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Gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, and kinesthetic awareness, such as handsprings and handstands. It developed from fitness exercises used by ancient Greek soldiers, including skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, and circus performance skills. It is often considered a dangerous sport, as the difficult acrobatic maneuvers often performed on equipment high above the ground puts the athlete at risk of serious injury. Modern gymnastics, as regulated by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique incorporates six distinct disciplines:
- Artistic gymnastics (further classified as MAG and WAG)
- Rhythmic gymnastics
- Sports aerobics
- Sports acrobatics
- Trampolining
- General gymnastics Of these disciplines, the two sub-disciplines of artistic and rhythmic gymnastics are the best known, having been part of Summer Olympic Games competitions. Individual Trampoline has been included in the Summer Olympics since 2000. The discipline of rhythmic gymnastics is competed only by women (although there is a new version of this discipline for men being pioneered in Japan, see Men's rhythmic gymnastics), and involves the performance of five separate routines with the use of five apparatus - ball, ribbon, hoop, clubs, rope - on a floor area, with a much greater emphasis on the aesthetic rather than the acrobatic. Rhythmic routines are scored out of a possible 20 points. Sports aerobics involves the performance of routines by individuals or pairs, emphasizing strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness rather than acrobatic or balance skills. Routines are performed on a small floor area and generally last 60-90 seconds, being judged out of a total of 10 points. Trampolining consists of four events, individual, synchronized, double mini trampoline and power tumbling. Only individual trampoline is included in the Olympics. Individual routines involve a build-up phase during which the gymnast jumps repeatedly to achieve height, followed by a sequence of ten leaps without pauses during which the gymnast performs a sequence of aerial tumbling skills. Routines are marked out of a maximum score of 10 points. Additional points (with no maximum) can be earned depending on the difficulty of the moves. Synchronized trampoline is similar except that both competitors must perform the routine together and marks are awarded for synchronicity. Double mini trampoline involves a smaller trampoline with a run-up, two moves are performed and the scores marked in a similar manner to individual trampoline. Tumbling involves a sprung track, athletes must perform a succession of tumbling moves and are marked on difficulty and execution. General gymnastics, sometimes called group gymnastics, enables people of all ages and abilities to participate in performance troupes of 6 to more than 150 athletes. They perform synchronized, choreographed routines. Troupes may be all one gender or mixed. There are no age divisions in general gymnastics. The largest general gymnastics exhibition is the quadrennial World Gymnaestrada which was first held in 1939. Artistic Gymnastics Artistic Gymnastics is usually divided into Men's (MAG) and Women's Gymnastics (WAG), each group doing different events; Men compete on Vault, Parallel Bars, the Pommel Horse, the Rings, the High Bar, and on the Floor, while women compete on Floor, Uneven Bars, Vault, and Beam. Though routines performed on each event may be short, they are physically exhausting and push the gymnast's strength, flexibility, endurance, and awareness to the limit. WAG Vault - Gymnasts sprint down a runway, usually about 75 feet long, before leaping on a springboard and holding their bodies straight while punching (blocking using only a shoulder movement) the vault and flipping over to a standing position. In advanced gymnastics, twists are added before landing. Uneven Bars - Women competing on this event must hold themselves in a series of dares while leaping and even flying between two bars. Beam - The balance beam is an event which pushes balance, awareness especially. The beam itself is about 125cm high, 5m long, and 10cm wide. Routines include tumbling, turns, upside down feats, and a leap series. Floor - The floor is a carpeted area, 12m x 12m, usually springed. Gymnasts perform a series of tumbling and dance moves to music in a routine that lasts between 60-90 seconds. MAG Floor - The floor is a carpeted area, 12m x 12m, usually springed. Men perform a series of tumbling passes along with flexibility, strength, and balance tests. Routines last between 50-70 seconds and are performed without music. Pommel Horse - Men must perform circular movements around the horse with their legs while allowing only their hands to actually touch it. this is considered one of the hardest events. Rings - The rings are about 8 feet off the ground. Men must have good strength and flexibility to swing themselves on these rings while preventing the rings themselves from swinging. The rings are the epitome of male gymnast strength. Vault - Gymnasts sprint down a runway, usually about 75 feet long, before leaping on a springboard and holding their bodies straight while punching (blocking using only a shoulder movement) the vault and flipping over to a standing position. In advanced gymnastics, twists are added before landing. Parallel Bars - Men hold themselves on two bars about a shoulder's width apart and about 6 1/2 feet high while performing a series of swings and balances that require great strength and coordination. High Bar - a 1-inch thick steel bar 8 feet in the air is all the gymnast has to hold onto as he shows swings, release skills, twists, and even a change of direction.

External link

- [http://www.fig-gymnastics.com Fédération International de Gymnastique]
- [http://www.i-needtoknow.com/gymnastics/ Gymnastics Coaching] Category:Gymnastics Category:Olympic sports Category:Individual sports Category:Arts ja:体操

Sport

:Sports redirects here. For other senses of that word, see sports (disambiguation). A sport consists of a physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. A sport has physical activity, side by side competition, and a scoring system. The difference of purpose is what characterises sport, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess.

History of sport

Main article: History of sport The development of sport throughout history teaches us a great deal about social changes, and about the nature of sport itself. There are many modern discoveries in France, Africa, and Australia of cave art (see, for example, Lascaux) from prehistory which provide evidence of ritual ceremonial behaviour. Some of these sources date from over 30,000 years ago, as established by carbon dating. Although there is scant direct evidence of sport from these sources, it is reasonable to extrapolate that there was some activity at these times resembling sport. There are artifacts and structures which suggest that Chinese people engaged in activities which meet our definition of sport as early as 4000 BC. Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in China's past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a range of sports were well developed and regulated several thousands of years ago, including swimming and fishing. Other sports included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of Zurkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills. Among other sports which originate in Persia are polo and jousting. A wide range of sports were already established at the time of the Ancient Greece. Wrestling, running, boxing, javelin, discus throwing, and chariot racing were prevalent. This suggests that the military culture of Greece was an influence on the development of its sports and vice versa. The Olympic Games were held every four years in Ancient Greece, at a small village in Pelopponisos called Olympia. Sport has been increasingly organised and regulated from the time of the Ancient Olympics up to the present century. Activities necessary for food and survival became regulated activities done for pleasure or competition on an increasing scale, for example hunting, fishing, horticulture. The Industrial Revolution and mass production brought increased leisure which allowed increases in spectator sports, less elitism in sports, and greater accessibility. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the increase in sport's popularity. Not only has professionalism helped increase the popularity of sports, but additionally the need to have fun and take a break from a hectic workday or to relieve unwanted stress, as with any profession.

A classification of sports

Main article: List of sports One system for classifying sports is as follows, based more on the sport's aim than on the actual mechanics. The examples given are intended to be illustrative, rather than comprehensive.

Opponent

- Combat (Wrestling, Judo, karate, boxing, fencing, tae kwon do...)
- Court (Tennis, shuttlecock sport, badminton, volleyball, squash, Table tennis...)
- Team (Baseball, cricket and football (soccer) are the most popular globally, with baseball being popular in the Americas and in Japan, cricket in the Commonwealth of Nations and football being popular throughout the world. Other examples include: Rugby, ice hockey, field hockey, softball, basketball, American Football...)

Achievement

- Target (Archery, shooting ...)
- Display (Gymnastics, bodybuilding, equestrianism, diving...)
- Strength (Weight-lifting, triple jump, shot put ...)

