Why wenlock for olympics

Coubertin spent the next five years organizing an international meeting of athletes and sports enthusiasts, eventually leading up to the establishment of the International Olympic Committee. The Wenlock Olympian Society maintains his original ideals, and continues to organize annual Olympian Games which are held each year at venues across Shropshire.

Photo: Wenlock Olympian Society The first Games were a mixture of athletics and traditional country sports such as quoits, football and cricket. England History Sports. Post a Comment. More on Amusing Planet. Follow Us. Featured Articles. And in July of each year you can attend the actual games, which continue to be held on the very same Linden field as the original games and are still organised by the Wenlock Olympian Society. In recognition of our sporting heritage, the London Olympic Games named one of their mascots Wenlock.

Much Wenlock. Today you will find relics of our Olympian heritage all around the town. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More. The first Olympic champion, according to tradition, was a cook from Elis called Coroebus. The Games flourished in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, success bringing rewards and fame to both competitors and their city-states, their triumphs illustrated in statues and victory odes.

Over the centuries as Greece was absorbed into the Roman empire, their importance waned and their fate was sealed with the adoption of Christianity as the religion of the Empire and the suppression of what were seen as pagan cults in the late 4th century CE.

They had had a good run, lasting over a millennium and becoming the epitome of sporting achievement. Featuring rural pastimes and sports including running, throwing, jumping, wrestling, horse racing and the famous World Shinkicking Championships, it provided ample opportunities to eat, drink and be merry. It nonetheless had a chequered history. Suspended at the outset of the Civil War in , it was revived after the restoration of King Charles II, running uninterrupted for nearly two centuries until , when it fell victim to a dispute over land enclosure.

Despite several attempts to resurrect the tradition, the games did not get back on their feet again until and, with one or two exceptions, have been re-established as fixture in the local calendar. Its most lasting legacy was the introduction of the metric system into sport. Attempts to establish them on a more permanent footing were soon abandoned. Apart from studying medicine in London, Padua, and Paris, William Penny Brookes was content to live out his life in the house in which he was born, 7, Brook Street in the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock.

Determined to improve the lot of the locals, not only their health, Brookes established a lending library, the Agricultural Reading Society, in The first games were held at the local racecourse over two days in October , a mix of athletics and country pursuits.