The (History) of the Olympics (Eva)

Content

• Football (Sean)
• The (history) of the Olympics (Eva)
• The marathon (Greta)
• Tennis (Lars van den Biggelaar)
• Formula 1 racing (Jay-C)
• Skiing (Esa)
• Cycling(Greta)
• Hockey (Annet)
• Cricket (Sean)
• Ice skatin (Eva)
• The Olympics from 1936 until 1972 (Esa)
• Handball (Jay-C)
• Tabletennis (Mike)

• Rowing (Annet)
• Korfball (Mike)
• Rugby (Lars)

Football is the most played sport in Europe. This team sport creates a bond between nationalities, cities and religions. Even though there is evidence of an old form of modern day football in China the first official football club was founded in England. Notts County FC became the ‘founding father’ of football in 1862. At this moment there many competitions and even more competitions on amateur level. Professional leagues like the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga and the Spanish Liga BBVA attract billions of fans. They watch the games of the clubs they support at the stadium, on tv or on the internet. On the entire planet football is played on a professional and recreational level. In 2001 the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, said that over 240 million people in over 200 countries play football regularly.

FIFA
Fédération Internationale de Football Association is an organisation founded in 1904 to organise international events concerning football, futsal and beach football. The most known event has to be the FIFA World Cup which had its first edition in 1930. FIFA also organises the Women’s World Cup which had its first edition in 1991. After FIFA was founded there were 8 national associations, including The Netherlands and Belgium, working together with FIFA. Now there are 209 associations divided into 6 confederations: CONCACAF (North-America), CONMEBOL (South-America), CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia), OFC (Oceania) en UEFA (Europe). Each of these confederations has a vote in the annual FIFA Congress. Every year FIFA awards one player the Ballon d’Or for his performances. The acting president of FIFA is Issa Hayatou. Before that it was Sepp Blatter. Blatter was accused of corruption within FIFA but was still re-elected as president. After the elections of 2015, and winning it, Blatter decided to step down from his position as president.

UEFA
Union of European Football Associations is the organisation that represents Europe in FIFA. UEFA is since 1954 in charge of club tournaments and the UEFA European Championship. One of the club tournaments is the highest prize a European club can win: the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid leads with the most wins (10 times). Mostly it’s the top 3 clubs of each European competition that enter the tournament. For the clubs just below the top 3 there is the UEFA Europa League. The acting president of UEFA is Angèl Villar Llona. Former president Michel Platini is currently suspended from any football related activity for 8 years due to accepting a bribe from former president of FIFA Sepp Blatter.

German football
A giant of national teams is ‘Die Mannschaft’. The German national team and the world champions of 2014 (and many other years) is currently one of the best, if not the best, national squads in the world. And who can blame them with one of the best domestic competitions in Europe: the Bundesliga. The highest level of football in Germany started in 1963. Bayern Munich has been dominating it by finishing top of the table 25 times. Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach both take in number two by winning the league 5 times. A sight to see in German football are the stadiums: the Allianz Arena, Signal Iduna Park, Veltins Arena and not to forget, home of Hertha BSC, the Olympiastadium in Berlin. This stadium was built by architect Werner March between 1934 and 1936. It was opened just in time for the Summer Olympics of 1936. What makes this stadium so special is that it’s built halfway underground. So from the outside you can only see the top ring. The roof is not a full circle because of the marathon entrance. The rich history of this stadium tells us that at the near end of the second world war a lot of kids from the Hitlerjugend lost their lives fighting the Russians. Currently it is used for mostly football matches of Hertha BSC, the final of the DFB Pokal for men and women and the occasional match for the national squad. Last season it was used for the final of the UEFA Champions League. FC Barcelona played Juventus and FC Barcelona ended up taking the trophy home.

European heritage
Something is considered European heritage when a something has contributed to European history or European culture. We think sports have had a big impact on both European culture and history. At Notts County FC in England where it all began, football grew to be the most played sport in the world. Football creates a bond between men, women and children and can solve small differences in opinion to all out wars. In 2006, the national squad of Ivory Coast played a game to solve the civil war that was going on at that time. That’s why we think Meadow Lane, the home of where it all began, is European heritage.

