Olympic games » Olimpijske igre | 59 The firstmodernOlympic Games were held inAthens in 1896 and saw 251 athletes from 14 countries compete in the following sports: athletics, archery, gymnastics, cycling, fencing, weightlifting, tennis, wrestling and swimming. Back then everyone competed for themselves, and not under the flag of their home country, and champions received certificates, silver medals and branches of wild olives from Olympia. If you’ve ever wondered why the Olympic rings are in different colours, here’s the explanation: the blue ring represents Europe, the yellowAsia, the black Africa, the green Australia, and the red ring represents both North and South America. The sign was designed by Peirre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games. Tarzan was also a competitive Olympian. Or rather actor Johnny Weissmuller, who starred in 12 films about the "king of the jungle", won five gold medals in swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. An interesting situationoccurred at the 1936Berlin Olympics, which were the first games to be televised. Specifically, two Japanese pole vaulterswere tied for secondplace.Theorganisers wanted another jump to decide which of them was better, but the pair agreed to share the medals - literally. They halved the silver and bronze medals, so both of them got part of the two medals. The Olympic flame is also an important part of theGames. AtmodernOlympics, the flame first burned brightly at the Amsterdam Games of 1928, continuing to burn throughout the entire Games, although it was ignited and extinguished without any kind of ceremony. It is important to note that if the flame goes out it must not be relit with a lighter, but rather only with fire brought from Olympia, where it is lit with the help of sunlight and mirrors. The Summer Olympic Games have been held in 23 different countries, and the first official Olympicmascot was Waldi the dachshund, who appeared at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The organisers of the 1968 Mexico City Games insist that they were the first to come up with the idea of a mascot and that they presented a red jaguar. The problem is that there is no example of this mascot, not even a photograph, soWaldi remains number one among Olympic mascots. Serbia’s rich tradition The Olympic Committee of Serbia continues a tradition that began with the founding of the Serbian Olympic Club on 23rd February 1910. Its name was changed in 1911 to the Central Federal Administration or the Central Olympic Club, and on 17th July 1912 it was renamed the Serbian Olympic Committee, or the Olympic Committee of Serbia, as was written on the stamp and seal. The Olympic Committee of Serbia was admitted to the IOC at the StockholmCongress that was held from 4th to 17th July 1912. With the subsequent establishing of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Yugoslav Olympic Committee was established in Zagreb on 14th December 1919 and represented a continuation of the Olympic Committee of Serbia’smembership in the IOC, without any special admission process. The OCS thus continues the tradition of the SOC, YOC and OCSCG, so its history includes participation in all 21 Summer Olympic Games held since 1912. A total of 1,258 of the country’s athletes have participated in the Olympics, winning a grand total of 98 medals: 28 gold, 35 silver and 35 bronze. Belgrade has announced its candidacy three times The first time that Belgrade and the then Yugoslav Olympic Committee announced a candidacy to host the Games was for the 1948 Olympics. That was way back in 1936, when the candidacy was signed by the country’s IOC members, General Svetomir Đukić and Dr Franjo Bučar, but the outbreak of World War II led to the tacit withdrawal of that candidacy. Our capital city has been an official candidate to host the Olympic Games. The city’s first real candidacy ended in the third round of voting in 1986, when the host of 1992’s 25th Games was selected. Belgrade received 13 votes in the first round and 11 in the second, but then only five votes and in the final round, when it was eliminated. The right to host the games was won by Barcelona. The idea of the permanent candidacy of Belgrade was then adopted and our capital city became a candidate to stage the "GoldenGames" of 1996, marking the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics. Its opponents were Athens, Atlanta, Toronto, Melbourne and Manchester. Belgrade was eliminated as early as the first round, withAtlanta ultimately hosting theGames. Tokyo squad selected Serbia will be represented at the Tokyo Olympics by 70 athletes competing in a total of 13 sports. When it comes to team sports, the most is expected - as has been the case previously - from the men’s water polo team, which will give its all to try to repeat the success of Rio, where the team secured gold. The country’s volleyball teamalso hasmajor ambitions, following the silver won five years ago in Brazil, as does the basketball squad. A medal is also expected from the men's team in 3x3 basketball. This is a new sport at the Games, but Serbia has been achieving excellent results inmajor competitions worldwide for years. We are already accustomed to our sharp shooters returning from every Games with medals, and in Tokyo we will have as many as seven of them competing. The other sports in which we will be represented include swimming, taekwondo, athletics, wrestling, karate, kayaking, rowing and table tennis. This Olympic Games will include competitions in a record thirty-three sports
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