Speech by Adit:
Importance
·
Olympic Games
has got special importance because these Olympic Games are held only once in every four years for all the countries in our
world.
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They are more important and valuable than other
world championships, which are often held annually.
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Many athletes have become celebrities or heroes
in the world, after becoming Olympic champions.
Brief History of Olympics
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The Olympic Games is an international
multi-sport event.
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The original and ancient Olympic Games were
first recorded in 776 B.C. in Olympia, Greece and were celebrated until 393
A.D.
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The international Olympic committee was founded
in 1894 on the initiative of a French gentle man, Pierre de Coubertin.
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People welcomed the august opening of the games.
The first modern Olympic Games were the 1896 Olympics, held in Athens, Greece.
Meaning of Olympic Symbol
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The Olympic Rings are the most widely used
symbol. These five intertwined rings represent the unity of the five
continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and Americas (North and South
Americas regarded as one continent).
Motto of Olympics:
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The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius,
which is Latin for “Swifter, Higher, Stronger”.
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It means “with the true spirit of the game, we
maintain faster, higher and stronger values/standards.
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The informal motto added by Pierre de Coubertin,
founder of the modern Olympic Games. It is “The most important thing is not to
win but to take part!”
Olympic Sports:
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Currently, the Olympic program consists of 35
different sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events.
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In recent years, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has added several new sports
to the program to attract attention from young spectators. Examples of such
sports include snowboarding and beach volleyball.
Highlights of Previous Olympics:
1896 Athens, Greece:
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Nine sports were on the original Olympic program
in 1896:
o
Athletics
o
Cycling
o
Fencing
o
Gymnastics
o
Weightlifting
o
Shooting
o
Swimming
o
Tennis and
o
Wrestling
1904 St. Louis, Missouri, US:
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First games at which gold, silver and bronze
medals were awarded for first, second and third places.
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Included Boxing to the initial list of 9 sports.
1912 Stockholm, Sweden:
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In athletics, electronic timing devices were
first used
1924 Paris, France:
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The Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius”
(Faster, Higher, Stronger), was used for the first time.
1936 Berlin, Germany:
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The Olympic Flame was used in previous Olympic
games, but this marked the first time it was brought to the Olympic Town by a
torch relay, with the starting point in Olympia, Greece.
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Basketball and handball made their debut at the
Olympics
1984 Los Angeles, California, US:
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Carl Lewis makes his first of four appearances
in the Olympics, and equals the performance of Jesse Owens of 1936 and wins
four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and the Long Jump.
1996 Atlanta, Georgia, US:
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A record 197 nations, all current IOC member
nations, take part, with a record 79 of them winning at least one medal.
2004 Athens, Greece:
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202 nations participated in this Olympics
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Following the September 11, 2001 attacks,
concerns about terrorism were much higher. Over all, 2004 Olympics ended with
good note.
2008 Beijing, China:
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XXIX Beijing Olympics were kicked off on
08/08/08 at 08:08:08
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205 nations participated in this sports festival
despite the Tibet issue.
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The 2008 Olympics have seen the return of 28
sports, and held 302 events.
Olympics Problems:
1.
Violence:
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1916, 1940, 1944 – No Olympics were held because
of World War I and II
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1972 Munich, West Germany: The Games were marred
by what has come to be known as the Munich massacre. On 5th September,
a group of 8 Palestinian terrorists belonging to the Black September
organization broke into the Olympic village and took eleven Israeli athletics
hostage in their apartment, soon killing two of them in the apartment.
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1996 Atlanta, US: Bomb blast at Olympic village,
which killed one spectator and 11 injured.
2.
Boycott:
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1956 Melbourne, Australia:
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Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon announced they wouldn’t
participate in the Olympics because of Suez Crisis, in which the British and
French’s involvement.
o
The Soviet handling of the Hungarian revolution
led to the absence of Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
o
These two instances are starting point for the
bad trend of boycott the prestigious Olympic games for their political
benefits. Interestingly, the games were nicknamed “the Friendly Games”.
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1980 Moscow, USSR: Boycott led by the United
States followed by 64 other countries in protest of the 1970 Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan.
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1984 Los Angeles, US: In view of the
American-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the Soviet-led boycott of the
1984 Olympics caused 14 Eastern Bloc countries and allies including the Soviet
Union, Cuba and East Germany boycott these Olympics.
3. Doping:
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1988 Seoul, South Korea: Canadian Ben Johnson
wins the 100m in a new world record, but disqualified later he tests positive
for stanozolol / steroid.
4. Politics:
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1936 Berlin, Germany: Nazi influence on sporting
event.
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1964 Tokyo, Japan: Unfortunately for Japan
Olympic Games, the first nuclear test in China took more attention during the
Olympics.
Conclusion:
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Olympic Games should not be a reflection of
political views.
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Olympics is the not stage that one can express
their political views.
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We should not mix politics with the games. There
are other ways to express the political issues.
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It’s responsibility of each and every nation to
protect this great sports event from the controversies, political issues and to
run in friendly atmosphere and sportive environment.
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It’s not only the athletes, the sporting
authorities, people has to set standards in enjoying this sports festival and
to spread the true spirit of the sports.
We wish the 2012 London Olympics will run
smoothly without any issues and wish London Olympics will script a new chapter
in Olympic Games without any controversies.
