<ol>
<li>Athletes were often naked in the Olympics held in Ancient Greece, as a tribute to the Gods.</li>
<li>Winners often bite their medal during the awards ceremony, as a nod to early merchants who used to bite the gold to check its authenticity. The ones with lead used to leave teeth marks.</li>
<li>Olympic Gold medals are actually just gold plated silver, and the last pure gold medals were awarded in 1904.</li>
</ol>

Cool Facts! - Olympic Games

<ul><li>Olympics were initially held in Olympia every four years from 776 BCE till 392 AD. </li><li>The games were then abolished by Roman Emperor Theodosius.</li><li>The Olympic games returned after 1500 years in Athens with the formation of the International Olympic Committee in 1896.</li></ul>

Cool Facts! - No Olympics For 1500 Years

<ol><li>The Olympic Rings stand for the five continents, with colours that are found in all competing nations' flags.</li><li>The names of the winners are engraved on the stadium walls.</li><li>The ancient Olympic games only had Gold medals.</li><li>The Olympic Flame is always lit and can withstand almost any calamity or weather condition.</li><li>The Olympics was open for kids until 1997, and since then has an age barrier of 16 years.</li></ol>

Cool Facts! - The Olympic Ring And The Olympic Flame

<ul><li>Olympics for the disabled and differently-abled started in Rome in 1960, and since then has seen many athletes with no hands and no legs win medals.</li><li>The same year Abebe Bikila won the Olympic marathon(26 miles) barefoot.</li><li>True equality was showcased in the 2012 London Olympics when every sport had female competitors.</li></ul>

