---
title: "40 Interesting Facts About Olympics"
url: https://www.kickassfacts.com/40-interesting-olympic-facts/
date: 2017-01-20
modified: 2017-01-20
lang: en
author: "Admin"
description: "Here are 40 interesting facts about Olympics. 1-5 Olympic Facts 1. In South Korea, men who win Olympic medals do not have to participate in the two-year long mandatory military..."
categories:
  - "Fact List"
  - "Sports"
image: https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/olympics.jpg
word_count: 1542
---

# 40 Interesting Facts About Olympics

Here are 40 interesting facts about Olympics.

## 1-5 Olympic Facts

[![south-korea-military-training](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/south-korea-military-training.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/south-korea-military-training.jpg)

1. In South Korea, men who win Olympic medals do not have to participate in the two-year long mandatory [military](https://www.kickassfacts.com/worlds-7-most-insane-military-exercises/) service. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_South_Korea)

2. In the month before the ancient Olympics, no [wars](https://www.kickassfacts.com/some-of-historys-craziest-wars/) were permitted so that spectators could travel from across [Greece](https://www.kickassfacts.com/40-interesting-ancient-greece-facts/) unharmed. - [Source](https://www.ancient.eu/Olympic_Games/)

3. In the 1912 Olympics, a marathon runner quit and went home to [Japan](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-japan-part1/) without telling officials and was considered a missing person in Sweden for 50 years. In 1966, he was invited to complete the marathon. His time: 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20.379 seconds. - Source

4. A woman named Margaret Abbott competed in and won a golf tournament in [Paris](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-paris/). After her death, it was discovered that this tournament was part of the poorly-organized 1900 Olympics. She never knew she was an Olympian. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Abbott)

5. An Ethiopian Olympic runner couldn't find a comfortable pair of shoes, so he ran the 1960 Olympic Marathon in [Rome](https://www.kickassfacts.com/facts-about-rome-infographic/) barefoot, finished first, and set a new [World Record](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-interesting-world-records/). - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abebe_Bikila)

## 6-10 Olympic Facts

[![shun-fujimoto](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/shun-fujimoto.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/shun-fujimoto.jpg)

6. A Japanese gymnast, Shun Fujimoto, once broke his knee at the Olympics in 1976 but didn't tell anyone and performed miraculously despite his injury, winning his team the [gold](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-amazing-facts-about-gold/) medal. - [Source](http://www.forwardwalking.com/2012/08/09/perseverance/)

7. The [marathon](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-marathons/) of the 1904 Olympics had many bizarre events including someone driving to the finish line and pretending to win, someone winning by using [rat](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-interesting-rat-facts/) poison as a stimulant, someone taking a nap and still finishing 4th, and someone being chased a mile off course by aggressive [dogs](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-interesting-facts-dogs/). - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_Summer_Olympics#Marathon)

8. Ross Rebagliati, the first man to win a Gold medal in Snowboarding in the Olympics only to be disqualified for use of [marijuana](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-interesting-facts-about-marijuana/), now owns a medical marijuana business called Ross' Gold. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Rebagliati)

9. Pistol dueling with wax bullets was a popular pastime in the early 20th century and even featured as a sport in the 1908 Summer Olympics. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax_bullet#Wax_bullet_dueling)

10. The [USA](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-usa/) won the last ever Olympic gold medal for rugby in 1924 and are therefore technically still reigning champions. - [Source](http://en.espn.co.uk/onthisday/rugby/story/96775.html)

## 11-15 Olympic Facts

[![white australian olympic medal](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/433ad8c39665a2ed18f46f9aea17987e.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/433ad8c39665a2ed18f46f9aea17987e.jpg)Image credit: Riccardo Gazzaniga

11. The white Australian silver medalist, who stood with the two African-American sprinters giving the "black power" salute in the 1968 Olympics, was wearing a Civil Rights button to stand in solidarity with them and did so for the rest of his life despite being ostracized in his own country. - [Source](http://sfglobe.com/2015/12/07/white-man-in-the-photo-is-the-third-hero-that-night-in-1968)

12. The Nazi's invented the Olympic Torch Relay. It was so successful, that the International Olympic Committee adopted it ever since. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_flame)

