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 edition was 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 Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Seoul 1988, was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represented at the games by a total of 8,391 athletes. 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics.
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, as well as prize money.
The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002, were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002, with the football event commenced 2 days before the opening ceremony.
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
Anju Bobby George is a retired Indian athlete. Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics jumping 6.70 m. She went on to win the gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final in 2005, a performance she considers her best. Anju was upgraded to the gold status from silver in the 2005 World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo following the disqualification of Tatyana Kotova of Russia by the International Association of Athletics Federations, following the recent re-testing of the latter's sample collected at the 2005 World Championship in Helsinki. She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2002, Khel Ratna in 2003 and Padma Shri in 2004. She had got 5th position with personal best of 6.83 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In March 2021, Anju won the BBC lifetime achievement award for best athlete in India.
The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America.
The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of nine European small states since 1985. The Games are held at the end of May or beginning of June and feature competition in nine Summer Olympic sports.
World Computer Speed Chess Championship is an annual event organized by the International Computer Games Association where computer chess engines compete against each other at blitz chess time controls. It is held in conjunction with the World Computer Chess Championship. Up to 2001, it was held in conjunction with the World Microcomputer Chess Championships and restricted to microcomputers.
The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which features winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of holding a winter version of the Asian Games in 1982. Their efforts were rewarded when they were finally given hosting rights for the first edition that was held in Sapporo in 1986, as the city had the infrastructure and expertise gained from hosting of the 1972 Winter Olympics.
The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the first time in Brussels in 1991, and a winter edition, which began two years later in Aosta. It was known as the European Youth Olympic Days from 1991 to 1999.
The 2003 Games of the Small States of Europe, or the Xth Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Valletta, Malta from June 2 to June 7, 2003. Valletta previously hosted the games in 1993. Malta was not due to host the Games again until 2009, but a strong bid helped them to gain the games six years early. Administration of the games was done jointly by the Maltese Ministry of Education and the Malta Olympic Committee. The games were declared open by President Guido de Marco on June 2.
Badminton is a Southeast Asian Games event and has been one of the sports held at the Games since the inaugural edition of the South East Asian Peninsular Games in 1959.
Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). When Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps already tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games by winning six gold and two bronze medals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.
William James Mallon is an American orthopedic surgeon, former professional golfer and a leading authority on the history of the Olympic Games.
The 2003 Afro-Asian Games, officially known as the First Afro-Asian Games or I Afro-Asian Games and unofficially known as the Inaugural Afro-Asian Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Hyderabad, India, from 24 October to 1 November 2003.
The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Games was the last Parapan American Games that was not held in the same city as the Pan American Games. The most recent games was the 5th Parapan American Games which took place in 2019 with the host city being Lima, Peru. The next Parapan American Games are scheduled between 17 and 26 November 2023, in Santiago, Chile.
Athletics competitions have been held at every Pacific Games since the inaugural edition 1963 in Suva, Fiji and at every Pacific Mini Games since the inaugural edition 1981 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Both events are open for the 22 member federations of the Pacific Games Council. The Pacific Games started as South Pacific Games and were renamed in 2011, whereas the Pacific Mini Games started as South Pacific Mini Games and were renamed in 2009.
