Unit 10 Sports

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The Olympic Games

　　In ancient Greece athletic festivals were very important and had strong religious associations. The Olympian Athletic Festival, held every four years in honour of Zeus, eventually lost its local character, became first a national event, and then, after the rules against foreign competitors had been waived, international. No one knows exactly how far back the Olympic Games go, but some official records date from 776 BC.
　　The Games took place in August on the plain by Mount Olympus. Many thousands of spectators gathered from all parts of Greece, but no married woman was admitted even as a spectator. Slaves, women and dishonoured persons were not allowed to compete. The exact sequence of the events is uncertain, but the events included boys' gymnastics, horse-racing, field events such as discus and javelin throwing, and the very important foot races. There was also boxing and wrestling and special tests of varied ability such as the pentathlon, the winner of which excelled in running, jumping, discus and javelin throwing and wrestling. The evening of the third day was devoted to sacrificial offerings to the heroes of the day, and the fourth day, that of the full moon, was set aside as a holy day.
　　On the sixth and last day, alt the victors were crowned with holy garlands of wild olive from a sacred wood. So great was the honour that the winner of the foot race gave his name to the year of his victory. Although the Olympic winners received no prize money, they were, in fact, richly rewarded by their state authorities. The public honour also made the strict discipline of the ten-month training period worthwhile. In spite of the lengthy training, however, runners were known to drop dead from strain at the winning post. How their results compared with modem standards, we unfortunately have no means of telling.
　　After an uninterrupted history of almost 1,200 years, the Games were abolished in 394 AD. the Christian era, because of their pagan origin. It was over 1,500 years before there was another such international athletics gathering. The Greek Institution was revived in 1896 and the first small meeting took place in Athens. After the 1908 London Olympics, success was re-established and the nations sent their best representatives. In times of peace, the Games have taken place ever since at four-yearly intervals. In Munich in 1972, the competitors from more than 120 countries were watched by huge crowds.
　　Nowadays, the Games are held in different countries in turn. The host country provides vast facilities, including a stadium, swimming pools and living accommodation, but competing countries pay their own athletes’ expense. Athletic contests are still the main feature, but now many more sports are represented, with women also able to compete. The ancient pentathlon, for example, has been modified into a more comprehensive test, and the marathon races, initiated in 1896, are now a celebrated event.
　　The Olympics start with the arrival in the stadium of a torch, lighted on Mount Olympus by the sun's rays. It is carried by a succession of runners to the stadium. The torch symbolizes the continuation of the ancient Greek athletic ideals, and it bums throughout the Games until the closing ceremony. The well-known Olympic Flag, however, is a modem conception; the five interlocking rings symbolize the uniting of all five continents participating in the Games.

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The Ancient Olympics

　　The ancient Olympics grew out of religious festivals that many Greek cities held to honor their gods. Athletic contests, like foot racing and wrestling, were part of these festivals. As Greece became a bigger and more important country, the cities started holding a large festival as a sign of unity. They eventually chose a place called Olympia to hold the festival, partly because of its many religious temples. Every four years, all wars were stopped as the country came together to honor the god Zeus.
　　These early Olympics each lasted between one and three days, but from around 400 BC on, the festival was a full five days as more and more events were added. Many of these events are still held today, like running races, javelin and discus throws, wrestling and boxing. Some other events included chariot racing and contests for boys. Even though Olympics had been held for hundreds of years, the first time anyone kept track of the winners was in 776BC. A cook named Coroebus is the first champion listed, winning the stadion, a race of about 210 yards.
　　During the 1000 years after those first "official" Games in 776BC, Greece came under Roman rule. After the 293rd Olympics in 393 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius II declared that the Games would no longer be held, and the Olympic movement ended.

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Ancient Olympic Games

　　The history of the Ancient Olympic Games can be traced back over 3,000 years to ancient Greece. While celebrating physical excellence, they were mainly held for religious purposes. In 884 BC, the king of Elis reached a treaty with the kings of several other city states to hold regular athletic contests and to fulfill the “sacred truce”. That meant to cease fire in the Greek world for as long as the games were on. The Hellenic Olympic Games came into being soon afterwards. But why were the games held at Olympia? Because Olympia was one of the oldest religious centers in ancient Greece. Since athletic contests were regarded by the ancient Greeks as a way to show their respects to their gods, especially Zeus, they chose Olympia, the site of the major temple, as the venue for the Games. The first recorded games were held in 776 BC. After that, they were held once every four years during the second or the third full moon after the summer solstice (in July or August). During their peak time in the fifth century BC, the games would last for five days.

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Olympic Motto

　　The spirit of the Modern Olympic Games is embodied in the Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius.” Latin for “Faster(Swifter), Higher, Stronger.” In 1886, in the early days of modern Olympism, the abbot Father Didon, a Dominican priest and school teacher, expressed the essence of his educational canon in just three words: citius, altius, fortius, Latin for faster, higher, stronger. These words were taken up with enthusiasm by de Coubertin and became the official Olympic motto, expressing the athlete's ambition to run faster, jump higher, and throw more strongly. According to the Olympic Charter, it expresses the message which the IOC addresses to all who belong to the Olympic Movement, inviting them to excel in accordance with the Olympic spirit. This phrase has been inspiring modem Olympians since its introduction at the 1920 Games. But these words should not be understood simplistically as a call for unfettered improvement of man’s physical performances, but rather as urging man to surpass himself in the very essence of his very being. The Olympic motto supposes the progress of human capacity on the basis of mental and physical improvement of man's natural qualities. The Olympic motto not only applies to the individual athlete who makes great strides in his or her chosen field. But it also applies to sports bodies, clubs, organizations and even states committed to the philosophy of modern Olympism.

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马拉松比赛的来历

　　Although it has roots in Greek legend, the marathon is one of the most modern of races. The legend grew up around a famous battle that took place in 490 BC, when Athenian troops defeated a large Persian invasion force on the plain of Marathon, about 25 miles from Athens. The legend arose that Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, had been sent to Athens to bring news of the victory at Marathon. After reaching the city, he said, “Rejoice, we conquer.” And then he died of the exertion.