Nathaniel Cartmell Hans Grodotzki Ivo van Damme and Raelene Boyle each won two silver medals at an Olympics but never a gold

In 1904 American George Eyser won three golds two silvers and a bronze in gymnastics all achieved even though he had a wooden leg

1908 was the last year in which the host country supplied all the officials This is to avoid accusations of bias against officials

Michael Phelps collected 22 medals(18 Gold 2 Silvers and 2 Bronze) uptill 2012 London Olympics 4 more than gymnast Larisa Latynina

Hiroshi Hoketsu 71 will be the oldest competitor at the London games when he competes in the equestrian sport of dressage for Japan

The Olympic Rings are five interlocking rings that stand for the five original continents (Africa America Asia Australia and Europe)

The Olympics once lasted 187 days In 1908 the London Olympics went on for 187 days they started in April and didn t end until Octobe

Andrea Ruaducan the victorious Romanian gymnast in the 2000 games failed a drugs test and lost her medal as she had taken a cold-cure

Ralph Craig ran in the 100m for the USA in 1912 He next competed in the Olympics in the USA yachting team some 36 years later in 1948

No white person has ever run 100 meters in under 10 seconds in Olympics The closest was Marian Woronin of Poland who ran it in 10 flat

Harold Toshiyuki Sakata silver medallist in 1948 in weightlifting later appeared as a villain (Odd Job) in the James Bond film Goldfinge

Usian Bolt became the first man to win consecutive Golds in 100m and 200m sprints at Beijing and London Olympics 2008 and 2012 respectively

Sushil Kumar became the first Indian to win back to back medals (Wrestling 66 KG) in individual Olympics event in Beijing 2008 and London 2012

It will be for the third time that London will host the Olympics in 2012 Earlier the games were held in the capital of England in 1908 and 1984

The Olympic Games is the biggest broadcast event in the world Three and a half billion people in 220 countries tune in to watch the Games on TV