Olympic fever

How time has flown. It’s hard to believe that just four years ago the Sydney Olympics were coming to a close and now the Athens Games are almost over.

With that in mind, this edition will take a look at some interesting Olympic facts, both past and present and finally give you the chance to compare yourself to two of our Australian Olympic representatives for Athens. – Sgt Rob Orr

Game Facts

To be included as an Olympic Sport, the sport needs to be “widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents”.

The longest single event ever was a Greco-Roman wrestling match, which lasted for more than 11 hours. The winner was too exhausted to participate in the final and received silver.

In 1908 the official Olympic marathon distance of 26 miles exactly was extended to 26 miles and 385 yards, in order to give the Royal family a better view of the finish line. This extended marathon distance has stayed the same ever since.

The first Australian to win a gold medal was runner Edwin Flack, who won two Gold medals (800m and 1500m) at the 1896 Games in Athens.

The signs and symbols

The five interlocking coloured rings of the Olympic Games emblem was conceived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Each of the five rings symbolises one of the five continents (de Coubertin claims that at least one of the colours, including the white background, is present in each country’s national flag). The interlocking of the rings symbolises joining in the spirit of peace.

The Olympic Torch was first conceived in 1934 by the International Olympic Committee. The torch-relay starts with the lighting of the torch by the sun (using mirrors) at ancient Olympia and arriving at the hosting city, linking the Olympics with its tradition. The flame symbolises the purity that embodies the eternal youth of the Olympic philosophy.

Athens Games Facts

Three hundred and one medal ceremonies will have taken place over the 16 days of the games.

Twenty eight sports (37 disciplines) have been represented in 38 venues.

The ratio of team officials, athletes and media is 1:2:4 - 5500 team officials, 10,500 athletes (Sydney: 10,651) and 21,500 members of the media (Sydney: 16,033).

Two hundred and one National Olympic Committees will participate (Sydney: 199 + 4 individual athletes)

The Australian team comprises 530 athletes, the largest team ever sent overseas (Sydney: 632).

Athens mascots

The mascots for the Athens Olympics are Phevos and Athena, who are brother and sister. The concept of these two dolls is to link ancient and modern Greece. The names come from two Olympian gods – Phevos, the Olympian god of light and music, also known as Apollo, and Athena – goddess of wisdom and patron of the city of Athens. The two siblings represent the children of modern times. Phevos and Athena represent the values of Olympism – participation, brotherhood, equality, cooperation and fair play.


How do you compare?

Lee Troop

Kerryn McCann

Men wanting to represent Australia in the marathon would need to beat Australia’s Lee Troop (31 years old), who has completed the distance in 2:09:49. In basic terms you would have to complete the BFA 2.4 km run in 7:38 over seventeen and a half times non-stop.

Women marathon runners would have to beat 37-year-old mother of two Kerryn McCann, who has completed the 42.2 km run in 2:25:59, which is the BFA 2.4km run in 8:30 (seventeen and a half times non-stop).

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