The first Olympic Games in 776 BC had only one event, which was a short footrace.

The first recorded winner of the ancient Olympics was a cook named Coroebus of Elis. He won the stade race in 776 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia. This location is in a part of Greece called the Peloponnese. During the games, Greek city-states agreed to a sacred truce so athletes could travel safely without being attacked.As the years passed, organizers added more events to the festival. They introduced a longer race called the diaulos in 724 BC and the pentathlon in 708 BC. The pentathlon included five different tests: running, jumping, throwing a discus, throwing a javelin, and wrestling. Winners did not get gold medals but received wreaths made from olive branches.The ancient games lasted for over 1,000 years. In 393 AD, Emperor Theodosius I stopped the games because he wanted to end non-Christian festivals. The Olympics did not return until 1896 when the first modern games were held in Athens. That event had 241 athletes from 14 different countries. Today, the games still follow the ancient tradition of happening every four years.