XXX Summer Olympic Games 2012 in London

About games

• London became the first city in the history of the Olympic Games to host these competitions three times. The Olympic Games were held in London in 1908, 1948 and 2012.

• In total, more than 10,000 athletes from 204 countries took part in the competition; the largest representation of the hosts was 541 athletes.

• For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, women competed in all the sports represented at the Olympics.

• The only woman among the independent participants was Philippin van Aangolt, who took part in sailing competitions. The girl represented the now-defunct Netherlands Antilles.

• The oldest athlete at the London Olympics was Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu, who turned 71 in March of that year. Hiroshi first participated in the 1964 Summer Olympics.

• The medals of the 2012 Olympics became the heaviest in the history of the Olympic Games – 400 grams. By the way, the Olympic gold medals actually consist of 92.5% silver, 6.16% copper and only 1.34% gold. The last games where the winners were awarded pure gold medals were held in 1912 in Stockholm.