Episode 115

Olympic History Facts You Never Knew

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We dive into the fascinating history of the Olympic Games, tracing their origins back to ancient Greece in 776 BC. The discussion covers the transformation of the games from a single footrace event to a diverse array of athletic competitions, the significance of the Olympic rings, and the introduction of the torch relay. The episode also highlights the revival of the Olympics by Pierre de Coubertin in 1896, and the influence of France in advancing the games, including the introduction of female athletes in 1900 and the first Winter Olympics in 1924.

Join Scott and Jen as they share personal anecdotes and insights, celebrating the spirit of unity and competition that the Olympics embody.

00:00 Origins of the Ancient Olympic Games

02:32 Introduction

03:21 Olympic Fever

04:44 The Symbolism of the Olympic Rings

08:44 The Tradition of the Olympic Torch

11:12 The History of Olympic Medals

14:51 Conclusion and Reflections on the Olympics

16:00 Ties to Olympic History

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Transcript
Scott:

The Olympic Games, as we know them today, have their

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origins in ancient Greece.

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The inaugural games are traditionally dated to 776 BC, although some

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historians believe they may have started even earlier.

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These games were held in Olympia, a sanctuary site for the Greek gods

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located in the western Peloponnese peninsula, a region of southern Greece.

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Olympia was not just the birthplace of the Games, but also the central

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hub where athletes and spectators from all over the Greek world would gather.

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The early Olympic Games were a far cry from the international

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spectacle we witness today.

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The first recorded event was the Stadion Race, a simple foot race covering

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a distance of roughly 192 meters.

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The Stadion was named after the building in which it took place.

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This word later became Stadium in Latin, which became the English word of Stadium.

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Over time, the games expanded to include a variety of events such

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as wrestling, boxing, long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw.

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One of the most grueling and celebrated events was the pentathlon, which combined

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five different disciplines, running, jumping, discus, javelin, and wrestling.

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The athletes competed in the nude, a practice that was said to celebrate

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the human body and its capabilities.

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Victors of these games were celebrated as heroes, often receiving lavish

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gifts, free meals, and front row seats at the theater for life.

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However, the glory days of the Ancient Olympic Games were not to last.

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Political turmoil on the rise of the Roman Empire began to

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cast a shadow over the Games.

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The final blow came in 393 AD when the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, a

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Christian who saw the Games, died.

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As a pagan festival issued a decree banning all pagan

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festivals, including the Olympics.

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This marked the end of the ancient games, and they would remain dormant

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for over a millennium until their revival in the late 19th century.

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Welcome to Talk With History.

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I'm your host, Scott, here with my wife and historian, Jen.

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On this podcast, we give you insights to our history inspired world travels,

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YouTube channel journey, and examine history through deeper conversations

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with the curious, the explorers, and the history lovers out there.

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com.

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We are continuing our efforts over there.

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com.

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I will send out an email once a week.

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With interesting facts, further deep dives into kind of our adventures as well

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as other interesting things coming up.

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And so because right now we are in the middle of the Olympics and we're in

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full Olympic fever here in the The Walk With History Productions Household.

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We're going to talk about the history of the Olympics Jen, you were in Paris just

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before all the game stuff kicked off.

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And so I think, we thought we would talk about the Olympics, talk about Olympic

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history, some interesting things that.

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You might not know, and a lot of stuff I'm interested in hearing because you

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had prepped ahead of time so tell us a little bit about some Olympic history

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that the average person, or maybe the large, larger public won't know.

Jenn:

So like you said, I was in Paris about a month before the Olympics

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started because I was in Normandy.

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And flying in and out of Normandy is difficult.

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So Paris is really the easiest place to get in and out.

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It's about an hour and a half away from Normandy.

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So I spent the last kind of four days in Paris before I left and Paris

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was getting ready for the Olympics.

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If you saw the opening ceremony, they basically used the city as the opening

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ceremony, which I think was smart because Paris is known for its landmarks.

