The Olympics: LEVELED BOOK • Z

Past and Present

A Reading A–Z Level Z Leveled Book The Olympics:
Word Count: 2,255
Past and Present

•Z
R•W
Written by Katherine Follett and David Dreier

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The Olympics:
Photo Credits:
Front cover: © Wu Wei/Xinhua Press/Corbis; back cover: © Hulton-Deutsch
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4: © Bettman/Corbis; pages 5, 9, 18: © Jupiterimages Corporation; page 8: ©

Past and Present

Exactostock/SuperStock; page 10: © Musser Remy/123RF; page 11: © Mary Evans/
SZ Photo/Scherl; page 12: © REUTERS/Carl De Souza/Pool (China); page 13: ©
Bernd Thissen/dpa /Landov; page 14 (left): © The Granger Collection, New York;
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REUTERS/Chris Stanford; page 20: © Image Source/Corbis; page 19: © Tom Fox/
Dallas Morning News/Corbis; page 21: © REUTERS/Jerry Lampen; page 22: © Chris
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The Olympics: Past and Present

Level Z Leveled Book
Written by Katherine Follett © Learning A–Z Correlation
and David Dreier Written by Katherine Follett
and David Dreier
LEVEL Z
Fountas & Pinnell U–W
All rights reserved. Reading Recovery N/A
www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com
DRA 50
María Colón of Cuba throws to win the women’s javelin final. She set a
world and Olympic record of 68.4 meters on July 25, 1980.

Table of Contents
To Be the Best in the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 To Be the Best
in the World
The Ancient Olympic Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Citius, Altius, Fortius. These three Latin
The Olympics Revived . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 words, meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger,” are
The Olympics Evolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 the motto of the Olympic Games. All athletes
who excel in any sport strive to outperform their
Today’s Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 competitors. But in Olympic competitions,
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 winning means even more. Athletes who win
Olympic gold medals are the best in all the world.

Did you ever wonder where the Olympic

Games came from? The Olympics began in ancient
Greece and have a long history of promoting
peaceful competition. Many cities around the
world compete for the honor of holding the Games.
Hosting the Summer Olympics or Winter Olympics
makes a city part of the Games’ rich tradition.

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 3 4

Ancient Olympic Games
Black Sea
The ancient Greeks Italy
held regional athletic Mount
Olympus
competitions throughout
Greece for centuries, Ionian Ancient Greece
Sea Aegean Sea
and many of the events Delphi
Thebes
Eretria Asia Minor
Athens
were intended to honor Olympia Corinth
Argos
important Greek deities. Sparta
Each city-state in Greece
Mediterranean Sea Rhodes
had its own government Greek areas
Crete
and laws as well as its Other lands
Greek city-states
own army. City-states Zeus was the god of the sky in
clashed with one another Greek mythology. Map of ancient Greece around the time of the first Olympic Games

frequently—both in war and in athletic contests.

Ancient writings say that a central, organized

festival of competition began in Olympia, Greece, The earliest Olympics only included footraces,
in 776 bc, although many historians believe it was but the Games quickly expanded to include
probably much earlier. The ancient Greeks actually fourteen separate contests. Competitions in
held four different athletic competitions, one every running, boxing, discus throwing, javelin
year, each honoring a different god. The Olympics throwing, wrestling, and jumping were held
was just one competition of the cycle, which is in a racetrack called a hippodrome. The ancient
why the Summer Games and Winter Games are contests were much more freewheeling and
held every four years. The Olympics honored violent than today’s events. Wrestlers could
the king of the gods, Zeus, who lived on Mount kick, punch, pull hair, and break bones, while
Olympus. Because Zeus was the most important charioteers often crashed into each other with
god of the Greek pantheon, the Olympics quickly painful and bloody results, especially at turns
became the most important athletic competition. in the racetrack. Serious injuries and even deaths
were common.

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 5 6

Thousands of spectators traveled from all An artist’s image of
the ancient Olympic
across Greece to see the Games. Athletes trained grounds 7 stadium

for months, or even years, and were showered

with glory when they won. The only official prize
6
was an olive branch from a sacred tree. But 5
1
Olympic champions were often given money
by their hometowns to celebrate their victories. 3

Champions were also excused from paying taxes

ever again. 4

The ancient Games provided important 2 to horse-racing track

opportunities for trade and communication.

