The Olympics is considered to be the world’s greatest sports competition. Held every four years, athletes from around the world participate in various sporting events in front of a global audience. With over 200 participating nations, each athlete strives for glory and the chance to represent their country.
Inspired by the ancient Olympic games, the first modern Olympics took place in 1896 with a total of 280 participants from 13 nations. Since then, the Olympics have changed dramatically with more modern games introduced every year.
During the inaugural Olympics, the main event was athletics. The winners were awarded a silver medal along with an olive branch, whilst runners up received a bronze medal and an olive branch. In 1900, the first equestrian event was introduced to the Olympics. The Grand Prix jumping event comprised a total of 37 competitors. The elite riding event was dominated by the Belgians taking first and second place. Boxing was first introduced into the Olympics in 1904. This popular event has been included in every summer Olympic Games since 1904, with the exception of the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm.
In 1908 modern field hockey was introduced into the Olympic games. For a long time, India dominated the sport, winning a total of seven out of eight Olympic titles between 1928 and 1964. 1912 saw the first modern pentathlon event at the Olympics. This multi-skill event included fencing, a 200m freestyle swim and show jumping. The final comprised of a mix between pistol shooting and a 3200m cross country run. It wasn’t until 1936 that handball was introduced into the Olympics, but it was short lived. In 1972 indoor handball was reintroduced, with Croatia and France topping the medal tables. Judo was introduced to the Olympics in 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. While not included in the 1968 Olympics, the highly disciplined sport has been around ever since. Japan has dominated the sport with an impressive 70 medals to date.1984 saw the introduction of synchronised swimming, followed by badminton in 1992. The modernisation of the Olympics was first felt in 2008, with the introduction of the BMX event. This modern cycling event sees competitors race through a track filled with jumps and obstacles.
With modern technology making a big impact on today’s social and economic environment, the stage has been set for the first ever eGames event at the Olympics. With the popularity of online gaming it’s a natural progression, and one that’s sure to attract a large amount of attention.
At Rio 2016 the International eGames Committee is hosting the inaugural Olympics eGames event. This exciting pop up event will take place on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th of August at British House, Parque Lage, Rio, Brazil.
Teams from the UK, Canada, the USA and Brazil will represent their country in one of the most prestigious eSports events in history. Participants will compete for the chance to represent their country on the biggest eSports stage to date and to win Gold, Bronze and Silver medals.
