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Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains highest part of the Coast Ranges , on the Olympic Peninsula, NW Wash. Mt. Olympus (7,965 ft/2,427 m) is the highest point in the mountains, which are composed mainly of sedimentary rock. The western side of the mountains is in one of the areas of greatest precipitation in the Uni...
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Olympic games
Olympic games premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests.
The Olympics of Ancient Greece
Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 BC, the contests in Homer's Iliad indicate a much earlier competitive tradition. ...
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Sites of the Modern Olympic Games
Sites of the Modern Olympic Games
Sites of the Modern Olympic Games
Summer Games
Year
Site
1896
Athens, Greece
1900
Paris, France
1904
St. Louis, Mo.
1908
London, En...
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Commonwealth games
Commonwealth games series of amateur athletic meets held among citizens of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations . Originated (1930) as the British Empire games, the series is held every four years and is patterned after the Olympic games; women have participated since 1934. In their early stag...
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pentathlon
pentathlon , composite athletic event. In ancient Greece it comprised leaping, foot racing, wrestling, discus throwing, and casting the javelin. The modern pentathlon, an Olympic games event for men since 1912, comprises a cross-country horseback ride, a cross-country run, a swimming race, é...
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Paavo Nurmi
Paavo Nurmi , 1897-1973, Finnish track star. Between 1920 and 1932 he set 20 world running records and won nine Olympic gold medals. His Olympic victories included the 10,000-meter run and the cross-country event at Antwerp in 1920, the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter and cross-country runs at Paris in ...
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Albert II
Albert II 1958-, prince of Monaco (2005-), grad. Amherst College (B.A., 1981). A member of the long-ruling Grimaldi family, he is the son of Prince Rainier III , upon whose death he succeeded to the throne, and Princess Grace , the former Grace Kelly. The prince, who trained in financial admini...
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Lake Placid
Lake Placid village (1990 pop. 2,485), Essex co., NE N.Y.; settled 1850, inc. 1900. In the Adirondack Mts. at an altitude of 1,800 ft (549 m), the village surrounds Mirror Lake. It is a famous resort and sports center. The 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics were held in the village, and a U.S. Olympic t...
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Nadia Comaneci
Nadia Comaneci , 1961-, Romanian-American gymnast. Under the tutelage of coach Bela Karolyi, she rose to prominence in the celebrated Romanian gymnastics program. Comaneci was known for the boldness of her routines and her implacable composure. In the 1976 Olympics, she won five medals—three g...
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decathlon
decathlon , in modern Olympic games , a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. It consists of the long jump; the high jump; the discus throw; the shot putt; the javelin throw; the 100-, 400-, and 1,500-meter races; the 110-meter hurdle race; and the pole vault...
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