1896 Summer Olympics / Athletics

Athletics at the 1st Olympic Games in 1896
information
venue	Athens , marathon
Competition venue	Panathinaic Stadium
Nations	9
Athletes	63 (63 )
date	April 6-10, 1896
decisions	12
Paris 1900 →

At the I Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 , twelve athletics competitions were held. Only men were eligible to participate. Women were first admitted to the Olympic Games in athletics in 1928 .

The stadium was not designed to promote performance. The track was a U-shaped circular track with extremely tight curves and a length of 333.33 meters. There were 47 rows of seats and standing room for a total of around 70,000 spectators.

The presentation of the exact results for these competitions is not always clear. Depending on the source - see literature or web links, link 1 below - there are v. a. in the rear placements differing representations. In one case, the 400-meter run , the ranking is not clear from third place. Of course, this also has an impact on the medal table mentioned here. This, however, is adapted to the rules of today, because medals were awarded in a different form back then: the winner got a silver, the second a bronze medal. The third did not receive a medal at the first Olympic Games. The following list shows the most likely variant - if it can be assessed at all.

Medal table

Olympic Games 1896 (athletics medal table)
space	team			3.	Total
1	United States	9	6th	2	17th
2	Australia	2	-	-	2
3	Greece	1	3	6th	10
4th	Hungary	-	1	2	3
5	France	-	1	1	2
	German Empire	-	1	1	2
7th	Great Britain	-	1	-	1

Results

100 m

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - 100 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Thomas Burke	United States	12.0
2	Fritz Hofmann	GER	12.2
3	Alajos Szokolyi	HUN	12.6
	Francis Lane	United States	12.6
5	Alexandros Chalcocondylis	GRE	12.6
	Thomas Curtis	United States	DNS

Date: April 10, 1896, 2:30 p.m.

In 1896, the timekeepers for the 100-meter run only stopped the times for the first two. The times of the other runners were estimated. Thomas Burke set an Olympic record in the third run with 11.8 s . He was the only runner who practiced the only normal low start today, which did not bring him any advantage, because at the beginning of the final he was clearly behind Fritz Hofmann, who was initially leading in the back field. But thanks to his speed, he passed everyone and became the first modern sprint Olympic champion .

400 m

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - 400 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Thomas Burke	United States	54.2 OR
2	Herbert Jamison	United States	55.2
3	Fritz Hofmann	GER	55.6
4th	Charles Gmelin	GBR	55.6

Date: April 7, 1896, 3:30 p.m.

Over 400 meters , the exact time was only set for the winner, all other times are estimated. These are named consistently in the two sources below. There is a difference with regard to third place. In Ekkehard's reference to Megede, however, the course of the race is described so precisely that this result is reproduced here. After that, Hofmann was right at the front at the beginning of the home stretch, but the two Americans then overtook him and relegated him to third place.

800 m

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - 800 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Edwin Flack	OUT	2: 11.0
2	Nándor Dáni	HUN	2: 11.8
3	Dimitrios Golemis	GRE	2: 28.0
	Albin Lermusiaux	FRA	DNS

Date: April 9, 1896, 2:30 p.m.

Edwin Flack set an Olympic record in the first run with 2: 10.0 minutes .
The results of this competition are consistently reflected in the sources. Flack took the lead right from the start, had an intermediate time of 65.5 seconds at 400 meters, broke away from Nándor Dáni on the second half of the course and brought his lead to the finish. It was Flack's second gold medal after winning the 1500 meters .

1500 m

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - 1500 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Edwin Flack	OUT	4: 33.2 OR
2	Arthur Blake	United States	4: 34.0
3	Albin Lermusiaux	FRA	4: 36.0
4th	Carl Galle	GER	4: 39.0
5	Angelos Fetsis	GRE	k. A.
6th	Dimitrios Golemis	GRE
7th	Konstantinos Karakatsanis	GRE
8th	Dimitrios Tomprof	GRE

Date: April 7, 1896

Since there were no preliminary runs, the winning time naturally also meant an Olympic record for Edwin Flack . At the beginning of the race Albin Lermusiaux set the pace, but was overtaken by Flack and Arthur Blake on the last lap. The Australian, who won his first Olympic gold medal here, kept the upper hand in the sprint.

marathon

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - Marathon (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	Spyridon Louis	GRE	2:58:50 OR
2	Charilaos Vasilakos	GRE	3:06:03
3	Gyula waiter	HUN	3:06:35
4th	Ioannis Vrettos	GRE	k. A.
5	Eleftherios Papasymeon	GRE
6th	Dimitrios Deligiannis	GRE
7th	Evangelos Gerakeris	GRE
8th	Stamatios Masouris	GRE

