Here is information about each sport at the London Olympics.

1. Álbum de fotografías
por HP mini

2. Archery dates back around 10,000 years, when
bows and arrows were first used for hunting and
warfare, before it developed as a competitive activity
in medieval England.

3. Athletics is the perfect expression of the Olympic
motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ (‘Faster, Higher,
Stronger’) – the competition requires athletes to run
faster, throw further, jump higher and leap longer
than their rivals. With 2,000 athletes competing in 47
events, Athletics is the largest single sport at the
Games.

4. Badminton players at the London 2012 Olympic
Games will need lightning-fast reactions if they’re to
keep up with shuttlecocks travelling at speeds in
excess of 400km/h.

5. From humble beginnings in North America,
Basketball has grown into one of the most
popular team sports in the world. It's a truly global
game: the National Basketball Association (NBA) in
the USA, the world's leading professional league,
features players from more than 30 countries.

6. Beach Volleyball came of age on the sun-
soaked beaches of Santa Monica, California, during
the 1920s. Over the last three decades, the sport has
moved far beyond its roots and is now played all over
the world.

7. The ever-popular men’s Boxing events are joined
on the Olympic program by women’s events for the
first time.
Boxing featured at the original Olympic Games in the
7th century BC, when opponents fought with strips of
leather wrapped around their fists.

8. The Canoe Slalom competition will call for
speed, control and precision on the daunting white
water rapids at the new Lee Valley White Water
Centre. Modeled on slalom skiing, the first Canoe
Slalom competition was held in Switzerland in 1932.
The sport was staged on flat water during its early
days, but was later switched to white-water rapids.

9. Requiring sustained bursts of speed and power,
Canoe Sprint at the London 2012 Games will
offer thrilling, down-to-the-wire finishes.
The histories of the canoe and the kayak go back
hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until the middle of
the 19th century that the first official canoe and kayak
races were held.

10. The fast and furious sport of BMX makes only its
second Olympic appearance at the London 2012
Games.
BMX (Bicycle Motocross) began to take off in the late
1960s in California, around the time that motocross
became popular in the US.

11. Rocky paths, tricky climbs and technical descents
provide plenty of challenges for riders in the
Mountain Bike competition.
Much like BMX, Mountain Biking is a young
sport that developed in northern California during the
1970s.

12. At London 2012, a quartet of challenging, exciting
Road Cycling events will energize the streets of
London and Surrey.
According to popular legend, the first ever bicycle
race was held in Paris in 1868.

13. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, there are 10 gold
medals in nine sessions up for grabs over six action-
packed days in the Track Cycling competition.
Cycling has a long and fascinating history in the UK.

14. Diving requires acrobatic excellence and supreme
coordination skills, as athletes dive from heights of up
to 10m into the waters below. Competitive Diving
developed from gymnastics in the 18th century with
gymnasts from Sweden and Germany.

15. The Equestrian competition at London 2012 is
made up of three disciplines: Dressage, Eventing and
Jumping. Each discipline requires different skills from
the riders and horses competing.

16. Although sword fighting dates back thousands of
years, Fencing as we now understand it really
came of age as a sport in the 19th century. A tense,
compelling battle of wits and technique, the sport is
one of the few to have featured at every modern
Olympic Games.

17. The Soccer competition kicks off the London
2012 Olympic Games. Spread across six major
grounds around the UK, it offers all the drama that
fans of the game have come to expect from major
international tournaments.

18. The grace, strength and skill of Olympic gymnasts
have been astonishing audiences since the Games in
Ancient Greece, where Gymnastics was regarded as
the perfect symmetry between mind and body. The
best known of the three Gymnastics disciplines,
Artistic Gymnastics is always among the
most popular competitions at the Games.

19. Grace and beauty will be on show throughout the
four days of Rhythmic Gymnastics
competition at Wembley Arena. Rhythmic Gymnastics
first appeared during the 19th century and slowly
grew in popularity until the first experimental
competitions were staged during the 1930s.

20. Speed, skill and stamina are key attributes for
competitors in Handball, a quick and exhilerating
team sport. Developed in Denmark, Sweden and
Germany in the late 19th century, it was originally
played outdoors as field handball. It first appeared at
the Olympics at the Berlin 1936 Games.

21. Hockey demands speed, stamina and a mastery of
intricate hand-eye coordination. Played by teams of
11 on an outdoor pitch, the sport is a long-time
Olympic favorite, offering non-stop action over 14
days of competition.