Sports that fall into multiple categories

- Biathlon
- Curling
- Paintball

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is defined as "conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants, including a sense of fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, a striving spirit, and grace in losing." It is interesting that the motivation for sport is often an elusive element. For example, beginners in sailing are often told that dinghy racing is a good means to sharpen the learner's sailing skills. However, it often emerges that skills are honed to increase racing performance and achievements in competition, rather than the converse. Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice, that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game," and the Modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing . . . is not winning but taking part” are typical expressions of this sentiment. But often the pressures of competition (See the related article, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." or an obsession with individual achievement - as well as the intrusion of technology - can all work against enjoyment and fair play by participants. People responsible for leisure activities often seek recognition and respectability as sports by joining sports federations such as the IOC, or by forming their own regulatory body. In this way sports evolve from leisure activity to more formal sports: relatively recent newcomers are BMX cycling, snowboarding, wrestling, etc. Some of these activities have been popular but uncodified pursuits in various forms for different lengths of time. Indeed, the formal regulation of sport is a relatively modern and increasing development. Sportsmanship, within any given game, is how each competitor acts before, during, and after the competition. Not only is it important to have good sportsmanship if one wins, but also if one loses. For example, in football it is considered sportsmanlike to kick the ball out of play to allow treatment for an injured player on the other side. Reciprocally, the other team is expected to return the ball from the throw-in. Compare Sportsmanship with Gamesmanship. Violence in sports involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration.

Professionalism and the regulation of sport

The entertainment aspect of sport, together with the spread of mass media and increased leisure time, has led to professionalism in sport. This has resulted in some conflict, where the paycheck can be seen as more important than recreational aspects: or where the sport is changed simply to make it more profitable and popular therefore losing some of the traditions valued by some. The entertainment aspect also means that sportsmen and women are often elevated to celebrity status, or in some cases near-god-like. Today the consensus is that David Beckham (England and Real Madrid Footballer) is the most famous sportsman in the world, with a fanatical following particularly in Asia where statues have been erected of his likeness. The successful execution of a sport requires the consensus agreement of the participants on a set of rules for fair competition. This has led to the control of each sport through a regulatory body to define what methods of competition are acceptable and what are considered cheating.

Sport and politics

There have been many dilemmas for sports where a difficult political context is in place. When apartheid was the official policy in South Africa, many sportspeople adopted the conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects. The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin was an illustration, perhaps best recognised in retrospect, where an ideology was developing which used the event to strengthen its spread through propaganda. In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were connected with cultural nationalism. Even until the mid 20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other sports administered by the GAA if s/he played or supported Football, or other games seen to be of British origin. Until recently the GAA continued to ban the playing of soccer and Rugby union at Gaelic venues under the controversial Rule 42, although Gaelic games are frequently played on soccer and rugby arenas, particularly outside of Ireland. Until recently, under Rule 21, the GAA also banned members of the British security forces and members of the RUC, now reconstituted as the PSNI, from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the eventual removal of the ban. Nationalism in general is often evident in the pursuit of sport, or in its reporting: people compete in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan view. These trends are seen by some as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sport being carried on for its own sake, for the enjoyment of its participants. See also: List of countries by national sport

Art and sport

Sport has many affinities with art. Ice skating and Tai chi, for example, are sports that come close to artistic spectacles in themselves: to watch these activities comes close to the experience of spectating at a ballet. Similarly, there are other activities that have elements of sport and art in their execution, such as performance art, artistic gymnastics, Bodybuilding, Parkour, Yoga, dressage, etc. The fact that art is so close to sport in some situations is probably related to the nature of sport. The definition of "sport" above put forward the idea of an activity pursued not just for the usual purposes, for example, running not simply to get places, but running for its own sake, running as well as we can. This is similar to a common view of aesthetic value, which is seen as something over and above the strictly functional value coming from an object's normal use. So an aesthetically pleasing car is one which doesn't just get from A to B, but which impresses us with its grace, poise, and charisma. In the same way, a sporting performance such as jumping doesn't just impress us as being an effective way to avoid obstacles or to get across streams. It impresses us because of the ability, skill, and style which is shown. Art and sport were probably more clearly linked at the time of Ancient Greece, when gymnastics and calisthenics invoked admiration and aesthetic appreciation for the physical build, prowess and 'arete' displayed by participants. The modern term 'art' as skill, is related to this ancient Greek term 'arete'. The closeness of art and sport in these times was revealed by the nature of the Olympic Games which, as we have seen, were celebrations of both sporting and artistic achievements, poetry, sculpture and architecture.

The terms 'sport' and 'sports'

In Commonwealth English, sporting activities are commonly denoted by the collective noun "sport". In American English, "sports" is more common for this usage. In all English dialects, "sports" is the term used for more than one specific sport. For example, "football and swimming are my favourite sports" would sound natural to all English speakers, whereas "I enjoy sport" would sound less natural than "I enjoy sports" to many North Americans.

External links

- [http://www.sports.ie Sports.ie - Live Sports news and RSS feeds]
- [http://www.thefamousquotations.com/subjects/sports-and-competition-quotations.htm Sports Quotations]
- [http://www.newworldsports.net New World Sports - Sports Commentary]
- [http://www.pressboxnews.com/ Sports News Aggregator]
- [http://dmoz.org/Sports/ Open Directory Project - Sports]
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Sports/ Yahoo! - Sports]
- [http://news.google.com/news?topic=s Google - Sports News]
- [http://uk.newsbot.msn.com/s/?id=2 MSN - Sports News] (UK)
- [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index&cid=755 Yahoo! - Sports News]
- [http://www.sportsfilter.com SportsFilter - Community Weblog]
- [http://www.kungfufollowme.com/ Chinese Kung Fu: Tai Chi And Shaolin Kung Fu]
- [http://www.sports-facts.com/ Sports-Facts.Com!] Category:Games
- Category:Technology ko:스포츠 ms:Sukan ja:スポーツ simple:Sport th:กีฬา

Handstand

A handstand is the act of standing erect, but upside down, with one's hands on the ground and feet in the air. Hands are shoulder-width apart. The basic handstand has legs extended vertically with no knee bend, but there are numerous variations. Performing a handstand requires good upper body strength. In gymnastics, it is a fundamental move, and must be mastered in order to learn the multitude of skills based on it, as some variation of the handstand is performed on every gymnastic apparatus, and many tumbling skills pass through a handstand position during their execution. In yoga, the handstand is known as Adho Mukha Vrksasana (downward-facing tree pose). The handstand dives are also one of the main categories of competitive platform diving, in which the diver begins from a handstand position on the board. Additionally, handstands are often performed in breakdancing, fitness competitions, circus acrobatics, cheerleading, and martial arts.

Posture

A basic straight-leg static vertical handstand consists of five key points of posture. 1. Locked Arms - Hands placed flat on the ground shoulder-width apart, elbows locked, maintaining straight arms. 2. Tucked Head - The face is not pointed towards the ground, but straight forward, as if one were upright. 3. Hollowed Hips - Prevents the spine from curving by thrusting the hips over one's center of gravity. If performed lying flat on the ground, this posture would maintain contact between the small of the back and the ground. 4. Locked Legs - Knees locked, legs kept together and straight. 5. Pointed Toes - Feet kept locked together, with toes pointed straight upwards and being maintained as the topmost point of the position. Handstand variations, or handstands utilizing apparati, will require a break from these standard points of posture in order to maintain balance.

