France was the host of the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), 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 closin ...

in Paris. France was one of many nations that had competed in the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad () and commonly known as Athens 1896 (), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wh ...

in Greece and had returned to compete at the 1900 Games.

Gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s were not given out and

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

s were given to the winners while

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

s were given to second place.

Medalists

* Note - Recorded as Great Britain and Ireland until 2024, the IOC Executive Board approved the change of Lloyd Hildebrand's silver medal at Paris 1900 Olympics from Great Britain to France.

Archery

France took four of seven gold medals, five of eight silver medals, and four of five bronze medals in the six archery events that were Olympic.

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

were the only others nation that competed, taking the remaining seven medals. Many of the French, Belgian, and Dutch competitors are unknown as their names were not recorded. 13 French archers are known by at least their surname, 116 are unidentified in any way. The 129 archers had 240 entries across all 7 archery events.

Athletics

France was one of 9 nations to have competed at both the first two Olympics in athletics. 22 athletes competed in 18 events, with a total of 28 entries. France won its first Olympic championship in the sport, though that victory's belonging to France is disputed.

Michel Théato Michel Johann Théato (22 March 1878 – 2 April 1923) was a Luxembourgish born French long-distance runner, and the winner of the marathon at the 1900 Olympics in Paris running for France. He was born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and died in ...

was

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish but living in Paris; his win in the marathon was initially credited to France by the International Olympic Committee, however currently International Olympic Committee attributes his medal to Luxembourg. Without Théato's gold medal, France won a total of 6 medals in the sport and ranked 3rd in the leaderboard for athletics.

Track & road events

Field events

Basque pelota

France sent one of two teams that competed in the pelota tournament. According to some sources, French two-man team lost to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

's team, taking the silver medal. However, the French team withdrew shortly before the competition. International Olympic Committee does not recognize silver medal of French team.

Cricket

France was represented by the French Athletic Club Union in cricket in 1900. The team lost the only match, a 2-day 12-man contest, by 158 runs. At least 11 members of the French Athletic Club Union were British nationals, two of whom were born in France; another,

H. F. Roques A cricket match was played as part of the 1900 Summer Olympics, took place on 19–20 August at the Vélodrome de Vincennes between teams representing Great Britain and France. Great Britain won the match by 158 runs. The French team included ...

, as well those shown on the scoresheet as "extras", may have been French.

Croquet

France was the only nation to compete in croquet. France sent 6 men and 3 women. The French players won all 7 medals in the three events.

One ball

Two balls

Doubles

Cycling

France competed a second time in cycling, once again dominating the field. Of the nine medals awarded in the event, French cyclists took six—two of each type. 59 French cyclists competed.

Sprint

* Note - Recorded as Great Britain and Ireland until 2024, the IOC Executive Board approved the change of Lloyd Hildebrand's silver medal at Paris 1900 Olympics from Great Britain to France.

25 km

Points race

* Note - Recorded as Great Britain and Ireland until 2024, the IOC Executive Board approved the change of Lloyd Hildebrand's silver medal at Paris 1900 Olympics from Great Britain to France.

Equestrian

Jumping

High jump

Long jump

Hacks and hunter combined

Four-in-hand (mail coach)

Fencing

France dominated the fencing competitions at the second modern Olympics, taking five of the seven gold medals and 15 of the 21 overall medals.

Football

Club Française Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

represented France in the football competition. The club squad lost to Upton Park F.C. but defeated the Université de Bruxelles team to take second place in the three-team competition. ;Summary ;Team roster ; Match 1 ; Match 2

Golf

France was one of four nations to compete in the first Olympic golf events.

Gymnastics

France's first Olympic gymnastics medals came in the second edition of the competitions. France took all three medals in the single combined event. 108 of the 135 entrants in the event were French.

Polo

France was one of four nations to compete in the first Olympic polo event. Frenchmen played on two of the five teams, one of which also included British players. The mixed French/British Mixed team was one of the third-place teams.

Rowing

47 French rowers competed in the first Olympic rowing competitions in 1900. France won 2 of the 5 gold medals, and a French boy served as cox in the final for the otherwise Dutch team that won the coxed pair. France also won 3 silver medals and 1 bronze.

Rugby

French team

Union des Sociétés Français de Sports Athletiques Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Union ...

was one of three teams to compete in the first Olympic rugby games. They won both of its games, taking top prize in the tournament. This gold medal is attributed to Mixed team because of Constantin Henriquez was from Haiti and Andre Roosevelt was a French-born citizen of USA. ; Summary ;Team roster ; Match 1 ; Match 2

Sailing

France matched Great Britain in gold medals won in the inaugural sailing events in 1900, but took 16 of the 20 silver and bronze medals (8 each). 76 French sailors took part. ; Single race events ; Regatta events

Shooting

France competed again in shooting at the second modern Olympic Games. France won the most medals in the sport that year with 10, but took only three gold medals to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

's five. Men's 20 metre rapid fire pistol event was open to professionals and was contested for prize money by professionals, that is why it is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee as Olympic medal event.

Swimming

France had 47 swimmers compete in 1900, the nation's first appearance in the sport. France took a total of 5 medals in the sport, but only 1 gold (putting France in 4th on the leaderboard, after Great Britain, Australia, and Germany who each had 2 championships).

Charles Devendeville Charles Devendeville (8 March 1882 – 19 September 1914) was a French swimmer and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, where he received a gold medal in the underwater swimming.

and

André Six André Jules Henri Six (15 July 1879 – 1 April 1915) was a French swimmer and Olympic medalist. He competed at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, where he received a silver medal in underwater swimming.Hélène Prévost Helene or Hélène may refer to: People * Helene (name), and Hélène, a female given name, including a list of people with the name * Hélène (singer) (Hélène Rollès, born 1966), French actress and singer * Helen of Troy, a figure in Greek ...

in the women's singles, and as part of mixed teams with Great Britain in both the men's and mixed doubles) but lost each time. France took an additional bronze medal in the men's doubles.

Tug of war

France sent a team to compete in the tug of war competition in 1900, losing to a combined Denmark-Sweden team. This silver medal is attributed to Mixed team, because of Francisco Henríquez de Zubiría was born in Colombia and was a Colombian citizen.

Water polo

France had 4 of the 7 teams in the first Olympic water polo tournament. Two were defeated in the quarterfinals, with only one winning a match there and the other advancing with a bye. Both of the remaining teams were defeated in the semifinals, taking bronze medals. The bronze medal of Libellule de Paris team is attributed to Mixed team, because of

Bill 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, following sixteen attempts. Burgess was British but spent most of his life in France, and wo ...

was from Great Britain. France thus received 1 bronze medals despite going 1–4 combined.

Notes

{{Top Summer Olympics medal-winning nations Nations at the 1900 Summer Olympics

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...