the olympic games

olympic games, international sports competition, held every four years at a different site, in which athletes from different nations compete against each other in a variety of sports. there are two types of olympics, the summer olympics and the winter olympics. through 1992 they were held in the same year, but beginning in 1994 they were rescheduled so that they are held in alternate even-numbered years. for example, the winter olympics were held in 1994 and the summer olympics in 1996. the winter olympics were next held in 1998, and the summer olympics occured in 2000.
after they had achieved national independence from turkey in 1829, the greeks sought repeatedly to revive the olympian games in order to emphasize their ancient heritage. their games, which were limited to ethnic greeks, were unsuccessful, were staged sporadically, and gained little international attention. they ceased entirely in 1889. coubertin succeeded in his effort to reestab...