Olympic Games such as the Olympic flag and torch, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals: gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. The Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies, including boycotts, doping, bribery, and a terrorist attack in 1972. Every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national
Doping at the Olympic Games doping samples from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Biathlete Teja Gregorin was confirmed as this athlete by the International Biathlon Union. A total of 1195 samples from Vancouver 2010 (70% of the 1700 available) were reanalyzed. This included all medalists and all of the 170 Russian athletes. The IOC requested all Russian samples from the 2010 Games be retested after the publication of the McLaren Report. Russia's disappointing performance at Vancouver (11th in gold medal table with a total of 3 golds) is cited as the reason behind the implementation of a doping scheme alleged to have been in