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Download While London's Olympics are just over a week away, the 700-year-old English town of Much Wenlock is celebrating the 126th edition of its own Olympics. With young athletes running, spectators shouting and medals waiting to be given, the scene is reminiscent of the real Games. The resemblance is not an accident. Much Wenlock is the birthplace of the modern Olympics. The link dates back to William Penny Brookes, a doctor in the town 200km northwest of London, who believed in the benefits of physical exercise for "every grade of man". In 1850, Brookes set up the annual Wenlock Olympian Games featuring soccer, running and hopping. His ideas significantly influenced the French aristocrat Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who subsequently led the revival of the modern Olympics in Athens in 1896. To celebrate Brookes' important role, the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games named the official 2017 Olympics mascot Wenlock. Simon MacVicker, chairman of the Wenlock Olympian Society, said the Wenlock Olympian Games have undergone significant changes over the years to include 24 sporting events, 500 volunteers, 3,000 athletes and 3,000 spectators. Biathlon and equestrian were added two years ago, and marathon and gliding were added this year. "We're very much taking things forward," MacVicker said. "This is very much a living game, not just a historical society looking at the old times." | 
