1900 Summer Olympics

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Games of the II Olympiad
Paris 1900 olympic poster.jpg
Venue: Paris ( France )
Stadion: Vélodrome de Vincennes
Opening ceremony: May 14, 1900
(no opening ceremony)
Closing ceremony: October 28, 1900
(no closing ceremony)
Opened by: Alexandre Millerand (patron)
Olympic oath : - (only from 1920 )
Disciplines: 20 (19 sports)
Competitions: 95
Countries: 24
Athletes: 997 (including 22 women)
Athens 1896
St. Louis 1904
Medal table
place country S. B. 3. Ges.
1 Third French RepublicThird French Republic France 26th 41 34 101
2 United States 45United States United States 19th 14th 14th 47
3 United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Great Britain 15th 6th 9 30th
4th Mixed teamMixed team Mixed team 6th 3 3 12
5 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland 6th 2 1 9
6th BelgiumBelgium Belgium 5 5 5 15th
7th German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire 4th 2 2 8th
8th Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Italy 2 2 - 4th
9 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Australia 2 - 3 5
10 DenmarkDenmark Denmark 1 3 2 6th
... ... ... ... ... ...
15th Austria CisleithanienCisleithania Austria - 3 3 6th
Complete medal table

The 1900 Summer Olympics (officially known as the Games of the Second Olympiad ) were held in the French capital Paris as part of the World's Fair ( Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Paris ) . The competitions were spread over five months and took place between May 14 and October 28, 1900.

In contrast to a world exhibition, the Olympic Games had no status either in public or in circles of sports officials and athletes. The organizers of the world exhibition, under whose direction all sports competitions were organized, saw no reason to bow to the demands and claims of Pierre de Coubertin , the founder of the modern Olympic Games. Even the name Olympic Games was not used in any official report and in only a few publications of the time. The competitions were officially named Concours Internationaux d'Exercices Physiques et de Sports (International Competitions for Physical Exercise and Sport).

As an annoying appendage to the world exhibition, the competitions became a minor matter. Spectators were more likely to be onlookers by chance, the public was barely informed. The conditions for the athletes were sometimes unreasonable and the competition sites were spread all over Paris. There were athletes who never found out, or only years later, that they had taken part in the Olympic Games. For the first time, women were also able to take part in competitions at the Olympic Games.

The complete insignificance of Coubertin and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at these games led to problems in later processing of the events and their classification in Olympic history. The IOC legitimized the Olympic Games in 1900 as such and published its official position on Olympic competitions and on the Olympic champions and those placed or their nationality. A number of sports historians, however, see incomplete processing and incorrect interpretations. From a statistical point of view, these games have an official perspective, that of the IOC, and a perspective expanded by historical facts, which has led to numerous divergent publications, especially when it comes to the counting of participants, nations and medals.

Choice of venue

Paris 1900
Official opening of the World's Fair
April 14, 1900

Pierre de Coubertin originally had Paris in mind when he came up with the idea of ​​renewing the Olympic Games as the first venue. The year 1900 as a striking date also met his expectations, and the parallel implementation with the World Exhibition was intended to help the Olympic Games to glory and glory.

At an international sports congress in 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris, which would later go down in history as the first Olympic congress , the representatives of sports associations from various countries invited by Coubertin decided to host the Olympic Games. However, people were skeptical about Coubertin's request for a place and time, as the long waiting time until 1900 could have endangered the project according to general opinion. The chairman of the commission that brought about the decision was the Greek Dimitrios Vikelas . In a conversation with Coubertin, both agreed to host the first Olympic Games in Athens as early as 1896 . After that, Paris would be chosen as the next venue every four years.

The decision not to host the first Olympic Games in Paris is seen in retrospect as a stroke of luck in history. The games in Athens were successful and glamorous. It is hard to imagine that the Olympic idea would have survived had the chaotic Paris Games been held first.