13. 26.5 million Canadians tuned into the gold medal final in men's hockey during the 2010 Winter Olympics. That's 80% of the entire country's population. - [Source](https://www.nhl.com/news/olympic-final-most-watched-hockey-game-in-30-years/c-519476)
14. In 1968 Olympic long jumper Bob Beamon's first attempt exceeded the limit of the official measuring equipment. It took over 15 minutes before a distance was posted, and only then did he realize he had broken the world record by nearly 2 feet (0.6m). - [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEt_Xgg8dzc)

15. MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) was an event at the ancient Olympics. It is called Pankration and is the only event that wasn't reinstated with the creation of the modern Olympics. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pankration)

## 16-20 Olympic Facts

[![emil-zatopek](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/emil-zatopek.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/emil-zatopek.jpg)

16. Czechoslovak runner Emil Zatopek decided to compete in the marathon in the 1952 Olympics, despite never having run that distance in his life. Zatopek asked fellow runner Jim Peters, who he was racing alongside if the pace was fast enough. When Peters said "no", Zatopek sped up and won the race. - [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/jun/22/50-olympic-stunning-moments-emil-zatopek)

17. Luxembourg's gold medal at the 1952 Olympics was so unexpected that the organizers had neglected to give the band a score for their national anthem. The musicians "hurriedly improvised a tune which bore little resemblance to the Luxembourg anthem". - [Source](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=m1CgoJFOAHgC&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=luxembourg+olympics+anthem&source=bl&ots=IYVBiZVxKH&sig=Opy-wVL3JillCZVJzUFOSpW8QUo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oYI5VMCDOqbR7QabtoH4Dg)

18. [Usain Bolt](https://www.kickassfacts.com/usain-bolt-facts/) ate 100 Chicken McNuggets a day for 10 days before the Beijing Olympics and eventually winning 3 gold medals. - [Source](http://time.com/3912896/usain-bolt-chicken-mcnuggets-olympics/)

19. Betty Robinson, an Olympic runner, was involved in a plane crash in 1931 and was wrongly pronounced dead upon first being discovered. She spent 7 months in a coma and it took her 2 years to learn to walk normally again. In 1936, she returned to the US Olympic team and won gold in the relay. - [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jul/31/olympicgames2008.athletics)

20. Liechtenstein and Haiti developed identical national [flags](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-flags/) independently of each other. No one realized until the two countries competed against each other in the 1936 Summer Olympics under the same flag. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein_at_the_1936_Summer_Olympics?70k=)

## 21-25 Olympic Facts

[![marisa dick](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/marisa-dick.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/marisa-dick.jpg)

21. A gymnast at the Rio Olympics named Marisa Dick created a new move for the balance beam and was the first to use it in the competition. A “change-leg leap to free-cross split sit” is now known as The Dick Move. - [Source](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/gymnast-marisa-dick-has-created-a-tricky-move-with-a-trickier-name-011541845.html)

22. The [USA](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-usa/) has never won Olympic medals in just 3 sports: handball, badminton, and table tennis. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_at_the_Olympics#Medals_by_summer_sport#)

23. When [Australia](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-australia-part-1-of-2/) removed 1 cent coins in 1992 the coins were melted down and the bronze was used to make the Bronze Medals for the 2000 [Sydney](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-interesting-facts-about-sydney/) Olympics. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_one-cent_coin)

24. A 1964 Olympic champion, Ewa Kłobukowska, failed the newly-introduced gender test before the European Cup in 1967 and was consequently banned from competing and stripped of her records; a year later, she gave birth to her first child. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewa_K%C5%82obukowska)

25. Geena Davis tried out for the 2000 Sydney Olympics in archery. She placed 24th out of 300 women but did not qualify for the Olympics. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geena_Davis)

## 26-30 Olympic Facts

[![349px-Jesse_Owens3](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/349px-Jesse_Owens3.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/349px-Jesse_Owens3.jpg)

26. Jesse Owens, winner of four golds in the '36 Olympics said, "[Hitler](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-adolf-hitler/) didn't snub me – it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram." - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Owens)

27. The 2020 Olympics will take place in Tokyo, as predicted in the manga Akira in 1982. - [Source](http://www.avclub.com/article/iakira-ipredicted-that-the-2020-olympics-would-be--102654)

