The olive tree was considered to be the sacred tree of Athens and that’s why the winners of the Olympic Gameswould take as a prize a branch of olive tree, a tradition that began with the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. till the end of the ancient Olympic Games.
In sports olive oil played two important roles, that of personal cleaning and care of the athlete. Before they begin their training or their races, they smeared olive oil on their bodies and when they finished their training, they would remove it along with the dust and sweat by using a curvy metal accessory (strigil). They also used to smear olive oil on their muscles so that they remain elastic.
Metal curvy accessories of different sizes (strigils)