However, the course of the Athens Games also had negative side effects that almost prevented the subsequent Games from being held in Paris. The success strengthened the Greeks in their view that the Olympic Games had to take place permanently only in Greece, after all, this is where the historical origins of the ancient site of Olympia lay. King George I of Greece announced his claims during the final banquet of the Athens Games , and days later a bill was even introduced in the Greek parliament.

Coubertin's concept for the spread of a global Olympic movement included a four-year rhythm, an Olympiad , and implementation in constantly changing locations. With permanent games in Greece Coubertin's idea would have failed and the IOC he appointed would lose its importance. He turned to the Greek Crown Prince Constantine I with a compromise proposal , to whom he proposed permanent games in Greece, which should be played in the years between the actual Olympic Games (1898, 1902, etc.). There were different opinions about the appearance of these games, but the realization of this compromise was already a long way off in 1897 after the Turkish-Greek war over Crete caused financial and logistical problems. Thus Paris was completely consolidated as the venue for the Olympic Games in 1900.

organization

Front page of the official report
on the
World Exhibition's sports competitions

Months before the first Olympic Congress in 1894, Coubertin tried in a conversation with Alfred Picard , the general secretary of the World Exhibition in Paris, which had already been decided at the time, to get him excited about the Olympic idea and to convince him of a connection with the World Exhibition. However, Picard did not respond to Coubertin's wishes, on the contrary, he intended to hold various sports competitions at the world exhibition under his own direction. The French President Félix Faure was also uninterested, although Coubertin held the second Olympic Congress in his hometown Le Havre in 1897 in the hope of support .

Coubertin was forced to act in view of the short preparation time and in May 1898 founded an organizing committee. As President he appointed a personal confidante, the Viscount Charles de la Rochefoucauld . In the eyes of the World Exhibition Organization, this was a controversial and anti-aspirational act. Immediate action was taken to interfere with the work of Rochefoucauld's committee. The Racing Club de France and the Stade Français , the most important French sports clubs of the time, as well as the no less important French sports association Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques (USFSA) were won over to organize the competitions of the exhibition management. The USFSA then claimed all rights to any sporting event in Paris in 1900. In February 1899 an official committee was founded by the leadership of the world exhibition, and Daniel Mérillon was appointed commissioner general . Mérillon, who was president of the French Shooting Federation, took part in shooting competitions himself and was still an active athlete in the Olympic Games in later years.

Coubertin's committee was no longer a competent interlocutor and practically incapable of acting. The only success was in efforts to get foreign athletes to participate. Thanks to Coubertin's contacts, there had already been several commitments from the countries of the members represented in the IOC. Rochefoucauld resigned as president of the committee in April 1899. After the committee dissolved itself afterwards, Coubertin had no choice but to submit to the exhibition management and their organizing committee if he wanted to stick to his Olympic idea.

The organizers saw in Coubertin only an assistant who should invite foreign athletes to Paris in order to give the world exhibition more glamor through international participation. His appointment as honorary secretary general for the athletic competitions was only of a formal nature.

Competition gate

Stadium designed by Coubertin
for the 1900 Olympic Games

Coubertin originally had the idea of ​​building the sacred grove of Olympia , the Altis, in a true-to-original copy on the site of the world exhibition. After he had dropped this plan for financial reasons, he planned to build a sports facility based on the model of the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, but with a sliding tent roof. For the exhibition management, these plans for the occasion were excessive and could not be financed. It was decided that all competitions would be held on existing facilities, but the individual events had to be spread across Paris.

Most of the competitions took place on the grounds of the world exhibition in Vincennes , the Annexe de Vincennes . The Vélodrome municipal here is regarded as the main venue for the games, where cycling , rugby , football , cricket and gymnastics were held. The athletics and tug of war competitions took place in the Croix Catelan , the sports field of the Racing Club de France in the Bois de Boulogne .

