Development of modern sport
The influence of British sports and their codified rules began to spread across the world in the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly association football.
The influence of British sports and their codified rules began to spread across the world in the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly association football. A number of major teams elsewhere in the world still show these British origins in their names, such as AC Milan in Italy, Corinthians in Brazil, and Athletic Bilbao in Spain. Cricket became popular in several of the nations of the then British Empire, such as Australia, South Africa and India. The revival of the Olympic Games by Baron Pierre de Coubertin was also heavily influenced by the amateur ethos of the English public schools. Baseball became established in the urban Northeastern United States, with the first rules being codified in the 1840s, while American football was very popular in the south-east. With baseball spreading to the south, and American football spreading to the north after the Civil War. In the 1870s the game split between the professionals and amateurs; the professional game rapidly gained dominance, and marked a shift in the focus from the player to the club. The rise of baseball also helped squeeze out other sports such as Cricket, which had been popular in Philadelphia prior to the rise of Baseball.American football also has its origins in the English variants of the game, with the first set of intercollegiate football rules based directly on the rules of the Football Association in London. However, Harvard chose to play a game based on the rules of Rugby football. Walter Camp would then heavily modify this variant in the 1880s, with the modifications also heavily influencing the rules of Canadian football.Some historians—notably Bernard Lewis—claim that team sports are primarily an invention of Western cultures. The traditional teams sports, according to these authors, springs from Europe, primarily England. This ignores some of the ancient games of cooperation from , paragliding, canyoning, BASE jumping, Parkour(or free-running) and more genteelly, orienteering. The history of sport education is an important topic of the political history.
There are many sports whose modern rules were formulated during the mid- or late- 19th century. World-wide, this certainly includes many different football codes, lawn bowls, lawn tennis and others. The major impetus for this was the patenting of the world's first lawnmower in 1830. This allowed for the preparation of modern ovals, playing fields, pitches, grass courts, etc.
The Beginning of the Modern Games
The modern Olympic Games have much in common with those of ancient Greece. They were reestablished by a French aristocrat, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who urged the founding of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. The committee originally scheduled the first modern Summer Olympic Games for the year 1900, but later pushed that date back to 1896. They were held in Athens Greece during the first week of April. The games included 14 countries and had over 200 participants, but most of them were Greek. Women were not allowed to compete in the 1896 Summer Olympic Games and did not make an appearance until the year 1900, when they competed in lawn tennis and golf.
The1936 Summer Olympics were held in Germany, amidst the Nazi regime of pre-World War II. We see the beauty and spirit of the 1936 Summer Olympics in the amazing victory of Jesse Owens who won four gold medals all while dealing with the immense pressure of racism and hate. Hitler was looking forward to showcasing his supposedly superior German Arian athletes but Jesse Owens proved him wrong by winning a gold medal in the 100 meters, 200 meters, the long jump and the four person 100 meter relay. The 1936 Summer Olympics was truly a memorable and important step in the right direction towards racial equality and justice.
The 1996 Summer Olympics repeated the feelings from the 1972 Winter Olympics when a terrorist group kidnapped 7 Israeli athletes. The 1996 Summer Olympics are remembered most for the terrorist attack that killed one and injured over a hundred more, but the games continued. There was a large turn out with 196 countries competing. The 1996 Summer Olympic Games heralded two new sports, softball, and soccer, and the US women won the gold medal in both new sports. Michael Johnson won double gold medals in the 200 meter and the 400 meter as did a French woman Marie Jose Perac.
The 2000 Summer Olympics show another record turnout and bridging of hostility for the Games. 199 nations gathered to celebrate, and North Korea and South Korea united to enter the field under the same flag and uniform. Ian Thorpe of Australia broke his own world record in the 400 meter freestyle and managed to take four medals, three of which were gold. The 2000 Summer Olympics show the US softball team defending its previous win with a new medal and Michael Johnson wins the gold in the 400 meter. The 2000 Summer Olympics also marked the turning of a new century the first Olympic Games to be celebrated in the 21 century.
The Olympic Games just as before, continue to evolve and change with more sports being added and more people being eligible. The History of the Olympic Games spans thousands of years, and continues today to bridge the gap between countries. All differences between people can be put aside for the glory of the games.
