On The Cover Looking Back At The Olympics

Highs and lows from the most famous sporting occasion of all!

◆ The five rings in the Olympic emblem represent the continents of the world, and at least one of the colours of the rings feature in every nation’s flag.

◆ The Olympic flame and relay torch must be lit in Greece and remain lit for the whole competition. If they go out, they must be reignited with a backup flame also lit in Greece.

◆ 92.5% of a Gold medal is made from silver.

◆ The first Winter Olympic Games was held in France in January 1924 and featured figure skating and curling.

ONE OF JESSE OWENS’ GOLD MEDALS FROM THE INFAMOUS 1936 BERLIN OLYMPICS SOLD AT AUCTION IN 2013 FOR MORE THAN $1.46MILLION (£1.2MILLION). IT BROKE THE RECORD FOR THE MOST AMOUNT OF MONEY PAID FOR A PIECE OF OLYMPIC MEMORABILIA www.myweekly.co.uk

◆ The cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins has won the most medals overall for Great Britain – five Gold, six Silver and two Bronze.

◆ Swimmer Trischa Zorn is the most successful athlete in the Paralympic Games, which follow the Summer and Winter Olympics, winning 55 medals in total. She has a visual impairment.

◆ This year is only the fourth time the Olympic Games has been cancelled since 1896. It was cancelled once for WWI, and twice for WWII.

◆ The youngest male Gold medallist is Kuoso Kitamura, who won for Japan in the 1,500m freestyle at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, aged 14. The youngest female winner was diver Marjorie Gestring, 13, who won Gold in the 1936 Games.

◆ Rower Dame Katherine Grainger is our most decorated female competitor, winning five medals across four games.

◆ Based on its population size and the number of medals won, Finland is the most successful country in the Olympics.

◆ Only three countries – Norway, Liechtenstein and Austria – have won more medals at the Winter Olympics than in the Summer Games.

◆ The medals for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games are made from metals recycled from old mobile phones and other electronics.

◆ Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny, both cyclists, share the record for the most UK Gold medals at the Summer Olympics with six each.

◆ Women were only permitted to compete in Olympic events in 1900 and made up around 2% of all the competitors. London 2012 saw more women compete than ever, making up 44% of competitors.