Cool Facts! - Paralympics

<div dir="ltr"> <span dir="ltr">Share on</span><div dir="ltr"> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://champions-speakers.co.uk/news/14-cool-facts-about-olympics-you-might-not-know" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">  </a></div><div dir="ltr"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://champions-speakers.co.uk/news/14-cool-facts-about-olympics-you-might-not-know" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">  </a></div><div dir="ltr"> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https://champions-speakers.co.uk/news/14-cool-facts-about-olympics-you-might-not-know" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">  </a></div></div><p>We take a look at some cool facts about the Olympics that you just may not believe. With hundreds of crazy Olympic facts and traditions from the days of the Ancient Greeks to the modern Olympics we enjoy today - let's see how many of these you already knew.</p><p>The lower you go, the harder they get. Good luck!</p><h2>14. Naked Athletes</h2><p>While today sporting events that involve nudity are considered scandalous or at least unplanned - in Ancient Greece, it was one of the major Olympic traditions.</p><p>While the first Olympiads saw athletes compete in loincloths, a runner called Orsippus changed the face of the games when he appeared naked, appealing to the nation as a symbol of 'Greekness'.</p><p>Nudity proved a sign of fearlessness, courage and power and was also considered a tribute to the gods. Participants would even lather themselves in olive oil to best show off their physique. Did you know The word 'gymnasium' comes from the Greek word "gymnós" which means naked?</p><h2>13. The Tradition of Biting Olympic Medals</h2><img alt="medal biting" height="373" src="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/sites/default/files/archive/news/medal-biting.jpg" width="680"><p>Ever seen Olympians biting their medals during the awards ceremony and wondered why they do that? Well, it harks back to ages past, where merchants would check a coin was indeed the precious metal they required and not a lead forgery. A lead coin would leave teeth marks, while a gold coin would not.</p><p>Olympic medals are not made of gold but only finished with gold. They are mostly made of silver in this day and age. The last time they were made entirely of gold was in the 1904 Olympic Games.</p><h2>12. A 1500-Year Hiatus</h2><p>The original Olympic Games, staged in Olympia ran from 776 BC through till 392 AD and were held, like today, every four years in conjunction with a festival to honour the Greek god, Zeus. The Ancient Greeks also had three other Games in honour of gods, Apollo, Elis and Poseiden making room for a tournament every year. Roman Emperor Theodosius abolished the Olympics in an attempt to rid his empire of paganism, in favour of the widespread adoption of Christianity in 392 AD.</p><p>Amazingly it took 1503 years before the Olympics were to return. Organised by Pierre de Coubertin who formed the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the modern Olympics were born and took place in Athens in 1896.</p><h2>11. What do the Olympic Rings Stand For?</h2><p>The five Olympic rings are symbolic of the five continents, and the colours were chosen because they all appear on the flags of all the competing nations around the world.</p><h2>10. Winners Are Engraved on the Stadium Walls</h2><p>Medal winners are not only inducted into their nation's history and Olympic history but they are also honoured at the Olympic stadium of that year's tournament. Their names are engraved on the walls of the stadium - allowing their legacy to be written in stone.</p><h2>9. The Three Medal Format</h2><img alt="olympic medals" height="373" src="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/sites/default/files/archive/news/olympic-medals.jpg" width="680"><p>In the ancient Olympics, there was just one medal - gold for the winner. In the advent of the modern Olympic Games, gold, silver and bronze medals were all awarded to the top three competitors in each event.</p><h2>8. The Understated Hero in the Black Power Protest of Mexico City, 1968</h2><p>In one of the most dramatic moments in Olympic history, John Carlos and Tommie Smith made a monumental political statement, making a black power salute on the podium of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. What is less known is that the silver medallist that day was an Australian white man, Peter Norman. He stood by the duo in solidarity while displaying a human rights badge.</p><p>Norman was, like the two American sprinters, attacked by his own country's media for this display and barred from competing in future Olympics. But his role has since been recognised as he was awarded a posthumous Order of Merit in 2008. Both Carlos and Smith appeared as pallbearers at Norman's 2006 funeral.</p><h2>A Quick Break: Find Paralympic, Winter &amp; Summer Olympic Speakers</h2><p dir="ltr">Now we're halfway through, we'd like to take a second to tell you a little about what we do. Our team work with former Olympic champions every day, offering businesses, schools and organisations the chance to&nbsp;book incredible <a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/olympic-speakers" dir="ltr">Olympic speakers</a> such as&nbsp;<a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/jessica-ennis-hill" dir="ltr">Jessica Ennis-Hill</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/greg-rutherford" dir="ltr">S</a><a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/steve-redgrave" dir="ltr">ir Steve Redgrave</a>.