Swimming , water polo and rowing were played in the open waters of the Seine near Asnières-sur-Seine . Sailing took place on the Seine at Meulan and in the English Channel off Le Havre .

The remaining venues were

However, not all of the competition venues are mentioned yet. There were numerous other venues for the competitions, which are generally referred to as non-Olympic .

Competition program

Duration of the event, selection of first sports

It took 168 days from the first to the last competitions, of which, however, only 71 days were held and medals were awarded on 36 days.

The competitions for the 1900 Olympic Games were not set by the IOC or Coubertin. A committee set up by the World Exhibition Management under the leadership of Daniel Mérillon had the task of organizing sports competitions as part of the World Exhibition. The draft program previously written by Coubertin and his committee was rejected by Mérillon. His own program included an abundance of competitions that should meet the requirements of a world exhibition. They therefore often had the character of show competitions, for example competitions for fire brigades or the military, or a technical performance was in the foreground, for example in competitions for motorists and balloonists.

Velodrome de Vincennes
on the World Exhibition Grounds

The winners lists published by the IOC result in 89 competitions that are assigned to the 1900 Olympic Games. The medal table also published by the IOC is in agreement with this . Elsewhere, however, the IOC puts the number at 95 competitions. This corresponds to the information that the sports historian Bill Mallon has determined and published. The confusion can be explained by the fact that even in the generally undisputed Olympic sports, such as cycling or shooting sports, individual competitions were held that had an unclear Olympic character.

Already at the first Olympic Congress in 1894 it was stipulated that only amateurs were allowed to take part in the Olympic Games. Even if this rule was subsequently relaxed, it was undisputedly valid for 1900. However, many of the World Exhibition's competitions were reserved exclusively for professional athletes. According to Coubertin, a competition should be freely accessible to every athlete, i.e. it should not have any restrictions linked to the person of the participant, for example with regard to age, nationality or ideology. True to the motto citius, altius, fortius , there should also be no handicaps for leveling different levels of performance. The handicap competitions, which were very popular at the time, had just as little of an Olympic character as the many competitions that were held exclusively for schoolchildren, juniors or only for French people.

In retrospect, a clear delimitation is difficult due to the lack of sufficient historical evidence. The 89 competitions published by the IOC (73 for men, 2 for women, 1 mixed and 13 open competitions) represent a minimum number. They are divided into 19 sports / 20 disciplines.

Olympic sports / disciplines

The number of competitions in brackets / tug of war was then assigned to athletics and only later considered by the IOC as a separate sport.

That was 46 competitions and 10 more sports / disciplines than in Athens in 1896 . The changes are detailed below:

  • Archery was practiced with au cordon doré ( target shooting) 33 m, au cordon doré ( target shooting) 50 m, au chapelet ( target shooting) 33 m, au chapelet ( target shooting) 50 m, sur la perche à la herse (mast shooting) and sur la perche à la pyramide (mast shooting) Olympic for men.
  • Cricket , soccer , pelota , polo and water polo were included in the Olympic program.
  • In fencing , epee singles, epee for fencing masters, sabers for fencing masters and epee for amateurs and fencing masters for men expanded the program.
  • Weightlifting (2 competitions) and wrestling (1 competition) were not part of the program in Paris 1900.
  • Golf became Olympic with singles for men and women.
  • Croquet became Olympic with singles - one ball, singles - two balls, and doubles. There were open competitions in which both men and women were allowed to participate.
  • In athletics , the 60 m, 200 m, 200 m hurdles, 400 m hurdles, 2500 m obstacle, 4000 m obstacle, 5000 m team run, hammer throw, high jump from standing, long jump from standing and triple jump from standing for men extended that Program.
  • The cycling was with the discipline Track Cycling represented on the Olympic program that has been extended by 25 km for men. The road cycling discipline was dropped.
  • Equestrian sport became Olympic with the show jumping discipline . The program consisted of the individual in show jumping and the high and long jump.
  • Rowing became Olympic with one man, two with helmsman, four with helmsman and eight.
  • Rugby became part of the Olympic program with the discipline rugby union .
  • The shooting range was expanded to include trap, kneeling army rifle 300 m, lying army rifle 300 m, standing army rifle, three-position rifle 300 m, three-position rifle 300 m team, 300 m and free pistol 50 m team for men - however, the 200 m army rifle was omitted Army rifle any position 300 m and army pistol 25 m for men
  • In swimming , the program was expanded to include 200 m freestyle, 1000 m freestyle, 4000 m freestyle, 200 m back, 400 m team swimming, 200 m obstacle swimming and underwater swimming for men - on the other hand, 100 m freestyle, 500 m freestyle, 1200 m freestyle and that were omitted 100 m sailors swim for men.
  • Sailing became Olympic with the open boat classes 0-0.5 tons, 0.5-1 tons, 1-2 tons, 2-3 tons, 3-10 tons, 10-20 tons and an open weight class.
  • Tug of war was included in the Olympic program.
  • The tennis program has been expanded to include women singles and mixed doubles.
  • In gymnastics , the individual all-round competition replaced the decisions in parallel bars, pommel horse, horizontal bar, rings, jumping and rope swinging - in addition, parallel bars and horizontal bars were canceled.

