HISTORY OF SPORT: FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT - HISTORY - 2025

The history of sport shows the evolution that this activity has undergone, which went from being something physical utilitarian for human survival to a discipline governed and controlled by various organizations, such as national and world sports teams and associations.

Sport is conceived as a set of physical activities that, in addition to improving health and quality of life, helps us to stay in better mental and physical conditions.

Sport has evolved to become a highly relevant discipline for society. Source: pixabay.com

In addition to promoting the progressive development of muscular strength, speed, agility, concentration and competitiveness, sport has also been considered as a form of cultural expression that is immersed in the evolution of the history of human societies.

Different authors have conceived of sport in various interesting ways of approaching. Ulrich Popplow described physical exercise as an activity with a broad spiritual sense, which linked man with nature and its gods.

For his part, Eppensteiner proposed two conceptions of sport. The first characterized it as a natural activity for human development, which pursues the cultivation of the body as a biological necessity from the ludic point of view through competition.

The second conception is cultural, defining sport from the effect of consolidation and social cohesion that it generates, a phenomenon that was later called “sports culture”.

Currently millions of people practice a varied range of sports, either professionally, to maintain their health or simply for hobby or fanaticism towards some discipline or team.

History of sport: from ancient times to contemporary

Old age

Pyramids of Giza. Source: By Most likely Hamish2k, the first uploader (Most likely Hamish2k, the first uploader), via Wikimedia Commons Knowing the origin of sport allows us to understand how these first practices began in social relations and the subsequent emergence of civilizations.

In the Middle Palaeolithic, some 33,000 years before Christ, hunts were organized in the different colonies and social groups. Dances were also known as rituals, whose physical activity had a purely spiritual expression and social recognition.

In cultures such as the Mayan and the Persian, sports practices were linked to the gods and the skills of the participants. For example, the so-called Mayan ball was one of the first sports; It consisted of hitting a ball with the waist and trying to insert it several meters high into a kind of metal ring.

Wrestling, weightlifting, swimming competitions, running, long and high jumps, rock climbing, and javelin throws also emerged.

As a curious fact, it can be noted that in those games where several teams participated, the captain or leader of the winning team had to give his life to be elevated to the gods.

Different cultures and civilizations around the world were creating and developing the different forms of physical activity that are currently known as sport.

China

It is said that gymnastics practices existed in ancient China and were a very popular activity. Within the monuments and inscriptions found, instruments with characteristics of sports use have also been found, whose origin dates back to more than a thousand years before Christ.

The football known today also has a past in China. More than 2300 years ago it was practiced in a space similar to a court and it consisted of passing the ball from one person to another without it touching the ground. The goal was to insert it into a hole.

Egypt

In ancient Egypt certain competitions such as fishing and swimming were regulated. Likewise, at that time the high jump, the javelin throw and the fight were practiced.

In this civilization great strides were made in terms of sports development. Professionalization began, giving way to basic regulations in various activities such as barge fighting, horse racing, acrobatic jumps and sandbag lifting, among others.

This boom was produced from the social organization that was created in order to improve the level of entertainment, dedicated to the pharaohs and their family. However, at other social levels, only the playful activities of children or those carried out by slaves were allowed.

Persia

In ancient Persia different sports were developed that were directly related to battles; such is the case of polo and jousting.

Sparta

In this civilization, sports activity was developed as a way of life that spanned from childhood to adolescence, along with intellectual training. The aim was to create a faithful servant of Sparta, both in war and in games and competitions.

This gave them the triumph for many years in various specialties in the Olympic games, such as swimming, wrestling, bareback riding, boxing, javelin throw and discus.

Greece

Greek civilization was characterized by cultivating physical health and morals. In this period and in this place, sport took shape and was consolidated as a discipline.

In the family, physical and intellectual education were taught in the first years of life, and the best person was considered to be one who developed one or more sports activities. The more triumphs a person obtained, the more social respect they gained.

It was in Greece, specifically in Olympia, where the Olympic games were created as a set of sports competitions lasting six days and held every four years.

The training gyms were located near the polis within sanctuaries of the gods, where religious games and rituals were performed when starting competitions. For this reason, the name of each game corresponded to the god to whom the cult was rendered.

Among the most famous games are the Pythian games, the Nemean games, the Olympic games and the Isthian games.

Pythic games

These games, held in honor of the god Apollo in the sanctuary located in Delphi, had horse racing as their main competition. The winners of the tests were awarded the laurel wreath as a special prize.

Emeos games

They were held in the Valley of Flin in honor of Heracles. Like the Píticos and the Olympics, they were held every four years and had varied categories: children, youth and adults. The winner's prize was a crown of tender celery.

Isthmian games

These games were held every two years on the isthmus of Corinth and the winners were awarded a garland of pines.

Olympic Games

Olympia was the venue for these games and offered a variety of competitions, such as the pentathlon, horse racing, show jumping, wrestling, and javelin and discus throwing.

