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Sochi Olympics 2014 - History

The Sochi Olympics are only 30 days away from commencing, and athletes from around the globe are now completing their final qualifying events. For some athletes it will come down to the wire. Every split second and every .01 of a point will count – either making or breaking dreams. They train for years for this moment and head out there to perform their absolute best in hope to reach the top. February is going to be an exciting month!

NZ Snow Tours are jumping on the bandwagon, and the next few blogs are going to be all about the Olympics. If all goes well, I might even blog direct from Sochi! Over the next few weeks I will include some history, the different winter sports to watch and the athletes that make them (focusing on the New Zealanders and Aussies of course!), and lastly some results.  Enjoy.

Brief History of the Olympics

Ancient Olympic Games
Historical records show that the first ancient Olympic Games took place way back in 776 BC. These Games were dedicated to the Olympian Gods and were performed on the plains of Olympia. A series of athletic competitions were held and the winners received olive leaf wreaths or crowns. The records show that they sustained for almost 12 centuries, before an Emperor called Theodosius ruled that all such “pagan cults” be forbidden.

You can find out more about the Ancient Olympics from the Olympic site by clicking here.

Modern Winter Olympics Games
Earlier Olympics were mainly focused on summer competitions, but had held some winter events such as ice hockey and figure skating. There was a push for winter sports to have their own Olympic competition, but it took time. So the actual Winter Olympic Games did not make a start until 1924, when despite the oppositions of the International Olympic Committee an International Winter Sports Week was held in Chamonix, France. After its success, two years later this event was retrospectively given the status as the first Winter Olympic Games. The Winter Games now take place every four years, two years apart from the summer games.

Snowboarding was introduced in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Then by last years Vancouver games snowboarding drew such a huge audience, it gained more views than ever before over the TV coverage. So perhaps to keep that younger generation involved, freestyle skiing has now been introduced and will makes it debut at the Sochi Olympics.

For an excellent brief video about the Olympics click here.

Sochi Winter Olympics Quick Facts

What are the dates of the Sochi Olympics? Torah Bright from Australia winning Gold in 2010
7th February 2014 – 23rd February 2014

What Sports compete at the Winter Olympics?

  • Alpine Skiing
  • Cross-Country Skiing
  • Freestyle Skiing
  • Nordic Combined
  • Ski Jumping
  • Biathlon
  • Curling
  • Ice Hockey
  • Short Track
  • Snowboard
  • Bobsleigh
  • Figure Skating
  • Luge
  • Skeleton
  • Speed Skating

Where can I fond out more information?
Click here for the official Sochi Olympic site
Click here for the official New Zealand Olympic site
Click here for the official Australia Olympics site

Where can I watch the Olympics in New Zealand?
The Olympics will be playing on Prime and also on Sky Sports in New Zealand.

Where can I watch the Olympics in Australia?
The Olympics will be played on Channel 10 in Australia.

Who should I be watching out for on skis or a snowboard from New Zealand or Australia?
Stay turned for the next blog!

Previous and Coming up Next in Paula's Olympic Blog Series

  • 8th January - History and Introduction
  • 15th January - A Little Bit about my Favourite Sports
  • 22nd January - Introducing Athletes from New Zealand
  • 29th January - Introducing Athletes from Australia
  • 19th February - In Sochi at the Olympics what was it really like?
  • 24th February - Events wrap up - New Zealand Ski and Snowboard Results
  • 4th March - How did Paula end up in Russia at the Olympics in the First Place?

Posted By: Paula Mitchell, @ Wed, 8th Jan 2014

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