Variations

Popular variations of the handstand include positions with the legs extended in a side or front split, legs in a front split with knees bent ("stag split"), with back extremely arched, legs slightly bent and toes touching back of head, and one-handed. Handstand push-ups, in which raises and lowers the body while holding a handstand, are a test of uppper-body strength. Swimmers sometimes do handstands underwater, by rolling forward, putting the hands on the bottom of the pool, and lifting the feet out of the water. Underwater handstands may be a game or contest between swimmers to see who can maintain the handstand the longest. While learning the handstand, it is most common to hold the pose against a wall or other surface for support and balance.

External links

- [http://www.yoga-vidya.de/Asana_Uebungsplaene/Handstand.html Vrikshasana - Der Handstand] - (German) pictures to guide you to performing a handstand Category:Gymnastics Category:Human body positions

Hellenic Civilization

Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. It refers not only to the geographical peninsula of modern Greece, but also to areas of Hellenic culture that were settled in ancient times by Greeks: Cyprus, the Aegean coast of Turkey (then known as Ionia), Sicily and southern Italy (known as Magna Graecia), and the scattered Greek settlements on the coasts of what are now Albania, Bulgaria, Egypt, Libya, southern France, southern Spain, Catalonia, Georgia, Romania, and Ukraine. There are no fixed or universally agreed upon dates for the beginning or the end of the Ancient Greek period. In common usage it refers to all Greek history before the Roman Empire, but historians use the term more precisely. Some writers include the periods of the Greek-speaking Mycenaean civilization that collapsed about 1100 BC, though most would argue that the influential Minoan was so different from later Greek cultures that it should be classed separately. In the modern Greek school-books, "ancient times" is a period of about 1000 years (from the catastrophe of Mycenae until the conquest of the country by the Romans) that is divided in four periods, based on styles of art as much as culture and politics. The historical line starts with Greek Dark Ages (1100–800 BC). In this period artists use geometrical schemes such as squares, circles, lines to decorate amphoras and other pottery. The archaic period (800–500 BC) represents those years when the artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, hieratic poses with the dreamlike "archaic smile". In the classical years (500–323 BC) artists perfected the style that since has been taken as exemplary: "classical", such as the (Parthenon). In the Hellenistic years that followed the conquests of Alexander (323–146 BC), also known as Alexandrian, aspects of Hellenic civilization expanded to Egypt and Bactria. Traditionally, the Ancient Greek period was taken to begin with the date of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC, but many historians now extend the term back to about 1000 BC. The traditional date for the end of the Ancient Greek period is the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC (The following period is classed Hellenistic) or the integration of Greece into the Roman Republic in 146 BC. These dates are historians' conventions and some writers treat the Ancient Greek civilization as a continuum running until the advent of Christianity in the third century AD. Ancient Greece is considered by most historians to be the foundational culture of Western Civilization. Greek culture was a powerful influence in the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of Europe. Ancient Greek civilization has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, art and architecture of the modern world, particularly during the Renaissance in Western Europe and again during various neo-Classical revivals in 18th and 19th century Europe and The Americas.

Origins

The Americas The Greeks are believed to have migrated southward into the Greek peninsula in several waves beginning in the late 3rd millennium BC, the last being the Dorian invasion. The period from 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is described in History of Mycenaean Greece known for the reign of King Agamemnon and the wars against Troy as narrated in the epics of Homer. The period from 1100 BC to the 8th century BC is a "dark age" from which no primary texts survive, and only scant archaeological evidence remains. Secondary and tertiary texts such as Herodotus' Histories, Pausanias' Description of Greece, Diodorus' Bibliotheca and Jerome's Chronicon, contain brief chronologies and king lists for this period. The history of Ancient Greece is often taken to end with the reign of Alexander the Great, who died in 323 BC. Subsequent events are described in Hellenistic Greece. Any history of Ancient Greece requires a cautionary note on sources. Those Greek historians and political writers whose works have survived, notably Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato and Aristotle, were mostly either Athenian or pro-Athenian. That is why we know far more about the history and politics of Athens than of any other city, and why we know almost nothing about some cities' histories. These writers, furthermore, concentrate almost wholly on political, military and diplomatic history, and ignore economic and social history. All histories of Ancient Greece have to contend with these limits in their sources.

The rise of Hellas

In the 8th century BC Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization. Literacy had been lost and the Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet to Greek and from about 800 BC written records begin to appear. Greece was divided into many small self-governing communities, a pattern dictated by Greek geography, where every island, valley and plain is cut off from its neighbors by the sea or mountain ranges. 800 BC. It was the greatest architectural statement of 5th century BC Greece]] As Greece recovered economically, its population grew beyond the capacity of its limited arable land, and from about 750 BC the Greeks began 250 years of expansion, settling colonies in all directions. To the east, the Aegean coast of Asia Minor was colonized first, followed by Cyprus and the coasts of Thrace, the Sea of Marmara and south coast of the Black Sea. Eventually Greek colonization reached as far north-east as present day Ukraine. To the west the coasts of Albania, Sicily and southern Italy were settled, followed by the south coast of France, Corsica, and even northeastern Spain. Greek colonies were also founded in Egypt and Libya. Modern Syracuse, Naples, Marseille and Istanbul had their beginnings as the Greek colonies Syracusa, Neapolis, Massilia and Byzantium. By the 6th century BC Hellas had become a cultural and linguistic area much larger than the geographical area of Greece. Greek colonies were not politically controlled by their founding cities, although they often retained religious and commercial links with them. The Greeks both at home and abroad organised themselves into independent communities, and the city (polis) became the basic unit of Greek government. First Crete, then in short order the other Greek city-states, adopted the formal practice of pederasty. From its ritual roots in Indo-European prehistory, the practice was elevated to prominence, influencing pedagogy, warfare and social life, and becoming a central feature of Hellenic culture for the next thousand years.

Social and political conflict

The Greek cities were originally monarchies, although many of them were very small and the term "King" (basileus) for their rulers is misleadingly grand. In a country always short of farmland, power rested with a small class of landowners, who formed a warrior aristocracy fighting frequent petty inter-city wars over land and rapidly ousting the monarchy. About this time the rise of a mercantile class (shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC) introduced class conflict into the larger cities. From 650 BC onwards, the aristocracies had to fight not to be overthrown and replaced by populist leaders called tyrants (tyrranoi), a word which did not necessarily have the modern meaning of oppressive dictators. By the 6th century BC several cities had emerged as dominant in Greek affairs: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes. Each of them had brought the surrounding rural areas and smaller towns under their control, and Athens and Corinth had become major maritime and mercantile powers as well. Athens and Sparta developed a rivalry that dominated Greek politics for generations. In Sparta, the landed aristocracy retained their power, and the constitution of Lycurgus (about 650 BC) entrenched their power and gave Sparta a permanent militarist regime under a dual monarchy. Sparta dominated the other cities of the Peloponnese, with the sole exceptions of Argus and Achaia. In Athens, by contrast, the monarchy was abolished in 683 BC, and reforms of Solon established a moderate system of aristocratic government. The aristocrats were followed by the tyranny of Pisistratus and his sons, who made the city a great naval and commercial power. When the Pisistratids were overthrown, Cleisthenes established the world's first democracy (500 BC), with power being held by an assembly of all the male citizens. But it must be remembered that only a minority of the male inhabitants were citizens, excluding slaves, freedmen and non-Athenians.

