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 British nobleman William Penny Brookes^[1] in 1850 in Much Wenlock before a French nobleman, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin started the current Olympics 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.

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Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on river, lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water. The sport can be both recreational, focusing on learning the techniques required, and competitive where overall fitness plays a large role. It is also one of the oldest Olympic sports. In the United States, Australia and Canada, high school and collegiate rowing is sometimes referred to as crew.While rowing, the athlete sits in the boat facing backwards (towards the stern), and uses the oars which are held in place by the oarlocks to propel the boat forward (towards the bow). This may be done on a river, lake, sea, or other large body of water. It is a demanding sport requiring strong core balance as well as physical strength and cardiovascular endurance.

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Credit: NikoSilver

The Olympic Stadium (Greek: Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο), is a stadium that is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. Located in the area of Maroussi in Athens, it is the major Greek stadium and hosted the athletics events and the football (soccer) final at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

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Olympics sports

Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Beach volleyball Boxing Canoeing Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Golf Gymnastics Handball Field hockey

Judo Modern pentathlon Rowing Rugby Sailing Shooting Swimming Synchronized swimming Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling

Alpine skiing Biathlon Bobsleigh Cross-country skiing Curling Figure skating Freestyle skiing Ice hockey

Luge Nordic combined Short track speed skating Skeleton Ski jumping Snowboarding Speed skating

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Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. his break after the 2004 Olympics.

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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.

Did you know...

• ...that former American decathlete Rafer Johnson ignited the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics?
  
• ...that gender verification in sports is no longer practiced at the Olympic Games?
  
• ...that Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav was independent India's first individual Olympic medalist when he won the wrestling bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki games?
  
• ...that Frank Beaurepaire, a Lord Mayor of Melbourne, member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and multi-millionaire tyre businessman was a six-time Olympic medallist in swimming who set 15 world records in his swimming career?
  
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Olympic Games
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