The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent was held in 2024 in Paris, France. This was the first international multi-sport event of its kind, organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) founded by Pierre de Coubertin. 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.
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had already started on 4 May. The Games were the second to be hosted by Paris, making it the first city to host the Olympics twice.
Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2024 Summer Olympics included 32 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).
The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Summer Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
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. Sweden is the country with the longest Olympic Games medalling streak in history, having earned medals at every Olympic game since 1908.
Hungary first participated at the Olympic Games at the inaugural 1896 Games, and has sent athletes to compete in most Summer Olympic Games and every Winter Olympic Games since then. The nation was not invited to the 1920 Games for its role in World War I, and was part of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
The United Kingdom has been represented at every modern Olympic Games. By end of the 2024 Summer Olympics, it is third in the all-time Summer Olympic medal table by overall number of medals, and fourth in number of gold medals won. London hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1908, 1948 and 2012.
Italy has sent athletes to most of the modern Olympic Games held since 1896, outside of not having officially participated in the 1904 Summer Olympics.
The modern Olympic Games were founded by French historian Pierre de Coubertin. France has competed in every edition, with the possible exception of the 1904 Games.
Denmark first participated at the Olympic Games at the inaugural 1896 Games, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the sparsely attended 1904 Games. Denmark has also participated in the Winter Olympic Games several times since 1948, including every Games since 1988.
Canada has competed at 28 Summer Olympic Games, missing only the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. This count includes the 1906 Olympic Games, deemed unofficial 43 years after they were held. The nation made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Canada competes under the IOC country code CAN.
France competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 255 competitors, 219 men and 36 women, took part in 112 events in 17 sports. At the beginning of the games there was an incident where a French coach was physically assaulted by a Stadium gatekeeper who refused him entry. It boiled over to a point where the entire French team did not participate in the Parade of Nations, and conversations were made to pull out of the games completely. However, the issue was resolved and France went on to compete.
Sport in Romania is an important part of the country's culture. Romania has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades. Association football is the most popular sport in Romania, a nation of 20 million. The most successful club is Steaua Bucharest, who were the first Eastern European side to win the European Cup and the European Supercup in 1986. Romania is one of only four national teams from Europe that took part in the first World Cup in 1930. The Romania national football team has taken part in seven FIFA World Cups and had its most successful run during the 1990s, when they reached the quarterfinals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, losing to Sweden in the penalty shootout. Romania was ranked third by FIFA in 1997.
Estonia first competed as a nation at the 1920 Summer Olympics, two years after the country declared independence from the then warring Russian and German Empires in 1918. The Estonian National Olympic Committee was established in 1923. The first Winter Olympics for independent Estonia were the 1928 Winter Olympics. Estonian athletes took part in the Olympic Games until the country was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. The 1980 Summer Olympics sailing regatta was held in Tallinn, Soviet-occupied Estonia. Since the end of the Soviet occupation in 1991, Estonia has participated in all Olympics. Estonia has won most of its medals in wrestling (11), weightlifting (7), cross-country skiing (7) and athletics (6).
Athletes from Iceland first participated at the Olympic Games in 1908.
Albania first participated at the Summer Olympic Games in 1972. After that, Albania boycotted the next four games for political reasons, as part of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, 1984 Summer Olympics boycott and the isolationist stance of Albania at the time. They returned for the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics and have appeared in all games since then. Albania made their Winter Olympic Games debut in 2006. Albania normally competes in events that include swimming, athletics, weightlifting, shooting, and wrestling. They have been represented by the Albanian National Olympic Committee since 1972.
Romania competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation has competed at the Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1924, missing only two editions, including the 1948 Summer Olympics. Despite being London's third Olympic Games, this is the first time the Romanian team has competed in London. The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee sent a total of 103 athletes to the Games, 54 men and 49 women, to compete in 14 sports.
Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held in three categories: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampolining. All gymnastics events were staged at the Arena Olímpica do Rio from 6 to 21 August 2016.
Romania competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's participation started in 1900, Romanian athletes had appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for two occasions: the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles during the worldwide Great Depression, and the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.
The rate of participation of women in the Olympic Games has been increasing since their first participation in 1900. Some sports are uniquely for women, others are contested by both sexes, while some older sports remain for men only. Studies of media coverage of the Olympics consistently show differences in the ways in which women and men are described and the ways in which their performances are discussed. The representation of women on the International Olympic Committee has historically run well behind the rate of female participation, and long missed its target of a 20% minimum presence of women on their committee. As of 2023, 41.1% of members are women. The 2024 Paris Olympics were notable for being the first to have the goal of achieving gender parity between men and women.