The Persian Wars

In Ionia (the modern Aegean coast of Turkey) the Greek cities, which included great centres such as Miletus and Halicarnassus, were unable to maintain their independence and came under the rule of the Persian Empire in the mid 6th century BC. In 499 BC the Greeks rose in the Ionian Revolt, and Athens and some other Greek cities went to their aid. In 490 BC the Persian Great King, Darius I, having suppressed the Ionian cities, sent a fleet to punish the Greeks. The Persians landed in Attica, but were defeated at the Battle of Marathon by a Greek army led by the Athenian general Miltiades. The burial mound of the Athenian dead can still be seen at Marathon. Ten years later Darius's successor, Xerxes I, sent a much more powerful force by land. After being delayed by the Spartan King Leonidas I at Thermopylae, Xerxes advanced into Attica, where he captured and burned Athens. But the Athenians had evacuated the city by sea, and under Themistocles they defeated the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis. A year later, the Greeks, under the Spartan Pausanius, defeated the Persian army at Plataea. The Athenian fleet then turned to chasing the Persians out of the Aegean Sea, and in 478 BC they captured Byzantium. In the course of doing so Athens enrolled all the island states and some mainland allies into an alliance, called the Delian League because its treasury was kept on the sacred island of Delos. The Spartans, although they had taken part in the war, withdrew into isolation after it, allowing Athens to establish unchallenged naval and commercial power.

The dominance of Athens

Delos The Persian Wars ushered in a century of Athenian dominance of Greek affairs. Athens was the unchallenged master of the sea, and also the leading commercial power, although Corinth remained a serious rival. The leading statesman of this time was Pericles, who used the tribute paid by the members of the Delian League to build the Parthenon and other great monuments of classical Athens. By the mid 5th century the League had become an Athenian Empire, symbolised by the transfer of the League's treasury from Delos to the Parthenon in 454 BC. The wealth of Athens attracted talented people from all over Greece, and also created a wealthy leisured class who became patrons of the arts. The Athenian state also sponsored learning and the arts, particularly architecture. Athens became the centre of Greek literature, philosophy (see Greek philosophy) and the arts (see Greek theatre). Some of the greatest names of Western cultural and intellectual history lived in Athens during this period: the dramatists Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides, and Sophocles, the philosophers Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, the historians Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon, the poet Simonides and the sculptor Pheidias. The city became, in Pericles's words, "the school of Hellas." The other Greek states at first accepted Athenian leadership in the continuing war against the Persians, but after the fall of the conservative politician Cimon in 461 BC, Athens became an increasingly open imperialist power. After the Greek victory at the Battle of the Eurymedon in 466 BC, the Persians were no longer a threat, and some states, such as Naxos, tried to secede from the League, but were forced to submit. The new Athenian leaders, Pericles and Ephialtes, let relations between Athens and Sparta deteriorate, and in 458 BC war broke out. After some years of inconclusive war a 30-year peace was signed between the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League (Sparta and her allies). This coincided with the last battle between the Greeks and the Persians, a sea battle off Salamis in Cyprus, followed by the Peace of Callias (450 BC) between the Greeks and Persians.

The Peloponnesian War

450 BC In 431 BC war broke out again between Athens and Sparta and its allies. The proximate cause was a dispute between Corinth and one of its colonies, Corcyra (modern-day Corfu), in which Athens intervened. The obviate cause was the growing resentment of Sparta and its allies at the dominance of Athens over Greek affairs. The war lasted 27 years, partly because Athens (a naval power) and Sparta (a land-based military power) found it difficult to come to grips with each other. Sparta's initial strategy was to invade Attica, but the Athenians were able to retreat behind their walls. An outbreak of plague in the city during the siege caused heavy losses, including Pericles. At the same time the Athenian fleet landed troops in the Peloponnese, winning battles at Naupactus (429 BC) and Pylos (425 BC). But these tactics could bring neither side a decisive victory. After several years of inconclusive campaigning, the moderate Athenian leader Nicias concluded the Peace of Nicias (421 BC). In 418 BC, however, hostility between Sparta and the Athenian ally Argos led to a resumption of fighting. At Mantinea Sparta defeated the combined armies of Athens and her allies. The resumption of fighting brought the war party, led by Alcibiades, back to power in Athens. In 415 BC Alcibiades persuaded the Athenian Assembly to launch a major expedition against Syracuse, a Peloponnesian ally in Sicily. Though Nicias was a skeptic about the Sicilian Expedition he was appointed along Alcibiades to lead the expedition. Due to accusations against him, Alcibiades fled to Sparta where he persuaded Sparta to send aid to Syracuse. As a result, the expedition was a complete disaster and the whole expeditionary force was lost. Nicias was executed by his captors. Sparta had now built a fleet to challenge Athenian naval supremacy, and had found a brilliant military leader in Lysander, who seized the strategic initiative by occupying the Hellespont, the source of Athens' grain imports. Threatened with starvation, Athens sent its last remaining fleet to confront Lysander, who decisively defeated them at Aegospotami (405 BC). The loss of her fleet threatened Athens with bankruptcy. In 404 BC Athens sued for peace, and Sparta dictated a predictably stern settlement: Athens lost her city walls, her fleet, and all of her overseas possessions. The anti-democratic party took power in Athens with Spartan support.

Spartan and Theban dominance

The end of the Peloponnesian War left Sparta the master of Greece, but the narrow outlook of the Spartan warrior elite did not suit them to this role. Within a few years the democratic party regained power in Athens and other cities. In 395 BC the Spartan rulers removed Lysander from office, and Sparta lost her naval supremacy. Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Corinth, the latter two formerly Spartan allies, challenged Spartan dominance in the Corinthian War, which ended inconclusively in 387 BC. That same year Sparta shocked Greek opinion by concluding the Treaty of Antalcidas with Persia by which they surrendered the Greek cities of Ionia and Cyprus, thus reversing a hundred years of Greek victories against Persia. Sparta then tried to further weaken the power of Thebes, which led to a war in which Thebes allied herself with the old enemy, Athens. The Theban generals Epaminondas and Pelopidas won a decisive victory at Leuctra (371 BC). The result of this battle was the end of Spartan supremacy and the establishment of Theban dominance, but Athens also recovered much of her former power. The supremacy of Thebes was short-lived. With the death of Epaminondas at Mantinea (362 BC) the city lost its greatest leader, and his successors blundered into an unsuccessful ten-year war with Phocis. In 346 BC the Thebans appealed to Philip II of Macedon to help them against the Phocians, thus drawing Macedon into Greek affairs for the first time.

The rise of Macedon

The Kingdom of Macedon was formed in the 7th century BC out of northern Greek tribes. They played little part in Greek politics before the beginning of the 4th century, but Philip was an ambitious man who had been educated in Thebes and wanted to play a larger role. In particular, he wanted to be accepted as the new leader of Greece in recovering the freedom of the Greek cities of Asia from Persian rule. By seizing the Greek cities of Amphipolis, Methone and Potidaea, he gained control of the gold and silver mines of Macedonia. This gave him the resources to realize his ambitions. Philip established Macedonian dominance over Thessaly (352 BC) and Thrace, and by 348 BC he controlled everything north of Thermopylae. He used his great wealth to bribe Greek politicians and create a "Macedonian party" in every Greek city. His intervention in the war between Thebes and Phocis brought him recognition as a Greek leader, and gave him his opportunity to become a power in Greek affairs. But despite his sincere admiration for Athens, the Athenian leader Demosthenes, in a series of famous speeches (philippics) roused the Greek cities to resist his advance. In 339 BC Thebes, Athens, Sparta and other Greek states formed an alliance to resist Philip and expel him from the Greek cities he had occupied in the north. But Philip struck first, advancing into Greece and defeating the Greek cities at Chaeronea in 338 BC. This traditionally marks the end of the era of the Greek city-state as an independent political unit, although in fact Athens and other cities survived as independent states until Roman times. Philip tried to win over Athens by flattery and gifts, but did not really succeed. He organised the cities into the League of Corinth, and announced that he would lead an invasion of Persia to liberate the Greek cities and avenge the Persian invasions of the previous century. But before he could do so he was assassinated (336 BC).

