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PRINT ITOlympic Games Trivia
- The first modern Olympics were held in 1896. After winning the marathon, Spyros Louis of Greece became a national hero. He was offered sheep, haircuts and shaves for life, and one hundred pounds of chocolate! He humbly accepted only a horse and cart.
- Old telephone poles were used for the hurdles at the 1900 Olympics.
- Rome could not host the 1908 Olympics as planned because Mount Vesuvius erupted!
- No women entered the first Olympics in 1896. In 1900, 11 females and 1319 males competed in the games held in Paris. At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, there were 814 women and 1488 men.
- The outstanding athlete of the 1972 Munich Olympics was 15-year-old swimmer Shane Gould. She won three gold, a silver and a bronze medal.