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And so they really played up the landmarks of the city, including the Eiffel Tower

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and the Louvre and the Seine River.

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So it was just very, need to see all of that since I was just there.

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And so let's start with the Olympic rings.

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So they put these five Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower and

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people are always like, five Olympic rings, there's seven continents.

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I don't understand why are there five?

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And the rings are supposed to represent five continents because they

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combine America into one continent.

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North and South America become one ring.

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And then you got Europe, you got Asia, you got Africa, and then Australia.

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And they call it like the ocean continent, Australia, because

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Antarctica is not a country.

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They're not sovereign, they don't have a flag,

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Yeah.

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There's, there's nobody marching in, holding, holding

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their flag for Antarctica.

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and nobody has ever competed from Antarctica.

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So because of that, it's not.

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on the Olympic rings.

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So the people have a disconnect.

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The seven continents is five rings.

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Why is this?

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This doesn't compute.

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And you're right, it doesn't compute.

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But that's the reason why.

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So they had the five rings on the Eiffel Tower when I was there,

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which was really cool to see.

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And that's just a symbol most Olympians I notice if they compete,

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sometimes get a tattooed on

Scott:

Yeah.

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You see it on the swimmers and the gymnasts and the track and field athletes.

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it's just a very distinct symbol of the five Olympic rings.

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And it's basically supposed to illustrate this.

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Coming together of the world to compete against each other and it's supposed

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to be, unity and it like you had said in your intro, the legend, I don't

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know if this is actually true, goes that the Greeks would suspend fighting.

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for the Olympics.

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So the Greeks are always fighting amongst themselves for different territorial

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areas, but they would suspend fighting for the Olympics and every Greek

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speaker from every different area could come and compete in these Olympics.

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And so this symbol of peace.

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that kind of some of the other kind of the, the Greek symbology

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around the Olympics is, tends to be with like the olive branch, right?

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So that, those kinds of peace symbols.

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symbols.

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Even today, a little bragging rights of your area for winning and things along

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And even in the Greek times, the people who would win

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these events were Seen as heroes.

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Now, what a lot of our listeners may not know about you and I is one of the

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reasons that, that you and I enjoy the Olympics so much is because we both

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participated in sports that are front and center in the Olympics every single

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in the summer

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in the summer Olympics.

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you and I are both we have athletic backgrounds, you were a gymnast,

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you were collegiate level gymnast.

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And I was a swimmer never to the collegiate level.

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But I swam for most of my a young life.

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And so we like to watch the level of that athleticism in those sports,

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and we can just appreciate what it takes to reach those levels.

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and for me, even growing up where, where I lived, we didn't get

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free network television and my parents couldn't really afford it to have cable

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year round, but they would turn the cable on every four years, just so we

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could watch and record the Olympics for, for young, for young Scott.

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And so I would get to watch that, that was that 90s era,

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when I was in, in my, my youthful gymnastics days, we would do that.

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And I have very clear memories of the 1996 Olympics and the 2000 Olympics.

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And so that was, it's always for you and I, it was part of what we

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thought about when we were young.

Jenn:

Yeah, we, I think the Olympics for any child is like their first

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taste of different culture and country, depending on where the Olympics is at.

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And you get to that's what I appreciate about opening ceremonies,

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because opening ceremonies really.

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encompass the story of your country.

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And that's what I appreciate about Paris is everybody came down the

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Seine River, which I had just done on Walk with History, and they had

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done that for the opening ceremony.

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And that's that river is such a big part of Paris's history, so much

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so they couldn't even get it clean.

Scott:

Yeah.

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So it was interesting that you mentioned the kind of opening

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ceremonies in the Seine River because at the front and center of modern

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day Olympic Games is the torch carry.

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Now you were saying that the the carrying of the Olympic

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torch hasn't always been around.

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No, it was first used in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and the

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main purpose was, it was to indicate where the Olympic games were being held

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around Amsterdam, so you could know where the Olympic events were happening,

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if you could follow the big torches.