The conquests of Alexander

Philip was succeeded by his 20-year-old son Alexander, who immediately set out to carry out his father's plans. He travelled to Corinth where the assembled Greek cities recognised him as leader of the Greeks, then set off north to assemble his forces. The army with which he invaded the Persian Empire was basically Macedonian, but many idealists from the Greek cities also enlisted. But while Alexander was campaigning in Thrace, he heard that the Greek cities had rebelled. He swept south again, captured Thebes, and razed the city to the ground as a warning to the Greek cities that his power could no longer be resisted. In 334 BC Alexander crossed into Asia, and defeated the Persians at the river Granicus. This gave him control of the Ionian coast, and he made a triumphal procession through the liberated Greek cities. After settling affairs in Anatolia, he advanced south through Cilicia into Syria, where he defeated Darius III at Issus (333 BC). He then advanced through Phoenicia to Egypt, which he captured with little resistance, the Egyptians welcoming him as a liberator from Persian oppression. Darius was now ready to make peace and Alexander could have returned home in triumph, but he was determined to conquer Persia and make himself the ruler of the world. He advanced north-east through Syria and Mesopotamia, and defeated Darius again at Gaugamela (331 BC). Darius fled and was killed by his own followers, and Alexander found himself the master of the Persian Empire, occupying Susa and Persepolis without resistance. Persepolis (as an eagle) being offered wine by Ganymede. A child Eros is in the foreground.]] Meanwhile the Greek cities were making renewed efforts to escape from Macedonian control. At Megalopolis in 331 BC, Alexander's regent Antipater defeated the Spartans, who had refused to join the Corinthian League or recognise Macedonian supremacy. Alexander pressed on, advancing through what are now Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Indus river valley, and by 326 BC he had reached Punjab. He might well have advanced down the Ganges to Bengal had not his army, convinced they were at the end of the world, refused to go any further. Alexander reluctantly turned back, and died of a fever in Babylon in 323 BC. Alexander's empire broke up soon after his death, but his conquests permanently changed the Greek world. Thousands of Greeks travelled with him or after him to settle in the new Greek cities he had founded as he advanced, the most important being Alexandria in Egypt. Greek-speaking kingdoms in Egypt, Syria, Iran and Bactria were established. The Hellenistic age had begun.

Artistic gymnastics

Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which competitors perform short routines (ranging from approximately 30 to 90 seconds) on different apparatus, obviously less for vaulting (see lists below). They are judged out of a maximum of 10.00 points depending on the fulfilment of certain difficulty requirements and perfection of the performance of movements. The scoring of gymnastics routines is regulated in the Code of Points. (For an in-depth discussion of how gymnastics scoring works, see [http://slate.msn.com/id/2105450/ this Slate.com article].) In elite competition, each competitor will compete once on each apparatus; their scores are recorded and points tallied. Medals are then awarded based on the highest team and individual scores. The next day, the best performers on each apparatus compete for medals on the apparatus on which they have qualified. Artistic gymnastics is one of the most popular spectator sports at the Summer Olympic Games, although it is not a particularly popular participant sport, as performing at even a basic level requires very high levels of fitness and skill which take more training than many people are prepared to commit. However, the discipline of general gymnastics is geared more towards participation for fun and fitness, rather than competition, and attracts a respectable number of participants including retired gymnasts. The apparatus used in Men's Artistic Gymnastics (MAG), and Women's Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) differ, with the unique men's apparatus particularly emphasising strength requirements and the women's apparatus emphasising artistry, balance and agility. In the past, WAG was dominated by girls in their early teens, as their small size and light weight made landings softer and many movements easier. Minimum age requirements, caused by concerns about competitor welfare and audience skepticism of the relevance of a contest dominated by prepubertal girls, have changed this somewhat, but elite female gymnasts are generally in their middle to late teenage years and of below-average height and weight. Male gymnasts, because of the different emphases of their apparatus, reach their peak in their early twenties. The world's best gymnasts have traditionally come from Romania and The Former Soviet Union. The United States is usually considered a "second power" in the sport, despite having produced some famous gymnasts, especially in the women's category. However, in recent years the U.S team has achieved greater prestige, with the 1996 Olympic team victory of the Magnificent Seven in Atlanta, and the 2003 World Team victory in Anaheim. China, Spain, Brazil and Australia are in a similar situation. WAG apparatus include (in olympic order):
- Vault
- Uneven bars
- Balance beam
- Floor MAG apparatus include (in olympic order):
- Floor Exercise
- Pommel Horse
- Still Rings
- Vault
- Parallel Bars or P-Bars
- Horizontal bar or High Bar Equipment and uniforms:
- Grips
- Mats
- Uniform

External References

- Australia
- [http://www.promo.gymnastics.org.au/ Gymnastics Australia]
- Canada
- [http://www.gymcan.org/content/index.php?lang=en Gymnastics Canada]
- Japan
- [http://www.jpn-gym.or.jp/english/ Japan Gymnastic Association]
- UK
- [http://www.british-gymnastics.org/ Brittish Gymnastics]
- USA
- [http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/ USA Gymnastics]
- [http://www.ncaasports.com/gymnastics/womens NCAA Women's College Gymnastics]
- [http://www.ncaasports.com/gymnastics/mens MCAA Men's College Gymnastics] Category:Gymnastics ja:体操競技

Rhythmic gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which single competitors or five-person teams manipulate five types of apparatus: Ball, Clubs, Hoop, Ribbon, and Rope. The victor is the participant who earns the most points, as awarded by a panel of judges, for leaps, balances, pivots, flexibility, apparatus handling and artistic effect. The sport's governing body, the FIG (Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique), changed the [http://cop2005.nucurve.com/ Code of Points] in 2001, 2003 and 2005 to emphasize technical elements and reduce the subjectivity of judging. Before 2001, judging was on a scale of 10 like that of Artistic Gymnastics. It was changed to a 30-point scale in 2003 and most recently to 20. There are three values adding up to be the final points, including technical value, artistic value and executive value. International competitions are split between Juniors, girls under 16; and Seniors, for girls 16 and over. Gymnasts typically start training at a very young age and those at their peak are typically in their late teens or early twenties. The largest events in the sport are the Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships and others like the Corbeil-Essonnes Tournament. As of 2005, rhythmic gymnastics is largely a sport for women and girls, but a growing number of men participate. The Japanese's version of Men's rhythmic gymnastics includes tumbling and is performed on a spring floor. Points are awarded based a 10-point scale that measures the level of difficulty of the tumbling and apparatus handling. Individuals compete in four types of apparatus: rope, stick, double rings and clubs. Groups do not use any apparatus. Japan hosted the first men's world championships in 2003, drawing teams from Canada, Korea, Malaysia, and the United States.

