<P> The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions . The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating . The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart . </P> <P> Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD . Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896 . The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority . </P> <P> The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games . Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for ice and winter sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability, and the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes . The Deaflympics and Special Olympics are also endorsed by the IOC . The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements . The advent of the state - sponsored "full - time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self - financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage . The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full - time basis . As a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes . The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship and commercialisation of the Games . World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games . Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games . Although a boycott led by the Soviet Union depleted the field in certain sports, 140 National Olympic Committees took part in the 1984 Olympics, which was a record at the time . </P>

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