Summer Olympics
The next Summer Olympics will be held in Bejing in 2008. The summer games include a wide variety of games. Some of my favorites to watch are football, volleyball, and tennis. My favorite event is the triatholon. The competition has three parts that to participate in. They are swimming for one mile, cycling for twenty five miles, and finally running for six miles.
Since 1896, the Summer Olympics have taken place every four years. The location changes each time. A different place is selected each year to allow all the countries to have the opportunity and honor of hosting the ceremony. The Summer Olympics did not take place in 1916 due to World War I. They were cancelled again in 1910 and 1944 due to World War II. Greece and Austrailia are the only nations who have attended every Summer Olympic ceremony.
Unfortunately, the Summer Olympics have seen their share of tragic events during what is to be a peaceful gathering of all nations. In 1972 the summer games were held in Munich, West Germany. Eleven members of the Israeli team where taken hostage by terrorists. Nine of the hostage were killed as was one policeman. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, a bomb went off killing two people and injuring over one hundred others. Since 9/11, security at all Olympic games has been increased due to the fear of terrorist attacks.
The cold war resulted in fewer nations participating in both the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, leading to the United States and sixty four other nations refusing to attend the Winter Olympic Games in Moscow that year. Eighty nations chose to participate, but it was the lowest number of nations to gather for the games.
The 1900 Summer Olympics took place in Paris. The event attracted four times the amount of participants as the 1896 ceremony. This year, women were allowed to compete for the first time. Eleven women participated in the ceremonies. The participated in croquet, golf, sailing, and tennis.
Women finally got the opportunity to participate in the track and field events at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Coca-Cola became the first company to sponsor the Olympics at during this ceremony. They have continued to sponsor the Olympics as a whole since.
