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27th May 2012

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THE ANTHEM

Nós somos os atletas do futuro

Com sonhos, anseios e esperanças

Construímos com fé esse dia

No nosso viver de crianças

Sentimos, em nós, a chama

olímplica

Qual bandeira na mão do atleta

A nadar, a correr e a saltar

Todos lutam por chegar à meta

Eleva-se a bandeira ao som do hino

E ao pódio já sobe o vencedor

No seu peito ostenta a medalha

Recompensa do esforço e da dor

Ser atleta é ganhar...é perder

Em cada gesto usar correção

Respeitando a regra e o outro

Eleva-se a mente e o coração

We are the athletes of the future

With dreams, hopes and wishes

Built with faith day by day

In our lives of children

We feel the Olympic flame within.

Which flag is in the athlete’s hand

Swimming, running and jumping

All struggle to reach the finish line

The flag raises to the sound of the anthem

The winner on the podium

With the medal against his chest

A reward for all the effort and pain

Being an athlete is about winning... and losing

In every gesture daring to improve

Respecting the rules and others

Uplifting the heart and soul

Translated version of the anthem

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I - The Ancient Greek Olympic

The first Olympic Games were held in Olympia Greece in 766 BC.

They were held every 4 years in honour of the Greek god Zeus.

They were religious festivals and sporting events. The events

were: boxing - pentathlon (throwing the disc, javelin, jump

length, running and wrestling) - rowing - horse racing-

messengers’ and trumpeters’ race.

The Stadium in Olympia

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They were so important that wars were halted for the

games. The winners won a basil/olive wreath and were

received as heroes. Later on they were awarded a cash

prize.

With the birth of Christ, the world began converting to

Christianity. In 392 AD the Roman Emperor Theodosius I

banned the games because he considered them to be a

pagan (non- Christian) festival.

Emperor Theodosius II ordered the burning down of the

temple of Zeus in 426 AD to ensure the Games never took

place.

They didn’t take place for the following 16 centuries…

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II – The Modern Olympics

16 centuries later, in 1894 the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin

devised a plan to revive the Olympic Games with the hope of

uniting people.

He founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with 15

representing countries.

This Committee continues to be in charge of the organisation to

this day.

The first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in Athens

(in the village of Panathinaikos) in 1896. 285 athletes from 13

countries participated.

From then onwards, the Olympic Games take place every 4 years

in a city chosen by the International Olympic Committee seven

years in advance.

As there are certain sports that require snow and ice, in 1924 the

Olympic Committee decided to hold the 1st Winter Olympics.

They are also held every four years like the summer ones.

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In 2001, the International Olympic Committee created the Youth

Olympic Games for fourteen- to eighteen-year- old athletes.

They are a shorter version of the Olympic Games.

In the 2008 Olympic Games were held in Beijing (China).

In 2012 they will be held in London (United Kingdom).

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III - The motto

The Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius" - Faster, higher and stronger. Each athlete fights to uphold the motto but only the best achieve it! Another theme of the Olympics is "The most important thing is not to win but to participate", which is the best known. Sport promotes good practices, healthy habits and interpersonal and group interaction. Participation is in fact the most important factor because it is a life time habit. The two slogans that were chosen by Baron de Coubertin, the

father of the Modern Olympic Games, came from parts of

Christian sermons.

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IV – The Symbols

1- The Olympic Flag

It is a white rectangle with five interlocked rings in the centre. The rings (blue, yellow, black, green and red) represent the union of five continents.

2- The Olympic Flame

In the ancient Olympic Games, a fire was always kept burning while the competitions lasted (evoking/celebrating the legend of the giant of Greek mythology, Prometheus who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to the humans).

Nowadays, the flame is lit, in Olympia (Greece), a few months before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

This flame used to light the Olympic Torch. It is transported to the city where the games are held by several well-known people, including athletes.

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3 – Olympic Anthem

It was first sung in Greek but since then it is sung in the language of the host country.

