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. 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.
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad and also known 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.
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Albertville '92, was a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and around Albertville, France. Albertville won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage, and Berchtesgaden. The 1992 Winter Olympics were the last winter games held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. The Games were the fifth Olympic Games held in France and the country's third Winter Olympics, after the 1924 Winter Games in Chamonix and the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble. This games was the first of two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe, preceding the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closing ceremonies were held.
Romania competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. Romanian athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1924, missing only two editions, including the 1948 Summer Olympics. The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee sent the nation's smallest team to the Games since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. A total of 108 athletes, 50 men and 58 women, had competed in 16 different sports, most notably in artistic gymnastics and rowing. For the third time in Olympic history, Romania was again represented by more female than male athletes.
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 aganist the Soviet Union, who hosted the event due to the Soviet–Afghan War. 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. The only other nation having earned medals at every Olympic game since 1908 is Sweden's neighboring country Finland.
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.
Athletes from the United Kingdom, all but three of its Overseas Territories, and the three Crown Dependencies, can compete in the Olympic Games as part of Team GB. Athletes from Northern Ireland can elect to represent either the UK or 'Team Ireland'. It has sent athletes to every Summer and Winter Games, since the start of the Olympics' modern era in 1896, including the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were boycotted by a number of other Western nations. From 1896 to 2020 inclusive, Great Britain & Northern Ireland has won 918 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 32 at the Winter Olympic Games. It is the only national team to have won at least one gold medal at every Summer Games, lying third globally in the winning of total medals, surpassed only by the United States and the former Soviet Union.
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 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.
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 are 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.
Czechoslovakia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1918, after having competed as Bohemia from 1900 to 1912. The nation sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the 1984 Games when they were part of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics. Czechoslovakia has participated in every Winter Olympic Games since the inaugural Games of 1924.
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 run well behind the rate of female participation, and it continues to miss its target of a 20% minimum presence of women on their committee.
