President of the International Olympic Committee congress. Athens was approved to host the 1896 Olympic Games, being the original home of the Olympics, and Vikelas was duly chosen as the first President of the IOC. Pierre, Baron de Coubertin, took over the IOC presidency when Demetrius Vikelas stepped down after the Olympics in his own country. Despite its initial success, the Olympic Movement faced hard times, as the 1900 Games (in de Coubertin's own Paris) and 1904 Games were both upstaged by World's Fairs—Exposition Universelle in 1900 and Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904—and received little attention. The 1906 Intercalated Games revived the momentum, and the Olympic
Croatian Olympic Committee Croatian Olympic Committee The Croatian Olympic Committee ( (HOO)) is the non-profit organization representing Croatian athletes in the International Olympic Committee. The COC organizes Croatia's representatives at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. It also organizes the Croatian contingent at smaller events such as the Mediterranean Games. Members of the committee are 44 sports federations, which elect the Executive Council composed of the president and 15 members. In 2006, the COC organized the first Croatian World Games in Zadar. These games gather various groups of diaspora Croats against contingents from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Olympic Committee was