Know Your Olympics - Athens Olympics 1896 

The Tokyo Olympics are almost a month away. Apart from London and Athens, it is one of the few cities to have the distinction of having hosted the Summer Olympics more than once.

However, what is the Olympics? How did it come into existence? Why is Athens so well connected with this sport?

Baron Pierre de Coubertin - Father of the Modern Olympics

Pierre De Coubertin - The father of the Modern Olympics

Most of us know someway or the other about the ancient Olympic Games. Having been instituted at Olympia in 776 BC, the Games were a celebration of athletic spirits.

Until Theodosius II banned the Games in 395 AD, the games were literally known as Greece's annual National Games. They were also known as the Pan Hellenic Games.

For centuries, no one cared a dime about the Olympics. But one educationist had a knack for it. Pierre De Coubertin was a famous educationist cum lawyer. But he equally loved researching Greek history, especially the Olympic movement.

He loved the idea of constituting a modern edition of the ancient Olympic Games. He even decided to choose the best place to rejuvenate this ancient movement - Athens. It was Pierre de Coubertin who gave wings to the modern Olympic Games. It was also Pierre de Coubertin who laid the foundation of the current International Olympic Committee.

1896 Olympics - Where bronze medalists got no awards and the runners up received just copper medals

In a way, the first modern Olympics also laid the foundation of the current time frame as well. The first games lasted for almost two weeks. The opening ceremony was on 6 April 1896. The games closed on 15 April 1896.

However, there is a dispute as to how many nations participated. Although 14 nations claimed to have participated, most of them had athletes based in Greece itself. This was the first and only Olympic Games, which had no diversity at all. It had 241 participants, and all of them were men.

Also, until the 1904 edition of the Summer Olympics, there was no system as to how athletes would be rewarded. One of the clear principles about the modern Olympics was the focus on amateurism. This was stressed upon by Pierre De Coubertin himself.

However, this aspect was taken so seriously that there was no provision for adequate rewards at all. The winners of various events at the Athens Olympics were just awarded silver medals, while those who stood second received copper medals.

Yes, there was a time when runners-up at the Olympics received medals for copper, and we're seriously not making this up. It wasn't until the 1904 Olympics that the medals of gold, silver and bronze were finally given to the first three placed athletes.

The lucky coppers who got copper medals for coming 2nd at Athens Olympics 1896

Spyridon Louis - The First Ever Olympic Hero

Spyridon Louis - Greece's first ever modern Olympic hero

However, the first modern Olympic hero has to be Spyridon Louis. He is the first individual to have won the modern Olympic marathon.

A former soldier and a water carrier by profession, he was convinced by his former commanding officer to try it out. He completed the first ever Olympic marathon in less than 3 hours, becoming a national hero overnight. Though several people have eclipsed his records, Spyridon Louis will always remain the first.