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Here are some of the 'firsts' that have occurred at the Olympic Games. See more Olympic Trivia.

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• The FIRST Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BCE (though it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years already).
• The FIRST Olympic champion in recorded history was a naked runner, Coroebus (a cook from Elis), who won the only event, the stade.
• The FIRST ever event of the modern Olympic Games was the 1st heat of the 100m, held on 6 April 1896.
• The FIRST Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games was James Brendan Connolly of the United States, the winner of the triple jump (the triple jump was the first final event of the 1896 Olympics).
• The FIRST brothers to win Olympic gold medals were Americans John and Sumner Paine - they came first in the military pistol and free pistol shooting events respectively in 1896. 
• The FIRST time women competed at the Olympic Games was in 1900 in Paris. It is commonly believed that the FIRST women to take part in the Olympic Games occurred on June 28, when French players Marie Ohnier and Mme Brohy participated in the 1900 croquet games. Actually another female, Swiss sailor Hélène de Pourtalès competed before then, on May 22, 1900.
• The FIRST female Olympic champion was Swiss sailor Hélène de Pourtalès in 1900, who won gold as part of a boat crew in the 1-2 ton class. England's Charlotte Cooper, who later won the tennis singles tournament, was the first individual female Olympic champion.
• The FIRST team sport added to the Olympics was Football in 1900.
• The FIRST black athlete to compete at the Olympic, and also the first to win a gold medal at the Olympics, was Constantin Henriquez, part of the 1900 winning rugby team from France. Henriquez was from Haiti.
• The FIRST Olympics at which gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for first, second and third place was in 1904.
• The FIRST black Africans to compete in the Olympic were two Tswana tribesmen, Len Taunyane (Len Tau) and Jan Mashiani, who were in St. Louis as part of the South African exhibit at the 1904 World's Fair, and competed in the marathon event.
• The FIRST African-American athlete to win a gold medal was John Taylor, who was part of the US medley relay team in athletics in 1908.
• The FIRST time the teams and competitors were representatives of countries and not of clubs or just individuals was in 1908.
• The FIRST time athletes marched into the stadium behind their nations' flags was in London 1908.
• The FIRST brother and sister to win Olympic medals were William Dod who won the men's archery competition, and his sister Charlotte 'Lottie' Dod who won the silver medal in the women's archery competition - in 1908.
• The FIRST time a swimming pool was used for swimming events was at the London Olympics in 1908.
• The FIRST Asian country to participate at the Olympic Games was Japan in the 1912 Stockholm Games.
• The FIRST women's swimming gold medal was won by the Australian Sarah 'Fanny' Durack, who won the 100m freestyle in 1912.
• The FIRST Games to include competitors from all five continents was in 1912.
• The FIRST electronic automatic timing system and photo finish was introduced for the athletics track events in 1912.
• The FIRST twins to win Olympic Gold medals were the Swedish brothers Vilhelm Carlberg (3 golds) and Eric Carlberg (2 gold) in shooting in 1912.
• The FIRST death of an athlete at the Olympic Games was in Stockholm 1912. Portuguese runner Francisco Lazaro collapsed from sunstroke and heart trouble at the 29 km mark of the marathon, and died the next day.

