The Games of Summer: A documentation and brief history of the Summer Olympics by the numbers

The modern Olympic movement began in April 1896 — 128 years ago — when 241 athletes from 13 European countries plus the United States gathered in Athens, Greece, for 10 days of competition, fellowship and a celebration of the spirit of athletics.

The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad open Friday in Paris.

The First Summer Olympics

National Olympic teams wouldn’t become a thing until later. The only real national team that appeared at the first Olympics was the Hungarian team. Women were not allowed just yet. Most of the athletes were well-to-do college students or members of well-funded athletics clubs. Below are four members of the Princeton University track and field team that competed for the U.S.

Source: WikiMedia Commons

The venue for the track and field events was Panathenaic Stadium, which was built in 330 B.C. It had been excavated for the Greek Olympics in 1870 but not rebuilt then. For the first modern Summer Games, the stadium was refinished in white marble. The photo above shows the opening ceremonies held April 6, 1896.

Nine of the 12 track and field events were won by U.S. athletes. The U.S. would win 11 of 43 events held during the games. Winners received a silver medal and an olive branch and runners-up were given a copper medal and a laurel branch. The International Olympic Committee would later convert these to gold and silver medals and retroactively award bronze medals to third-place finishers.

Some members of the IOC favored holding the Olympics every four years in Athens, but the 1900 games were already scheduled for Paris. The Winter Olympics would begin in 1924 in Chamonix, France.

Summer Games

All-Time Summer Olympics Top Medal Winners ...