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The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closing ceremonies were held. At the Sorbonne conference of 1894,
Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; ...
proposed that the Olympic Games should take place in Paris in 1900. However, the delegates to the conference were unwilling to wait six years, and lobbied to hold the first games in 1896. A decision was made to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens and have Paris host the second Games. The Games were held as part of the
1900 World's Fair The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developme ...
. In total, 1226 competitors took part in 19 different sports. This number relies on certain assumptions about which events were and were not "Olympic". Many athletes, some of whom had won events, were unaware that they had competed in the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
. Women took part in the games for the first time, with sailor Hélène de Pourtalès, born Helen Barbey in New York City, becoming the first female Olympic champion. The decision to hold competitions on a Sunday brought protests from many American athletes, who traveled as representatives of their colleges and were expected to withdraw rather than compete on their religious day of rest. Most of the winners in 1900 did not receive medals, but were given cups or trophies. Professionals competed in fencing, as was tradition, and Albert Robert Ayat (France), who won the
épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...
for amateurs and masters, was awarded a prize of 3000 francs. Some events were contested for the only time in the history of the Games, including
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...
and motorcycle racing,Journal of Olympic History, Special Issue – December 2008, The Official Publication of the International Society of Olympic Historians, p. 8, by Karl Lennartz, Tony Bijkerk and Volker Kluge ballooning,Journal of Olympic History, Special Issue – December 2008, The Official Publication of the International Society of Olympic Historians, p. 13, by Karl Lennartz, Tony Bijkerk and Volker Kluge
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
,Journal of Olympic History, Special Issue – December 2008, The Official Publication of the International Society of Olympic Historians, p. 32, by Karl Lennartz, Tony Bijkerk and Volker Kluge croquet,Journal of Olympic History, Special Issue – December 2008, The Official Publication of the International Society of Olympic Historians, p. 33, by Karl Lennartz, Tony Bijkerk and Volker Kluge Basque pelota,Journal of Olympic History, Special Issue – December 2008, The Official Publication of the International Society of Olympic Historians, p. 52, by Karl Lennartz, Tony Bijkerk and Volker Kluge and 200m swimming obstacle race and underwater swimming.Journal of Olympic History, Special Issue – December 2008, The Official Publication of the International Society of Olympic Historians, p. 77, by Karl Lennartz, Tony Bijkerk and Volker Kluge This was also the only Olympic Games in history to use live animals (pigeons) as targets during the shooting event. The host nation of France fielded 72% of all athletes (720 of the 997) and won the most gold, silver and bronze medal placings. U.S. athletes won the second-most in each, while fielding the fifth most participants, 75. British athletes won the third-most in each, while fielding the second most participants, 102.


Organization

The 1900 Games were held as part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The Baron de Coubertin believed that this would help public awareness of the Olympics and submitted elaborate plans to rebuild the ancient site of Olympia, complete with statues, temples, stadia and gymnasia. The director of the Exposition Universelle, Alfred Picard, thought holding an ancient sport event at the Exposition Universelle was an "absurd anachronism".Cropper, Corry: ''Playing at monarchy: sport as a metaphor in nineteenth-century France''
Accessed through
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
, Retrieved 1 March 2010
After thanking de Coubertin for his plans, Picard filed them away and nothing more came of it. A committee was formed for the organization of the Games, consisting of some of the more able sports administrators of the day and a provisional program was drawn up. Sports to be included at the games were track and field athletics, swimming,
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...
,
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
,
fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and British boxing, river and ocean yacht racing,
cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...
,
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
, lifesaving,
archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In ...
,
weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; pro ...
, rowing, diving, and
water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...
. British and Irish sports associations announced a desire to compete, as did a number of powerful American universities and sports clubs. Competitors from Russia and Australia also confirmed their intentions to travel to Paris. On 9 November 1898, the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques ("Union of the French Societies for Athletic Sports" or USFSA) put out an announcement that it would have sole right to any organised sport held during the World's Fair. It was an empty threat but
Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...
Charles de La Rochefoucauld, the nominated head of the organizing committee, stepped down rather than be embroiled in the political battle. The Baron de Coubertin, who was also secretary-general of the USFSA, was urged to withdraw from active involvement in the running of the Games and did so, only to comment later, "I surrendered – and was incorrect in doing so." The IOC ceded control of the Games to a new committee which was to oversee every sporting activity connected to the 1900 Exposition Universelle. Alfred Picard appointed Daniel Mérillon, the head of the French Shooting Association, as president of this organization in February 1899. Mérillon proceeded to publish an entirely different schedule of events, with the result that many of those that had made plans to compete in concordance with the original program withdrew, and refused to deal with the new committee. Between May and October 1900, the new organizing committee held an enormous number of sporting activities alongside the Paris Exposition. The sporting events rarely used the term of "Olympic". Indeed, the term "Olympic Games" was replaced by "''Concours internationaux d'exercices physiques et de sport''" ("International physical exercises and sports" in English) in the official report of the sporting events of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The press reported competitions variously as "International Championships", "International Games", "Paris Championships", "World Championships" and "Grand Prix of the Paris Exposition". These poorly organized games along with those of 1904 were termed decades later by several historians, "The Farcical Games". Years later many competitors were unaware that they had competed in the Olympics. While there is an Official Report of these Games, complete records of results do not exist. De Coubertin commented later to friends, "It's a miracle that the Olympic Movement survived that celebration".