In any case, the organization of the world exhibition divided the various competitions in a completely different way by creating 12 sections that brought together a number of Olympic and non-Olympic sports. For example, section VIII Sport Nautique (water sports) included rowing, sailing and swimming competitions as well as motor boat races and fishing competitions.

The following list contains sports or competitions that are generally considered to be non-Olympic but that were part of the World Exhibition's sports program:

Time schedule

May June

Time schedule
discipline Mon.
14.

...
Sat
19.
Sun.
20.
Mon.
21.
Tuesday
22nd
Wed.
23.
Thursday
24.
Fr.
25.
Sat.
26.
Sun.
27.
Mon.
28.
Tuesday
29
Wed.
30.
Thursday
31
Fr.
1.
Sat.
2.

...
Thursday
14.
Fri.
15.
Decision-
disk-
applications
May June
Fencing pictogram.svg Fencing 1 1 1 2 1 5
Basque pelota pictogram.svg Pelota 1 1
Polo pictogram.svg polo 1 1
Equestrian Jumping pictogram.svg Equestrian sport 1 1 1 1
Sailing pictogram.svg Sailing 2 1 3 2 3 9
decisions 1 1 3 2 3 2 1 2 3 1 64
Mon.
14.

...
Sat
19.
Sun.
20.
Mon.
21.
Tuesday
22nd
Wed.
23.
Thursday
24.
Fr.
25.
Sat.
26.
Sun.
27.
Mon.
28.
Tuesday
29
Wed.
30.
Thursday
31
Fr.
1.
Sat.
2.

...
Thursday
14.
Fri.
15.
May June
1In fencing there were two more decisions in June. A total of 7 decisions - here only the fencing decisions from May to mid-June.
2In sailing, there was another decision in August. A total of 10 decisions - here only the decisions in sailing from May.

June July August

Time schedule
discipline Tuesday
19.
Wed.
20.
Thursday
21.
Fr.
22.
Sat.
23.
Sun.
24.
Mon.
25.
Tuesday
26
Wed.
27.
Thursday
28.

...
Wed.
4.
Thursday
5.
Fr.
6.

...
Wed
11.

...
Sat
14.
Sun.
15.
Mon.
16.
Tuesday
17th
Wed.
18.
Thursday
19.

...
Sun.
22.

