Level ​ : ​ Intermediate Advanced

crumbling
​
, new countries were 
​
founded
​
. Many of these countries 
wanted 
​
to prove themselves to the world
​
, and the Olympics was one way to do so. 
From 
​
humble beginnings
​
, the Olympic games have evolved into the 
​
grandest
​
games on earth. In fact, 
the Rio Olympics saw 205 countries and over 10,000 athletes competing in 302 separate events. 
Furthermore
​
, while the Olympics was 
​
predominantly 
​
hosted by developed countries through much of 
their modern history, the recent games have been hosted in developing nations, such as Brazil and 
China. Many 
​
up-and-coming
​
nations now view the Olympics as a way to announce their 
​
prosperity 
​
to 
the world.
Currently, the United States 
​
dominates 
​
the world stage, and has taken home the most medals in nearly 
every summer Olympics over the past few decades. During the Beijing Olympics in 2008, China came 
close to taking home the most medals but couldn't quite beat the United States. 
Recently, criticism over the costs and 
​
burden 
​
of the games has increased. Norway 
​
pulled out
​
of a 
winter Olympics 
​
bid 
​
just a few years ago because its citizens didn't want to 
​
deal with
​
the 
​
hassle
​
. 
Meanwhile
​
, the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro faced many 
​
setbacks 
​
and challenges.
So, what does the future hold for the Olympics? They'll almost certainly continue to be hosted, but given 
these issues, reform may be 
​