</p><div class="embed-placeholder" data-type="youtube" data-id="8FFu1JwXLIA"></div><p dir="ltr">We also work with the top&nbsp;<a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/paralympic-speakers" dir="ltr">Paralympic speakers</a> such as <a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/tanni-grey-thompson" dir="ltr">Tanni Grey-Thompson</a> and <a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/richard-whitehead" dir="ltr">Richard Whitehead</a>.</p><div class="embed-placeholder" data-type="youtube" data-id="C2AyrBQBU0w"></div><p dir="ltr">And if you're looking to get your skis on at your event, you can even find a Winter Olympic speaker with the likes of <a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/graham-bell" dir="ltr">Graham Bell</a>, <a data-entity-substitution="canonical" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="dd813063-f156-4b02-a2b9-7510a7b8e11c" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/eddie-edwards" title="Eddie Edwards" dir="ltr">Eddie the Eagle</a> and <a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/amy-williams" dir="ltr">Amy Williams</a> available.</p><div class="embed-placeholder" data-type="youtube" data-id="euMYlC-vGek"></div><h2>7. The Olympic Flame Is Always Lit</h2><p>It has been around the world, on Concorde, winding whitewater and even in space and is virtually weatherproof. It can withstand extreme temperatures and roaring winds of up to 50 mph and somehow has not yet gone out during its lengthy relays around the world. If it should, a spare torch, lit from the mother flame in Athens, is never more than 30 seconds away.</p><h2>6. A Symbol of Friendship</h2><p>While black Olympic icon, Jesse Owens was busy embarrassing Nazi Germany and making history at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, two Japanese pole vaulters Shuhei Nashida and his friend Sueo Oe were set for a tie-breaker to decide who took silver and who took bronze. The duo decided to decline the tie-break scenario and famously cut the two medals in half. They then fused the bronze with the silver to make two new 'friendship medals'.</p><h2>5. Children &amp; Amateurs Used To Compete</h2><img alt="athens olympics" height="373" src="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/sites/default/files/archive/news/athens-olympics-banner.jpg" width="680"><p>Rules have been put in place to make the Olympics the fairest and most level playing field possible, but that is not to say that athletes have not taken advantage of loopholes and such in the past.</p><p>The Winter Olympic Games introduced the Eddie the Eagle Rule to stop amateurs from competing in the Games. The IOC ensured that all competitors in the Games must have finished in the top half of an international competition.</p><p>Young people were allowed to compete in the Olympics until 1997 when the International Olympic Committee ensured only those above the age of 16 could compete. Dimitrios Loundras was the youngest ever Olympic athlete, appearing in the 1896 games.</p><h2>4. The First Paralympics</h2><p>The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome in 1960, designed to allow war veterans a chance to compete and rehabilitate. Before that, there were instances where physically disabled athletes competed in the Olympics themselves. Olympic gymnast George Eyser famously won six medals with a wooden leg in the 1904 Games.</p><p>Now the Paralympics offers a chance for people with an array of disabilities the chance to compete. In 2014 Ibrahim Hamato made history as he became a world champion in table tennis despite having no arms and playing with the racquet in his mouth.</p><h2>3. A Marathon Without Shoes</h2><p>From one man showing immense mental resilience, determination and drive, to another. Abebe Bikila won the Olympic marathon at the Rome Olympic Games in 1960. Amazingly he did it without the benefit of footwear. Running barefoot for the painstaking 26-mile run, Bikila became the first African in history to win a gold medal.</p><h2>2. London 2012 was a Historical Moment for Equality</h2><p>We've come a long way from naked competitors and excluded athletes to the Olympics of today. And London 2012 proved a landmark moment for the Olympics. Among other things, the London 2012 Olympic Games was known as the Women's Games. Why? Because it was the first summer Olympics that showcased true equality. Women were not barred from a single sport and for the first time in history, each nation sent a female competitor.</p><h2>1. The Longest Remaining Record In The Modern Olympics Is Now 50 Years Old</h2><p dir="ltr">Bob Bearman won the long jump in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. His superhuman leap registered a remarkable 8.90 metres to become an Olympic record, which to this day stands in the competition. Greg Rutherford said of his iconic jump; '<em dir="ltr">It was a special jump back then and a special jump right now</em>'.</p><h2>How Many Of Our Crazy Olympic Facts Did You Know?</h2><p>Whether you knew before or you know now, there is a multitude of inspirational sporting stories and quirky traditions that the Olympics have given us over the years - making it one of the world's most prestigious, exciting and eventful sporting events in history.</p><h2>Book an Olympic Speaker</h2><p dir="ltr">With the Champions Speakers agency, you can <a href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/olympic-speakers" dir="ltr">book an Olympic Speaker</a> today.&nbsp;If you're looking for some inspiration, why not look at <a data-entity-substitution="canonical" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="cc17a3a2-bfb0-4115-bb33-0a18067a2c49" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/news/20-worlds-best-olympic-speakers-ready-tokyo-2021" title="20 Of The World’s Best Olympic Speakers Ready For Tokyo 2021" dir="ltr">20 of the best Olympics speakers</a>?</p>