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in Amsterdam.

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And people just love that idea so much.

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The idea of fire and this ancient Greek ceremony of sacred fire, because

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during the Olympic games in Greece, the altar, of the ancient Greece

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mythology was kept lit during the games.

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And you know how fire was stolen from the gods by Prometheus.

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And this presented like a Greek story.

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And so Amsterdam had done it first and people thought,

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Oh, that's such a great idea.

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It really holds true to this Greek mythology.

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Let's keep this as part of a symbol of the Olympic Games.

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So thank you, Amsterdam for bringing that in.

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1928.

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didn't realize that it hadn't been around since the beginning.

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So it's, it's interesting to see how the Olympics kind of evolve.

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Now, the, the torch relay, which we do now, they, they run this flame,

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this eternal flame to light the torch that started in 1936 in Berlin, but it

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was and the first torch lighting ceremony was held in Olympia, Greece in 1936.

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So it's been, it's a neat thing that we do now, but it does encompass this idea.

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I think it's unique what each country does this year, Paris,

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it put it on a hot air balloon

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Yeah, that was neat.

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and put it and got it to raise up into the air and you can see it again.

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Landmarks are such a big part of Paris, that garden that they're using, it was

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built by Napoleon for Josephine, it's very much a part of the French culture there.

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So I really just enjoyed how much France pulled in their

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story to the opening ceremonies.

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Now, one of the other things that, at least this is the way it's here,

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here in the United States, everybody's always counting how many medals.

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What's the medal count for this country?

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Who's got the most golds?

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Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

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Who, what country got their very first gold in this event,

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that, that event, and the other.

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But Olympic medals, , gold, silver, and bronze haven't always been around as well.

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In the very beginning with the Greeks, you got all the branches,

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like you said, but when the, Olympics were reinvigorated in 1896.

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It started with only the first place winner got a silver medal and you

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won first, you got the silver medal.

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Sometimes second place winners would get a bronze.

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Sometimes it depended on what event.

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Gold medals and all three medals.

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Again, America sets the stage here.

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They weren't introduced until 1904 at December Olympics in St.

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Louis, Missouri.

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And that's when the IOC had decided to do a gold medal for first, a silver

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medal for second, and a bronze medal for third, and then they went back

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and retroactively assigned those.

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to the 1900 games and the 1896

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Oh, okay.

Jenn:

So when you see, if you go back to those first two games where they didn't

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do that, they basically took the people's places and gave them those medals.

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So those countries, if you say this country has so many golds, they're,

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they're adding those from 1896 and 1900, even though they weren't

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officially handed out until 1904.

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But I want everyone to know that the first eight people in any sport

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will get a scroll with your name on

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even today.

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even today.

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So if you're in top eight, the first three get medals, the top

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eight get a scroll with your name on

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Oh, that's

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And then every person who competes in that event gets a participation medal.

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So you're a Olympian.

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you go.

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I mean, I think just the fact that you get to go and be there, that

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you can call yourself, an Olympic athlete should be a reward enough,

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At first the, pictures on the medals showed the Colosseum.

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And so they were the medals were redone because the Colosseum is Roman and it

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doesn't fit into the Greek culture.

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So they re they redid the pictures.

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And then for the winter Olympics, they always depict something kind of winter.

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Now, I have a question for you.

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When did the winter Olympics start?

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I believe it started in 1924 in Chamonix, France.

Jenn:

and then when did they start to offset them?

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So when they started doing like the even

Jenn:

Mm-Hmm.

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that I don't, I'm going to guess it's actually pretty modern.

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I want to say like 2008 timeframe.

Jenn:

2006.

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Two six.

Scott:

Okay.

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Because I remember in my youth, they were, they were the same year.

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And I remember when they either skipped a year or, or shortened it to

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only two years in between the Winter Olympics or something like that.

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And then it was every two years, you're getting some sort of Olympic something.