History

Rhythmic gymnastics grew out of the 19th-century Swedish system of free exercise developed by Peter Henry Ling, who promoted "aesthetic gymnastics," in which students expressed their feelings and emotions through bodily movement. This idea was extended by Catherine E. Beecher, who founded the Western Female Institute in Ohio, USA, in 1837. In Beecher's gymnastics program, called grace without dancing, the young women exercised to music, moving from simple calisthenics to more strenuous activities. During the 1880s, Emil Dalcroze of Switzerland developed eurhythmics, a form of physical training for musicians and dancers. George Demeny of France created exercises to music that were designed to promote grace of movement, muscular flexibility, and good posture. All of these styles were combined around 1900 into the Swedish school of rhythmic gymnastics, which would later add dance elements from Finland. Around this time, Ernest Idla of Estonia established a degree of difficulty for each movement. Estonia Rhythmic gymnastics as a sport began in the 1940s in the former Soviet Union. It was there that for the first time, the spirit of sports was combined with the sensuous art of classical ballet. (To Isadora Duncan, we credit the famous rebellion against the dogma of classical ballet and the shift toward the creation of a new discipline that would blend art and sport.) The FIG recognized this discipline in 1961, first as "modern gymnastics," then as "rhythmic sports gymnastics," and finally as rhythmic gymnastics. The first World Championships for individual gymnasts took place in 1963 in Budapest, Hungary. Groups were introduced at the same level in 1967 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Rhythmic gymnastics was added to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with an Individual All Around competition. However, many federations from the eastern european countries were forced to boycott. The Canadian Lori Fung was the first rhythmic gymnast to earn an Olympic medal.

External links

- [http://www.fig-gymnastics.com Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique] in English/en Français
- [http://rsg.net Rhythmic Gymnastics] in English/auf Deutsch
- Category:Olympic sports category:gymnastics ja:新体操

Sports acrobatics

Sports acrobatics, or sport acrobatics, is a fairly recently developed sport which can be competed in pairs or groups on the floor, or individually on a tumble run. Combinations consist of women's, men's and mixed pairs; women's trios and men's groups. They perform a floor routine to music consisting of balance and tempo elements, as well as individual acrobatics elements. The tumbling consists of three series of acrobatic elements performed on the run, including somersaults and flic flacs. Category:Gymnastics

Trampolining

Trampolining is a competitive sport in which gymnasts perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. These can include simple jumps in the pike, tuck or straddle position to more complex combinations of forward or backward somersaults and twists. There are two related competitive rebound sports, Synchronized trampoline and Double Mini-trampoline.

Origins

In the early 1930s, George Nissen observed trapeze artistes performing tricks when bouncing off the safety net. He made the first modern trampoline in his garage to reproduce this on a smaller scale and used it to help with his diving and tumbling activities. He formed a company to build trampolines for sale and used a variant of the Spanish word trampolin (diving board) as a trademark. He used the trampoline to entertain audiences and also let them participate in his demonstrations as part of his marketing strategy. Thus were the beginnings of a new sport. The nature of the activity is natural, easy and rhythmical, and the power of the bed enables participants to have fun and excitement by jumping higher than they would normally be able and to perform many skills landing on the feet, seat, front and back and also to take off from those varied landing positions. In the USA, trampolining was quickly introduced into school physical education programmes and was also used in private entertainment centres. However, following a number of injuries and law suits caused by insufficient supervision and inadequate training, trampolining is now mostly conducted in specialist gyms with certified trainers. There are also many privately owned backyard trampolines which are the source of most trampolining injuries. Elsewhere in the world the sport was most strongly adopted in Europe and former Soviet Union. Since trampolining became an Olympic sport in 2000, many more countries have started developing programs and China is already producing very competitive athletes.

Trampolining Competitions

Individual Trampoline

The first individual trampolining competitions were held in colleges and schools in the USA and then in Europe, with the first World Championships being held in London in 1964. Kurt Baechler of Switzerland and Ted Blake of England were the European pioneers and the first ever televised National Championships were in England in 1958. At first there was no generally accepted format for trampoline competitions but this became standardized as the sport became more organized and international with the setting up of the International Trampoline Federation. Soon after the first World Championships, the inaugural meeting of prominent trampolinists was held in Frankfurt to explore the formation of an International Trampoline Federation. In 1965 in Twickenham, the Federation was formally recognised as the International Governing Body for the sport. In 1969 the first European Championship was held in Paris and Paul Luxon of London was the winner at the age of 18. The ladies winner was Ute Czech from Germany. From that time onwards, European and World Championships have taken place in alternate years - the European in the odd and the World in the even. There is also a World Cup circuit of international competitions which involves three competitions every year. There are also international matches between teams from several countries. At first the Americans dominated the World Championships, but due to many law suits over trampolining, trampolining was no longer allowed in most educational institutions and the high level of participation and performance by Americans went down. The Europeans began to dominate the sport and for a number of years, athletes from the former Soviet Union have almost completely dominated the sport. Germany, France have been the other strong nations in trampolining and the first four ranking places in World Trampolining used to go to USSR, France, Britain and Germany. In recent years, Canada has also produced Olympic medalists and World champions due in large part to contributions made to the sport by Dave Ross. Ross pioneered the sport in Canada almost 30 years ago and consistently produces Olympic and World Cup athletes.

Format of Competitions

The International Trampolining Federation became part of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique in 1999. FIG is now the international governing body for the sport. International competitions are run under the rules of FIG. Individual national gymnastics organizations can make local variations to the rules in matters such as the compulsory and optional routines and number of rounds for national and local competitions. As part of the agreement to merge FIT with FIG, individual trampolining was accepted into the Summer Olympic Games for 2000 as an additional gymnastic sport. The currently accepted basic format for individual trampoline competitions usually consists of two or three routines, one of which may involve a compulsory set of skills. The skills consist of various combinations of somersaults and twists performed in various body positions such as the tuck, pike or straight position. The routines are performed on a standard 14 foot by 7 foot regulation sized trampoline with a central marker. Each routine consists of the athlete performing ten different skills. The routine is marked out of 10 by five judges with deductions for incomplete moves, moving too far from the centre mark or poor form. Usually the highest and lowest scores are discarded. Additional points can be added depending on the difficulty of the skills being performed. The degree of difficulty (DD or tariff) is calculated by adding a factor for each quarter turn or somersault. The highest DD usually attempted in competitions is about 16.5. However in 2004 Jason Burnett from Skyriders Trampoline Place in Canada completed a routine with a DD of 18.5. [http://www.playheadproductions.com/routine185.html Here is a video of the routine.]

Synchronized Trampoline

In synchronized trampolining, two athletes perform exactly the same routine of ten skills at the same time on two adjacent trampolines. Each athlete is scored separately by a pair of judges for their form in the same manner as for individual competitions. Additional judges score the pair for synchronicity. Fewer points are deducted for lack of synchronicity if the pair are bouncing at the same height at the same time. The degree of difficulty of the routine is determined in the same way as for individual trampoline routines and the points added to the score.

