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On which date were these Olympic Games awarded to Athens?

September 5, 1997. The International Olympic Committee announced the selection of Athens at the 106th IOC Session, at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Prior to 2004, Athens previously held the Games in which year?

1896. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in April, 1896. 311 competitors (all men) from 13 countries took part in nine sports.

Athens is the fourth city to have held the Summer Olympic Games twice: the other three are listed below. Which of the following cities isn't one of those three?

Rome. Rome held the Games in 1960. Paris were hosts in 1900 and 1924, London in 1908 and 1948 and Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984.

What cities missed out in the final selection for hosting the 2004 Olympic Games?

Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Rome & Stockholm. The vote for host city is a highly complicated procedure. IOC members vote in a secret ballot, with the lowest polling city dropping out in each round, until a city is chosen. The losing cities were eliminated in this order: Buenos Aires, Stockholm, Cape Town and finally Rome, which lost 41-66 to Athens in the final round.

What are the names of the Official Mascots?

Phevos and Athena. Phevos and Athena are brother and sister official Mascots. Their creation was inspired by an ancient Greek doll and their names are linked to ancient Greece.

In the ancient Games, dating back to the year 776 BC, what was the distance of the original race, called the 'stade'?

192.2 metres. This was the only event for the first thirteen Olympiads. Other events were added in later years. The ancient Games were finally banned by the Emperor Theodosius I in AD393.

The Marathon race commemmorates a legendary feat from the year 490 B.C. One of the Athenians brought the news of a battle victory from Marathon to Athens. After running all the way, what word did he utter?

Nenikekamen!. Nenikekamen means 'We won'. His name, according to legend, was Pheidippides, and he is reputed to have collapsed and died after uttering the message.

The Marathon is run over 42.195 km (26 miles and 385 yards). Where did this distance originate?

1908 Games in London. The distance of 42.195 km was set at the time of the 1908 London Olympics, and officially sanctioned in 1924. The original marathon route for the 1908 Marathon was set at 26 miles exactly, but extended by 385 yards to enable the start to be viewed from the nursery window of Windsor Castle!

Which of the following countries failed to win any gold medals in their own Games?

Canada in 1976. Canada won only eleven medals (five silver and six bronze, but no gold) in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Greece won ten gold medals in 1896, Finland won six in 1952 and Mexico three in 1968.

How many gold medals did Greece win in the Sydney 2000 Olympics?

4. Their gold medallists in Sydney 2000 were Konstantinos Kenteris in the men's 200m, Michail Mouroutsos in Taekwondo, and Pyrros Dimas & Akakios Kakiasvilis in Weightlifting.