Summer Olympic Games Events

The Summer Olympic Games is an international sporting event held every four years. The Olympics were first staged in 776 B.C., for one day, and included running and equestrian events. The modern Olympics date to 1896. The London 2012 Summer Olympics will feature 26 events: triathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, archery, judo, modern pentathlon, canoe/kayak, swimming and diving, track and field, equestrian, gymnastics, taekwondo, tennis, wrestling, boxing, table tennis, handball, field hockey, weightlifting, badminton, soccer, basketball, volleyball, cycling and fencing.

  1. Track and Field

    • Track and field, officially known as Athletics, has been part of the Olympics since the beginning. Women took part starting in 1928. There are 46 events, from running to throwing to jumping. Running distances stretch from 100 meters to 50 kilometers and most events are held in the Olympic stadium. High jump, pole vault, long jump and triple jump test athletes' strength and speed. The throwing events are shot put, discus, javelin and hammer. There also are combined events, decathlon for men and heptathlon for women, in which competitors gain points in running, jumping and throwing disciplines.

    Swimming and Diving

    • Swimming and diving, officially known as Aquatics, is made up of four events: swimming, synchronized swimming, diving and water polo. Swimming in early Olympics took place in open water; a pool was first used in 1908. Swimmers compete in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Diving includes competition in fixed platform and springboard. Synchronized swimming, which gained medal status in the 1984 Olympics, is judged on technical merit and artistic interpretation.

    Team Sports

    • Volleyball was introduced in the 1964 Olympics, and has traditionally been dominated by Brazil, Italy and Russia. Beach volleyball is its sister event, played on an outdoor sand court since its debut in the 1996 Games. Basketball has competition for men and women. Handball, combining elements of soccer and basketball, is held for men and women. Soccer, also known as football, has had men's Olympic competition since 1908; women's soccer was introduced in 1996.

    Racquet Sports

    • Tennis, table tennis and badminton are played in the Olympic Games. Tennis was an event in the first modern Games in 1896, but dropped in 1922 due to amateurism issues. It returned in the1988 Games. The London tennis events will be held at Wimbledon, site of the famous annual Grand Slam tennis tournament. Table tennis entered the Olympics in 1988, and badminton became a medal sport in 1992.

    Combination Events

    • The Modern Pentathlon, introduced in the 1912 Olympics, combines five events; swimming, fencing, riding and combined running/shooting. The triathlon was added to the Olympics in 2000, and consists of, in order, a 1,500-meter swim in open water, 40-kilometer cycling event and 10-kilometer run.

    Indoor Events

    • Wrestling was an event in the inaugural 1896 Olympic Games, but women's wrestling was not added until 2004. Artistic Gymnastics also was part of the first modern Olympics, and continues to be among the most popular events. Men compete in floor, pommel horse, vault, rings, parallel bars and high bar. Women take part in uneven bars, vault, balance beam and floor. Women-only Rhythmic Gymnastics, introduced in 1984, is a mix of gymnastics and dance in which competitors use rope, hoops, balls, clubs or ribbon to music.