Double Mini-trampoline

somersault A double mini-trampoline is smaller than a regulation competition trampoline. It has a sloped end and a flat bed. The athletes run up and hurdle on to the sloping end and then jump on to the flat part before dismounting on to a mat. Skills are performed during the jumps or as they dismount. A double mini-trampoline competition consists of two types of pass. In one, the athlete performs one skill in the jump from the sloping end to the flat bed and a second skill as they dismount from the flat bed to the landing mat. In the second, the athlete does a straight jump from the sloping end to the flat bed to gain height, performs one skill landing back on the flat bed and then a second skill as they dismount. These skills are similar to those performed on a regular trampoline except that there is movement laterally along the trampoline. The form and difficulty are judged in a similar manner as for trampolining but there are additional deductions for failing to land cleanly or landing outside a designated area on the mat.

References

- Original material extracted from Bounce 2000 information booklet: David Allen, Brisbane, Queensland Australia.

External link

- [http://www.wvtc.co.uk/history.htm Detailed history of the trampoline and trampolining from the West View Trampolining Club of Preston UK] Category:Olympic sports Category:Individual sports category:gymnastics Trampolining

Summer Olympic Games

.]] The Summer Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event held every four years, organised by the International Olympic Committee. The Olympics are the most prestigious of such events in the world. Olympic victory is widely considered to be the most prestigious achievement in sports. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition which started in 1904. Competitors are entered by a National Olympic Committee (NOC) to represent their country of citizenship. National anthems and flags accompany the medal ceremonies, and tables showing the number of medals won by each country are widely used. In general only recognised nations are represented, but a few non-sovereign countries are allowed to take part. The special case of Taiwan was handled by having it compete as Chinese Taipei, to avoid the issue of Taiwanese independence. Though the most diverse sporting event in the world, the Olympics are perhaps not the most popular. The football World Cup attracts more global interest, as measured by the larger television audience.

History of the modern summer Olympics

The early years

The modern Olympic Games were founded in 1894 when Pierre Fredi, Baron de Coubertin sought to promote international understanding through sporting competition. The first games, held in Athens in 1896, attracted just 245 competitors, of whom more than 200 were Greek, and only 14 countries were represented. Nevertheless, no international events of this magnitude had been organised before. Four years later (in 1900) the Paris games attracted more than four times as many athletes, including 11 women, who were allowed to compete for the first time, in croquet and tennis. The Games were integrated with the Paris World's fair and lasted over 5 months. It is still disputed which events exactly were Olympic, since few or maybe even none of the events were advertised as such at the time. Numbers declined again for the 1904 Games in St. Louis, USA, due in part to the lengthy transatlantic boat trip required of the European competitors, and the integration with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's fair, which again spread the event out over an extended period. In contrast with Paris 1900, the word Olympic was abused for many contests, such as those for school boys or for Irish-Americans. There followed a smaller games in Athens in 1906, the first of an alternating series of games to be held in Athens. As it also turned out to be the last, the reason for the games is now sought in the "tenth birthday" of the games. These games are not currently recognised as being Olympic Games by the IOC, though most historians do see them as such. Anyway, they certainly positively contributed to the success of future games after the less successful 1900 and 1904 Games. The 1908 London Games saw numbers rise again, as well as the first running of the marathon over its now-standard distance of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). This distance was chosen to ensure that the race finished in front of the box occupied by the British royal family. The marathon had been 40 km for the first games in 1896, but was subsequently varied by up to 2 km due to local conditions such as street and stadium layout. At the six Olympic games between 1900 and 1920, the marathon was raced over six different distances. At the end of the 1908 marathon the Italian runner Dorando Pietri was first to enter the stadium, but he was clearly in distress, and collapsed of exhaustion before he could complete the event. He was helped over the finish line by concerned race officials, but later he was disqualified and the gold medal was awarded to John Hayes, who had trailed him by around 30 seconds. The Games continued to grow, attracting 2,500 competitors to Stockholm in 1912, including the great all-rounder Jim Thorpe, who won both the decathlon and pentathlon. Thorpe had previously played a few games of baseball for a fee, and saw his medals stripped for this breach of amateurism. They were reinstated in 1983, 30 years after his death. The scheduled Berlin Games of 1916 were cancelled following the onset of World War I.

The interwar era

The 1920 Antwerp games in war-ravaged Belgium were a subdued affair, but again drew a record number of competitors. This record only stood until 1924, when the Paris Games would involve 3,000 competitors, the greatest of whom was Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi. "The Flying Finn", won three team gold medals and the individual 1,500 and 5,000 metre runs, the latter two on the same day. The 1928 Amsterdam games were notable for being the first games which allowed females to compete at track & field athletics, and benefitted greatly from the general prosperity of the times alongside the first appearance of sponsorship of the games, from Coca-Cola. This was in stark contrast to 1932 when the Los Angeles games were affected by the Great Depression, which contributed to the fewest competitors since the St. Louis games. The 1936 Berlin Games were seen by the German government as a golden opportunity to promote their ideology. The ruling Nazi Party commissioned film-maker Leni Riefenstahl to film the games. The result, Olympia, was a masterpiece, despite Hitler's theories of Aryan racial superiority being repeatedly shown up by non-Aryan athletes. In particular, the black sprinter and long jumper Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals. The tale of Hitler snubbing Owens at the ensuing medal ceremony is a fabrication. The Games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled due to World War II.

After WWII

The first post-war Games were held in 1948 in London, with both Germany and Japan excluded. Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen won four gold medals on the track, emulating Owens' achievement in Berlin. At the 1952 Games in Helsinki, Finland made a legend of an amiable Czech army lieutenant named Emil Zátopek, who was intent on improving on his single gold and silver medals from 1948. Having first won both the 10,000 and 5,000 metre races, he also entered the marathon, despite having never previously raced at that distance. Pacing himself by chatting with the other leaders, Zátopek led from about half way, slowly dropping the remaining contenders to win by two and a half minutes, and completed a trio both of wins and Olympic records. The 1956 Melbourne Games were largely successful, barring a water polo match between Hungary and the Soviet Union, which political tensions caused to end as a pitched battle between the teams. The 1960 Rome Games saw the arrival on the world scene of a young light-heavyweight boxer named Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, who would later throw his gold medal away in disgust after being refused service in a whites only restaurant in his home town. Other performers of note in 1960 included Wilma Rudolph, a gold medallist in the 100 m, 200 m and 4x100 m relay events. The 1964 Games held in Tokyo are notable for heralding the modern age of telecommunications. These games were the first to be broadcast live on television, enabled by the recent advent of communication satellites, and helped introduce the world to colour television. The 1964 Games were thus a turning point in the global visibility and popularity of the Olympics. Performances at the 1968 Mexico City games were affected by the altitude of the host city. No event was affected more than the long jump. In a previously tight competition, US athlete Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 m, destroying the world record and, in the words of fellow competitor and then-reigning champion Lynn Davies, "making the rest of us look silly." Beamon's world record would stand for 23 years. The 1968 Games also saw the introduction of the now-universal Fosbury flop, a technique which won American high jumper Dick Fosbury the gold medal. Politics took centre stage in the medal ceremony for the men's 200 meter dash, where Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a protest gesture on the podium against the segregation in the USA; their political act was condemned within the Olympic Movement, but was praised in the American Civil Rights Movement. Politics again intervened at Munich in 1972, with lethal consequences. An extreme Palestinian terrorist group named Black September invaded the Olympic village and held several members of the Israeli weightlifting team hostage, and killed two of them. The terrorists demanded that Israel release numerous Arab prisoners. When the Israelis refused to make concessions, a tense stand-off ensued while negotiations continued. Eventually the captors, still holding their hostages, were offered safe passage and taken to an airport, where they were ambushed by German security forces. In the firefight that followed, 15 people, including the remaining nine Israeli athletes and all but one of the terrorists, were killed. After much debate, it was decided that the Games would continue, but proceedings were obviously dominated by these events. Some memorable athletic achievements did occur during these Games, notably the winning of a record seven gold medals by United States swimmer Mark Spitz, and the winning of three gold medals by 16-year-old Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut. There was no such tragedy in Montreal in 1976, but bad planning led to the Games' cost far exceeding the budget. For a time, it seemed that the Olympics might no longer be a viable financial proposition. There was also a boycott by African nations to protest a recent tour of apartheid South Africa by a New Zealand rugby side. The Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci won every individual women's gymnastics gold medal with a succession of perfect scores.