28. At the 1956 Olympics, an Australian student successfully impersonated an Olympic torchbearer, handing the mayor of [Sydney](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-interesting-facts-about-sydney/) a painted chair leg topped with a pair of burning underwear in front of a crowd of thousands. - [Source](http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the_olympic_underwear_relay)

29. The night before the Olympic final, Michael Jordan apparently spent the night drinking and gambling all night, then he went on a long day of press appearances, plus 18 holes of golf in Barcelona before he went on to lead Team [USA](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-usa/) in a gold-medal-winning victory over Croatia. - [Source](https://sports.yahoo.com/news/michael-jordan-apparently-didnt-sleep-223549608.html)

30. Because [Brazil](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-brazil/) couldn't afford to send its athletes to the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. They loaded their ship with [coffee](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-coffee/) and sold it along the way. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_at_the_1932_Summer_Olympics)

## 31-35 Olympic Facts

![tim-duncan](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/tim-duncan.jpg)

31. Tim Duncan grew up in the US Virgin Islands where he was gearing up for the 1992 Olympics as a competitive swimmer until Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island's only Olympic-sized pool. The only alternative was to swim in the [ocean](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-interesting-facts-seas-oceans/), and Duncan was afraid of sharks, so he turned to basketball. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Duncan#Biography)

32. With less than 24 hours notice before the 2014 Olympics Hockey final [Canada](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-canada-part1/) vs. Sweden, Alberta changed the [liquor](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-alcohol/) law to allow bars to open at 5 am and serve liquor so people could watch the game at the bar. - [Source](http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/calgary/alberta-bars-can-serve-alcohol-at-5-a-m-for-olympic-men-s-hockey-game-1.2546958)

33. Mark Spitz, nine-time Olympic champion, jokingly told the Russian swim team coach in 1972 that his mustache increased his speed in the water, deflecting water away from his mouth. The next year, every Russian swimmer was sporting one. - [Source](https://swimswam.com/10-things-didnt-know-mark-spitz/)

34. Richard Jewell, a security guard who was a national hero, when he saved hundreds of people by spotting a bomb at the 1996 Olympics. He was later wrongly accused of the crime, enduring a trial by media - which took a toll on him personally and professionally. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Jewell)

35. The largest stadium in the world is in [North Korea](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-north-korea/) and has a capacity of 150,000. It was built purely to outdo South Korea's Seoul Olympic stadium which has a 70,000 capacity. - [Source](http://stadiumdb.com/stadiums/pkr/rungrado_may_day_stadium)

## 36-40 Olympic Facts

[![jamaican-bobsleigh-team](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/jamaican-bobsleigh-team.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/jamaican-bobsleigh-team.jpg)[Image source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica_national_bobsleigh_team#/media/File:Two-man_bobsleigh,_2014_winter_Olympics,_Jamaica.jpg)

36. The Jamaican bobsleigh team returned to the Winter Olympics in 2014 after failing to qualify in 2006 & 2010. Lacking funds, the cryptocurrency Dogecoin community raised $30,000 on the team's behalf in two days. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica_national_bobsleigh_team#Modern_day)

37. Young Greek hoplites (citizen soldiers) had to dress in heavy armor and run a foot race of 1,300 ft. in the Olympics. This was done to develop the battlefield tactic of rushing to the Persian lines in rapid pace so as to counter their archers. - [Source](http://www.realmofhistory.com/2016/01/19/10-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-greek-hoplites/)

38. The winner of the [marathon](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-marathons/) at the first modern Olympics (1896) stopped for a glass of [wine](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-wine/) at a local inn along the route. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyridon_Louis#The_marathon_race)

39. 150,000 condoms were provided to the athletes at the 2012 Olympics, enough for each athlete to have protected [sex](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-sex/) 15 times. - [Source](http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/08/sport/olympics-village-sex-party-athletes/index.html?hpt=wo_t4)

40. When Team Canada's Olympic gold medal-winning goalie Shannon Szabados was invited to take practice with the perennial last-place Edmonton Oilers in the spring of 2014, someone asked her if she was worried about getting hit on by the players. Her response: "Nope, they can't score anyway." - [Source](http://o.canada.com/sports/team-canada-goalie-shannon-szabados-suiting-up-for-edmonton-oilers-practice)