The Largest Sports Platform in the World

The Olympics was and will always be the biggest platform of sport in the world. This is where countries come together and compete at the highest level and also for the love of the game and country. The Olympics first began in 776 b.c in Olympia. The games like now, were held every four years.The games have been around for a really long time and have had some changes made to them. The major changes that stick out to me are who can participate, who can view and the severity of the games. These were some major changes that have come about from ancient Olympics to the existing Olympics.

A big change that came about was who could participate. The ancient Olympics said that only men could compete and only if they were a citizen of the Greek world. The games were all male participation and now in the modern Olympics anyone male or female can compete as long as they are a citizen of that particular country. Also there is a system you have to go through now a days where you have to qualify so you can compete. The best of the best will compete against each other not just any ordinary athletes. This became one of the biggest changes because now women could compete. The first time a women competed was 1900 in Paris, France. There was a total of twenty two women who competed out of nine hundred and ninety seven athletes, causing it to be one of the major stepping stones in sports.

During the ancient Olympics, only certain people could view the games. When it came to women viewing the games, only unmarried virgin women could watch the games along with the men. The restrictions on women were very harsh, if you were a women viewing the games and didn’t fit the criteria you were killed. In today’s games however the games are televised and anyone and everyone can watch them. Now children women of any kind can watch them and support their favorite athletes. By having no gender restrictions on the games it makes it a lot easier for support and people around the world to watch.

The most significant change in the games is the severity of the games. In ancient games most of the games resulted in death. This was because safety wasn’t the main focus of the games. One of the games that was the most severe was the chariot race. The most dangerous point was when the chariot had to turn, this would cause many crashes. Many of these crashes would result in deaths from trampling of the horses. Another example of the severity was the ancient boxing, it was usually bare knuckle. A fact that stood out to me was there was no weight class, they may be fighting someone significantly larger than them. The problem was the head injuries and this competition resulted in many deaths. Also another big change is there is actually rules to help protect the athletes in modern Olympics. There are many regulations and referees in today’s Olympics. This was a huge game change, but it also was one of the best changes that could happen. May not make the games more gruesome but it helps the fighters keep fighting and also to stay safer.

The Olympics will always stand as the world’s largest sporting event in the world. There was many changes that will forever impact the games. The changes would make the games fit more in today’s society. Looking back at how the Olympics used to be makes me wish I could go back and watch them and see what really went on.