On the marathon route

Spyridon Louis at the finish line

Date: April 10, 1896, 1:56 p.m. Route length: 40 kilometers

17 men, including 13 Greeks, were carted to the start on a horse-drawn vehicle. A car chugged along with the field of runners, in it a doctor and the mobile judge. With white gloves, Albin Lermusiaux, the favorite from France, with him Edwin Flack, Australia, and Arthur Blake, USA, the first three of the 1500-meter run pulled away . Allegedly, Louis drank a glass of wine in the Pikermi tavern - kilometer 22 - and loudly announced his victory. He kept his promise, in Pikermi he overtook everyone. Only Flack was able to follow him, but then collapsed in the pocket of Athens. Louis allegedly fortified himself on the way with feta cheese, Metaxa brandy and the warm words of his countrymen. He ran into the stadium and humbly sank on his tired knees in front of his queen: "I am only a farmer's son, your majesty."

Spyridon Belokas, who finished third after 3:06:30 h, was disqualified after a protest by Gyula Kellner because the Greek had ridden in a carriage for a part.

110 m hurdles

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - 110 m hurdles (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Thomas Curtis	United States	17.6 OR
2	Grantley Goulding	GBR	18.0
	William Hoyt	United States	DNS
	Alajos Szokolyi	HUN	DNS

Date: April 10, 1896, 3:30 p.m.

Some sources assume that the route was 100 meters back then and not 110 meters as is common today. However, given the time elapsed, the longer route is more likely. Eight hurdles, each 1.00 meters high, had to be crossed. At that time, the participants did not have a sophisticated hurdle technique. The hurdles were jumped over rather than overrun.

high jump

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - high jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Ellery Clark	United States	1.81 OR
2	James Connolly	United States	1.65
	Robert Garrett	United States	1.65
4th	Henrik Sjöberg	SWE	1.62
5	Fritz Hofmann	GER	1.62

Date: April 10, 1896, 2:40 p.m.

In this discipline there are again different statements about the results. Only the winner Ellery Clark and his jumped height are clear. The different versions are shown in detail in the detailed article on high jump .
The US American Mike Sweeny was absent from these first Olympic Games, who held the world record with a 1.91 m, which was far from being reached . According to the then valid rules for the amateur regulations, he was excluded from participating in the Olympic Games.

Pole vault

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / athletics - pole vault (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	William Hoyt	United States	3.30 OR
2	Albert Tyler	United States	3.20
3	Evangelos Damascos	GRE	2.60
	Ioannis Theodoropoulos	GRE	2.60
5	Vasilios Xydas	GRE	2.40

Date: April 10, 1896, 3:40 p.m.

The pole vault -Resultat does also have different information in the sources as in many other competitions. Only William Hoyt and Albert Tyler are named as the winners with a skipped 3.30 m. In the literature below, there are different information from fifth place. The different versions are shown exactly in the detailed report on the pole vault .
The Greek spectators had hoped for a victory of one of their compatriots. After all Greek participants were eliminated, they showed almost no interest at all in the pole vault, all eyes were only on the upcoming arrival of the marathon winner. It was almost a miracle that the pole vault competition could even be brought to an end amid the turmoil surrounding the marathon. The wrestling , which was actually scheduled according to the schedule , could no longer take place that day.

Long jump

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - Long Jump (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Ellery Clark	United States	6.35 OR
2	Robert Garrett	United States	6.18
3	James Connolly	United States	6.11
4th	Alexandre Tuffèri	FRA	5.98
5	Alphonse Grisel	FRA	5.83
6th	Henrik Sjöberg	SWE	5.80
7th	Alexandros Chalcocondylis	GRE	5.74
8th	Carl Schuhmann	GER	5.70

Date: April 7, 1896, 2:40 p.m.

Ellery Clark started the competition with two unsuccessful attempts, before even surpassing his fellow countryman Garrett, who had been leading up to then, with the last of his three attempts. The reason for Clark's unsuccessful attempts was that the Greek Crown Prince Constantine had removed the hat he had set as a starting point with the remark that it was not for amateurs. The level of this competition was not the best, even by the standards of the time. The world record was held by the Irishman JJ Mooney , who did not compete here, with 7.21 m, CEH Leggatt was British AAA champion in the Olympic year with 7.03 m and also did not compete in Athens .
The information from the various sources on this discipline are again significantly different from one another. The information shown here is the same as on the IOC website . The different versions are compared in the detailed report on the long jump .

