With the Tokyo Olympics approaching, we take a look at interesting facts and trivia about the Games from its previous editions. (More Sports News)
Here are some highlights and fun facts from the Olympics Games held in 1912 and 1920.
1912, Stockholm Olympics
*The Games were attended by approximately 2,400 athletes representing 28 countries, including 48 women, who competed in 102 events across 14 sports.
*It was the last Games where first-placed winners were awarded medals made completely of gold.
*For the first time, competitors in the Games came from all five continents, symbolising the Olympic rings.
*It marked the introduction of the automatic timing devices for the track events, the photo finish and a public address system.
*The middleweight wrestling semi-final match between Finland's Alfred Asikainen and Martin Klein of Russia lasted more than 11 hours. Klein eventually won but was too exhausted to participate in the championship match so he settled for the silver.
*The course for the cycling road race was 320km -- the longest race of any kind in Olympic history.
*The Games were the first to have art competitions, women's diving, women's swimming, and the first to feature both the decathlon and the new pentathlon.
*Boxing was removed from the programme as it was unappealing to the Swedes.
1920, Antwerp Olympics
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*The 1916 Olympic Games were scheduled to be held in Berlin but were cancelled due to World War I. The 1920 Games were awarded to Antwerp to honour the suffering that had been inflicted on the Belgian people during the war.
*The countries that were defeated in World War One -- Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey -- were not invited. The new Soviet Union chose not to attend.
*The city, plagued by bad weather and economic woes, had a very short time to clean up the rubble left by the war and as a result, the athletics stadium was unfinished when the Games began. The athletes were housed in crowded rooms furnished with folding cots.
*During the opening ceremony, the Olympic flag, with the five rings signifying the universality of the Olympic Games and the union of the five continents, was raised for the first time at an Olympic Games.
*The Olympic oath was taken for the first time by an athlete on behalf of all competitors, and for the first time, doves were released as a symbol of peace.
*In a performance unequalled in Olympic history, Nedo Nadi of Italy earned gold medals in five of the six fencing events.
* India sent its first Olympic team to the 1920 Olympics, 20 years after Norman Pritchard competed for India in the 1900 Paris Games.
*The Indian team comprised four athletes -- Purma Bannerjee (100m and 400m), Phadeppa Chaugule (10000m and marathon), Sadashiv Datar (marathon) and two wrestlers -- Kumar Navale and Randhir Shindes.