...
Wed.
1.
Thursday
2.
Fri.
3.
Sat
4th
Sun.
5.
Mon.
6.
Decision-
disk-
applications
June July August
Archery pictogram.svg Archery 1 2 2
Croquet pictogram.svg Croquet 1 1 1 3
Fencing pictogram.svg Fencing 2 1 1 2
Athletics pictogram.svg athletics 2 10 8th 1 2 23
Shooting pictogram.svg shoot 1 2 1 5 9
Sailing pictogram.svg Sailing 3 1 1
Tug of war pictogram.svg Tug of war 1 1
Tennis pictogram.svg tennis 4th 4th
decisions 1 1 1 1 5 2 10 11 1 1 2 2 1 5 1 45
Tuesday
19.
Wed.
20.
Thursday
21.
Fr.
22.
Sat.
23.
Sun.
24.
Mon.
25.
Tuesday
26
Wed.
27.
Thursday
28.

...
Wed.
4.
Thursday
5.
Fr.
6.

...
Wed
11.

...
Sat
14.
Sun.
15.
Mon.
16.
Tuesday
17th
Wed.
18.
Thursday
19.

...
Sun.
22.

...
Wed.
1.
Thursday
2.
Fri.
3.
Sat
4th
Sun.
5.
Mon.
6.
June July August
1In archery there were also four decisions in mid-August. A total of 6 decisions - here only the archery decisions from July.
2In fencing there were also five decisions in May and early / mid-June. A total of 7 decisions - here only the fencing decisions from the end of June.
3In sailing, there were nine more decisions in May. A total of 10 decisions - here only the decisions in sailing from August.

August September October

Time schedule
discipline Sat
11.
Sun.
12.
Mon.
13.
Tuesday
14
Wed.
15.

...
Sat
19.
Sun.
20.

...
Sat.
25.
Sun.
26.

...
Tuesday
11th
Wed.
12.
Thursday
13.
Fri.
14.
Sat.
15.

...
Thursday
20

...
Sun.
23.

...
Sat.
29.
Sun.
30.
Mon.
1.
Tues.
2.
Wed.
3.

...
Sun.
14.

...
Sun.
28.
Decision-
disk-
applications
August September October
Archery pictogram.svg Archery 1 4th 4th
Cricket pictogram.svg Cricket 1 1
Football pictogram.svg Soccer 1 1
Golf pictogram.svg golf 1 1 2
Cycling (track) pictogram.svg Cycling 1 2 3
Rowing pictogram.svg rowing 4th 4th
Rugby union pictogram.svg Rugby union 1 1
Swimming Swimming pictogram.svg swim 6th 1 7th
Water polo pictogram.svg Water polo 1 1
Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg do gymnastics 1 1
decisions 7th 4th 1 1 4th 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 25th
Sat
11.
Sun.
12.
Mon.
13.
Tuesday
14
Wed.
15.

...
Sat
19.
Sun.
20.

...
Sat.
25.
Sun.
26.

...
Tuesday
11th
Wed.
12.
Thursday
13.
Fri.
14.
Sat.
15.

...
Thursday
20

...
Sun.
23.

...
Sat.
29.
Sun.
30.
Mon.
1.
Tues.
2.
Wed.
3.

...
Sun.
14.

...
Sun.
28.
August September October
1In archery there were also two decisions in July. A total of 6 decisions - here only the archery decisions from August.

Color legend

  • Competition day (no decisions)
  • Competition day (x decisions)
  • Attendees

    overview

    German rugby team
    at the 1900 Olympic Games

    If the assignment of the various competitions to the Olympic Games already led to difficulties, this is increasingly true for the total number of participants or participating nations. In some cases, the participants only discovered in Paris that other athletes had also come from the same country. So there was B. for the German Reich a team from Prussia (mainly Berlin ) and one from Bavaria (mainly Munich ), who knew nothing about each other beforehand and only got to know each other in Paris.

    The IOC published the number of participants as 997, including 22 women. These figures, which of course also have to be viewed in relation to the number of Olympic competitions , must be questioned. Although the exact number of participants cannot be determined even through intensive research due to the lack of suitable records, according to sport-historical studies it can be assumed that 1186 participants known by name for the Olympic competitions recognized by the IOC . However, the actual number was even higher and is estimated at around 1500. For the sports archery , fencing , horse riding , rowing and sailing there is a number of 288 additional participants who are not mentioned by name.