It is sung at opening and closing ceremony while the flag is hoisted and lowered.

4- Mascot

There has been an Olympic mascot since the 1968 Olympics.

It is usually a native animal that represents the culture of the host country.

Up till now the most famous mascot has been Misha the bear, from the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.

It gave rise to the Misha cartoon that was used in several products targeting the young public.

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V- The medals

The athletes that come in the second and third places are awarded medals

First place – gold medal

Second place – silver medal

Third place – bronze medal

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For the medal award ceremony the top three athletes stand on

the podium.

The athletes receive the medals from a member of the Olympic Committee. Afterwards the national anthems of the three countries are played and sung and their flags hoisted.

For the London Olympics (2012), the medals have been created by the modeler of the film "A Space Odyssey" (2001).

The 2012 medals are the heaviest and largest ever: each one weighs 400 grams,85 mm in diameter and 7 mm thick.

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The Pierre de Coubertin Medal

The medal was first awarded in 1964 and named after Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee.

It is a special medal made of solid gold given by the International Olympic Committee to those athletes who demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events.

Pierre de Coubertin medal is the highest honour of the Olympic

Games, having so far been awarded to five athletes from Canada,

Germany, Czechoslovakia, Brazil and Austria.

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VI - The Sports Events

There will 29 sports events in the London Olympics 2012.

• Athletics

• Canoeing

• Gymnastics

• Field hockey

• Pentathlon

• Table tennis

• Synchronized swimming

• Rowing

• Boxing

• Football

• Weightlifting

• Water polo

• Diving

• Shooting

• Pentathlon

• Basketball

• Fencing

• Handball

• Judo

• Taekwondo

• Triathlon

• Volleyball

• Badminton

• Cycling

• Horseback riding

• Swimming

• Tennis

• Archery

• Sail

• Pentathlon includes fencing, shooting, swimming (200m freestyle) horse

riding and athletics - practiced by the same athlete.

In the Triathlon the athlete has to swim, cycle and run.

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VII - Portugal at the Olympic Games

The Portuguese Olympic Committee was founded in 1909 and

our athletes participated for the first time in 1912 in Stockholm

(Sweden).

They have participated in all editions of the Games since then,

which makes us the 18th most assiduous country.

Our athletes have won 22 medals for Portugal:

4 gold (1984-1988-1996-2008)

7 silver

11 bronze

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VIII - The gold medals

The Portuguese get truly excited each time the Portuguese flag

has been hoisted and the anthem played as they stand on the

podium!

Four Portuguese athletes have stood on the highest place of the

podium:

• Carlos Lopes (1984, Los Angeles) - athletics / marathon

42 195m

• Rosa Mota (1988, Seoul) - athletics / marathon

• Fernanda Ribeiro (1996, Atlanta) - athletics / 10000m

• Nelson Évora (2008, Beijing) - athletics / triple jump

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The Paralympics

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The Paralympic Games

I - The Origin

The first sporting event for the disabled occurred on 28th July

1948 in the city of Stoke Mandeville, 50 miles from London.

Its founder was Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a German neurologist who

lived in England and worked in Oxford University.

When the 2nd World War ended in 1945, he was the head of a

service that was focused on rehabilitating wounded soldiers. As

he believed that sport was a method of therapy, he resorted to

basketball, archery, billiards and darts as a form of treatment.

It was with these sports that the first sporting event took place

with disabled athletes.

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II - The Athletes and the Games

400 athletes in wheelchairs participated for the first time in the

1960 Olympics in Rome representing 23 countries.

These were Paralympic athletes!

The term "Paralympic" comes from two words:

• Paraplegia (paralysis)

• Olympic (Olympia)

The term "Paralympic"gained a new meaning with the inclusion

of more disabilities in the games:

• To (preposition of Greek origin) meaning "near" "beside".

• Olympics (for the Olympics)

This term came into official use in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul

(South Korea).

The Paralympics take place at the same time as the Olympic

Games.

