SHORT
The Olympic Games, 29 centuries ago
This is what the Olympic Stadium looked like
With less than two hours until the Paris 2024 Olympics, grand structures await athletes.
But what of the original stadium?
We expected bleachers, something grander, yet its simplicity proved striking.
Yes, this is the Olympic Stadium in Ancient Olympia.
My boy then started running, showing us that this place's sporting spirit was still alive.
As we crossed the Peloponnese in June, we halted at Ancient Olympia, a must this year. It offered a chance to show my children where these games began, in the religious center of Olympia in ancient Greece.
In 1894, Pierre de Coubertin sought to globalize sport and revived the Games by founding the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Aided by Greek writer Dimitrios Vikelas, the first modern Olympics were inaugurated on April 6, 1896, by King George I of Greece.
