The Olympic Games

Were you enjoying the Olympic games on television?
The first Olympic Games were held more than 2,700 years ago in Olympia in Greece. The first modern Olympic Games were held in 1894 in Athens, in Greece.
They happen every four years in different countries.
This year the Olympic Games were in Beijing in China, and they began on August 8th and ended on August 24th.
The Paralympics will take place from September 6th to September 17th.



Song - I CAN RUN

What can Panda do? What can you do? Listen to a song about running, jumping and swimming.

Story - THE FIRST MARATHON

This race was first run nearly 2,500 years ago!
Read and listen to the exciting story of the first marathon.



Text and Vocabulary:

In 490 B.C., there was a big war between the Persians and the Greeks.
Persia was a huge empire (riesiges Reich), much bigger than Greece. It wanted to capture (einnehmen, erobern) Athens.
The Greek soldiers waited on the Plain of Marathon (Ebene von Marathon) below (unten). There were 48,000 Persian soldiers and only 10,000 Greek soldiers.
The Greek sent a messenger (Kurier, Läufer), Pheidipides, to Sparta, to get help. He ran for two days over the mountains to ask the Spartans.
But the Spartans would not fight before there was a full moon. Pheidipides returned to the Marathon alone.
The Greeks could not wait and attacked the Persian army. The Greeks ran towards (gegen, in Richtung) the enemy (Feind). Persian arrows (Pfeile) flew through the air.
The Greeks won. 6400 Persians were killed but only 192 Greeks died.
The Persians ran to their ships and tried to escape (fliehen). They tried to go to Athens to capture the Greek women, children and old people waiting there.
Pheidipides now had another job. He ran 40 kilometres to tell the Greeks that they had won, and to tell them that the Persians were coming.
He arrived at the city gates very tired. "Rejoice (frohlocken), we conquer (besiegen, erobern)!" he shouted. Then he died.
From this great event the first marathon race of the modern Olympic Games was run in 1899. It was won by a Greek runner, Spiridon Louis.
And, like Pheidipides, a long time before, he also carried messages. He was a postman.




The Marathon is traditionally the last event of the Olympic Games.
Here are some activities that you can do about the Olympics.

Write a list of all the sports that you can think of that are in the Olympics. You could do this with your brother or sister, or with a friend. Write the list in English if you can - you can use a dictionary if you don't know the words.

The Ancient Olympics

The first Olympics were held over 2,700 years ago. Can you answer these questions about the Ancient Olympics? Use this site from BBC Schools to help you:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ancientgreece/olympia/index.shtml

* Where did the Ancient Olympics take place?

* Why did they happen?

* How often did they take place and how long did they last?

* How many events were there in the first Olympic Games?

* Who could perform in the early Games?

* What could women do?



Source: British Council