olympic Games, check out our how to watch guide here!
[Image: Getty]
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