Let's take a look at some crazy Olympic facts that you might not know. Discover why athletes bite their medals, what the Olympic rings stand for and more today.

Stashed ideas

<p>We take a look at some cool facts about the Olympics that you just may not believe. With hundreds of crazy Olympic facts and traditions from the days of the Ancient Greeks to the modern Olympics we enjoy today - let's see how many of these you already knew. </p>

<p>The lower you go, the harder they get. Good luck! </p>

<p>While today sporting events that involve nudity are considered scandalous or at least unplanned - in Ancient Greece, it was one of the major Olympic traditions. </p>

<p>While the first Olympiads saw athletes compete in loincloths, a runner called Orsippus changed the face of the games when he appeared naked, appealing to the nation as a symbol of 'Greekness'. </p>

<p>Nudity proved a sign of fearlessness, courage and power and was also considered a tribute to the gods. Participants would even lather themselves in olive oil to best show off their physique. Did you know The word 'gymnasium' comes from the Greek word "gymnós" which means naked? </p>

13. The Tradition of Biting Olympic Medals

<p>Ever seen Olympians biting their medals during the awards ceremony and wondered why they do that? Well, it harks back to ages past, where merchants would check a coin was indeed the precious metal they required and not a lead forgery. A lead coin would leave teeth marks, while a gold coin would not. </p>

<p>Olympic medals are not made of gold but only finished with gold. They are mostly made of silver in this day and age. The last time they were made entirely of gold was in the 1904 Olympic Games. </p>

<p>The original Olympic Games, staged in Olympia ran from 776 BC through till 392 AD and were held, like today, every four years in conjunction with a festival to honour the Greek god, Zeus. The Ancient Greeks also had three other Games in honour of gods, Apollo, Elis and Poseiden making room for a tournament every year. Roman Emperor Theodosius abolished the Olympics in an attempt to rid his empire of paganism, in favour of the widespread adoption of Christianity in 392 AD. </p>

<p>Amazingly it took 1503 years before the Olympics were to return. Organised by Pierre de Coubertin who formed the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the modern Olympics were born and took place in Athens in 1896. </p>

<p>The five Olympic rings are symbolic of the five continents, and the colours were chosen because they all appear on the flags of all the competing nations around the world. </p>

10. Winners Are Engraved on the Stadium Walls

<p>Medal winners are not only inducted into their nation's history and Olympic history but they are also honoured at the Olympic stadium of that year's tournament. Their names are engraved on the walls of the stadium - allowing their legacy to be written in stone. </p>

<p>In the ancient Olympics, there was just one medal - gold for the winner. In the advent of the modern Olympic Games, gold, silver and bronze medals were all awarded to the top three competitors in each event. </p>

8. The Understated Hero in the Black Power Protest of Mexico City, 1968

<p>In one of the most dramatic moments in Olympic history, John Carlos and Tommie Smith made a monumental political statement, making a black power salute on the podium of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. What is less known is that the silver medallist that day was an Australian white man, Peter Norman. He stood by the duo in solidarity while displaying a human rights badge. </p>

<p>Norman was, like the two American sprinters, attacked by his own country's media for this display and barred from competing in future Olympics. But his role has since been recognised as he was awarded a posthumous Order of Merit in 2008. Both Carlos and Smith appeared as pallbearers at Norman's 2006 funeral. </p>

A Quick Break: Find Paralympic, Winter & Summer Olympic Speakers

<p dir="ltr">Now we're halfway through, we'd like to take a second to tell you a little about what we do. Our team work with former Olympic champions every day, offering businesses, schools and organisations the chance to book incredible <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/olympic-speakers">Olympic speakers </a>such as <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/jessica-ennis-hill">Jessica Ennis-Hill </a>and <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/greg-rutherford">S </a><a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/steve-redgrave">ir Steve Redgrave </a>. </p>

<p dir="ltr">We also work with the top <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/paralympic-speakers">Paralympic speakers </a>such as <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/tanni-grey-thompson">Tanni Grey-Thompson </a>and <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/richard-whitehead">Richard Whitehead </a>. </p>

<p dir="ltr">And if you're looking to get your skis on at your event, you can even find a Winter Olympic speaker with the likes of <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/graham-bell">Graham Bell </a>, <a data-entity-substitution="canonical" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="dd813063-f156-4b02-a2b9-7510a7b8e11c" dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/eddie-edwards" title="Eddie Edwards">Eddie the Eagle </a>and <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/amy-williams">Amy Williams </a>available. </p>

<p>It has been around the world, on Concorde, winding whitewater and even in space and is virtually weatherproof. It can withstand extreme temperatures and roaring winds of up to 50 mph and somehow has not yet gone out during its lengthy relays around the world. If it should, a spare torch, lit from the mother flame in Athens, is never more than 30 seconds away. </p>

