Olympic Fun Facts
PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5, 6–8
• How Short: The first Olympics had only one event: the stade, or short sprint.
• No Girls Allowed: While there were trained women athletes in Ancient Greece, only men could participate in the Olympics.
• Before Track Suits: Young men from all over Greece took part in the games, but they had one thing in common: they competed naked!
• Rough Stuff: One ancient event, a combination of boxing and wrestling called the pankration, allowed kicking, strangleholds, and slapping-only gouging and biting were against the rules!
• No Medals: Winners of the ancient Olympics received wreaths woven from the branches of an olive tree