Ollie-Lympian tells the Academy about his experiences at the Ancient Games.

I competed in the very first ancient Olympic games in Greece at Olympia in 776 BC.

They were held every four years and all wars were suspended to allow the competition to go ahead.

Thousands of people came from nearby countries to watch but women were not allowed.

Our personal coaches helped us train for 10 months before we had to pass a personality and physical test to take part.

Don't make them like they used to

You get athletes these days wearing all sorts of fancy clothes but back then it was different. We ran completely naked. Honestly.

We used to wear shorts but a rival of mine got rid of his during a race to make him run faster - clothing was soon abolished after that.

Initially the only event was the stade - a race across the length of the stadium, but then longer distances were introduced.

I don't know what my personal bests were because there weren't any clocks but I did hear about a competitor who outran a hare and somebody else beat a horse.

The Olympiads did get more fun as they brought in other events, such as wrestling, boxing and chariot racing.

My favourite was the pentathlon.

It was pretty much like today's heptathlon and decathlon, and included discus, javelin, jumping, running and wrestling.

All Olympic winners - sadly not me - were given an olive tree branch.

And also their hometowns would sometimes reward them with cash prizes or even build statues in their honour.

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