An Odyssey Fulfilled: The Entry of Mountain Biking Into the Olympic Games‪.‬

With a century of history to its credit, the Olympic programme has evolved (1) considerably from that of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, which included 9 sports and 43 events. (2) Without fail, each completely new sporting discipline, and each discipline "sub-event" added to the Olympic program gave rise to intense debate; first, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) discussed it, and, then again, when it entered the arena of public awareness. The matter left no one untouched given that it also raised the issue, albeit indirectly, of Olympic gigantism. For this reason, members were reminded, in 1991, that "the main concern of the IOC is to limit the Olympic programme to such a size that enables each and every potential organizing committee to be in a position to host successful Olympic Games." (3) During the 1990s, therefore, each sport that was put forward for inclusion in the Olympic programme had to fulfil the conditions of being practised on 4 continents and in 75 countries for men's events, and 3 continents and 40 countries for women's. Beyond the principles of universality and the criteria upheld by the IOC, the process surrounding the acceptance and inclusion of a new event within the Olympics was a complex one that involved a host of geopolitical and economic challenges, as well as media-related and institutional issues.