Olympics - Did you know series: Part II

The 2012 London Games is within sight and thus, it's the perfect time to get you all the 'Did you know?' facts on Olympics. How many of these do you already know?

Ø  Tennis was excluded from Olympic Games in 1928, only to be re-introduced in 1988.

Ø  Polo, cricket, tug-of-war and pelote bisque were once a part of the Olympic Games.

Ø  The Olympic Games have been called off on three occassion--1916, 1940 and 1944.

Ø  Paris Games saw winners receiving paintings rather than medals.

Ø  Mexican hurdler, Norma Basilio, was the first woman to light the Olympic Flame.

Ø  The first televised Olympic Games happened in 1936 in Berlin.

Ø  One of the two Olympic mascots in the London Games, Wenlock's name is inspired by an English village, Much Wenlock. It's a place where seeds of the modern Olympic Games were sown.

Ø  Before 1968, Olympic Games did not have any mascots

Ø  The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will be the first time the games are held in a South American country.

Ø  $193,250 worth of gold has been used to plate the Olympic medals.

Ø  Cowboys were used as security personnel in the 1932 Olympic Games

Ø  Scotland's Chris Hoy became the first Briton in over 100 years to win three gold medals in one Olympics.

Ø  During the Olympic Torch relay each torch bearer carries the flame over a 300 metres distance.

Ø  At the 2012 London Games, South Africa's Oscar Pistorius, also known as the 'Blade runner', will become the first double amputee to take part in Olympics.

Ø  £20,000 pound fine will be imposed on anyone caught streaking during the games.

Ø  The ancient Olympics was dedicated to Greek god Zeus

Ø  Women were not allowed to participate in the ancient Olympics and had a separate sports event dedicated to Greek goddess Hera.

Ø  Grapplers, Finn Alfred Asikainen Martin Klein wrestled for more than 11 hours in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

Ø  In the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, Poland's Stanislawa Walasiewicz won the women's 100 meters race. Later, it was discovered that Stanislawa was a male.

Ø  The Olympic flame it lit up every two years in Olympia, Greece. A concave mirror reflect's the sun's rays and lights up the flame.

Source: Olympics - Did you know series: Part II