Sydney, Australia, is where the year 2000 Summer Olympics were held. For information on Australia, click here.

The events in the Summer Olympics include: Archery, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Football (Soccer), Gymnastics, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Kayaking, Marathon, Pentathlon, Ping pong, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Taekwando, Tennis, Track and Field (many running, jumping, and throwing events), Triathlon, Volleyball, Water polo, Weightlifting, Wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman).

The Olympic Torch The tradition of the Olympic flame began during the ancient Olympic Games, over 2700 years ago in Greece. A flame was lit for each Olympics, every four years, and burned throughout the games. The flame symbolized the death and rebirth of Greek heroes. There was no torch relay in the ancient Olympics; it began at the 1936 Berlin games.

Olympics Printouts to Color (and a Quiz):

The Olympic Torch - Color the sleek Sydney torch and learn about the history of the Olympics flame and the torch relay.

The Olympic Flag - Color an Olympics flag and read about the man who revived the Olympics and designed its flag.

The Olympic Medals - see the Australian and Greek imagery in the medals awarded to the winners.

An Olympics Crossword Puzzle - see how many Olympics terms you know.

An Olympics Quiz to use with the Picture Dictionary Little Explorers. Print out the quiz, then find the answers online using Little Explorers. This is a fun scavenger hunt activity for students.

The Olympic flag was designed by Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin in 1913-1914. The ancient Greeks held the first Olympic games in the year 776 BC, when there was only one event. Every four years, for 1,170 years, the Greeks held an Olympics. The Olympic games were banned by the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II in the year AD 394. Coubertin revived the Olympic games in 1896.

Olympics Online Coloring Pages:

The Olympic Torch

The Olympic Flag

Medals to Print Out and Award to Kids:

Student Medals Medals you can print, decorate, and award to students for outstanding performances in sports, spelling, math, and other subjects. Black-and-white or color printouts.

Student Medals Medals you can print, decorate, and award to students for outstanding performances in sports, spelling, math, and other subjects. Black-and-white or color printouts.

Links:

The official site of the 2000 Olypmpics

Information on Greece, including maps, the flag, printouts, quizzes, and coloring activities.