Portal:Olympic Games

The Olympic Games Portal

The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; French: Jeux olympiques) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games, open to both amateur and professional athletes, involves more than 200 teams, each team representing a sovereign state or territory. By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains its own records). The Olympics are staged every four years. Since 1994, they have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad.

Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, which encompasses all entities and individuals involved in the Olympic Games. The Olympic Charter defines their structure and authority.

The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in numerous changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for snow and ice sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, the Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18, the five Continental Games (Pan American, African, Asian, European, and Pacific), and the World Games for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The IOC also endorses the Deaflympics and the Special Olympics. The IOC has adapted to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The abuse of amateur rules prompted the IOC to shift away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to the acceptance of professional athletes participating at the Games. The growing importance of mass media has created the issue of corporate sponsorship and general commercialisation of the Games. World Wars I and II led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Olympics; large-scale boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics; and the 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 restrictions.

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The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games (French: XXIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and also known as Vancouver 2010 (Squamish: K'emk'emeláy̓ 2010), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the surrounding suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University of British Columbia, and in the nearby resort town of Whistler. It was regarded by the Olympic Committee to be among the most successful Olympic games in history, in both attendance and coverage. Approximately 2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines. Both the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games were organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), headed by John Furlong. The 2010 Winter Games were the third Olympics to be hosted by Canada, and the first to be held within the province of British Columbia. Canada had hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.

Following Olympic tradition, incumbent Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The flag was raised in a special ceremony on February 28, 2006, and was on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Vancouver opening ceremony. The event was officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean, accompanied by the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge.

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Martin Sesaker representing Norway in curling at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics

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Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani (or "Shaherkani"; Arabic: وجدان علي سراج الدين شهرخاني; born 1 February 1996) is a Saudi judoka who was one of two women selected to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.

Current Events

25 May 2025 – 2025 IIHF World Championship
In ice hockey, the United States men's national team defeats Switzerland 1–0 in overtime in the final to win their first World Men's Championship since 1960. (NHL)

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Upcoming Olympic Games

2026 Winter Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympics (Italian: Olimpiadi invernali del 2026), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and Northeast Italy.

A joint bid by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo was awarded the 2026 Winter Olympics at the 134th IOC Session on 24 June 2019, beating a bid by Stockholm and Åre, Sweden; they will be the first Olympic Games to officially be co-hosted by multiple cities, with Milan primarily hosting ice events, and the remaining events being hosted in clusters around Cortina, and the Valtellina and Fiemme valleys. They will mark the third Winter Olympics, and fourth overall, to be hosted by Italy; Cortina d'Ampezzo had previously hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics.

The Games will feature the debut of ski mountaineering as a Winter Olympic event, and will be the first Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry.

All-time Combined Olympic Games Medal Table

Separate current and precursor NOCs (records not combined):

No. Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 1,219 1,000 876 3,095
2  Soviet Union (URS) 473 376 355 1,204
3  China (CHN) 325 258 221 804
4  Germany (GER) 317 318 320 955
5  Great Britain (GBR) 310 344 360 1,014
6  France (FRA) 280 320 354 954
7  Italy (ITA) 271 244 284 799
8  Sweden (SWE) 216 232 242 690
9  Norway (NOR) 213 187 176 576
10  Japan (JPN) 206 191 221 618

2028 Summer Olympics

The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA 28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to 30, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles will be the host city, with various events also scheduled to be held at other cities spread across the Greater Los Angeles area, plus two subsites in Oklahoma City.

Los Angeles had originally bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Following multiple withdrawals, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Games to Los Angeles and Paris as the two remaining candidates; Paris was preferred as host for 2024, while Los Angeles agreed to host in 2028. Los Angeles was formally awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on September 13, 2017. They will mark the fifth Summer Olympics, and ninth Olympics overall to be hosted by the United States; having previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, Los Angeles becomes the third three-time host city after London (1908, 1948, 2012) and Paris (1900, 1924, 2024), and the first non-European city to do so. These will be the first Summer Olympics held under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry.

After debuting in 2020 as optional events, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing have been promoted to the Summer Olympics' core event program. The Games will feature the debut of flag football and squash as optional sports, joined by the return of baseball/softball, cricket (for the first time since 1900) and lacrosse (for the first time as a medal event since 1908). The modern pentathlon is expected to feature an updated format replacing show jumping with obstacle course racing.

Olympic Sports

Summer sports
Winter sports

Olympic Games Countdown

Olympic Games
Milan & Cortina
181 days left
2026
Winter
Los Angeles
1070 days left
2028
Summer
French Alps
1640 days left
2030
Winter
Brisbane
2540 days left
2032
Summer
Paralympic Games
Milan & Cortina
209 days left
2026
Winter
Los Angeles
1109 days left
2028
Summer
French Alps
1668 days left
2030
Winter
Brisbane
2572 days left
2032
Summer
Youth Olympic Games
Dakar
448 days left
2026
Summer
Dolomites & Valtellina
893 days left
2028
Winter

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