154 articles
1900 Summer Olympics
1900 Summer Olympics (Games of the II Olympiad), Paris, 14 May–28 October 1900, held within the Exposition Universelle; first Games with women competitors (Charlotte Cooper, Margaret Abbott), 95 medal events, Al Kraenzlein won four athletics golds, France topped the medal table.
1904 Summer Olympics
1904 Summer Olympics, third modern Games, held in St. Louis with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition; first US Olympics, first gold-silver-bronze medals, US-dominated, notorious marathon and Anthropology Days.
1924 Winter Olympics
1924 Winter Olympics (I Olympic Winter Games), originally Semaine Internationale des Sports d'Hiver: first Winter Games, Chamonix, France, 25 January to 5 February 1924; 258 athletes, 16 nations, six sports; retroactively recognized by the IOC.
1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics (Games of the XI Olympiad), Berlin, 1-16 August 1936; 49 nations, 3,963 athletes. Awarded in 1931 before Hitler's rule, used as Nazi propaganda; first torch relay; Jesse Owens won four golds; Germany topped the medal table.
1936 Winter Olympics
1936 Winter Olympics, IV Olympic Winter Games, Garmisch-Partenkirchen: Nazi Germany's first Games, 6-16 February 1936, 755 athletes from 28 countries, first Olympic alpine skiing, Norway led the medals, propaganda rehearsal for Berlin.
1951 Asian Games
1951 Asian Games (First Asian Games), New Delhi, March 4–11, 1951: inaugural Asian Games with 489 athletes from 11 nations, 57 events, Japan topping the medal table, hosted under the Asian Games Federation founded in 1949.
1954 Asian Games
1954 Asian Games (II Asiad), second edition of the Asian Games, held in Manila, Philippines, May 1-9, 1954; 970 athletes, 8 sports, 76 events; Japan topped the medal table with 38 gold; football won by Taiwan.
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics (Games of the XVI Olympiad), held in Melbourne, Australia, were the first Southern Hemisphere Games, with equestrian events moved to Stockholm over quarantine laws, amid first Olympic boycotts and the blood-in-the-water water polo match.
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics, the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were held at Squaw Valley, California, drawing 665 athletes from 30 nations from 18 to 28 February 1960.
1964 Summer Olympics
Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics (Games of the XVIII Olympiad), 10-24 October 1964: first Olympics in Asia, 93 nations, judo and volleyball debuts, first satellite-televised Games, Shinkansen launch, Bikila's repeat marathon win, Japan third in the medal table.
1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics (Games of the XIX Olympiad), Mexico City, 12–27 October 1968: first Latin American Games at 2,240 m altitude; Beamon's 8.90 m record, Tlatelolco massacre, Smith–Carlos salute, first doping and gender tests.
1972 Winter Olympics
1972 Winter Olympics (Sapporo 1972, XI Olympic Winter Games), held 3–13 February 1972 in Sapporo, Japan; first Winter Games in Asia, 1,006 athletes from 35 countries, Japan's first Winter gold in ski jumping.
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics (XII Olympic Winter Games) were held in Innsbruck, Austria, 4–15 February 1976, replacing withdrawn host Denver; 1,129 athletes from 37 countries competed in 37 events, with the Soviet Union leading the medal table.
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games, were held in Lake Placid, New York, and are remembered for the Miracle on Ice hockey victory.
1988 Winter Olympics
1988 Winter Olympics (XV Olympic Winter Games), Calgary, Canada, 13–28 February 1988; first Canadian Winter Games, 57 nations, 1,423 athletes, 46 events; USSR led medals; chinook winds disrupted skiing; enduring venue legacy.
1990 Commonwealth Games
1990 Commonwealth Games (XIV Games, Auckland 1990): multi-sport event, 24 January to 3 February 1990, Auckland, New Zealand; record 55 nations, 204 events in ten sports; Australia topped the medal table, no boycotts, unlike 1986 Edinburgh.
1992 Winter Olympics
1992 Winter Olympics (XVI Olympic Winter Games), Albertville, France, 8–23 February 1992; last Games shared with the Summer Olympics; 1,801 athletes, 57 events; freestyle skiing, short track, and women's biathlon debuted; Unified Team and unified Germany competed.
1994 Commonwealth Games
1994 Commonwealth Games (XV Games), held 18-28 August in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; 63 nations, 2,557 athletes, 217 events in ten sports; Australia topped the medal table, South Africa returned, Hong Kong said farewell.
1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics (Lillehammer, 12–27 February 1994): 17th Winter Games, first held separately from the Summer Games, first green Games; 67 NOCs, 1,737 athletes, 61 events.
1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics (Centennial Olympic Games), Atlanta, July 19-August 4, 1996: 10,318 athletes, 197 nations, 26 sports, privately funded, record 9 million tickets, Centennial Park bombing July 27.
1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics (Nagano 1998, XVIII Olympic Winter Games), held 7-22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan; 2,176 athletes from 72 countries, 68 events; snowboarding, curling, women's ice hockey, and NHL players debuted.
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics (Sydney 2000, Games of the XXVII Olympiad) were held 15 September to 1 October 2000 in Sydney, Australia; 199 nations and 10,651 athletes competed, the USA led with 93 medals, and Samaranch called them the best Games ever.
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, 8–24 February 2002, featured 78 events and 2,399 athletes, survived a bid bribery scandal and a pairs figure skating judging controversy, and left venues that supported the 2034 Games.
2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics (Torino 2006, XX Olympic Winter Games): multi-sport event in Turin, Italy, 10–26 February 2006; 80 NOCs, 2,509 athletes, 84 events in 7 sports; Turin beat Sion 53–36; Shani Davis set the only Olympic record.
2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics (Beijing 2008, Games of the XXIX Olympiad), held 8–24 August 2008; China's first Olympics, 204 NOCs, 28 sports, 302 events, China topping the medal table with 51 golds.
2010 Asian Games
2010 Asian Games (XVI Asiad, Guangzhou 2010), multi-sport event in Guangzhou, China, November 12–27, 2010; 9,704 athletes, 45 NOCs, 476 events in 42 sports; China led with 199 golds of 416 medals; total cost about ¥122.6 billion.
2010 Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games (XIX Commonwealth Games): multi-sport event in Delhi, India, 3–14 October 2010; first Games in India, 71 nations, 272 events, Australia led medals, marred by CAG-documented cost and corruption scandals.
2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics (XXI Olympic Winter Games), Vancouver and Whistler, February 12–28, 2010; 86 events, 82 nations; Canada's record 14 golds, Crosby's golden goal, Kumaritashvili tragedy, Four Host First Nations partnership.
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, the Games of the XXX Olympiad commonly called London 2012, were held in London from July to August 2012, making London the first three-time host.
2014 Asian Games
2014 Asian Games (17th Asian Games Incheon 2014), multi-sport event in Incheon, South Korea, September 19 to October 4, 2014; 45 nations, 36 sports; China topped the medal table with 151 golds.