<p>While black Olympic icon, Jesse Owens was busy embarrassing Nazi Germany and making history at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, two Japanese pole vaulters Shuhei Nashida and his friend Sueo Oe were set for a tie-breaker to decide who took silver and who took bronze. The duo decided to decline the tie-break scenario and famously cut the two medals in half. They then fused the bronze with the silver to make two new 'friendship medals'. </p>

<p>Rules have been put in place to make the Olympics the fairest and most level playing field possible, but that is not to say that athletes have not taken advantage of loopholes and such in the past. </p>

<p>The Winter Olympic Games introduced the Eddie the Eagle Rule to stop amateurs from competing in the Games. The IOC ensured that all competitors in the Games must have finished in the top half of an international competition. </p>

<p>Young people were allowed to compete in the Olympics until 1997 when the International Olympic Committee ensured only those above the age of 16 could compete. Dimitrios Loundras was the youngest ever Olympic athlete, appearing in the 1896 games. </p>

<p>The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome in 1960, designed to allow war veterans a chance to compete and rehabilitate. Before that, there were instances where physically disabled athletes competed in the Olympics themselves. Olympic gymnast George Eyser famously won six medals with a wooden leg in the 1904 Games. </p>

<p>Now the Paralympics offers a chance for people with an array of disabilities the chance to compete. In 2014 Ibrahim Hamato made history as he became a world champion in table tennis despite having no arms and playing with the racquet in his mouth. </p>

<p>From one man showing immense mental resilience, determination and drive, to another. Abebe Bikila won the Olympic marathon at the Rome Olympic Games in 1960. Amazingly he did it without the benefit of footwear. Running barefoot for the painstaking 26-mile run, Bikila became the first African in history to win a gold medal. </p>

2. London 2012 was a Historical Moment for Equality

<p>We've come a long way from naked competitors and excluded athletes to the Olympics of today. And London 2012 proved a landmark moment for the Olympics. Among other things, the London 2012 Olympic Games was known as the Women's Games. Why? Because it was the first summer Olympics that showcased true equality. Women were not barred from a single sport and for the first time in history, each nation sent a female competitor. </p>

1. The Longest Remaining Record In The Modern Olympics Is Now 50 Years Old

<p dir="ltr">Bob Bearman won the long jump in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. His superhuman leap registered a remarkable 8.90 metres to become an Olympic record, which to this day stands in the competition. Greg Rutherford said of his iconic jump; '<em dir="ltr">It was a special jump back then and a special jump right now </em>'. </p>

How Many Of Our Crazy Olympic Facts Did You Know?

<p>Whether you knew before or you know now, there is a multitude of inspirational sporting stories and quirky traditions that the Olympics have given us over the years - making it one of the world's most prestigious, exciting and eventful sporting events in history. </p>

<p dir="ltr">With the Champions Speakers agency, you can <a dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/olympic-speakers">book an Olympic Speaker </a>today. If you're looking for some inspiration, why not look at <a data-entity-substitution="canonical" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="cc17a3a2-bfb0-4115-bb33-0a18067a2c49" dir="ltr" href="https://champions-speakers.co.uk/news/20-worlds-best-olympic-speakers-ready-tokyo-2021" title="20 Of The World’s Best Olympic Speakers Ready For Tokyo 2021">20 of the best Olympics speakers </a>? </p>

Bite-sized knowledge
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14 Cool Facts About The Olympics That You Might Not Know

Cool Facts! - Olympic Games

Cool Facts! - No Olympics For 1500 Years

Cool Facts! - The Olympic Ring And The Olympic Flame

Cool Facts! - Paralympics

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14 Cool Facts About The Olympics That You Might Not Know

Cool Facts! - Olympic Games

Cool Facts! - No Olympics For 1500 Years

Cool Facts! - The Olympic Ring And The Olympic Flame

Cool Facts! - Paralympics

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

Facts about the Olympics that will blow your mind

24 facts about the Olympics that will blow your mind - EF GO Blog

9 Olympic moments that changed history

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career