Here is an original guide to the heroic world of the Olympic games from its ancient beginnings to the Sydney Games in 2000. Stunning full-color photographs of famous athletes, gold medals, colorful mascots, and flaming torches provide a unique look at the greatest sports festival in the world.

See the ancient Greek site of Olympia, what an athlete wore in 1896, how a sports shoe is made, and the first Fosbury flop.

Learn what an athlete in training needs to eat, what the Olympic symbol represents, how Smoky became the 1932 Olympic mascot, and what sports make up a modern pentathlon.

Discover how athletic competitions are timed within fractions of a second, what special materials are used to make a modern swimsuit, which sports were included in the ancient Olympic Games, who has won the most Olympic medals, and much, much more.