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III - The Motto, Anthem and the Symbol

The Paralympic motto is "Spirit in Motion" and was introduced in

the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens.

Its symbol is a white flag with three ‘agitos’ coloured red, blue,

and green, encircling a single point. The agito ("I move" in Latin)

is a symbol of movement.

The colours of the agitos stand for the three colours that are

most widely represented in national flags around the world.

The Paralympic anthem, also known as a hymn, is the musical

piece, "Hymn de l’Avenir" (Hymn of the Future). It encourages

one to go on and to walk tall.

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IV - The Torch and Mascot

The Torch

The torch is carried by Paralympic athletes and officials up to the place where the games will take place.

It burns from the opening of the games to its closure.

The Mascot

Since the 1980 Paralympic Games that each game has a mascot.

Usually the mascot is a native animal from the host country.

This mascot can be seen in many of the products used by young people.

Mandeville: the Paralympic

Mascot for London 2012

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V - The Paralympic Athletes

More than a thousand athletes have won more than one medal in the Olympic Games.

Due to their physical limitations, these athletes have to make an extra effort to overcome all the obstacles the encounter.

And they can!

They achieve this through sheer will, hard work, persistence and courage!

They deserve our respect and admiration!

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VI - The Portugal’s Participation in the Paralympics

Portugal first participated in the 1972 Olympics with nine athletes in wheelchairs. It was the only time we did not get any medal.

Since 1984, Portugal has participated in all the Paralympic Games in different events, like: athletics, cycling, table tennis, soccer, swimming, basketball, cycling and others.

The Portuguese Paralympic athletes have had excellent results, which have been as follows:

• 8 Paralympic Games (1972-1984-1988-1992-1996-2000 -

2004-2008)

• 222 athletes

• 11 events

• 25 gold medals

• 29 silver medals

• 31 bronze medals

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The Olympics are a major international event wherein thousands of athletes participate.

The practice of sport presupposes a physical activity subject to rules, which contributes to the physical, intellectual and psychological well-being of its participants (professionals or amateurs).

Practising sport means not only respecting the rules, meeting colleagues and opponents, being true, and able to tell right from wrong. . It also imprints notions of friendship, loyalty, courage, humility and honesty. Attitudes that promote the unity of nations and a better society!

It is fair play in sport!

Learning how lose and win!

"The most important thing is not to win but to participate."

We cannot all be Olympic athletes - but it is very healthy for the body and mind that we practise exercise.

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On your

marks

Get set - Go (Games)

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1. Colour and label the continents on the map. Asia

Africa

North America

South America

Europe

Oceania

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SPORTS

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You have read about the Olympic and Paralympic values. On the

acrostic below write your own values using the letters that spell

out the word ‘Olympics’.

_______ O_______

_______ L ________

_______ Y________

_______M________

_______ P________

_______ I ________

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_______ C _______

Imagine the next host country would be Portugal. Think of a

native animal and draw your mascot. If you need some

inspiration go to: http://youtu.be/q1fy6ZmG4YY

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Contents I - The Ancient Greek Olympic ....................................................................................................... 4

II – The Modern Olympics ............................................................................................................. 6

III - The motto ................................................................................................................................ 9

IV – The Symbols ......................................................................................................................... 10

V- The medals .............................................................................................................................. 12

The Pierre de Coubertin Medal ............................................................................................... 14

VI - The Sports Events .................................................................................................................. 15

VII - Portugal at the Olympic Games ........................................................................................... 16

VIII - The gold medals .................................................................................................................. 17

The Paralympic Games ................................................................................................................ 19

I - The Origin ............................................................................................................................ 19

II - The Athletes and the Games .............................................................................................. 20

III - The Motto, Anthem and the Symbol ................................................................................ 21

IV - The Torch and Mascot ...................................................................................................... 22

V - The Paralympic Athletes .................................................................................................... 23

VI - The Portugal’s Participation in the Paralympics ............................................................... 24

(Games) ....................................................................................................................................... 27