• The FIRST Olympic Games in which the Olympic Oath was voiced was 1920.
• The FIRST Olympic Games in which doves were released to symbolize peace was 1920.
• The FIRST Olympic Games in which the Olympic Flag was flown was 1920.
• The FIRST (and only time) in Olympic history an event was held in two different countries was in 1920, for the 12-foot dinghy event in sailing. The early races were held in Belgium, but the final two races in the event were held in the Netherlands, as the only two competitors in the event were Dutch.
• The FIRST time the Games returned to a former venue was in 1924 in Paris.
• The FIRST Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France in 1924.
• The FIRST Games to have an Olympic Village for the athletes was in Paris 1924.
• The FIRST person to win a medal in the same event in Summer and Winter Olympics was Gillis Grafström, when he won figure skating gold medals at the 1920 Olympics and at the first Winter Olympics in 1924.
• The FIRST Olympics to feature a 400-meter track was the Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928, a distance that would become standard for tracks in the future.
• The FIRST woman to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field was Poland's Halina Konopacka when she broke her own world record with a throw of 39.62 meters to win the discus at Amsterdam 1928.
• The FIRST time the Winter and Summer Games were held in different countries (Switzerland and the Netherlands respectively) was in 1928.
• The FIRST use a victory podium was in 1932.
• The FIRST person known to defect at an Olympic Games was Czechoslovakian Marie Provaznikova in London 1948, leader of the Czechoslovakian women's gymnastics team. She refused to return home because "there is no freedom of speech, of the press or of assembly".
• The FIRST Games be held in the southern hemisphere were in Melbourne, 1956.
• The FIRST time same edition of the Olympic Games were hosted by two National Olympic Committees was when the Equestrian events were held in Stockholm for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. This happened again in 2008 when Hong Hong hosted the equestrian events for the Beijing Olympics.
• The FIRST black African to win a gold medal was Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila, who ran barefoot all the way in Rome, 1960.
• The FIRST Games to be televised were the Berlin Olympics in 1936. The telecast of events were shown on large screens around Berlin. The FIRST Olympic Games to be telecast into homes were the 1948 London Game which transmitted within the British Isles. The FIRST Olympic Games to be covered by television worldwide was the Rome Olympics in 1960.
• The FIRST time an all-weather athletics track was used was the tartan track for Mexico 1968. Such a track is now a requirement.
• The FIRST athlete to be disqualified for drug use was Swedish pentathlete Hans-Grunner Liljenwall, having tested positive for excessive alcohol in Mexico City 1968.
• The FIRST woman to light Olympic flame was Norma Enriqueta Basilio in 1968.
• The FIRST Olympic mascot appeared at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games - Waldi the dachshund.
• The FIRST time Olympic field hockey games were played on artificial turf was at the 1976 Montreal Games.
• The FIRST woman to win Summer Olympic medals in two different sports was East German RoswithaKrause, winning a silver medal at the 1968 Games  in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, then a silver and a bronze medal in handball at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics.
• The FIRST Games to be held in a communist country was the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.
• The FIRST winner of the women's Olympic marathon, held in Los Angeles in 1984, was Joan Benoit of the USA.
• The FIRST Arab Muslim woman to claim an Olympic gold medal was Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel, who won the women's 400 meters hurdles at LA 1984.
• The FIRST four-way tie was achieved in 1984, in the men's gymnastics vault apparatus four competitors finished in second place.
• The FIRST time events for disabled athletes have featured at the Summer Olympic Games was in 1984, with the inclusion of wheelchair racing on the athletics program (exhibition event).
• The FIRST time professionals were officially allowed to compete in the Games was in 1984.
• The FIRST (and only) athlete to win Winter and Summer Olympic Games medals in the same year was Christa Luding-Rothenburger - in speed skating and cycling in 1988.
• The FIRST time that a father and a son won gold medals in the same event was in 1992 when US sprinter Charles "Chip" Jenkins won a gold in the 4x400m. His father Charlie Jenkins won a gold medal 36 years earlier in 1956 in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
• The FIRST Winter and Summer Olympics to be held in different years were the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics respectively.
• The FIRST time all recognized National Olympic Committees (197 of them) were represented at the Games was in 1996.
• The FIRST athlete to win gold medals in five consecutive Olympics was British rower Steven Redgrave in 2000.
• The FIRST athlete to light the Olympic Flame and win a gold medal at the same Games was Australian Cathy Freeman, who won gold in the 400m race in Sydney 2000.
• The FIRST Olympic torch that traveled to all five continents was the torch for the Athens Olympics in 2004.
• The FIRST double amputee, and FIRST amputee runner to compete in the Olympic Games was South African Oscar Pistorius (aka the 'Blade Runner'). He competed in the 2012 Olympic Games 400m and the 4 x 400 m relay races.
• The FIRST South American city to host the Olympic Games was Rio in 2016.
• The FIRST Summer Games to be held entirely during winter time was the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, which both opened and closed in the month of August (Winter in the southern hemisphere). The other two Summer Olympics that took place in the southern hemisphere, the Melbourne and Sydney Olympics, were held mostly in the Spring time.
• The FIRST time professional boxers were allowed to compete at the Olympics was in Rio 2016.
• The FIRST identical triplets to compete against each other were Leila, Liina and Lily Luik from Estonia who took part in the marathon at the Rio Olympics.
• The FIRST active NFL player to compete in a Summer Olympic Games was US Rugby 7s player Nate Ebner in 2016, a New England Patriots defensive back. Former American shot putter Michael Carter won silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, just months before making his debut as a nose tackle for the San Francisco 49ers. Likewise, Bob Hayes won gold in both the 100m and 4x100m track events in Tokyo in 1964 before making his NFL debut the following year.
• The FIRST hole-in-one during an Olympic golf tournament was achieved by England's Justin Rose, on the 189-yard, par-3 fourth hole at Rio's Olympic Course. Another male and two females also scored aces during this tournament.
• The FIRST athlete to win the same track event three times was Usain Bolt, and he did it for two events, winning the 100m and 200m sprint in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
• The FIRST female athlete to win four individual gold medals at four consecutive Games was Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho (2004-2016).
• The FIRST city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics was Beijing - the Summer Games in 2008 and the Winter Games in 2022.
• The FIRST person to win a medal in six straight Summer Olympics was American skeet shooter Kim Rhode (Italian luger Armin Zoeggeler has done it at the Winter Olympics). Rhode's six medals, including 3 golds, were won from 1996 to 2016.
• The FIRST time two host cities were announced at the same time was in 2017, when Paris and LA were awarded the 2024 and 2028 Games respectively.
• The FIRST Olympics to use facial recognition technology to increase security at Games venues will be Tokyo 2020.
• The FIRST stadium to have hosted the Summer Olympics three times will be the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2028 (it also held events in 1932 & 1984).
• The FIRST time that the Olympic Games have been postponed (rather than canceled) was for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
• The FIRST openly transgender athlete born male to compete in a female event at the Olympic Games was weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, from New Zealand at Tokyo 2021. There were at least a couple of other athletes competing in a female event identifying as transgender, though they were not born male and there was no controversy involved as in the case of Hubbard.
• The FIRST time in Olympic history, the 2024 Opening Ceremony took place not in a stadium, but on the banks of the River Seine.
• The FIRST-ever married couple to serve as flag bearers for their country was Romanian rowers Ionela-Livia Cozmiuc and Marius Cozmiuc at the opening ceremony in Paris 2024.
• The FIRST athlete to win a gold medal in the same event five straight times is Cuban wrestler Mijaín Lopez. He won the men's Greco-Roman wrestling at all Olympic Games from 2008 to 2024.
• The FIRST time three Black gymnasts shared the top three spots in an Olympics, Rebeca Andrade (Brazil), Simone Biles (USA) and Jordan Chiles (USA) stood on the podium together for the floor exercise in Paris 2024.
• The FIRST stadium to host the Summer Olympics three times is the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (it held events during the 1932, 1984 & 2028 Olympic Games).

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Related Pages

• More Olympic Trivia
• Olympic Sports Trivia
• Olympic Games Quiz Night questions