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The History, Present, and Future of the International Olympic Committee Kyle Beyer Mr. Gayan Sophomore Composition April 15, 2002 The Olympics have been a highly regarded pastime for many thousands of people. What many people do not know about though, is what goes on behind the scenes at an Olympic game. I will talk about the history, present, and future of the governing body of the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee, the IOC. To understand how the IOC works, we must first take a look back at what started it all, the history of the ancient Olympics. The first Ancient Olympics originated in Athens, Greece (Henry 13). Back then, the idea of the Olympics was for Rome to confirm itself as the greatest nation (Henry 13). Over the years, as rulers and nations changed, the idea of the Olympics held with them (Henry 13). As the nations changed, so did the events, and the events run today are quite different that what was run in the Ancient Olympics (Henry 14). Today in our modern Olympics, you see a vast array of events, with many of them being team oriented (Henry 14). Running Relays, Basketball team, and boating teams are just some of the examples (Henry 14). But in the ancient Olympics, no team events were found, all events were focused on the individual (Henry 14). Some of the event in the ancient Olympics included chariot races, long distance running, and contests of strength (Henry 14). The contests of strength included stone throw, similar to our shot-put throws, gladiator and similar one-on-one battles (Henry 14). For such brutal events, one would expect grand prizes, but it was not so. Prizes back then included olive wreaths and their name written on a stone (Henry 14). They did not believe in elaborate gifts for the winners, as they were there to honor there country (Henry 14). When you received your name in stone, that was a big accomplishment, for they were now immortalized in stone (Henry 14). Compared to the history of the ancient Olympics, the modern Olympics is shorter, but just as interesting, this is also where the IOC came into play. In 1870, a man named Baron Pierre de Coubertine thought of rebirthing the Olympics, as he had read of them in scholars books (Henry 10). He was a scholarly man, and liked the idea of the Olympics; he felt it would bring the world into a new era (Henry 10). He did not expect world peace to come out of this, but it would enlighten many as to the way of ancient civilizations (Henry 10). The Baron was very interested in the individual goal, as the ancient Olympics were (Henry 10). He felt that was it was the individual who could change the world, not the team (Henry 10). Because of those thoughts, many characteristics of the Olympics are the way they are (Henry 10).
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