Below you will find a great number of high-quality teacher worksheets and reading passages that will get you in step with all things summer games. We take a snapshot of the best and worst times of the games. We will explore the beginnings of this event and how it has developed into the commercial animal that it is today. Which at the evolution that occurred to the athletes, the spectators, and even the facilities where these events take place. We also look back at some of the most memorable moments in Olympic history. These worksheets are great for students just before you break for the school year.
Print Summer Olympics Worksheets
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History of the Summer Olympics Reading Worksheet
Athens was chosen unanimously to host the inaugural modern games at a congress in Paris on June 23rd, 1894.
History Multiple Choice Questions
The opening ceremony of the first olympics took place in the Panathenaic Stadium on April 6th.
The First Summer Torch Relay
The Olympic Torch is a relatively recent addition to the ceremonies which open the Olympic Games; however, it has roots in several ancient Greek practices.
Torch Relay Short Answer Questions
Another ancient tradition from which the modern Olympic Torch Relay draws is the sacred truce which took place during the month before and the month after the games.
Summer Games Sports
Originally the events included: athletics (track and field), cycling, fencing, gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling, swimming, tennis and shooting. Athletics events today include jumping, throwing, and sprint, middle-distance and long-distance races.
QUESTIONS: Summer Games Sports
Today, the main attractions of the program are athletics and swimming.
Tokyo 2020
Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 games during the 125th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) held in Buenos Aires on September 7th, 2013.
QUESTIONS: Tokyo 2020
Which sports previously removed from the Olympic program will be making a reappearance in the 2020 games?
Summer Games Medals
Until the 2000 Games in Sydney, the image of Victory was consistently on one side of the medal, while the reverse was redesigned for each Olympiad beginning in 1972.
Medals Worksheet
During the first games in 1896, winners received silver medals and an olive wreath, and runners-up received copper medals and a laurel wreath.
Evolution of the Summer Olympic Program Reading Worksheet
The reasoning behind the change is an intention to focus on innovation, flexibility, and youth when developing the Olympic Games program.
QUESTIONS: Evolution of the Summer Program
The new sports will added 18 events and 474 athletes to the 2021 ceremony.
Olympic Federations
The Olympic Federations are the organizations that are responsible for organizing the program of sporting events for each Olympic Games.
QUESTIONS: Olympic Federations
The UCI is governs sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events.
Memorable Moments Reading Worksheet
What technical issue made resulted in initial confusion over Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10 score?
Memorable Moments - Short Answer Questions
Why did Smith and Carlos give the Black Power Salute when they received their medals?
Host Cities Multiple Choice Questions
A city wishing to be considered as a host city for the Olympics must express interest in hosting by submitting its name to the International Olympic Commission (IOC).
Summer Paralympic Games
The Paralympics is an international multi-sport event in which athletes with disabilities compete against one another in Olympic-level sports.
What Are the Events of the Summer Olympics?
Every four years the best international athletes come together and compete for supremacy. This has been in existence since 1896. In 1896 the first modern day Summer Olympics was held in Athens, Greece which is seen as the birthplace of the summer games. In 1904, the top three finishers or teams have been awarded medals based on their position. Gold medals for first place, silver for second place, and bronze for third place. The dirtiest secret in the Olympic Games is that the gold medal is really not solid gold. They are solid silver with a coating of gold on top. The games were originally formed to promote International unity and understanding of the various cultures. There are two version of these games the Winter Olympics which occurs during the winter months and the summer Olympic games that have many more events and take place in the warmer of the two seasons. The traditional version of the games was originally a summer only event, but due to its success the Winter Olympic game were formed. In the summer version there are well over forty different events to compete in.
The Olympic Games, or simply "The Olympics," is a major international sports competition held once every two years in alternating Summer and Winter Editions. This most-awaited event takes place in different venues around the world, showcasing more than 300 events each season - and more added every time!
The events of the Summer Olympics include but are not limited to the following: Freestyle Swimming, Springboard Diving, Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Rhythmic Gymnastics, and more.
In this article, I’ll talk about the four major sports that have always been contested in every Summer Olympics since the beginning and share with you amazing facts about the event.
Four Main Sports in the Summer Olympics
Every Olympic program is made up of sports, disciplines, and events. The difference between the three is that sports consist of different disciplines, and each discipline is then subdivided into various events.
To give you an idea, Gymnastics is a sport with three disciplines:
- Artistic
- Rhythmic
- Trampoline
Artistic gymnastics consists of specific events such as Floor exercises and Vault for men and women, Rings for men, and Balance beam for women.
The first ever Modern Olympic Games happened in 1896 in Athens, Greece, featuring 42 events. By the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, that number had grown to 306 events in total.
Four major sports have been featured at every summer Olympic Games since its first introduction in 1896:
- Athletics
- Fencing
- Gymnastics
- Swimming
Let’s have a look at each of these sports and learn about the events that comprise them:
Swimming
A 2021 study reveals that Swimming is the most watched Olympic sport worldwide. Some of the most famous swimmers are Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, and Mark Spitz.
As of 2022, the US team had won the most medals in the swimming competitions with a total of 578 medals won since 1896, followed by its rival Australia with 212 awards.
Athletics
Athletics sports competition consists of track and field, road running, and race walking events. When the Olympics started in 1896, there were only 12 athletic events in the Olympic program, including the now-omitted tug of war.
Some of the best-ever track and field athletes in the Olympics are:
- Paavo Nurmi from Finland
- Carl Lewis from the United States
- Usain Bolt from Jamaica
Fencing
There are three types of Fencing in the Summer Olympics: Foil, Épée, and Sabre, both for men and women, team and individual.
In the history of modern Olympics, Aladar Gerevich of Hungry is considered the best fencer in the history of modern Olympics. As of 2020, Italy has won the most medals (130) in Fencing, followed by France (123 medals) and Hungary (190 medals).
Gymnastics
Did you know that in the old times, only men were allowed to compete in Olympic gymnastics? It was only in 1928 that they allowed women to compete as well.
Some of the most famous gymnasts in the history of the Olympics are Olga Korbut of the Soviet Union, who was known for her daring acrobats, and Nadia Comaneci of Romania, who was the first ever gymnast to get the perfect 10 score. The countries that won the most gymnastic medals are the Soviet Union, the United States, and Japan.
Now that we have an idea about the four main sports in the Olympic games, how about we learn about some Fun Olympic Facts:
Olympic Games Fun Facts
To get you excited about the Olympics, here is some more interesting trivia about the world-famous Olympic event:
- Art was part of the Olympics from 1912 and was discontinued after the 1948 Olympics.
- In ancient times, the Olympic games were held only in the summer, every four years. It was only 1924 when the first-ever winter Olympic games were introduced and have become a regular event to this day.
- The five interlaced rings in the Olympic Logo aren’t just decorative elements. The rings symbolize the unity of the five continents competing at the Olympic games—Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Final Thoughts
The Olympics is considered the leading sports competition in the world, with more than 200 countries participating in hundreds of events. We have much to be excited about as more events are added every season of the Olympic games.
How about you, do you play any sports at school? What Olympic events are you excited to watch?