    The IOC put the number of participating nations at 24. This number is also doubtful. There were only a few nations that sent an official delegation to Paris. Many participants came as private individuals. Quite a few participants from abroad happened to be in Paris or had a residence here. Most of the time they took part spontaneously. In this respect it does not make sense to speak of the number of participating nations, but of the number of different nationalities of the participants, who are said to have belonged to 28 nationalities. The best-known case in this regard is the nationality of the marathon winner , Michel Théato . He did not have French citizenship , but that of Luxembourg , which is generally documented historically. Luxembourg does not appear as a participating nation in the official lists of the IOC.

    Number and country of origin of the participants

    Participants in the 1900 Olympic Games: First participation (blue) and nations that have already participated (green)
    Number of athletes

    The following nations sent athletes to the Olympic Games:

    Europe (1,106 athletes from 18 nations)
    America (85 athletes from 7 nations)
    • United States 45United States Cuba * (1)
    • Mexico 1893Mexico Mexico * (4)
    • Peru 1825Peru Peru * (1)
    Asia (2 athletes from 2 nations)
    Oceania (2 athletes from 1 nation)
    Other teams (23 athletes)
    (Number of athletes) * Participation in Summer Olympics for the first time

    Participation of women

    The first-time participation of women in the Olympics was the distinguishing feature of the Paris Games. Women took part in six competitions in four sports. It was the Swiss Countess Hélène de Pourtalès , who was on May 22nd at the sailing competitions in the boat class 1-2 tons, and was not only the first participating woman in Olympic history, but also the first female Olympic champion. Together with her husband and nephew, she led her boat to victory. Seven weeks later, Britain's Charlotte Cooper won the women's tennis competition, and with another mixed doubles win, she became the first two-time Olympic champion on the same day.

    Women BohemiaBohemia
    BOH
    Third French RepublicThird French Republic
    FRA
    United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
    GBR
    SwitzerlandSwitzerland
    SUI
    United States 45United States
    USA
    total
    Croquet 03 03
    golf 05 05 10
    sailing 01 01
    tennis 01 03 01 02 07th
    total 01 11 01 01 07th 21st

    The background to the participation of a 22nd woman in the Olympic competitions is exemplary of the general incomplete processing and difficult interpretation in connection with the circumstances under which the Olympic Games in 1900 took place. The French rider Elvira Guerra has proven to take part in the competitions of the world exhibition, namely in the discipline showing riding horses (Chevaux de selle) . However, this competition is not considered Olympic in the lists of the IOC . It is therefore impossible in principle that Elvira Guerra is officially listed as a participant in the Olympic Games.

    Medals, prizes, honors

    World exhibition badge
    for some sports competitions

    The first three places in their current form with gold, silver and bronze medals were not awarded in 1900. In some sports and competitions, such as athletics, rowing, sailing, swimming, gymnastics and shooting, plaques made of silver or bronze were awarded. Some athletes only received these months later.

    The main prizes consisted of art objects, such as small statues or pins, and utensils such as walking sticks, wallets, writing cases, watches, etc. The organization had determined a value for these prizes in its invitation to tender, which was far excessive for the objects actually handed over . This caused general outrage among athletes. Many had their prices estimated and learned that sometimes they were worth only a few francs . Some athletes thought of returning their prizes.

    There was no honor as Olympic champion, because the organizers of the world exhibition had deliberately avoided hosting their competitions under the title Olympic Games . The individual competitions had very different names, such as Championat du monde, Grand Prix international de l'Exposition, Grand Prix international de Paris, Prix de la ville etc. The titles were rather irrelevant and had no official character, especially since there were only a few sports associations at that time who organized regular international championships such as world championships.

