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Many of you must have heard of Steffi Graf or Carl
Lewis. The former is, of course, the tennis star who has
won many titles and gold medals in her career. Graf sets
the best Olympic Games record, having won the singles at
Los Angeles in 1984, at Seoul in 1988 and was runner-up
in the Barcelona Games. Carl Lewis was a very much
respected athlete. He set world bests at 100 m, 200 m
and long jump. The Olympic Games was re-established in
1896. It celebrated its centenary when the Games was
held in Atlanta in the state of Georgia. The Olympic
flag consists of five interlaced rings of blue, yellow,
black, green and red on a white background. The five
rings symbolise the five continents of the world and the
colours are found in the flags of every nation that is
represented. The flag was first flown at the Games held
in Antwerp in 1920. It was then made of satin. However,
that had since been replaced by a replica made of silk.
The lighting and passing of the Olympic flame is a
symbolic act to mark the start of the Games. In 1936,
the flame was ignited from the sun's rays at Olympia and
travelled to the host country of Berlin by means of a
torch relay. This tradition of passing the flame is
observed at all Games venues and remains so today.
The Olympic motto stresses the importance of
participation and of doing one's best rather than
winning. The best athletes and sportsmen from all over
the world meet at the Games which is held every four
years. The next Games is scheduled to be held in the
Australian city of Sydney in the year 2000. |
