In photos: Olympic Games over the years

2012-07-06 17:14

By (chinadaily.com.cn)

The Olympic Games has been going on for more than a century, overcoming thistles and thorns. As the 30th Olympic Games draws near, let's take a look at some important and historic events that have taken place in the Games history.

IOC founded

Some members pose at the Congress for the Revival of the Olympic Games in Paris when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was established on June 23, 1894. [Photo/Xinhua]

First Olympic Games

The first Olympic Games was held at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens, Greece and dates back to 1896. There were about 300 athletes from 13 countries that participated. [Photo/Xinhua]

First Olympic torch relay

An athlete runs with the Olympic flame during the first Olympic torch relay, which was introduced at the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games. The modern convention of moving the Olympic Flame via a relay system from Greece to the Olympic venue began in 1936. [Photo/Xinhua]

First Olympic mascot

Waldi, the dog, was the first official Olympic mascot, created for the Munich Summer Olympics in 1972. [Photo/Xinhua]

Munich massacre

A Palestinian terrorist wearing a balaclava looks over the balcony of the Israeli team quarters at Building 31 of the Munich Olympic Village. During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, a Palestinian terrorist group, known as Black September, took the Israeli Olympic team hostage and eventually killed 11 Israeli athletes. [Photo/Xinhua]

Games boycotted

Robert Kane, then president of the United States Olympic Committee, announces to the media that the US would not send athletes to participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The US and a number of other countries boycotted the games because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, though some athletes from some of the boycotting countries participated in the games, under the Olympic Flag. [Photo/Xinhua]

First privately financed Games

Newspapers and magazines about the Olympics fills Los Angeles bookstore shelves in 1984. Under the leadership of the then United States Olympic Committee President Peter Ueberroth, who is also an entrepreneur, the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles became the first privately financed Games and resulted in a surplus of nearly $250 million, which was also the first time in the Games history it had made a profit. [Photo/Xinhua]

Doping scandal

Canada's renowned sprinter Ben Johnson sprints to win the 100 meters competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, on Sept 24, 1988. He was later stripped of the medal and disqualified for doping and was suspended for two years. [Photo/Xinhua]