The Ancient Olympic Games

Ever since 776 before Christ, there would be an event with four competitions that took place every four years in the Greek city Olympia, in honor of Zeus, the Greek supreme God. They called it the Olympic Games. They were part of the Panhellenic Games, which were four competitions for atlethes, artists and public from the Greek world. Sometimes people referred to the Games as the ‘Crowngames’, because the victors got a crown for their performances. As a victor of the Olympic Games, you would receive an olive crown, as it stood symbol for Zeus.

The Greeks were ought to believe that these particular competitions would ensure people to appreciate their human abilities. By bringing together different cultures and states, the meetings would give the result of consensus. Some state leaders took these thoughts so serious, that they hoped that there would be consensus on political side as well, but it never got that far.

Not everyone participated in the Olympic Games. The only people that could join were men, and they played the Games while being naked. The reason for their nudity is not known, but it probably happened on accident. A runner would have stepped on his loincloth, whereby it would have fallen off. After that he would have still ran, but naked. Being naked was much more normal in the Ancient Greek times than it is now, though. During the Ancient times, people believed that the naked body was a sign of beauty. Only unmarried women could come and watch the Games, and that was the cause of the nudity of the manly athletes.

In the beginning the only thing on the programme was a running competition of 190 meters. In the course of a few years boxing, horse racing, wrestling, different running competitions, Pankration (a combination of wrestling and boxing), and a pentathlete of wrestling, running, long jump, javelin throwing and discus throw.

While the Games are going on, there is always a burning fire, which connects the Games with Zeus. The fire gets lighted by the holy fire from the goddess Hestia. Up to the present day, the fire stills burns during the Olympic Games.

The Olympic peace is part of the modern Olympic Games. This tradition however already exists since the Ancient Games. Before the Games started, there would be a truce from five days, later this would be around three months. This was done so that the attendants and athletes had the opportunity to travel to Olympia safely. States that participated in the Games were not allowed to start an armed fight, could not start any trial or make any executions. The ones that violated these rules got a massive amount of money that they had to pay.

Modern Olympic Games

In the Ancient Greek times, the Games were cancelled by emperor Theodosius I, whom had also banned the other Panhellenic Games. Fifteen centuries later, initiatives for resurrecting the Games had been found. After a few tries, Pierre de Coubertin made a big comeback for the Olympic Games. Then there was decided that the Olympic Games would be introduced yet again. The first edition took place in Athens.

Every two year the Summer Games are held, and in 2016 the following 28 Olympic sports will be a part of the competition; athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, archery, weightlifting, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, gymnastics, golf, handball, hockey, judo, flatwater sprint, whitewater slalom, modern pentathlon, equestrian, rowing, rugby, fencing, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, soccer, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, track cycling, BMX, mountain biking, road cycling, wrestling, sailing, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo and swimming.

Every other two years, the Winter Games are held, and as for today the following sports will be part of the next edition of the competition; biathlon, bobsleigh (bobsleigh, skeleton), curling, ice hockey, luge, skating (figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating), skiing (alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping) and snowboarding (snowboarding, slopestyle)

European heritage?

European cultural heritage has the definition, that something is cultural heritage if it is or was of great importance for the European history or culture. According to us, this is definitely the case with the Olympic Games. Not only has it been a thing for centuries and is it a tradition, it also brings people together and tends to give the world some sort of peace for a few days/months. You can feel the strong bond of people, and especially in Europe.

Today, the marathon is an Olympic discipline and a sporting event that takes place several times a year on all continents. The annual Marathons in New York, Chicago or for example in Boston (best known by the terrorist attacks in 2013) are famous throughout the world.

The story of how the marathon originated is certainly less well known. The same accounts for the question why the marathon is exactly 42.152 kilometers long (and since when) or why it is actually called Marathon.

The History of the marathon

It is tempting to say that the marathon originated in Europe. Actually it can best be regarded as a piece of the Greek history, because, when it all began, the Europe we know today, didn’t yet exist.

In 490 B.C., during a war between two Great Powers on the territory of the ancient Greek empire (today’s Greece), the battle of Marathon took place. The opponents in this battle were the Persians and the Army of the city of Athens, the capital of today’s Greece. The battle was won by the Greeks. To deliver the message of the victory to the magistrates of Athens, the courier Pheidippides was sent on the road immediately. He ran all the way from Marathon to Athens, without a single stop. Upon his arrival in Athens, breathing his last words, he conveyed the message ‘Joy to you, we've won" and there and then he died of exhaustion.

