The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years on leap years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent Games were held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for organising the Games and for overseeing the host city's preparations. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904; in each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place.
The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world.
Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics included 33 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by an international governing body called an International Federation (IF).
Archery had its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics and has been contested in 17 Olympiads. 105 nations have competed in the Olympic archery events, with France appearing the most often at 15 times. The most noticeable trend has been the excellence of South Korean archers, who have won 27 out of 39 gold medals in events since 1984. It is governed by the World Archery Federation. Recurve archery is the only discipline of archery featured at the Olympic Games. Archery is also an event at the Summer Paralympics.
Rowing has been part of the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1900 Games. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal which gave national federations the incentive to support women's events and catalysed growth in women's rowing. Lightweight rowing events were introduced to the games in 1996. Qualifying for the rowing events is under the jurisdiction of the World Rowing Federation. World Rowing predates the modern Olympics and was the first international sport federation to join the modern Olympic movement.
The International Golf Federation (IGF) was founded in 1958 and is the international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the world governing body for golf. The IGF has two membership categories representing the administration of golf internationally:
Sweden first participated at the Olympic Games at the inaugural 1896 Games, and has sent athletes to compete in every Games since then with one exception, the sparsely attended 1904 Summer Olympics. Sweden has earned medals at all Olympic games except for two, the 1896 Games and the 1904 Games. The only other nation having earned medals at every Olympic game since 1908 is Sweden's neighboring country Finland.
The United Kingdom has been represented at every modern Olympic Games, and as of the 2020 Summer Olympics is third in the all-time Summer Olympic medal table by both number of gold medals won and overall number of medals. London has hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times: in 1908, 1948, and 2012.
Canada has competed at 23 Summer Olympic Games, missing only the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. The nation made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Canada competes under the IOC country code CAN.
The men's individual was an event held as part of the golf programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was the second time the event was held at the Olympics, though it took a much different format than the 1900 golf tournament. 75 golfers from two nations competed. The competition was held approximately 5.75 km north of the Olympic Stadium at Glen Echo Country Club from September 19 to September 24, 1904. The event was won by George Lyon of Canada, one of three golfers not from the host United States. Lyon defeated American Chandler Egan in the final, giving Egan the silver medal. Americans Burt McKinnie and Francis Newton were the defeated semifinalists, each receiving bronze.
A men's golf tournament was held at the 1900 Summer Olympics. It was the first of the three times such a tournament would be featured. There were 12 competitors from 4 nations. The event was won by Charles Sands of the United States. Great Britain took the next two spots, with Walter Rutherford finishing one stroke behind Sands and David Robertson in third at 8 strokes behind Sands.
A women's golf tournament was played at the 1900 Summer Olympics. It was the only time women's golf was featured at the Olympics until 2016. There were 10 competitors from 2 nations at the event, which was played on 3 October at the Compiègne Club. The event was won by Margaret Abbott of the United States, the first American woman Olympic champion. The United States is credited with a medal sweep in the event by the IOC, though (i) medals were not awarded at the time and (ii) many sources list Pauline Whittier as Swiss or Abbie Pratt as French. Whittier was an American studying in St. Moritz. Pratt was an American who spent significant time in Europe and competed under the auspices of the (French) Dinard Golf Club.
Golf at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was held in August at the new Olympic Golf Course, built within the Reserva de Marapendi in the Barra da Tijuca zone.
Golf at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan featured two events, individual competitions for men and women.
Thailand competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1952, Thai athletes had appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, because of its partial support of the US-led boycott.
The men's golf tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place at the Olympic Golf Course, built within the Reserva de Marapendi in the Barra da Tijuca zone, between 11 and 14 August 2016. It was the first such tournament in 112 years.
The women's golf tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics was played at the Olympic Golf Course, built within the Reserva de Marapendi in the Barra da Tijuca zone, between 17 and 20 August 2016. It was the first women's golf tournament at the Olympics since 1900.
Colombia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's twentieth appearance at the Summer Olympics, with the exception of Helsinki 1952.
Ecuador competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's fifteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, and its most successful to date. The country won its third, fourth, and fifth ever medals, two golds and one silver, respectively, during the games.
The men's individual golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 29 July to 1 August 2021 at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. 60 golfers from 35 nations competed in the event, which was won by Xander Schauffele of the United States.
The women's individual golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 4 to 7 August 2021 at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. 60 golfers from 35 nations competed. Nelly Korda of the United States took gold, Mone Inami of Japan and Lydia Ko of New Zealand tied for second with Inami taking the silver in a sudden-death playoff.