1 Gymnasium 4 Athletes’ living area 6 Temple of Hera
People sold food and supplies, and provided
2 Swimming pool 5 Temple of Zeus 7 Bank and market
lodging to visitors. Because great numbers of 3 Boxing and wrestling areas
people came from all over Greece to see the
Games, Olympia was a popular place to hold But most importantly, the Games signaled a
business meetings and to attend family reunions. time of peace in Greece. During every Olympics,
The Olympic grounds had luxuries including the city-states observed a strictly enforced truce.
a hotel, a swimming pool, a sauna, a marketplace, The Games allowed the city-states to compete with
and a bank, in addition to the stadium, one another on peaceful terms. No one was allowed
gymnasium, and horse-racing arena. to carry a weapon into the city of Olympia during
the Games. While the Games were being held,
Many religious, civil, and social functions
people could travel freely throughout Greece
were part of the early Greek Olympics. A temple
without fear of war among the city-states.
and an enormous gold-and-ivory statue of Zeus
stood on the grounds. The ceremonies included
a procession, or parade, of all the athletes and
Olympics Trivia
The gigantic statue of Zeus inside the temple at Olympia
officials, followed by a sacrifice of as many as was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
one hundred white oxen and a celebration feast.

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 7 8

Most Olympic athletes competed nude or wore
only small shorts. The Greeks believed that a The Olympics Revived
strong body was meant to be shown off and that Although the site of the Olympics was lost in
loose clothing could trip up an athlete. time, legends about the Games continued to interest
many historians. In the 1700s, archaeologists began
A strict civil law
searching for the Olympic grounds. By the 1890s,
prohibited adult women
they had located and excavated most of the major
from participating in,
buildings at Olympia.
or even watching, the
Games—on pain of A Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin
death. However, the (duh coo-bair-TAHN) was fascinated by the ancient
Greeks allowed young Olympics. He liked the idea of using sports instead
girls to attend the of warfare to compete, and he thought that being
Games as spectators. athletic helped a person to develop good character.
Some of the ancient footraces
In 470 bc, the Greeks required runners to carry heavy Coubertin promoted the idea of reviving the
created a separate shields. Olympics as a worldwide sporting competition.
women’s athletic festival People loved the idea, so Coubertin formed the
to honor the goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus. International Olympic Committee, or IOC, in 1894.

The ancient Olympic Games were wildly

popular for centuries. The Games continued even
after the Roman Empire conquered the Greeks
in 146 bc. But around ad 393, the Roman emperor
Theodosius (thee-uh-DOH-shee-us), a Christian,
put an end to all pagan festivals, including the
Olympics. Olympia and the Olympic grounds
were abandoned. After hundreds of years of
neglect, war, earthquakes, and floods, the ancient
Olympic grounds were buried and forgotten.
Ruins of the stadium entrance built around 200 bc in Olympia, Greece

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 9 10

Greece, home of the ancient Olympics, hosted
the first modern Olympics in 1896. Thousands of
proud Greek citizens crowded into the rebuilt
stadium to watch. Over two hundred athletes
from fourteen countries registered for the Games.
However, as in the original Olympics, only men
could participate in the 1896 Games. Athletes
competed in track-and-field events (running,
jumping, and throwing), tennis, weightlifting,
cycling, wrestling, swimming, and gymnastics.
The winner of each event in these new Games
The men’s weightlifting winners receive their medals at the 1936 Games in
received an honorary olive branch, a certificate,
Berlin, Germany. and a silver medal.

Coubertin had strong beliefs about how the

Games should be organized. He hoped that the
modern Olympics would be a time of peace, when
nations would put aside politics and warfare, as
the Greeks had done for the ancient Games.

Coubertin was adamant that all of the athletes

should compete out of love for the sport, not out
of a desire for prizes. For that reason, modern
champions, like their ancient counterparts, receive
only a symbolic prize rather than money or
goods. The IOC also made a rule that only
amateur athletes—those who did not make
money from their sports—could compete in
Athletes run in the men’s marathon during the 2008 Summer Games in
the Games. Beijing, China.

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 11 12

The Olympics Evolve
In 1906, at Games held in an off-schedule
year, Olympic organizers revived the ancient
tradition of an opening procession. Athletes
paraded around the stadium behind the flags
of their nations before the competition began.
From then on, each Olympics included a colorful
and elaborate opening ceremony.

