Before them, on a table of ivory and gold, were the first Olympic prizes—olive-wreath crowns cut from Olympia’s sacred tree. An excited murmur would fill the Stadium when, with the blast of a ...

Women had their own games called Heraia. Victors at the Olympics and the Heraia won the same prize: an olive branch wreath from the sacred olive tree. Kyniska celebrated an Olympic victory after ...

As we count down the final days of the year, SI writers are reflecting on "The Best Thing I Saw in 2024" and looking back at the most memorable moments they witnessed in their reporting this year.

(Kevin Light Photography) A long, long time ago, Olympic athletes received olive wreaths. As time passed and the Olympics were modernized, the olive wreaths were replaced by bouquets of flowers.