Why are the linked rings an olympic symbol?

The rings represent the five continents that compete in the Olympics (North America and South America are considered one continent) and they are linked to show unity as the countries of the world come together as one to compete in the Olympics. The rings were adopted as the Olympic symbol in 1914 and made their debut at the 1920 Games in Antwerp. They were designed in 1914 to represent the 5 parts of the world that came together for the Olympic Games or the first 5 Olympic games that were played before the rings were introduced in 1920. However, the rings only gained popularity after the 1936 Berlin Olympic games.