When we think of the Olympic, a few things come to mind immediately: the sportsmen and sportswomen marching (齐步走) in during the opening ceremonies (开幕式), proudly carrying their country’s flag; the exciting awarding (颁发) of gold, silver and bronze (铜牌) medals to winners; the torch (火炬) and other unforgettable Olympic moments. Yet there is no greater symbol for the Olympics than the Olympic rings (环).

Have you ever wondered about the five rings used to symbolize the Olympics and what its colors may mean? Here’s an inside look at what the Olympic rings symbolize and their history.

The Olympic rings are a symbol nearly as old as the Games themselves. The first Olympics was held in 1896. Pierre de Coubertin, a French historian and the founder of the International Olympic Committee (国际奥委会), created the rings in 1913. He drew the coloured rings at the top of a letter he had written.

The five rings stand for the union (联合) of five parts of the world - Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and America. And according to the IOC, “the Olympic symbol shows the activity of the Olympic Movement (运动) and the meeting of sportsmen and sportswomen from all over the world at the Olympic Games.” In addition, the five rings must be the same in size. This is meant to show the idea that all of the world’s continents (大洲) are equal (相等的) at the Games.

Traditionally, the Olympic rings appear in five different colours on a white background. The colours of the rings from left to right are blue, yellow, black, green and red. Unlike the popular belief, the five colours of the Olympic rings do not directly stand for individual (个别的) continent. Instead, the five, colours, along with white, were chosen because at least one of them appeared on all the national flags at the time when Coubertin created the design (设计).

Since 1912, many more countries have taken part in the Olympic Games. After more than a century, the Olympic rings remain a powerful symbol of the event (赛事).

China’s Gu Ailing reacts at the 2022 Winter Olympics on February 18, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, North China’s Hebei province.

The 18-year-old free ski（滑雪）talent grabbed（夺取）her first gold in the big air event in her Olympic debut（首次亮相）and also won the silver in the slopestyle（坡面障碍技巧）at Beijing 2022. Gu thus became the first person to win three medals（奖牌）in three different freestyle（自由式）skiing games at the Winter Olympics.