Editing 1906 Intercalated Games (section)

==Decline of the Intercalated Games==
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[[File:Athentroppens Ankomst den 13de Mai 1906 (5383384809).jpg|thumb|On the balance beam, 1906]]
The [[Greece|Greeks]] were, despite their best efforts, unable to keep the schedule for 1910. While there had been serious political tensions in the [[Balkans]], the modern Greeks found out their ancient ancestors were right: a two-year interval was too short. There had been effectively a gap of six years before Athens 1906, due to the predominantly American nature of the 1904 St. Louis Games, but Athens 1910 would have left a gap of two years after the 1908 London Games, which would have made it virtually impossible to prepare.

With Athens 1910 being a failure, the faith in the Intercalated Games diminished: as a result, plans for Athens 1914 got even less support before the outbreak of [[World War I]], meaning any further Intercalated Games had to wait until after the war, which ended in 1918. 

Since it had been twelve years since Athens 1906, and in any case, the next possible event would have been in 1922 – sixteen years after the first – the idea of Intercalated Games was given up entirely.

===Downgrading===
Since the 2nd International Olympic Games in Athens had become an exception, the personal views of various IOC chairmen caused the IOC to retroactively downgrade the 1906 Games, and their explanation for the Games became that they had been a 10th anniversary celebration. 

Also, more stress was placed on the continuing sequence of four-year Olympiads, and the Games of 1906 did not fit into this. Hence, the IOC currently does not recognise Athens 1906 as Olympic Games, and does not regard any events occurring there (such as the setting of new records or the winning of medals) as official.

Despite this, the success of Athens 1906 may have been what kept the Olympics alive after the failures of 1900 and 1904. As the next Games are always built on the successes of the last, the innovations of Athens were used again in London, and eventually became Olympic tradition. 

In fact, the influence of the First Intercalated Games pervades the Olympics, with the holding of the Games concentrated in a small time period in a small area returning to the first games, while some later games lasted for months. (see also [[1896 Summer Olympics]], which lasted 11 days; see also [[List of Olympic Games host cities]])

In the 21st century the 1906 Olympics are sometimes called the "lost" or "forgotten" games.<ref name=":2" /> Despite its exclusion from other games, it was noted as a well organized, dignified event, full pageantry, and for introducing the almost theatrical opening closing ceremonies, which was further refined by the 1908 games.<ref name=":2" />