261976 Olympics
The 1976 Olympics were a financial disaster for Montreal, as the city faced debts for 30 years after the Games had finished. It was only in December 2006 that the olympic stadium's costs were finally paid in full.
27. The first Olympic flag went missing for 77 years after the 1920 games until a 1920 Olympian named Hal Haig Prieste revealed he’d had it in his suitcase the whole time.
28. The 1908 Olympics was hosted in London after being relocated from Rome after Mount Vesuvius erupted. It was also the longest Olympics lasting for 6 months and 4 days.
29. The "para" in "Paralympics" officially means "parallel to" or alongside the Olympics.
30. At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, North Korean and South Korean athletes came together to march as one under the unified banner of 'Korea' during the opening ceremony.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Larry Lemieux
Larry Lemieux, a Canadian sailor at the 1988 Olympics, was about to win a silver medal when he abandoned the race to save two other competitors who had capsized. He was given the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for sportsmanship.
32. Kim Gwang Suk is a North Korean gymnast who competed at the Barcelona Olympics. Her age was given as 17, but she was missing her front teeth and may have been as young as 10. Aside from an Olympic torch relay, her subsequent life and whereabouts are unknown.
33. The Olympic games used to include gold medals in categories such as architecture, city planning, sculpturing, and statistics. The founder of modern Olympics himself, Pierre de Coubertin, won the gold medal in literature at the 1912 summer Olympics.
34. Dick Fosbury won the gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, setting a new record, and reinventing high-jumping overnight.
35. The last Olympic gold medals entirely made out of gold were awarded in 1912.
36Greece
During the parade of nations at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, Greece always enters the stadium first due to its status as the birthplace of the Olympics.