Highlights

* These Olympic Games were the first organised under the IOC Presidency of
Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; ...
* Alvin Kraenzlein (United States) won the 60 metres (he was one of two people to ever win this event at the Olympic Games as it was withdrawn from Olympic competition after the 1904 Olympics), the
110 metre hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hu ...
, the 200 metre hurdles and the
long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...
events; , these four individual gold medals are still a record for a track and field athlete. For his victory in the long jump, he was allegedly punched in the face by his rival
Meyer Prinstein Myer (or Meyer) Prinstein (born Mejer Prinsztejn, December 22, 1878 – March 10, 1925) was a Polish American track and field athlete and member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He held the world record for the long jump and won gold meda ...
, who was prevented from competing in the final by officials of
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
because it was scheduled for a Sunday. * American-born Hélène de Pourtalès became the first female Olympic champion as part of the Swiss winning team in the 1-2 ton sailing event. Two months later, Charlotte Cooper (UK) became the first woman to win an individual Olympic event after winning the women's singles
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
competition. She later went on to win the
mixed doubles Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and badminton (where it is known ...
tournament. * Three
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
runners from the United States contested the result saying the French runners who got first and second places took a short cut, and in fact they were the only contestants not spattered with mud. * In the
coxed pair A coxed pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of two rowers, each having one oar, and a cox. One rower ...
s and eights events in rowing, crews replaced adult coxswain with children. The identities and ages of these boys were not recorded but they are believed to have been among the youngest of all Olympic competitors.


Sports

Before July 2021 the IOC has never decided which events were "Olympic" and which were not. In fact, Pierre de Coubertin had ceded that entire determination to the organizers. The IOC webpage for the 1900 Summer Olympics affirms a total of 95 medal events. Weightlifting and wrestling were dropped since the
1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
, while 13 new sports were added. Among the sports below, only croquet was not an international competition, being contested by French players only. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.


Venues

14 venues were used at the 1900 Summer Olympics to host 20 sports.


Sport-by-sport overview

The standard of competition at the Games was variable. Despite a poor quality track, a strong contingent of top-class American collegiate athletes ensured the track and field competitions were of the highest quality. The tennis gold medalists were all former Wimbledon champions, swimming and fencing events were of a good standard and even polo, a minority sport for the social elite, was well represented by some of the best players in the game. Other sports were noticeably weak in both quality and depth. Only athletics, swimming and fencing had competitors from more than ten nations.


Archery

The history of the archery competition at the 1900 Olympics is one of confusion. The IOC currently lists six events with Olympic status, but a case has been made that as many as eight other events equally deserve to be considered part of official Olympic history. About 150 archers competed in the six events that later had official status conferred. However, as many as 5,000 were involved in archery competition in conjunction with the
1900 World's Fair The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developme ...
. Belgian Hubert Van Innis took two gold medals and one silver and would add to his tally twenty years later in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
.


