Larry
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The first modern Olympics were held in Athens Greece in 1896. The first modern Olympics was actually held during the first week in April in 1896, which makes these Olympics, spring Olympic games in lieu of the of the traditional summer Olympic Games that we are accustomed to. The first modern Olympic games were a break through in modern sporting activities, due to the fact that there were no Olympic games in the previous 1500 years, before this modern Olympic event. The traditional Olympic Games were contests which measured human strength, stamina, and endurance in events that were usually based on battlefield skills.
The running events were deemed very important, because soldiers at that time did the majority of their movement and fighting on foot. In fact, victory usually went to the Army that could move the most swiftly, which enabled them to position their troops for ambushes and other the tactics, before the enemy troops could get into good fighting positions. Swift runners, were also valued as messengers who could deliver messages of great importance between battlefield commanders, as well as between neighboring Greek city states. Due to these facts, winners of footraces were held in high esteem.
Combat events such as javelin and discus throwing, were also highly prized skills in the in the first Olympics. Javelin throwing was a skill that greatly resembled actual battlefield spear throwing, which was a common weapons skill used throughout the Greek army. Distance and accuracy were expertly displayed by the winners of this event.
The first modern Olympics was unique because it included new sporting skills such as tennis, along with many of the traditional sports included in earlier Olympic Games. The first modern Olympic Games included such events as the shot put, swimming, weightlifting, target shooting, cycling, gymnastics, and boxing and wrestling. The inclusion of such sports as tennis, target shooting, and cycling set the stage for a more inclusive Olympics.
 Posted 5472 day ago
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