What is something that is always moving, has been around for thousands of years, and billions of viewers watch worldwide? It’s the Summer Olympics of course!

This summer, France will be hosting the 33rd Olympic games in Paris. The summer Olympics take place every four years in a certain host city. The Olympics include many sports that thousands of athletes take part in to represent their country. There are 206 individual nations that take part in these games.

In order to take part in this famous competition, you must reach certain standards set by your country. For certain events, like track and field, there is an Olympic Time Trial to see who is the fastest. For other events that aren’t as easy to tell who is the best, there are committees to vote for who will be on the team. The athletes can either compete for the country in which they were born, or they can choose to compete in a parent’s birth country.

During the games, countries’ athletes compete to win their country medals. First place receives gold, second silver, and third bronze. The United States has been the most successful country in the Olympics claiming over 3,000 medals.

The Olympics have a wide variety of sports. The most viewed Olympic sport is swimming. Swimming is a very difficult sport that requires a lot of endurance. The close second to swimming is track and field. Track and field has many different events that athletes take part in. Gymnastics and basketball also gather quite the crowd. 

The Olympic Games officially start Friday, July 26th, and last until Sunday, August 11th. What sports will you be watching?