The distance between Marathon and Athens was approximately 40 kilometers. Pheidippides’ run is nowadays considered as the first marathon in history, despite the fact that his run wasn't a competition among runners. It is even unproven that Pheidippides covered the distance. To round up the list of unproven stories, several versions about the cause of his death exist.

The performance of Pheidippides was regarded as legendary and was therefore from 490 BC in the ancient Olympic Games commemorated with a race of 40 kilometers. At the time of the ancient Greeks, when the classic olympic games took place, this contest was not yet called Marathon. The ancient name of the race is unknown.

When the modern Olympic Games first took place in 1896 the Marathon was again one of the disciplines. The reason for this was that the Olympic movement (led by Pierre de Coubertin) held the opinion that there was a need of a discipline that pays homage to the classic Olympic Games. It was therefore decided to include the legendary footrace as one of the disciplines. Until then, the race had no name. The name Marathon was chosen for the 1896 olympics because the original journey began at Marathon.

To the delight of the Greeks the first modern Olympic marathon at the first modern Olympic Games in Greece, was won by the Greek Spiridon Louise. His winning time was 2: 58.50 hours.

The current official marathon length of 42 kilometers and 195 meters, also originated in Europe. It was the distance of the marathon during the Olympic Games in London (Great Britain) in 1908. The marathon started at Windsor Castle and ending just before the Royal Box at the White City Stadium. This distance was exactly 42,195 kilometers. During the two Olympics that followed another distance was run. 12 years after the London Games an international agreement was reached, that the distance of a marathon should always be exactly 42 meters and 195 meters.

The marathon nowadays

The marathon is one of the most famous sporting disciplines in the world. The current world record (2015) stands at 2: 2:57 hours. This time was run by kenyan Dennis Kipruto Kimetto during the marathon in Berlin (capital of Germany) in 2014. The female record is 2:15.25, run by Paula Radcliffe from Great Britain, in London, in 2003.

The first winning time ever recorded was 2 hours and 58 minutes. Since then the world record has become almost an hour shorter. This is most likely because more and more people with African roots participate in marathons. African people seem to have have a physique which is perfect for running long distances and therefore build a perfect condition.

Marathon for everyone

Marathon running is not just for world class athletes who want to win a prize of half a million or a gold medal but also for amateur athletes who love to run. Nowadays, for all these athletes there are marathons, half-marathons and 'children's marathons' in many cities all over the world. Especially the big marathons (Boston, London, Berlin, Rotterdam, ..) are events with thousands of runners participating and even more spectators along the track and on the TV.

The field is usually headed by famous top athletes who finish in times close to the world record. These top-runners are followed by thousands of amateur athletes who enjoy the race, being cheered on by spectators all along the track and the amazing feeling to reach the finish line after a several hours, leaving them with great pride when they say "I ran the marathon."

Tennis is a sport where a ball has to be struck across a field, with a net in the middle, towards the opposing team. Teams can either be made up of one or two players that play against each other. Points can be scored by playing the ball in such a way that the opponent cannot return a valid shot, resulting in either the ball making a second bounce on the opponent’s side or the opponent hitting the ball out of the playing field. Points are awarded in the following manner: 15, 30 and 40, after which the game ends and goes to the winning team. If both teams have 40 points (3 rallies won), the score will be set to deuce, which means that one of the teams has to win with 2 won rallies more than his or her opponent. The first rally won during a deuce makes the score advantage for the winning person, but if the other team scores after that the score becomes deuce again and the cycle continues, until one team wins two rallies in a row. The criteria for winning a set can differ from game to game, mostly depending on the players’ skill level and stamina and the type of competition. Most of the time a team wins a set by winning at least 6 games with 2 more set wins than the opponent, up until 6-4. However, if the score is 5-5 and both teams win a set after that, a tie-break will be played. This means that a team can win with only 1 set difference, in this case 7-6. The outcome of the match is determined through a system of best-of-three or best-of-five, meaning that a player has to win with either 2 or 3 sets accordingly. The first team to reach that amount of sets wins the match.