Coubertin also designed the Olympic flag,

first flown in 1920, which is white with five
The Olympic flag is lowered at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Summer colored rings. The interlocking rings on the flag
Games in Beijing, China. represent the five settled continents of the world
working together in peace and harmony. At least
The next two Olympics, in Paris (1900) and in one color on the flag can be found on the flag of
St. Louis (1904), were less successful. The host every nation.
cities did not build Olympic grounds or “villages,”
so the athletes had poor housing and equipment.
Many outdoor events were delayed or canceled
because of bad weather. The Games were not
promoted or advertised well, so people took little
notice of them and attendance was low. The
Games also had to compete for audiences with
the world’s fairs that took place in the Olympic
host cities in 1900 and 1904. Organizers learned
from their mistakes, however, and the Games
slowly grew into the amazingly successful Posters for the 1900 Summer Games held in Paris, France, and the 2004
Olympic Games we know today. Summer Games held in Athens, Greece

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 13 14

Chamonix (sham-oh-NEE), France, hosted the Officials began using the Olympic torch in
first Olympic Winter Games in 1924. More than 1928. In 1936, the tradition of running the torch
250 athletes from 16 nations competed, including relay began. To honor the origin of the Games, the
11 women. The first Winter Games had sixteen torch is lit in Olympia using magnified sunlight.
events, including speed skating, cross-country Runners carry the torch from Olympia to the new
skiing, ski jumping, and ice hockey. The Winter host city, passing the torch from one to the next as
Olympics grew to become very popular. it moves through countries and across oceans. At
the opening ceremonies, the final runner hands
One of the female
the relay torch to a special guest. This guest is
skaters at the 1924
often a former Olympic champion. He or she uses
Winter Games was
the relay torch to light the Olympic flame, which
Norway’s twelve-
burns for the duration of the Games.
year-old Sonja Henie
(SOHN-yuh HEN-ee),
who fell and finished
last in her event. But
falling and failing
at age twelve did Norwegian skater Sonja Henie
not deter Henie. She became one of the greatest
competitors of the early Winter Olympics and one
of the most famous athletes of all time. Henie won
gold medals at the 1928, 1932, and 1936 Winter
Games and went on to star in spectacular ice
shows and in films.

The year 1928 was a milestone for female

athletes. That year in Amsterdam, the Netherlands,
women were officially allowed to compete in the American boxing legend Muhammad Ali lights an Olympic torch as part of
the relay before the 2002 Olympics. Ali won a gold medal in the 1960
Summer Games for the first time. Games in Rome, Italy.

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 15 16

In the 1960s, the Games were first broadcast
on television, and advertisers began placing
their logos on Olympic equipment. The IOC still
raises large sums of money for the Games from
companies that pay for the right to use the
Olympic logo on their products, such as cereals
and candy bars.

The IOC also decides which sports will be

allowed in the Olympics. The total number of
athletic events keeps growing as more sports Jesse Owens set several world records and became famous as a college
track star before competing in the Olympics.
become popular. For example, snowboarding has
been included since the 1998 Winter Games in
War and politics sometimes disrupt the Games.
Nagano, Japan. For the 2008 Games, the IOC cut
Three Olympics were canceled because of World
women’s boxing and added open-water swimming
Wars I and II. At the 1936 Berlin Games, the ruling
and women’s steeplechase.
Nazis wanted to prove that white Germans were
IOC officials also schedule the Games. After the a superior race of people. They spent millions of
1992 Games, IOC officials decided to start holding dollars promoting their racist ideas and their
the Summer Games and Winter Games in different athletes. But they were humiliated by the amazing
years, two years apart. The 1994 Winter Games in gold-medal performance of runner Jesse Owens,
Lillehammer, Norway, were followed in 1996 by an African American.
Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1972, Palestinian terrorists kidnapped nine
The IOC has made other important changes athletes from Israel’s Olympic team. Seventeen
as well. It slowly relaxed the rules that kept people were killed in the kidnapping and in
professional athletes out of the Games. This the failed rescue attempt. At the 1996 Games in
change was made in part because many Atlanta, one person was killed and more than
countries train their Olympic athletes as if they one hundred people were injured when a bomb
were professionals. exploded at a concert.