Athletics

The
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
events were held at the home of the Racing Club de France at the Croix-Catelan stadium in Bois de Boulogne. No track was laid and races took place on an uneven field of grass littered with trees. Additional events were held for professionals and a series of handicap races also took place. These are not considered official Olympic events.


The sprints

In the seven events contested over 400 metres or less, the United States took 13 out of a possible 21 medals. Athletes from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
,
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
and the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
all won gold medals. Indeed, two would-be dentists from the University of Pennsylvania were among the stars of the Games. Alvin Kraenzlein won 4 individual gold medals, a feat that has never repeated, while Walter Tewksbury took five medals including two golds. The hurdles in the 400 m hurdle race were -long telegraph poles arranged on the track and the race, uniquely in Olympic competition, had a water jump on the final straight. Adolphe Klingelhoeffer, who had Brazilian citizenship in 1900, competed for France in three events.


Middle and long distance races

United States dominance in sprinting was matched in the longer track races by United Kingdom. Only George Orton, who won Canada's first Olympic title in the shorter of the two steeplechases, ruined a perfect record for the British. Orton won his title less than an hour after placing third in the 400 metre hurdles.


The Marathon

The most contentious of all the events in these Games began and ended in the Bois de Boulogne. Intended to follow the track of the old city wall, the course was poorly marked out and runners often got lost and had to double back on themselves before continuing. On some parts of the course, runners had to contend with distractions from cars, bicycles, pedestrians and animals. Arthur Newton of the United States finished fifth but stated he had not been passed by any other runner during the race. Another American, Richard Grant, claimed he was run down by a cyclist as he made ground on the leaders. French honour seemed to have been satisfied when
Michel Théato Michel Johann Théato (22 March 1878 – 2 April 1923) was a Luxembourgish long-distance runner, and the winner of the marathon at the 1900 Olympics in Paris for France. He was born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and died in Paris, France. Ear ...
crossed the finish line and a military band struck up La Marseillaise. However, modern research has revealed that Théato was born in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and maintained
Luxembourgian Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
citizenship throughout his life.


Field events

The Hungarian discus thrower Rudolf Bauer was the only non-American crowned as Olympic Champion. American domination was even greater in the field events than the track events, with outstanding performances coming from Ray Ewry and
Irving Baxter Irving Knott Baxter (March 25, 1876 in Utica, New York – June 13, 1957 in Utica, New York) was an American Athletics (sport), athlete, who won the gold medal in both the men's high jump and the pole vault at the 1900 Summer Olympic ...
. Ewry started his Olympic career with a sweep of the three standing jumps, while Baxter finished second to Ewry three times and won both the regular high jump and
pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the M ...
.
Meyer Prinstein Myer (or Meyer) Prinstein (born Mejer Prinsztejn, December 22, 1878 – March 10, 1925) was a Polish American track and field athlete and member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He held the world record for the long jump and won gold meda ...
became the first Jewish Olympic gold medalist in the
triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...
.


Basque pelota

The chistera form of the game was played at this, the sport's only appearance at full Olympic level. Two pairs entered and the Spanish partnerships of Amezola and Villota became their nations' first Olympic champions. The
mano Mano may refer to: People * Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia * Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Mano (Mozambican footballer) (born 1984), real name Celso Halilo de Abdul * Mano (Portuguese footballer) (b ...
form of the game and a chistera tournament for professional players were contested unofficially.


Cricket

After the withdrawal of teams from the Netherlands and Belgium, only two teams played in the cricket tournament. A team made up of players from the Albion Cricket Club and the Standard Athletic Club, two Paris clubs consisting almost exclusively of British expatriates, played a touring team from the southwest of England. The Devon and Somerset Wanderers were no more than a team of competent club cricketers (made up from
Blundells School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the ...
old boys and members of Castle Cary Cricket Club), and only
Montagu Toller Montagu Henry Toller (1 January 1871 – 5 August 1948) was an English cricketer who played for both Devon and Somerset in the late 19th century. He made six first-class appearances for Somerset, all in 1897, but was predominantly a good club ...
and
Alfred Bowerman Alfred James Bowerman (22 November 1873 – 20 June 1947) was an English cricketer who played two first-class matches for Somerset in the early 20th century, and also played in the only cricket match at the Olympic Games, at the 1900 Summe ...
were deemed good enough to play at county level for Somerset. The game was played before a small crowd at the Vélodrome de Vincennes. An emphatic second innings bowling performance from Toller captured victory for the visitors as time appeared to be running out for them. If the French had held out for five more minutes the game would have been a draw. Knowledge of the game would have been lost but for the forethought of
John Symes John Symes (11 January 1879 – 23 September 1944) was a member of the gold medal winning Great Britain Olympic cricket team at the 1900 Olympic Games. Personal life Symes was born 11 January 1879 in Crediton, Devon. He was educ ...
, a member of the victorious team, who kept a scorecard in his own writing.