During the celebration of the sports day, a peace pact was made between the neighboring towns so that nothing would impede their development. As a symbol of victory, an olive wreath was given.

The Olympic Games ran until 394 AD, at which time they were suspended by the Roman emperor of the time.

Etruria

In the 6th century BC the Etruscans were lovers of fun and entertainment. They sought sporting achievement through competition and had three types of events, called by them ludus.

The first type of event was animal fighting, the second was athletics - consisting of halter jump and discus and javelin throw - and the third included chariot racing with charioteers (horse drawn chariot) acrobatics.

Rome

The Romans promoted sports competitions as a massive spectacle that sought to entertain both commoners and the upper social classes of the different epochs of the Empire.

During this entire period of the Roman Empire, large amphitheaters and circuses were built with a capacity of up to 500,000 people. The fights of gladiators stood out, who fought to obtain their freedom: if they won, they were free; if they lost, they were killed.

Middle Ages

Charlemagne and the Pope

After the fall of the Roman Empire, sports activity declined significantly. It was only developed by the nobility and the most practiced sports were soule, palm games, jousting and tournaments.

The

It consisted of carrying the ball with the feet or with a cane from one side to the other in an open field, and introducing it into the rival archery. It is what later became known as football and hockey, and was very popular in France and England.

The palm game

It was played only by the nobles and the clergy. It was the initial practice of what is now known as tennis, although at that time it was played with the hands and with a rope to delimit one side from the other.

Later on it incorporated the use of gloves and rackets, as well as the placement of a net in a more delimited space between one side and another.

The jousting

They were armed fights on horses in which the objective was to get the opponent out of the race. They could be individual or group and with different types of weapons; the spear was predominant.

Tournaments

They were representations of war in which battles were recreated that sought to enhance the strength of the knights and rituals.

There were two types of tournaments. The first was called "melee", there were no rules and common people, nobles and knights could participate for a whole day of battle. The other called "courts" had rules defined by individual challenges; preliminary preparation could take up to a year for the opponents.

Renaissance

Machiavelli

In this period, several important events have preponderance in the resurgence of sport as an activity of connection between the soul and the body, framed in the cult of health and physical education.

In Italy the games still had a playful and entertaining character, but rules began to be specified in sports practices. Horseback riding, swimming, athletics, and dance were the most popular and lost their former aggressive and confrontational character.

Another important event was the emergence of sports medicine thanks to the research development of the human body, which gave an answer to how to anticipate diseases and ailments and highlighted the importance of medicine applied to competitive physical activity.

The growth of cities and the evolution of social relations and commerce produced an increase in interest in sport in Europe. New sports practices were started in all social classes and aesthetics became more important than rudeness.

Modern age

After the Renaissance came the Industrial Revolution, and with it the scientific and technical development applied to sport. It was an evolution that led to the creation of more structured training systems and specific equipment to achieve perfection in each discipline.

During the nineteenth century the sport spread to the general public regardless of social class, and organizations began to be born that created rules and standards of competition. Thus were born the systematized leagues and new disciplines such as cycling, fencing, shooting and weightlifting, among others.

Social influence and hierarchy occurred around the world, expanding sport as an activity that created a new commercial industry. The upper social classes continued to practice their sophisticated sports such as cricket, golf and horse riding in their different styles.

New sports disciplines appeared such as handball, basketball and volleyball. The sports record also emerged as a new measurement concept to classify athletes according to their performance and to set marks at competitive levels.

Contemporary age

This moment marked the trend that currently prevails. With the advent of the mass media, sport was seen in a unique dimension.

This activity became a business. Companies oriented to athletes of each discipline emerged, brands of clothing, shoes, equipment and technological instruments for measurement and protection were developed, as well as food and special hydration.

Advertising appeared on all sports venues, highlighting prominent athletes as highly influential social figures and promoting both athletes and sports equipment and materials created by different companies.

The activity was professionalized and an economic sector was created around the development of trainers, physical trainers and doctors specialized in sports rehabilitation.

In addition, the use of harmful substances began to be regulated and prohibited, which enhance the capabilities and performance of athletes over their adversaries.

Even today the sport is constantly evolving. New disciplines are integrated into the most recognized events and the concept of sport is integrating more and more expressions.

Such is the controversial case of breakdance, an urban dance style that has been proposed by the Organizing Committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to be one of the event activities.

References

1. Pérez, R. "The historical evolution of sport: from the Greek Olympics to the gym crushes" in Vitónica. Retrieved on March 5, 2019 from Vitónica: vitonica.com
2. Alvelais, R. "Analysis of sports legislation" at the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí. Retrieved on March 6, 2019 from the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí: cicsa.uaslp.mx
3. "Sport" in Wikipedia. Retrieved on March 16, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.
4. "Breakdancing proposed as an Olympic sport for the Paris 2024 Games" in 20 minutes. Retrieved on March 16, 2019 from 20 minutes: 20minutos.es
5. "Materials for the history of sport" in Dialnet. Retrieved on March 16, 2019 from Dialnet: dialnet.unirioja.es