If the names Alina Zagitova, Ester Ledecka, Scott Moir, and Evgenia Medvedeva sound familiar to you, then you’ve been keeping up with the Winter Olympics. This year they are being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, beating Munich and Annecy for the honor. While they hosted the 1988 Summer Games, this is South Korea’s first time for the Winter Games. The two official mascots are the white tiger and an Asian black bear named Soohorang and Bandabi respectively. Norway currently holds first place for the number of medals overall and ties with Germany for gold. Canada comes in third with 29 medals (11 gold) and the US comes in fourth with 23 medals (9 gold).
While we are all familiar with Canada’s sweethearts’ gold-winning Moulin Rouge routine, the history of the Olympics traces back nearly 2800 years to Olympia in the Greek Peloponnesian peninsula. This origin is honored by the lighting of the Olympic flame at the ancient site itself before traveling to the host country du jour. The tradition was linked to the worship of Zeus, the Greek god of the sky amongst the Olympians. The games lasted four days and included footraces, wrestling, long jumps, discus throwing, and chariot racing. Women were not allowed to compete. The Olympics lasted until the Greeks were conquered by the Romans and the emperor Theodosius I officially outlawed them. There is an important distinction between the Greek Olympics and the Roman gladiatorial games. The former was meant to be a contest, a sport, while the latter was more about public spectacle.
The modern Olympics started in 1896, very appropriately in Athens. Keeping with ancient tradition, they occurred every four years. In 1900, women were first allowed to compete in five sports and more events were added for them in subsequent years. The iconic five-ring design was revealed in 1914, and the winter games started in 1924 in Chamonix, France. While they have occurred extremely consistently for more than 120 years, they were not held during either of the World Wars. Even today, the location, among other things, can be reflective of the current political and economic situation.
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