Which Country Has the Most Medals

Posted by Paola
Lets find out which country has the most medals in the Olympic Winter Games.

 These are some of the countries that we lived in that are also competing in the Winter Olympics.

These are the top five countries that won the most medals, in the Olympic Winter games so far. The United States of America  won the most medals. They won two gold medals, two silver, and four bronze. Germany won one gold, three silver, and one bronze. France won two gold, zero silver, and two bronze. Canada won one gold, two silver, and one bronze. And finally, Switzerland won three gold, zero silver, and zero bronze.

I want to tell you what Sweden won since my big brother Robin, and my mom are from there. Sweden won one gold, zero silver, and zero bronze.

If you want to find out what other countries won, go to http://www.vancouver2010.com/

The Olympic Rings

Posted by Alex

 

The Olympic rings represent five major continents. The colors in order are blue, yellow, black, green and red. These color were used because at least one color is in each flag. The colors are used to symbolize friendship of all humankind.
 

The Olympic Medals

Posted by Paola
The Olympic medals show a Greek goddess, the Olympic rings, the coliseum of ancient Athens, a Greek vase called Amphora,  a horse drawn, the year, and the number of Olympiad, since 1928.  Each host city is allowed to add special details. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympics selected a picture of athletes  doing the sport the medal is awarded for.

 These are some Olympic rings I saw at the Olympic Museum in Park City, Utah.

There is a total of 1,838 Olympic medals used each year of  Olympic Games. There are 604 gold medals, 604 silver medals, and 630 bronze medals. Some Olympic events don't have third or fourth placers.

In ancient Greece, the winner was rewarded with a crown of olive leaves.  Second and third placers received nothing.

In 1896,  the first placer received a silver medal, not a gold medal.  In 1904, the Olympic Games of St. Louis replaced the silver medal with a gold one. Other people didn't like this. 

Today's Olympic gold medal is actually sterling silver covered in pure gold. The Olympic medals are two inches in diameter.

The Opening Ceremony

Posted by Paola
The  Olympic Winter Games start tomorrow, and I'm going to tell you about the opening ceremony.

The modern opening ceremony started in 1896,  at that time 258 athletes from thirteen different countries marched through the stadium in Athens Greece. It is called, the Parade of Nations. First, the Greek flags comes. It is followed by Greek athletes. The rest of the countries' flags come in alphabetical order. They are followed by their athletes. There were more than 70,000 people watching at that time. Today millions of people are watching around the world.

The king of Greece announces that the Olympic games begin. Every country that participates in the Olympic games, hold a  party on the day the games begin. The party includes, music, dancing, and anything else you can think of. 

After that, the president of the Organizing Committee and the president of the I.O.C (International Olympic Committee) make speeches. Then, the Olympic flag is raised, and the Olympic hymn is played. Next, the Olympic torch lights the Olympic flame. Then, doves fly through the stadium. They are a symbol of peace. Next, the athletes and an official take the Olympic Oath. Lastly, the host city provides cultural entertainment.

Olympics

A couple of years ago we went to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and the Olympic Park in Utah. We learned a lot of things about  the Olympics, so we thought we would share some of our information with you.

Alex and Paola

 The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs

The Official Vancouver Winter Olympic site:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/

Alex:

The Torch:

http://pedrantionline.blogspot.com/2010/02/olympic-torch.html
The Olympic Rings:
http://pedrantionline.blogspot.com/2010/02/olympic-rings.html

Paola:
The Opening Ceremony:
http://pedrantionline.blogspot.com/2010/02/opening-ceremony.html 
The Olympic Medals:
http://pedrantionline.blogspot.com/2010/02/olympic-medals.html

The Olympic Torch

Posted by Alex
The torch is lit by the sun at Olympia, Greece. The torch is passed from runner to runner in a relay from city to city across the world until it reaches the host city. The flame from the torch  is used to light the Olympic Flame at the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremonies. The flame burns until the games are over.


The modern Olympic torch began at the Berlin Games in 1936. It is a link between the ancient and the modern Olympic Games.

 

Here is a picture of me with the torch at the Olympic Park in Park City, Utah. We went there and saw the museum and the park.