1980s and beyond

Following the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, 66 nations, including the United States, Canada, West Germany and Japan, boycotted the 1980 games held in Moscow. Notably, Great Britain and Greece did not withdraw. This contributed to the 1980 Games being a less publicised and less competitive affair, which was dominated by the host country. In 1984 the Soviet Union, and 14 Eastern Europe countires, reciprocated by boycotting the Los Angeles games. These games were perhaps the first games of a new era. The games were again viable, but had become more commercial. Again, the games lost a measure of their appeal by the absence of one of the superpowers. The 1988 Seoul games were sadly tainted when many of the athletes failed mandatory drug tests. Despite splendid drug-free performances by many individuals, the number of people who failed screenings for performance-enhancing chemicals overshadowed the games. The outcry reached its zenith when Ben Johnson, the Canadian winner of the men's 100 m sprint, was discovered to be a steroid user and disqualified. There was an additional scandal in the boxing ring, where Korean fighters were awarded dubious decisions by the judges. This culminated in local light-middleweight Park Si-hun being awarded the gold medal despite being conclusively outboxed in the final by American Roy Jones, Jr.. This decision in particular would lead to a total overhaul of the judging process before the next games. On the bright side, drug testing and regulation authorities were catching up with the cheating that had been endemic in athletics for some years. The 1992 Barcelona Games were cleaner, although not without incident. In evidence there was increased professionalism amongst Olympic athletes, exemplified by U.S. basketball's "Dream Team." 1992 also saw the reintroduction to the Games of several smaller European states which had been incorporated into the USSR since World War II. By then the process of choosing a location for the Games had itself become a commercial concern; allegations of corruption rocked the International Olympic Committee, in particular with reference to Salt Lake City's bid to host the Winter Olympic Games. It was also widely rumoured that the Coca-Cola company was highly influential in the 1996 Games being hosted by their home city of Atlanta, Georgia. In the stadium in 1996, the highlight was 200 m runner Michael Johnson annihilating the world record in front of a home crowd. Canadians savoured Donovan Bailey's record-breaking gold medal run in the 100-metre dash. This was popularly felt to be an appropriate recompense for the previous national disgrace involving Ben Johnson. There were also emotional scenes, such as when Muhammad Ali, clearly affected by Parkinson's disease, lit the Olympic torch and received a replacement medal for the one he had discarded in 1960. The latter event took place not at the boxing ring but in the basketball arena, at the demand of U.S. television. The atmosphere at the Games was marred however when a bomb exploded during the celebration in Centennial Park. (In June 2003, the principal suspect in this bombing, Eric Robert Rudolph, was captured.)

A new millennium

The 2000 Games were held in Sydney, Australia, and showcased individual performances by local favourite Ian Thorpe in the pool, Briton Steve Redgrave who won a rowing Gold medal in an unprecedented fifth consecutive Olympics, and Cathy Freeman, whose triumph in the 400 m united a packed stadium and provided a bridge between white and aboriginal Australians. Eric "the Eel" Moussambani, a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, had a memorably slow 100 m freestyle swim that showed that, even in the commercial world of the twentieth century, some of de Coubertin's original vision still remained. 2004 saw the games return to their birthplace, in Athens, Greece. Many doubted the city would be ready to host the games in time. Also, as these were the first games after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, there were many fears about terrorist attacks taking place. Greece spent at least $7.2 billion on the Games, including $1.5 billion on security alone -- an enormous sum that will take many years, if not decades, to pay off. Yet, none of those fears became a reality. The games were appreciated for their excellent quality, from the point of view of their organisation, hospitality, the excellence of the competition, and the image transmitted worldwide.

The future

The 2008 Summer Olympics are to be held in Beijing, China. The 2012 Summer Olympics are to be held in London, United Kingdom. The 2016 Games and subsequent events are to-be-determined.

List of Olympic sports

- Aquatics - every edition
- Includes swimming, diving, synchronised swimming, and water polo and from 2008 open-air swimming,
- Archery - 1900, 1904, 1908, 1920, and since 1972
- Athletics - every edition
- Includes track & field events - running, throwing, jumping, and composites such as decathlon
- Badminton - since 1992
- Baseball - since 1992, removed from programme after 2008
- Basketball - since 1936
- Basque Pelota - 1900 only
- Boxing - since 1904 excluding 1912. Women's boxing could be introduced in 2012.
- Canoeing - since 1936
- Includes flatwater racing and slalom canoeing
- Cricket - 1900 only
- Croquet - 1900 only
- Cycling - every edition
- Includes road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, and BMX racing
- Equestrian - 1900 and since 1912
- Fencing - every edition
- Football - since 1900 excluding 1932
- Golf - 1900 and 1904
- Gymnastics - every edition
- Includes artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline
- Handball - 1936 and since 1972
- Hockey - 1908, 1920, and since 1928
- Jeu de paume - 1920 only
- Judo - since 1964 excluding 1968
- Lacrosse - 1904 and 1908
- Modern Pentathlon - since 1912
- Polo - 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924, and 1936
- Rackets - 1908 only
- Roque - 1904 only
- Rowing - since 1900
- Rugby - 1900, 1908 Summer Olympics, 1920, and 1924
- Sailing - since 1900 excluding 1904
- Shooting - every edition except 1904 and 1928
- Softball - since 1996, removed from programme after 2008
- Table Tennis - since 1988
- Taekwondo - since 2000
- Tennis - 1896 to 1924 and since 1988
- Triathlon - since 2000
- Tug of war - 1900 to 1920
- Volleyball - since 1964
- Water motorsports - 1908 only
- Weightlifting - 1896, 1904, and since 1920
- Wrestling - every edition except 1900
- Includes Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling

List of modern Summer Olympic Games

- 1896 -

Gymnastics

See also

External link

Sport

History of sport

A classification of sports

Opponent

Achievement

Sports that fall into multiple categories

Sportsmanship

Professionalism and the regulation of sport

Sport and politics

Art and sport

The terms 'sport' and 'sports'

Recommended reading

See also

External links

Handstand

Posture

Variations

External links

Hellenic Civilization

Origins

The rise of Hellas

Social and political conflict

The Persian Wars

The dominance of Athens

The Peloponnesian War

Spartan and Theban dominance

The rise of Macedon

The conquests of Alexander

See also

Artistic gymnastics

See also

External References

Rhythmic gymnastics

History

See also

External links

Sports acrobatics

Trampolining

Origins

Trampolining Competitions

Individual Trampoline

Format of Competitions

Synchronized Trampoline

Double Mini-trampoline

References

External link

Summer Olympic Games

History of the modern summer Olympics

The early years

The interwar era

After WWII

1980s and beyond

A new millennium

The future

List of Olympic sports

List of modern Summer Olympic Games