The History of the Summer Olympics are very interesting. The first Summer Olympic games were played more than 2,500 years ago. They began in 776 B.C., and featured just one event, the foot race. The ancient Greeks later added boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, and the pentathalon. The first modern Summer Olympics were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. A French educator named Baron Pierre de Coubertin organized the modern Olympics. The Olympics are held during the last year of each Olympiad. An Olympiad is a period of 4 years ending in a leap year.

The Olympic motto is (in Latin) "Citius, Altius, Fortius."  Which means "Swifter, Higher, And Stronger."

                          In the Future                                        

    There's going to be a Summer Olympics in the future.  It is planned to be in Sydney, Australia, in the year 2000.  There may be new sports and new sports figures.  We do not really know what kind of sports are going to be in the Summer Olympics.  This will be one of the best Summer Olympics yet to come.  You will find out more about this on the Sydney 2000 Olympics page.