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The Olympic Games are widely considered as the foremost sports event in the world, alternating between Summer and Winter Olympics every two years since 1994. There are more than 200 countries with thousands of athletes, who participate in the multi-sporting games, with an aim to win a medal in individual and team sports.
As per the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the governing body of the Olympic movement, the origin story of the Olympics goes back over thousands of years, around 3000 to be exact, to the Peloponnese in Ancient Greece. There were sporting contests taking place at Olympia every four years, with the name Olympic Games attached to them.
There is no documentation of the exact time when the Olympic Games began, but the written sources often cite the date of 776 BC. Furthermore, there is no exact reason known for the birth of the Olympics since the history and the mythology are mixed up in regards to its origins.
Notably, the editions of the Ancient Games were held every four years, named as “Olympiad.” The time in the yesteryear was counted in Olympiads rather than years as well.
The Modern Games began in 1896 in Athens under the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which was founded to revive the Olympics. Baron Pierre de Coubertin was the man behind the plan to bring back the Olympic Games in 1894, who founded the IOC that year.