Croquet

The croquet tournament was notable as it marked the first appearance of women at Olympic level. Madame Desprès, Madame Filleul-Brohy and Mademoiselle Ohier were eliminated in the first round of competition. All players were French. A single paying spectator attended the tournament, an elderly English gentleman who travelled from
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
for the early stages. An unofficial two-ball handicap competition was also held.


Cycling

The home nation won six of the nine medals available. A number of unofficial events were held for both amateurs and professionals.


Equestrian

Equestrian sport made its debut at the Olympic Games with three jumping events being held, plus two other events. The Italian rider Gian Giorgio Trissino won a gold and a silver. He narrowly missed making Olympic history by winning two medals in the same event. Competing with two different horses in the high jump, he jointly won the gold medal and finished in 4th place on his second horse.


Fencing

Nineteen nations were represented in the fencing competition, which was held in a field near the cutlery exhibit at the
1900 World's Fair The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developme ...
. French fencers dominated the proceedings but both Cuba and Italy also took titles. The early rounds of the foil competitions were judged on style rather than the actual result of the contest. This meant that some fencers were eliminated without losing a contest while others were defeated and still progressed to the next rounds.


Football

The first football champions at the Olympics were the London amateurs of
Upton Park F.C. Upton Park Football Club was an amateur football club from Upton Park, London in the late 19th and early 20th century, now defunct. As well as being one of the fifteen teams that played in the inaugural FA Cup in 1871, they also represent ...
A crowd of around 500 spectators saw them defeat their French rivals.


Golf

Margaret Ives Abbott Margaret Ives Abbott (June 15, 1878 – June 10, 1955) was an American amateur golfer. She was the first American woman to win an Olympic event: the women's golf tournament at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), I ...
, a student of art from Chicago, played in and won a nine-hole golf tournament on an October Tuesday in Paris. She died in 1955 without being aware that the tournament was part of the Olympic Games and she had become America's first ever female Olympic champion.


Gymnastics

135 gymnasts took part in a competition that involved elements from
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
and
weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; pro ...
as well as gymnastic disciplines.


Polo

Eight separate tournaments were held in 1900 as part of the
1900 World's Fair The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developme ...
. Only the Grand Prix Internationale de l'Exposition is counted as an official medal event. Entries were from clubs rather than countries, and the winning Foxhunters club comprised English, Irish and American players. Mexico won its first medal in this sport, a bronze won by Guillermo Hayden Wright, Marquez de Villavieja and three brothers: Eustaquio de Escandón y Barron, Pablo de Escandón y Barron and Manuel de Escandón y Barron.


Rowing

Competitions were held on the
River Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributari ...
. The coxed fours descended into farce when officials changed the qualifying criteria for the final several times. The first final was held without any of the original qualifiers, who had withdrawn as a protest against the decision to run six boats on a course laid out for only four. The officials then decided to run another "final" for the boycotting crews. Both events are considered official Olympic competitions. In a number of events crews saw the advantage of having ultra-lightweight coxswain and recruited local boys for the period of the Games. Most of these remain a mystery; some could have been under ten years old.


Rugby union

Three teams competed in the Rugby tournament. A French representative team defeated a team from the German city of
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
and
Moseley Wanderers Moseley Wanderers represented Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics at rugby union. They played one game, losing 27–8 to France, winning the Silver medal. Rugby Union at the 1900 Olympics Great Britain, France and Germany were the sole ...
from England. The Moseley team had played a full game of rugby in England the day before they made the journey to Paris. They arrived in the morning, played the match in the afternoon and were back in their home country by the next morning. The proposed game between the British and German sides was cancelled, and both are credited as silver medalists. The Franco-Haitian centre
Constantin Henriquez Constantin Henriquez was a Haitian-born French rugby union footballer. He played as number eight, wing and centre. Henriquez was the first known black athlete to compete in the Olympic Games, and the first to become an Olympic gold medallist, a ...
become the first black gold medalist.