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I like that better because once every four years was a lot, summer games

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and winter games because it's a lot.

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It's two, it's two, three weeks per games.

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Now each one has four years in between this four years between

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every summer Olympics and this four years between every winter Olympics.

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But there are two years in between and they offset them.

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So that way.

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This kind of a break for us viewers who like to watch from our couch

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and criticize these athletes who've prepared their whole lives for this.

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Being in Paris, watching them prepare for this and watching them

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make the Olympic village and put up the stands and knowing that.

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All these athletes from all over the world are going to descend onto Paris.

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And like you said, the tie in to the original Olympics games with the Parisian

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that really orchestrated all of it.

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It was really great to see that before it actually started.

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And I hope everyone's enjoying the Olympics right now.

Jenn:

I really think the Olympics for me, As a historian is a time when the world can

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come together and we really get to see the best of our best athletically compete

Jenn:

for something that's just so wholesome and something we can all be proud of.

Scott:

Absolutely.

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We love the Olympics here.

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And I'm sure if you're listening to this, it's because you've been watching the

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Olympics on TV and maybe you're listening to some Olympic history on your way into

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work on a Monday or a Tuesday morning.

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So hang out with us for a little bit longer.

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And I'm going to tell you a little bit about how many significant ties

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that France, the country itself has to the Olympics throughout the

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Olympic history starting in 1896.

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The revival of the Olympic Games in the 19th century is largely credited to a

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Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin.

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Inspired by the ancient games and motivated by a desire to promote physical

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education and international peace, Coubertin founded the International

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Olympic Committee, IOC, in 1894.

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His vision was to create a global sporting event that would bring together athletes

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from around the world to compete in the spirit of friendship and fair play.

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Two years later, in 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece,

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a fitting nod to their ancient origins.

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The event featured 241 athletes from 14 countries competing in 43 events.

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While modest by today's standards, the 1896 Games were a monumental

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success and laid the foundation for the Olympic movement.

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The early 20th century saw the Olympics grow in size and scope.

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Interestingly enough, many jumps forward in the Olympic Games happened in France.

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The 1900 Paris Games introduced female athletes for the first time and expanded

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the number of sports and events.

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Of a total of 997 athletes that year, Twenty two women competed

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in five sportstennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism, and golf.

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By the 1924 Paris Games, the Olympics had become a truly international

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affair, with 44 nations and over 3, 000 athletes participating.

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The Olympic Games continued to evolve, introducing the first

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Winter Olympics in 1924 in Chamonix, France, to celebrate winter sports.

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Despite interruptions due to World War II, the games resumed and continued to

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grow in popularity and participation.

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One of the most significant developments in modern Olympic era was the introduction

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of the Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome.

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These games provided a platform for athletes with disabilities

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to compete at the highest level.

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embodying the Olympic spirit of inclusion and diversity.

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The Olympic Games have also been a stage for political and social statements.

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From the Black Power salute by Tommy Smith and John Carlos in 1968 to the

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boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games, the Olympics have often reflected

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the broader socio political climate.

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Today, the Olympic Games are one of the largest and most watched

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Sporting events in the world.

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The games have expanded to include a wide array of sports from traditional

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events like athletics, which is what they call track and field during

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the Olympic games and gymnastics.

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To newer additions like skateboarding and surfing.

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The IOC continues to adapt and innovate, ensuring that the Olympics

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remain relevant and exciting for new generations of athletes and fans.

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As we look forward to future games, the Olympic spirit of excellence,

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friendship, and respect continues to inspire millions around the globe.

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Their Olympics are more than just a sporting event, they are a celebration

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of human potential and a beacon of hope for a more united world.

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Host of the Talk With History podcast, Producer over at Walk with History on YouTube, and Editor of TheHistoryRoadTrip.com
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Jennifer B

Former Naval Aviator turned Historian and a loyal Penn Stater. (WE ARE!) I earned my Masters in American History and graduate certificate in Museum Studies, from the University of Memphis.

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