Modern era (Olympics)

The period of the Olympic movement beginning with the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896. It includes the Summer and Winter Games and the institutions governing them.

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International Olympic Committee: The international organization that oversees the Olympic movement and selects host cities for the Games. It governs the movement throughout the modern era and sets the framework for each edition.
Pierre de Coubertin: The French educator who led the revival of the Olympic Games and helped found the International Olympic Committee. His campaign produced the institutional groundwork for the modern Games.
Olympic boycott: A refusal by a country or group of athletes to participate in an Olympic Games for political or other reasons. The 1980 and 1984 boycotts exposed how geopolitical conflict could disrupt the Games.
Olympic amateurism: The principle that Olympic athletes should compete without receiving payment for their sporting performance. Its former prominence contrasts with the modern Games’ broad acceptance of professional athletes.
Olympic Charter: The fundamental document that sets out the rules, structure, and principles of the Olympic movement. Its successive revisions have shaped how the Games operate across this period.
Ancient Olympic Games: A series of athletic festivals held at Olympia in ancient Greece in honor of Zeus. The modern movement invoked these festivals while creating a distinct international event.
Olympic Games controversies: Disputes and scandals involving the Olympic Games, including those over governance, fairness, and hosting. Recurring controversies have tested the movement’s claims of fairness and international unity.
Paralympic Games: An international multisport event for athletes with disabilities, held in connection with the Olympic Games. The Paralympics share the Olympic calendar but constitute a distinct movement and competition.
Summer Olympic Games: The edition of the Olympic Games held primarily in summer, featuring a broad program of sports. These Games began in Athens in 1896 and anchor the modern era’s chronology.
Wenlock Olympian Games: An annual sporting festival founded in Shropshire, England, in 1850 by physician William Penny Brookes. Brookes’s local games helped inspire Coubertin’s vision of an international revival.