The topic presented to you today is devoted to the Olympic Games. In my speech I am to dwell upon the following points:
- Firstly, I am to tell you about the history of the Olympics;
- Secondly, I would like to speak about modern Olympic games;
- After that, I would like to attract your attention to the problems of modern Olympics;
- Finally, I am to draw a conclusion expressing my opinion.
By way of introduction I would like to say that The Olympic Games are
one of the most spectacular reminders of the debt we owe to the Greeks.
The original Olympic Games were held every four years in honour of Zeus,
the supreme god of Greek religion. The first record of the games dates
from 776 B.C., but it is certain that they existed prior to that. The
Olympic festival was a great unifying bond between the Independent
city-states of Greece. The important sports in the original Olympic
Games were running, jumping, wrestling, throwing the discus and throwing
the javelin.
Passing on to present days I should note that even though the modern
Olympic Games embrace the whole world, the connection with Greece is
still very strong. A lighted torch is brought all the way from Greece,
carried by a relay of runners, in order to light the Olympic Flame which
bums all through the Games.
Nowadays the Olympic games are one of the most important sports events
in the world while the Olympic movement has become an enormous and
expensive organization. It's controlled by the International Olympic
Committee, which consists of members from all the participating
countries. The IOC is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It chooses the
locations of both summer and winter games. It also controls the rules of
the competitions and selects new Olympic sports. The famous flag of the
IOC has five rings linked together on it. They are of five different
colours which represent five continents.
Obviously, taking part in the Olympics is every professional sportsman’s
desire, whereas winning this competition is considered by many the peak
of professional sportsman’s career. However participating in the games
is important and prestigious not only for sportsmen but for countries as
well. So the Olympics as any international event is an opportunity to
show political position and power.
Speaking about undersides of this phenomenon I can’t but mention excessive political involvement and doping.
The most famous political involvement was by the German Nazis, in
the 1936 Berlin's Summer Olympics. They used it as a platform to spread
their ideas. Moreover, in 2004 Iran had ordered their athletes not to
participate in any Olympic semi finals or finals, which had participants
from Israel.
Doping is another serious problem of the Olympic games. It was at the
start of the twentieth century that the Olympics participants started
using drugs to better their performance. Unfortunately, even though
tough laws against sportsmen taking drugs were created, the desire to
win is still stronger than common sense and risk of being excluded from
the competition.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the Olympic games are one of the
greatest and most spectacular international events. Despite the fact
that countries and their representatives compete, the Olympics have
always been the symbol of peace and unity. I believe that this idea
should be preserved, while any non-sport propaganda should be
restricted.
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