Triple jump

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - Triple Jump (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	James Connolly	United States	13.71 OR
2	Alexandre Tuffèri	FRA	12.70
3	Ioannis Persakis	GRE	12.52
4th	Alajos Szokolyi	HUN	12.30
5	Christos Zoumis	GRE	k. A.
6th	Carl Schuhmann	GER

Date: April 6, 1896, 3:40 p.m.

The first ever winner of an Olympic discipline is the American James Connolly, who won the triple jump with 13.71 m. He received a silver medal for this (in 1896 the winner did not get a gold medal). The American jumper arrived in Athens the day before the competitions after a 16-day trip from the United States . The Harvard University gave its students Connolly no permission to travel to Athens. Therefore he de-registered himself in order to be able to travel to Greece. In 1949, at the age of 83, his university awarded him an honorary doctorate. Contrary to today's rules, he jumped left - right - left.

The victory distance was exactly 1.55 m below the existing world record of the Irishman Matthew Roseingreve , which he had set a year earlier. That says a lot about the level of this competition, especially since the second jumped a little more than a meter shorter. World record holder Roseingreve was not at the start here in Athens.

There are significant deviations in the results overviews from the various sources for this discipline. The information shown here is the same as on the IOC website . The different versions are compared in the detailed article on this discipline .

Shot put

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - Shot Put (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Robert Garrett	United States	11.22 OR
2	Miltiadis Gouskos	GRE	11.20
3	Giorgos Papasideris	GRE	10.36
4th	Viggo Jensen	THE	k. A.
More final- participants	Carl Schuhmann	GER
	Ellery Clark	United States
	Fritz Hofmann	GER

Date: April 7, 1896, 3:40 p.m.

In Athens it was kicked out of a square, not a circle. The shot put was like other disciplines in these Olympic competitions also no particular level of performance. The world record set by Canadian George Gray in 1893 was 14.32 m, more than three meters above the victory distance. The Irish Denis Horgan , who had won all the competitions he competed in in 1896, was not given the means by his association to travel to Athens. Horgan's weakest performance in 1896 was 13.24 m, his best at 14.15 m, which once again shows the level of the shot put here in Athens.

This competition is the one with the most divergent information in the sources. Detailed comparisons of the different versions depending on the source can be found in the detailed report on the shot put .

Discus throw

→ Olympic Summer Games 1896 / Athletics - Discus throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Robert Garrett	United States	29,150 OR
2	Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos	GRE	28.955
3	Sotirios Versis	GRE	27.780
4th	A. Adler	FRA	k. A.
5	Giorgos Papasideris	GRE
6th	George Stuart Robertson	GBR	25,200
7th	Henrik Sjöberg	SWE	k. A.

Robert Garrett throwing a discus

Date: April 6, 1896, 4:25 p.m.

In the discus , too , the participants had three attempts - and not six like today. Before the last round, Panagiotis led Paraskevopoulos. With his last litter, Robert Garrett overtook the Greek. The American won his first gold medal here before winning the shot put the next day .

In this discipline, the representations in the two sources on which this is based largely agree on the front ranks. The fourth place is not listed on the IOC website below, nor is the width for sixth-placed George Stuart Robertson there. Beyond seventh place, different information can be found in the sources - more details in the detailed article on the discus throw .

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The history of Olympic athletics, Volume 1: 1896–1936, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 2nd edition 1970
• Volker Kluge , Olympic Summer Games - The Chronicle I, Berlin 1997 ( ISBN 3-328-00715-6 )

Web links

• Olympic Games Athens 1896, Athletics , IOC site on Athletics in the 1896 Olympic Games at olympic.org, accessed 23 July 2017
• Athens 1896. The rebirth of the Olympic Games on olympiastatistik.de, accessed on July 23, 2017
• Athletics from olympia-lexikon.de, accessed on July 23, 2017
• Athletics: History and rules at sportschau.de, accessed on July 23, 2017
• Athens 1896: A long way to a new beginning on sportschau.de, accessed on July 23, 2017
• Olympic Games Athens 1896 from Wissen-digital.de, accessed on July 23, 2017
• Coubertin reinvented the Olympic Games in 1896 , Die Welt / N24, April 6, 2016 at .welt.de, accessed on July 23, 2017
• The 1896 Olympic Games at piqd.de/zeitgeschichte, accessed on July 23, 2017
• April 6, 1896: First modern Olympic Games on kalenderblatt.de, accessed on July 23, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ George Stuart Robertson , short portrait at sports-reference.com, accessed July 23, 2017