The summer Olympics is one sporting event that is ardently followed by sports fans and neutrals alike whenever it rolls around the corner every four years. However, what most neutrals will not be aware of is the fact that there are various types of Olympics that take place, also every four years.
Here, we take a look at the four types of major Olympics that take place around the world:
Summer Olympics
Arguably the oldest sporting event to take place on the globe, the summer games are an event with a wide array of sports. Most commonly associated with track and field events, over the years a variety of sports have associated themselves with the Olympics. Events like skateboarding, surfing, and karate made their debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. More than 11,000 athletes from 205 countries took place in the marquee event in 2021.
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics is held predominantly during the winter matches and came up after the success of the Summer Games. The first Winter Games were held in 1924 in France and between 1924 and 1992, the Summer and Winter Games were held in the same years. The IOC decision divided the same in 1986, but they were once again held in the same year after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The last games were being held in Beijing, with a record 109 events in seven sports including biathlon, bobsledding, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating, and skiing.
Paralympics
India as a country have been very successful at the Paralympics. The international multi-sport events that is usually held after the Summer Olympics, involve athletes with a range of disabilities. These can be impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. There are both Winter and Summer Paralympic Games. This version of the Olympics began in 1948 with a small gathering of British World War II veterans but has grown over the years: 400 athletes from 23 countries in 1960 to thousands of competitors from over 100 countries at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Youth Olympics
To prepare budding athletes for the rigours of the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) brought in the Youth Olympics. These are held for athletes aged between 14 and 18 years old. The first summer edition was held in Singapore in August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, Austria in January 2012.
