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For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, China will play host to the world's greatest athletes when the 2008 Summer Olympics begin in Beijing in August. The modern Olympic Games date to 1896, and the inaugural festival consisted of only 9 sports with 43 events. The Games have grown substantially over the past 112 years, and the Beijing Olympics will feature 28 sports with more than 300 events. Go Inside Britannica to learn more about the Summer Olympic Games.
Sports Added to the Olympic Games in the Past 20 Years
Outside of the typical group of swimming,
athletics, and gymnastics, the Olympics feature a number of less well-known sports. Britannica has the details on these younger Olympic sports, including badminton, table tennis, softball, and triathlon.
Racing for Gold
Who are they?
Each of these women have won Olympic tennis singles titles and are all-time greats in their sport. Do you know who they are? Just click on their photo to find out!
Boxing Gold Medalists
Boxing first appeared as a formal Olympic event in the 23rd Olympiad (688 BC). Thanks to the following champions, the sport has prevailed into the 21st century, and remains an Olympic favorite.
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Let Britannica Help You Plan Summer Travel!
Trying to decide where to go for your summer vacation? Britannica’s Compare Countries feature makes it easy to compare and contrast different countries. Compare maps, languages, history, population, and other statistics about any two countries in the world. Simply select two countries and click GO, and links to articles, videos, and web sites will appear side-by-side.
In addition to being a resource for travelers, Britannica’s Compare Countries feature is a great tool for learning more about geography, as well as a starting point for research projects and reports!
Try it today! 
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Sheryl Swoopes
U.S. women's basketball gold medalist Sheryl Swoopes talks about her experiences at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Acquired from Vast Video
View Video
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Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens (inside lane) winning the 100-metre dash at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
Acquired from Vast Video
View Video
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Free Web Training for Britannica Online Subscribers!
See what's new with Britannica Online! Research, Reference, Instruction, and Electronic Resource Librarians are invited to participate in a complimentary online Britannica training session. You do not even have to leave the library for this 1-hour live presentation where you will learn new ways to get students started on their projects using special Britannica Online features.
Presentations will be conducted at 11 a.m. Central Time on these upcoming dates:
- Thursday, August 14th
- Tuesday, September 16th
- Thursday, October 16th
Sign up now! Space is limited, and only current Britannica Online subscribers can attend.
You can invite others to join you for this presentation, especially if you can project the presentation onto a screen for them to see. Please submit only one registration per location for each date.
You will be surprised at how much there is to discover!
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The Celebration of Life Through Sports Award:
A Picture Worth a Thousand Words by Erik Daily
by David Stein
Can a snapshot be worthy of a "Celebration of Life Through Sports Award"? Can a picture really be worth a thousand words, or at least enough words to fill an article?
You betcha! See photo ...(read more)
The Britannica Blog is a place to share smart, lively conversations on just about any topic.
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Written and visually designed for students ages 10 to 17, the 2008 Compton's by Britannica has been thoroughly reviewed, updated, and revised by educators, expert contibutors, and Britannica editors. Packed with dramatic pictures, detailed diagrams, and engaging text, Compton's gives young readers the basic facts and entices advanced students to dig deeper for the answers to their more complex questions.
New and revised articles include economics, electronic games, Jennifer Hudson, planets, popular music, rainforest, Supreme Court, and the nations of the world. With over 50% new and revised content since 2004, Compton's is ideal for middle school and high school aged students.
Order the 2008 Compton's by Britannica for only $649, and get a free S&H. Plus receive a copy of Earth's Changing Environment, a $29.95 value, for free! Please mention promotion code JULY when ordering.
Call Britannica at 1-800-621-3900 or go online to www.eb.com to place your order now.
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The first marathon footrace was run in the 1896 Athens Olympic Games and was won by the Greek runner Spyridon Louis. The race had been proposed by a French literary scholar and friend of Pierre, baron de Coubertin, as a way to commemorate the legendary run of the messenger Pheidippides during the Battle of Marathon. The Olympic race followed Pheidippides' purported route from Marathon to Athens, a distance of 40 km (25 miles).
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