olympics

Being a Good Samaritan pays off.

Two swordsmen participating in the fencing semifinals during the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London.

Wow your friends during your Olympic watch party with these winning, weird, and wonderful Olympic words and their origins.

Tas Pappas shared why he thinks skateboarding and the Olympics won't mix.

Even sports stars have to pay the bills.

Before flying out of the starting blocks—and ultimately taking Olympic gold in the 100-meter race for the third time—Jamaica's Usain Bolt was met not with the fire of a pistol, but a noise triggered by an electronic gun.

Agência Brasil Fotografias via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 2.0

"We may have hit peak crystal."

The perfect combination of factors made the diving pool a hotbed for algae.

It only took nine years to construct this giant on a hill.

Birthmarks? Accessories? A bizarre form of intimidation?

Before he was the "Voice of Swimming," Gaines led Team USA to victory.

Halfway through the race, the situation looked so dire that commentators seriously worried he was drowning.

Jim Thorpe // Image courtesy of Agence Rol, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

While winning a medal is the ultimate goal of any athlete competing during the Olympic Games, sometimes their victories are short-lived.

The city wasn't so keen on hosting at one point.

What could be cooler than spending two weeks as the center of the world's attention? If you lived in Denver in the 1970s, your answer would have been "all kinds of things."

The woman once regarded as the world's greatest female athlete spent her life—and death—trapped between identities.

Gymnast Kerri Strug is carried off the floor by her coach Bela Karolyi after her routine at the Georgia Dome at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia on July 23, 1996.

The Russian women's gymnastics team hadn't been defeated in 48 years. To do it, Kerri Strug had to jump with a torn ankle.

Panathenaic Stadium // Darren Foreman, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

What happens to Olympic stadiums and venues once the games are over?

Medals are great, but what about all of the free McDonald's and dental work that comes with being an Olympic athlete?

Ralf Roletschek via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0

A new line of high-tech brooms is leaving many cold.

On April 6, 1896—120 years ago today—the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece.

The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport via Flickr // CC BY-NC 2.0

Competitors rely on audio cues to play.

The USA Team celebrates their 4-3 victory over Russia in the semi-final of the Ice Hockey event at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York.

The Miracle on Ice, one of the biggest upsets in sports history, took place on February 22, 1980 at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

If the Olympic Committee handed out medals for unpredictable moments, these ones would have scored gold.

If you watch the speed skaters during this year’s Winter Olympics, you’ll certainly notice something strange about the footwear they’re sporting. With a hinged blade that moves independently from the boot, modern speed skates look nothing like hockey or f

Great Britain's Liverpool St Police tug-of-war team taking on Ireland at the 1908 London Olympics.

Tug-of-war made the cut for every Olympic Games from Paris in 1900 to Antwerp in 1920—but the sport was plagued by controversy.

Olympian Publicly Thanks First Grader for Returning Stolen Gold Medal

The Etymology of 15 Weird and Wonderful Olympic Words

Olympic Skateboarding in 2020 Raises Concerns Over Drug Testing

The Day Jobs of 15 Olympic Athletes

Why They Stopped Using Real Pistols to Start Olympic Races

How Much Do the Olympic Gymnastics Uniforms Cost?

Why Did the Olympic Diving Pool Turn Green?

11 Facts About Rio’s Christ the Redeemer Statue

Why Do Olympians Wear That Colorful Tape?

8 Facts About Olympic Swimming Icon Rowdy Gaines

The Olympic Swimmer Who'd Never Been in an Olympic-Size Pool

7 Athletes Who Had Their Olympic Medals Revoked

No Thanks: Why Denver Turned Down the '76 Olympics

The Olympic Sprinter Who Nearly Lost Her Medals Because of Her Autopsy

When Kerri Strug Made Olympic History In 1996

What 10 Previous Olympic Venues Look Like Today

12 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Olympic Athletes

Introducing ‘Broomgate,’ the Latest Controversy to Hit Professional Curling

8 Athletes Who Competed in the First Modern Olympics

Goalball: A Sport for Blind and Visually Impaired Athletes

20 Memorable Facts About the 'Miracle on Ice'

9 Wild Moments from Winter Olympics History

Why Do Speed Skaters Use Such Weird Ice Skates?

Tug of War Used to Be an Olympic Sport