Sailing

The 1900 sailing regatta differs from every other Olympic regatta in a number of ways. In most classes, there were two distinct "finals", boats were assigned time handicaps according to their weight within each class and cash prizes were handed out to the winner of each race. The IOC initially recognized the winner of the first race in each class as Olympic champion except in the case of the 10-20 ton class, which was decided on aggregate time over three races. However currently the participants of both first and second races in 3 classes (0-0.5t, 1-2t and 2-3t) are present in the as medalists, so the second races in these 3 classes were recognized by the IOC, as recommended by Olympic historian
Bill Mallon William James Mallon (born February 2, 1952) is an American orthopedic surgeon, former professional golfer and a leading authority on the history of the Olympic Games. Golf career Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Mallon studied at Duke University a ...
. To support the IOC recognized total of 95 medal events, it appears that one more race in each of 2 other classes (0.5-1t and 3-10t) has been recognized by the IOC, per Mallon's suggestion. Thus, for five of the eight events, two gold, two silver and two bronze medals were retrospectively awarded. Races were held at both Meulan and
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
and medals shared among five nations. France and Great Britain were the most successful of the countries involved. A number of people named as members of medal-winning crews by the IOC have been proved not to have competed; others have their participation seriously questioned by historical research.


Shooting

Switzerland's Konrad Stäheli was the outstanding marksman of the Games, taking a trio of titles and leading his country to the top of the shooting medal table. The medals were shared between six different nations. There is a debate as to whether the live pigeon shooting event was a full Olympic event, Belgian Leon Lunden shot twenty-one birds on his way to the championship. Up to thirty unofficial shooting events were also held, most involving professional marksmen. Research has shown that one of the medal events in the IOC database (25m rapid fire pistol, also called military pistol cat. 6) was contested by professionals.


Swimming

The muddied waters of the
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...
hosted the swimming events in 1900. Run with the current, the races produced very fast times by the standards of the day. John Arthur Jarvis of Great Britain,
Frederick Lane Frederick Claude Vivian Lane (2 February 1880 – 14 May 1969) was an Australian swimmer who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Lane, from Manly, New South Wales, was four years old when his brother saved him from drowning in Sydney Harbou ...
of Australia and the German
Ernst Hoppenberg Ernst Heinrich Hoppenberg (26 July 1878 in Bremen – 29 September 1937 in Kirn) was a German swimmer and water polo player who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the 200 metre events. He participated in Swimmin ...
each won two titles. Lane received a 50-pound bronze statue of a horse as a prize. A couple of unusual events were held. The obstacle race required both swimming underneath and climbing over rows of boats while Charles de Venville stayed submerged for over a minute to win the underwater swimming event.


Tennis

A high-quality men's tournament saw three past or future Wimbledon champions reach the semi-finals. Laurence Doherty reached the final when older brother
Reggie Reggie is a given name, usually a short form of the name Reginald. It may refer to: People * Reggie Bonnafon (born 1996), American football player * Reggie Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Reggie Bush (born 1985), National Football ...
stepped aside and let his sibling advance to the final. The two refused to play each other in what they considered a minor tournament. On the 11th of July a landmark was reached in the history of the Olympic Games. Charlotte Cooper, already three times Wimbledon champion, took the singles championship to become the first individual female Olympic champion, also winning the mixed doubles event.


Tug of war

A combined Sweden/Denmark team, made up of three competitors from each country, defeated the French team to win the title. One of the members of the French team was a Colombian citizen. They were left as the only participating teams; the United States had entered but were forced to scratch as three of their team were involved in the final of the hammer. Edgar Aaybe was a journalist covering the Games for the Danish newspaper Politiken and was asked to join the team when another puller was taken ill.