    Most athletes didn't find out until years later that they had participated in the Olympics. Some countries made the worthy attempt to honor their Olympic champions and those who were placed decades later. In the absence of sufficient educational work about the events, there were also some irreparable errors. An example of this is the story of the French racing cyclist Ferdinand Vasserot . He was a participant in the track sprint over 2000 meters . 60 years later, when France was awarding its medal winners in all Olympic Games, not only the winner, Albert Taillandier , found out about his Olympic victory for the first time, but also Vasserot found out that he was supposedly second. It was only years later, when Vasserot had long since died, that it was discovered that his second place was a semifinal run that he had lost to the later third in the final run, John Henry Lake .

    Outstanding athletes and achievements

    There were a total of 26 athletes who could achieve two victories or more, but the American athlete Alvin Kraenzlein towered over them all. With his victories in the sprint over 60 meters, in the hurdles over 110 and 200 meters, as well as in the long jump, he was the most successful athlete of these Olympic Games and also the first successful universal athlete in Olympic history.

    The most successful participants
    place athlete country sport silver silver bronze bronze Third total
    01 Alvin Kraenzlein United States 45United States USA athletics 4th - - 4th
    02 Konrad Staeheli SwitzerlandSwitzerland CHE shoot 3 - 1 4th
    03 Ray Ewry United States 45United States USA athletics 3 - - 3
    John Arthur Jarvis United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland GBR swim 3 - - 3
    05 Irving Baxter United States 45United States USA athletics 2 3 - 5
    06th Walter Tewksbury United States 45United States USA athletics 2 2 1 3
    07th Hubert Van Innis BelgiumBelgium BEL Archery 2 2 - 4th
    08th Charles Bennett United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland GBR athletics 2 1 - 3
    09 Alfred Tysoe United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland GBR athletics 2 - - 2
    John Rimmer United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland GBR athletics 2 - - 2

    With the exception of the long jump, Irving Baxter and Ray Ewry dominated the other jumping competitions in athletics, with Baxter always having to give Ewry the precedence in the standing jump competitions . A winning streak began for Ewry in 1900 that has remained unmatched to this day. From 1900 to 1908 he won four successive Olympic Games, including the 1906 Intermediate Games , all standing jumping competitions. With a total of eight gold medals, he is one of the ten most successful Olympians of all time. Adding his two victories in 1906, he would even be the most successful athlete in Olympic history after Michael Phelps .

    Walter Tewksbury achieved with the five medals he has won, an achievement that has never been achieved today. No runner has achieved more medals in individual running disciplines in athletics at the same Olympic Games.

    In addition to confusion about his nationality, there are also many rumors and anecdotes about the winner of the marathon, Michel Théato . However, it is undisputed that he is the youngest marathon winner in Olympic history to this day.

    Charles Sands is the first multi-purpose athlete in Olympic history. He won the golf competition and also took part in tennis, where he was eliminated in the first round in all three competitions (men's singles, men's doubles and mixed). This is all the more astonishing because Sand's main interest was tennis. At the Summer Olympics in London in 1908 , he took part in a third Olympic sport, the Jeu de Paume . Here, too, he was eliminated in the first round.

    literature

    • Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle I. Athens 1896 - Berlin 1936. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00715-6 .
    • Karl Lennartz , Walter Teutenberg: II. Olympic Games 1900 in Paris. Presentation and sources. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 1995, ISBN 3-928562-20-7 .
    • Bill Mallon : The 1900 Olympic Games . McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina 1998, CIP 97-36094.

    Web links

    Commons : Summer Olympics 1900  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

    Individual evidence

    1. a b c IOC page on the 1900 Summer Olympics (English), accessed on September 27, 2012
    2. ^ Arnd Krüger : Neo-Olympism between nationalism and internationalism. Horst Ueberhorst (Ed.): History of physical exercises , Vol. 3/1, Berlin: Bartels & Wernitz 1980, 522-568.