Olympic Games
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Answer to Olympic Quiz #1
How many nations were represented at the very first modern Olympic Games in Athens, in 1896?
The answer is 13 I think. I orginally believed 13 was the correct answer, but just to confuse things, I have also found the following information that contradicts these figures. It may be 14 or 15. If you have any other evidence that would be useful, please let me know.
The actual countries were:
- Australia
- Austria
- Bulgaria
- Chile
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Great Britain & Ireland
- Greece
- Hungary
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United States
and Italy?
from: wikipedia
The modern Olympic Games were founded in 1894 when Pierre Fredi, Baron de Coubertin, who sought to promote international understanding through the sporting competition. The first games held in Athens in 1896 attracted just 245 competitors of whom more than 200 were Greek, and 14 countries were represented. However, no international events of this magnitude had been organised before.
from: www.mediaconcerto.com
Coubertin had difficulty getting interest in the Olympics among many of the nations of the world. Only 15 countries participated in the Athens 1896 Olympics. Many of the top athletes in the world did not compete, as the Games were not well advertised. The athletes who wished to compete had to pay their own way to Athens. In addition, the qualifying trials were conducted only in Greece.
from: www.aafla.org
From the official report at ... in Athens 1896 Olympics, there were officially 15 countries, including Great Britain & Ireland (as one).
from a website visitor
13! Some people did have Italy also but they did have 2 athletes there according to some sources. The official Athens 2004 pins with 1896 original countries only had 13.
