London has hosted the Olympic Games on two past occasions, in 1908 and 1948, with a third scheduled for 2012. The planned 2012 Summer Olympics will make London the first city to have hosted the modern Games of three Olympiads. London is the only city in the United Kingdom to have ever hosted the Olympics; the United States is the only country to have hosted Summer Olympics on more occasions than the UK. There are some interesting facts from the history of Olympic Games, which you might not know.
- In 1908, the marathon standard had been set at exactly 26 miles. During Olympic marathon in London, it was decided that the royal family needed a better view of the finish line so organizers added an extra 385 yards to the race so the finish line would be in front of the royal box. From then on the distance of the Marathon remains to be “26 miles and 385 yards.
- Swimmer “Michael Phelps” of USA won 8 Gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It is the highest number of gold medals ever own by a single person in a single olympics game.
- “Abebe Bikila” of Ethopia won the marathon in 1960 Rome Olympics by registering a record time of 2hrs 15mins and 16.2 secs. He ran this marathon bare footed. He also become the first african to win an olympic gold medal.
- “Berlin Olympics” held in 1936 were the first Olympic games ever to be broadcast on television.
- Romanian “Nadia Comaneci” was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 seven times in a row. She achieved this feat in the 1976 Montreal Games.
- “Hilda Lorna Johnstone” of Great Britain is the oldest women to have ever participated in Olympics till date. She was 70 years old when she participated in 1972 games. She was an Equestrian.
- There were “no women” participants in the Athens olympics which were held in 1896. First time the women were allowed to participate was in the year 1900 summer olympics held in Paris.
- “Charlotte Cooper” was the first women to win gold medal in the olympics. She won it in the sport of tennis, during the 2nd olympics held in Paris in the year 1900. It was the first olympics in which women participated.
- “Oscar Swahn” of Sweden is the oldest olympian to have participated in any of the olympic events so far. He was a shooter who participated at the 1920 Antwerp Games at the age of 72 years.
- “Dimitrios Loundras” was the youngest olympian ever to participate in modern olympics. He was a Greek gymnast, who competed in the 1896 Athens Olympics. He was 10 years and 218 days old. He remains to be the youngest medallist and competitor in any of the olympics till date.
- “James Connolly” of USA was the first person to win a medal in the first modern olympics held in athens 1896. The winners were given a silver medal and olive leaf.