Famous Olympic Players

The Greeks were the first to start the Summer Games in 776 BC (some 3000 years ago) in the plain of Olympia in Peloponnese. The ancient Summer Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years.

In 393 AD, the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I abolished the Games because of their pagan influences. The successful campaign to revive the Summer Games was started in France by a young Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin late in the 19th century. The first of the modern Summer Games opened on Sunday, March 24, 1896, in Athens, Greece.

Summer Games have been broadly divided into two major categories – Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics events. Number of great Olympians participate in both types of events to show their sporting talents. Initially, the Summer and the Winter Games were held in the same year but later it was decided that both of the events will be held after an interval of four years individually, and alternatively after a mutual gap of two years. The Winter Summer Games were started in 1924.

Winning an Olympic medal in any sport is an astonishing achievement; it is like a dream come true for a sports person and Olympian athletes. At present, almost 100,000 Olympians are known all around the world, who spread the message of Olympism. Some of the Olympian names that are considered the best among great athletes are: Frankie Fredericks, Merlene Ottey, Raelene Boyle, Ben Johnson, Marion Jones, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Heike Drechsler, Renate Stecher, Emil Zatopek and many more. At the first Summer Games, 311 male Olympian names appeared, but there were no female competitors.