Water polo

Osborne Swimming Club, representing Great Britain were unchallenged in the tournament, scoring 29 goals and conceding only 3 in their 3 matches. In the final, they limited the number of shots on goal to avoid humiliating their opponents. One of its team members was from New Zealand.
Thomas William Burgess Thomas William Burgess (15 June 1872 – 2 July 1950) was the second person to successfully complete a swim of the English Channel after Matthew Webb. He performed the feat on 6 September 1911, on his 16th attempt.Staff"The Channel Swim: Burge ...
of the bronze medal-winning Libellule de Paris team, represented Great Britain in the swimming events.


Olympic status of sports and events

The 1900 Games were not governed by a specific Olympic organizing committee, but were instead held as an appendage to the
1900 World's Fair The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developme ...
. An enormous number of events was held, though many fall short of the standards later required for Olympic championship status. After the several initial editions of the Olympic Games, decisions as to which Olympic events were termed "official" and which had "unofficial" or "demonstration" status were usually left to the Olympic organizing committees and/or the IOC. In the early Olympic Games, however, no decision as to the official status of any event was made at the time of the Games. While a document from 1912 exists, listing results from the 1900 Games, and formed the original basis of the results of the Paris games in the IOC database, the reliability and authenticity of this paper has been questioned by Olympic historians."Olympic or not?" – article by Herman de Wael – Journal of Olympic History – January 2003 Further complicating matters, the IOC has never determined which events were Olympic and which were not. All events satisfying all four of the retrospective selection criteria (restricted to amateurs, international participation, open to all competitors and without handicapping) are now regarded by historians as Olympic events, except for ballooning, while croquet, motorboating and boules satisfied three of these criteria (as only French athletes competed). Of the three events that satisfied three criteria, only croquet has been accorded Olympic status. In this regard, one of the ten croquet players, Marcel Haëntjens, had been believed to be Belgian, and the croquet events were thus considered as international. Despite the Flemish name, it was discovered in recent times that Haëntjens was French. Like all the Olympic events widely regarded as official, there were other events conducted during the
1900 World's Fair The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developme ...
: * Angling * Ballooning (hydrogen-filled, non-fueled) * Boules * Cannon shooting *
Fire fighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...
*
Kite flying A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...
*
Life saving Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue; however, it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. ...
* Longue paume *
Motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...
* Motorcycle racing * Pigeon racing * Water motorsports In addition to these, 71 scholastic and 92 military events were also held across a range of sports.


Participating nations

According to the International Olympic Committee, 26 nations sent competitors to this edition. The concept of "national teams" chosen by
National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
s did not exist at this point in time. When counting the number of participating countries in the early Olympic Games, the IOC does not take into account otherwise unrepresented countries whose citizens competed for other countries. Modern research shows that at the 1900 Olympics, the athletes of at least four otherwise unrepresented countries competed for other countries in both individual and team sports. George Orton, gold medalist in 2500 metres steeplechase event and bronze medalist in 400 metres hurdles event, and
Ronald J. MacDonald Ronald John MacDonald (September 19, 1874 - September 3, 1947) was a Canadian runner and winner of the second Boston Marathon in 1898. Early life MacDonald was born in Fraser's Grant, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. His father died at sea when ...
, both of Canada, competed for the U.S. athletics team. Orton ran for the University of Pennsylvania and was therefore assumed to be American, but he always considered himself a Canadian.
Michel Théato Michel Johann Théato (22 March 1878 – 2 April 1923) was a Luxembourgish long-distance runner, and the winner of the marathon at the 1900 Olympics in Paris for France. He was born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and died in Paris, France. Ear ...
, the winner of the marathon, competed for the French athletics team. He was a Luxembourger; however, this was only discovered decades later. Francisco Henríquez de Zubiría of Colombia was a silver medal-winner on the French tug of war team.
Victor Lindberg Michael Victor Alexander Lindberg (26 July 1875 in Varoka, Colony of Fiji – 28 April 1951 in Auckland, New Zealand) was a Fijian-born New Zealander who, according to some sources, competed in water polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Pari ...
of New Zealand was a gold medal-winner on the British water polo team. The IOC website lists all of them in the results section under their nationalities, but does not include their countries among the 26 participating countries. Some sources also list athletes from the following nation as having competed at these Games. * – Adolphe Klingelhoeffer was the son of a Brazilian diplomat, and although he was born and raised in Paris, he had Brazilian citizenship in 1900, and maintained this citizenship until at least the 1940s per French athletics historian Alain Bouille. As this was discovered in late 2008, his participation is usually attributed to France. At the time
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
was a part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
were parts of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. Other modern nations could be considered to have competed in some form in 1900, as Algeria, Croatia, Ireland, Poland and Slovakia had athletes compete, though these nations would not gain independence until many years later (Poland in 1918, the Republic of Ireland in 1922, Algeria in 1962, and Croatia and Slovakia in 1992). Algeria sent four gymnasts who competed for France, while all of Ireland was part of Great Britain: Irish athletes competed in athletics, polo, sailing and tennis. Further, a Polish fencer represented Russia, a Croatian fencer represented Austria, and two Slovakian athletes competed for Hungary.


Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees

The concept of "national teams" chosen by
National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
s did not exist at this point in time.


Medal count

The 1900 Olympics is unique in being the only Olympic Games to feature rectangular medals, which were designed by .
Gilt silver Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...
medals were awarded for 1st place in shooting, lifesaving, automobile racing and gymnastics. Whilst 2nd place
silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
medals were awarded in shooting, rowing, yachting, tennis, gymnastics, sabre, fencing, equestrian and athletics. With 3rd place
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...
medals being awarded in gymnastics, firefighting and shooting. In many sports, however, medals were not awarded. With most of the listed prizes were cups and other similar trophies. The
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
has retrospectively assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to all competitors who earned 1st, 2nd and 3rd-place finishes, respectively, in order to bring early Olympics in line with current awards. For the first Olympic Games (until Antwerp in 1920), it is difficult to give the exact number of medals awarded to some countries, due to the fact that teams were composed of athletes from different countries. For Olympic Games before 1908 there is no universally accepted definition of nationality, and medal tables may vary depending on the chosen definition. For example, Australian
Stanley Rowley Stanley Rupert Rowley (11 September 1876 – 1 April 1924) was an Australian sprinter who won four medals at the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was born in Young, New South Wales and died in Manly, New South Wales. Biography In 1900 h ...
competed as part of a team selected by the
Amateur Athletic Association The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britai ...
of England. The concept of "national teams" chosen by
National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
s did not exist at this point in time. These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1900 Games. Select "Paris 1900", select "Go to medal table" to arrive at ''"Paris 1900 Medal Table"'' Key


Podium sweeps


See also


Notes

* At an earlier time the IOC database for the 1900 Summer Olympics listed 85 medal events, 24 participating countries and 997 athletes (22 women, 975 men). The Olympic historian and author,
Bill Mallon William James Mallon (born February 2, 1952) is an American orthopedic surgeon, former professional golfer and a leading authority on the history of the Olympic Games. Golf career Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Mallon studied at Duke University a ...
, whose studies have shed light on the topic, suggested the number 95 events satisfying all four retrospective selection criteria (restricted to amateurs, international participation, open to all competitors and without handicapping) and now should be considered as Olympic events. In July 2021, the IOC upgraded its complete online database of all Olympic results explicitly to incorporate the data of the Olympic historians website, ''Olympedia.org'', thus accepting Mallon's recommendation (based on four applied criteria) for events of the 1900 Olympic Games. The eleven events, the results of which had nevertheless been shown within the earlier IOC database, have been added over the former total of 85. Оne shooting event (20 metre military pistol, which was an event for professionals) have been removed. Acceptance of Mallon's recommendation increased the number of events to 95, and also entailed increasing the number of participation countries up to 26 and athletes up to 1226. After upgrading of the IOC online database the IOC web site results section contains 95 events. However the IOC webpage for the 1900 Summer Olympics shows a total of 96 (not 95) medal events, 26 participating countries and 1226 athletes. The reason for the discrepancy in the number of events on the IOC webpage is unknown. Furthermore, the IOC factsheet "The Games of the Olympiad" of November 2021 refers to 95 events, but still refers to old numbers of participating countries (24) and athletes (997).


References


External links

* *
Official Report


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Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
Summer Olympics in Paris 1900 in Paris Summer Olympics by year Exposition Universelle (1900)