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 17 18

In order to compete
Today’s Olympics at the Olympic level
The modern Olympics have changed in many today, athletes must
respects since they resumed in 1896. The Games train harder than ever.
have grown into a huge spectacle and have To be contenders for
become enormously medals, Olympic
competitive. Training athletes must use the
to be in the best latest equipment and
physical condition find the best trainers
is a full-time job. and sponsors. Athletes
Most early gold- often begin their
medal winners training at an early
Young American gymnasts practice
would not even age as coaches help at a training center.
qualify for a modern them develop their
Olympics. Today’s natural abilities. Athletes who want to compete in
athletes routinely the Olympics devote a great deal of time to honing
perform at levels their skills. Many countries maintain special
that would have Olympic training centers to support athletes while
astonished those they train.
earlier competitors.
Olympic competition is so strong that some
Consider, for Monique Henderson helped her team
win a gold medal in the 4x400 meter athletes cheat. They think they need even more
example, cross- relay race in the 2008 Summer Games. of an edge than nature and training can provide.
country skiing.
In recent years, some Olympic athletes, often with
In 1924, the winner
the help of team trainers or doctors, have secretly
of the men’s 50-kilometer (31 mi) cross-country
used performance-enhancing drugs to win. The
ski race finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes. In
use of prohibited substances by these athletes
2006, the winner of the same event finished in
has tarnished the image and reputation of
just over 2 hours and 6 minutes.
the Olympics.

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 19 20

Since the mid-1970s, Olympic officials have Olympic organizers work hard to keep
routinely tested athletes for drug use. Olympic the Games honest and fair for everyone. The
champions who fail a drug test can be stripped Olympics continue to grow bigger and more
of their medals. For example, Marion Jones, the popular each time they are held. Each Olympics
great American track star, had to return the five includes the world’s best athletes, a new host
medals she won in the 2000 Summer Olympics country, and often some amazing surprises.
because she admitted to using steroids to Few Olympics pass without world records being
run faster. broken. The modern Olympic Games encompass
centuries of history and provide an opportunity
Controversies have also arisen concerning
for breathtaking individual and team efforts.
judges of figure-skating and diving competitions.
Like the ancient Olympics, the modern Games
Some judges may have awarded undeserved
continue to represent the ideal of sportsmanship
points to athletes from their own countries or
and peaceful competition among nations.
agreed to trade points with other judges.

The flawless performance

of Canadian figure-skating
pair Jamie Sale and David
Pelletier was finally
awarded gold after
a judging scandal was
uncovered.
Janica Kostelic (YON-it-suh KAW-stel-itch) became a national hero in
Croatia when she won three gold medals and one silver medal in the
2002 Winter Games.

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 21 22

Nazis (n.) members of the ruling political
Glossary party in Germany from 1933 to
adamant (adj.) resistant to pressure (p. 11) 1945 (p. 18)
archaeologists scientists who study the remains pagan (adj.) relating to non-Christian religions
(n.) of ancient cultures (p. 10) of Greece and Rome (p. 9)
character (n.) the moral strength of a person pantheon (n.) the gods and goddesses of a
(p. 10) particular culture (p. 5)
procession (n.) an orderly, formal parade (p. 7)
clashed (v.) entered into conflict (p. 5)
qualify (v.) to demonstrate a high enough
competitors people or teams that take part level of skill to be allowed to
(n.) in contests (p. 4) compete in a difficult event (p. 19)
controversies disagreements over an issue racist (adj.) relating to the belief that some
(n.) (p. 21) races are superior to others (p. 18)
counterparts things that are similar and have sacrifice (n.) an offering to a deity of
(n.) the same function as each other something valuable, such as an
(p. 11) animal, especially when killed on
deities (n.) gods and goddesses (p. 5) an altar (p. 7)
deter (v.) to discourage; to keep from sauna (n.) a room designed for steam
moving forward (p. 15) bathing (p. 7)
steeplechase a horse race that requires jumping
elaborate (adj.) having many parts and details
(n.) over obstacles (p. 17)
(p. 14)
steroids (n.) dangerous drugs sometimes
encompass (v.) to include in a larger group (p. 22) taken by athletes to enhance
excavated (v.) uncovered; dug out (p. 10) performance in sports (p. 21)
freewheeling free from formal rules (p. 6) symbolic (adj.) representing an idea (p. 11)
(adj.) tarnished (v.) disgraced; made less shiny,
hippodrome an ancient Greek word for polished, or pure (p. 20)
(n.) a horse-racing track (p. 6) terrorists (n.) people who use terror as a
honing (v.) sharpening; improving (p. 20) political weapon (p. 18)
truce (n.) an agreement to keep the peace
motto (n.) a phrase that represents a guiding
(p. 8)
idea of a person or group (p. 4)

The Olympics: Past and Present • Level Z 23 24