Summer Olympic Games events vs. the 10 from Greece. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, consequently Athens was perceived to be an appropriate choice to stage the inaugural modern Games. It was unanimously chosen as the host city during a congress organised by Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, in Paris, on 23 June 1894. The IOC was also established during this congress. Despite many obstacles and setbacks, the 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. Panathinaiko Stadium, the first big stadium in
Doping at the Olympic Games London Olympic Games "were, in a sense, sabotaged by the admission of athletes who should have not been competing" and detailed incidents of bribery and bogus urine samples. The report recommended that Russia be barred from track and field events for the 2016 Olympics. It also recommended lifetime bans for five coaches and five athletes from the country, including runners Mariya Savinova, Ekaterina Poistogova, Anastasiya Bazdyreva, Kristina Ugarova, and Tatjana Myazina. On 15 June 2016, it was announced that four London 2012 Olympic weightlifting champions had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. They include Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilyin (94 kg), Zulfiya Chinshanlo