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The Olympics Portal

The Olympic Games, or Olympics, are an international multi-sport event taking place every four years and comprising summer and winter games. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin in the late 19th century. The Summer Olympics (Games of the Olympiad) have been held every fourth year starting in 1896, except in 1916, 1940, and 1944 due to the First and Second World Wars. A special edition for winter sports, the Olympic Winter Games, was first held in 1924. The first winter Olympics competitions were originally held as a non-Olympic sports festival, but were declared to be official Games by the International Olympic Committee in 1925. Originally these were held in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but from 1994 on the Winter Games and the Summer Games have been held two years apart.
More about the Olympic Games...
  

Selected article

A postcard of the rugby event at the 1924 Olympics.
Rugby union has been a men's medal sport at the modern Summer Olympic Games, being played at four of the first seven competitions. The sport debuted at the 1900 Paris games. It subsequently featured at the London games in 1908, the Antwerp games in 1920 and the Paris games in 1924. Shortly after the 1924 games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cancelled rugby union as an Olympic sport. There have been numerous attempts to bring the sport back to the Olympic programme. The most recent have been for the inclusion of the sevens version of the sport, which is played at similar competitions such as the Commonwealth Games.The sport was introduced by Pierre de Coubertin, who is famous for reviving the modern Olympics. He also helped to establish rugby in France, his most notable achievements were refereeing the first domestic French club championship in 1892 and France’s first international, on New Year’s Day, 1906 at Parc des Princes.
  

Selected picture

Olympic flame at Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremonies
Credit: U.S. Navy

Opening ceremonies climax with the lighting of the Olympic Flame. For lighting the torch, modern games feature elaborate mechanisms such as this spiral cauldron arrangement lit by the 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

  

Olympics sports

  

Selected athlete

Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe OAM is a former Australian freestyle swimmer. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and in 2001 he became the first person to win six gold medals in one World Championship. In total, Thorpe has won eleven World Championship golds, the second-highest number of any swimmerThorpe was the first person to have been named World Swimmer of the Year four times by Swimming World Magazine,and was the Australian swimmer of the year from 1999 to 2003. His athletic achievements made him one of Australia's most popular athletes, with his philanthropy and clean image earning him further recognition as the Young Australian of the Year in 2000.At the age of 14, he became the youngest male ever to represent Australia,and his victory in the 400 metre freestyle at the 1998 Perth World Championships made him the youngest ever individual male World Champion.After that victory, Thorpe dominated the 400 m freestyle, winning the event at every Olympic, World, Commonwealth and Pan Pacific Swimming Championships until his break after the 2004 Olympics.
  

Olympics news

For up to date, in depth Olympic coverage, see Wikinews:Portal:Olympics. Wikinews is a sister project of Wikipedia, which deals with journalism of current events. They are both operated by the Wikimedia foundation.
  

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Olympics countdown

Olympic Games
Beijing
Celebrated
2008
Vancouver
493 days left
2010
London
1389 days left
2012
Sochi
1949 days left
2014
Pan American Games Youth Olympic Games Asian Games All-Africa Games
Guadalajara
1102 days left
2011
Singapore
676 days left
2010
Guangzhou
766 days left
2010
Lusaka
1011 days left
2011
  

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