22. Judo contests are a five-minute whirlwind of
combat, with athletes attempting a combination of
throws and holds in a bid to defeat their opponents.
Developed from jujitsu and established as a sport in
the late 19th century by Dr Jigoro Kano, athletes use
an intricate mix of attack and defense. The sport’s
one-on-one battles can be tough, tense and explosive.

23. At the London 2012 Games
Modern Pentathlon
celebrates 100 years as part of the
Olympic Games. Modern Pentathlon
was championed by Baron Pierre de
Coubertin, the founder of the
modern Olympic Games, and has its
origins in a 19th-century legend. The
story goes that a young French
cavalry officer was sent on horseback
to deliver a message. To complete his
mission, he had to ride, fence, shoot,
swim and run.

24. The Rowing competition at the London 2012
Games will feature extraordinary displays of power
and passion on the world-class waters at Eton Dorney.
Although its history dates back centuries, rowing only
came of age as a competitive sport in the last 200
years.

25. The waters of Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbor
play host to 10 exhilarating Sailing events.
Mastery over ever-changing conditions on open water
requires skill and nerve. Both will be essential for
competitors in the Sailing events at London 2012 over
14 days of competition that should offer plenty of
excitement and drama.

26. During the London 2012 Games, nearly 400
competitors are shooting for gold across 15
dramatic events. Having been practised competitively
for centuries, the tense and demanding sport of
Shooting is now popular all over the world.

27. Hugely popular around the world as a leisure activity
and a competitive sport, Swimming has featured
at every modern Olympic Games. Speed, strength
and stamina will be key for athletes in the
competition which features no fewer than 34 medal
events.

28. Synchronized Swimming is all about grace
under pressure, as athletes use pinpoint precision and
immense stamina to deliver beautiful routines in the
pool. Having made its Olympic debut at the Los
Angeles 1984 Games, the all-female event will be held
at the dazzling Aquatics Centre during London 2012.

29. Power, subtlety and lightning-fast reflexes will all be
on display at ExCeL during the Table Tennis
competition. The sport has come a long way from its
origins in the late 19th century, when it developed as
an after-dinner game played by upper-class English
families.

30. The word Taekwondo translates into English as
the way of foot and fist – an accurate description of
the principles behind this Korean martial art. Powerful
kicks and punches are, literally, the name of the game,
which offers tension, drama and plenty of action.

31. Every four years, the Olympic Tennis tournament
attracts the world’s top stars. At Beijing 2008, Rafael
Nadal won the men’s Singles, while the Williams
sisters triumphed in the women’s Doubles. All the
players will be aiming for a showdown on
Wimbledon’s Centre Court, where the Olympic
champions will be crowned.

32. Prepare to be dazzled by the athletes in the
Trampoline, the newest of the three Gymnastics
disciplines on the Olympic program. Since making its
Olympic debut at the Sydney Games in 2000, the
sport has consistently featured awe-inspiring displays
of acrobatic excellence, with athletes jumping to
heights of up to 10 meters.

33. The precise origins of Triathlon are unknown:
some say that the sport began in France between the
wars, others that it really developed in the United
States during the late 1970s. Whatever the true
history, Triathlon is now one of the fastest-growing
sports in the world.

34. In 1895, William G Morgan devised a game he called
'mintonette', which he intended as a gentle
alternative to basketball for older members of his
YMCA gym. A century later, Volleyball is anything
but gentle – few sports on the Olympic program offer
such fast and exhilarating action.

35. Water Polo developed during the 19th century
as an aquatic version of rugby, played informally in
rivers and lakes. The version of the game that survives
today is closer to Handball: a fast, tough and
demanding sport, it has featured on every Olympic
program since the Paris 1900 Games.

36. Weightlifting will showcase a test of pure
strength – the oldest and most basic form of physical
competition. The aim of Weightlifting is simple: to lift
more weight than anyone else. The result is pure
sporting theatre of the most dramatic kind, and a real
spectator favorite.

37. Recognized as one of the world’s oldest sports,
Wrestling was first held at the ancient Olympics
in 708 BC, and Greco-Roman Wrestling was included
at the Athens 1896 Games The London 2012
Wrestling competition consists of two disciplines –
Greco-Roman, where athletes use their upper bodies
and arms only, and Freestyle, where athletes can use
any part of their bodies.