1900 Summer Olympics

The 1900 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the II Olympiad and Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. These games did not have opening or closing ceremonies. They were part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle, a big world's fair.

The idea to hold the Olympics in Paris in 1900 was suggested by Pierre de Coubertin during the Olympic Congress in 1894 at the Sorbonne building. However, the first Olympics were held in 1896 in Athens, so Paris hosted the second Games.

Over 1,200 competitors from many countries took part in 19 different sports. For the first time, women were allowed to compete. A sailor named Hélène de Pourtalès became the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Some events, like angling and motor racing, were only held once in Olympic history. France had the most athletes and won the most medals, followed by the United States and Great Britain.

Organization

The 1900 Games were held as part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The Baron de Coubertin wanted to make the Olympics more well-known, but the director of the Exposition thought having sports events there was a bad idea.

A group was formed to organize the Games. Many sports were planned, including track and field athletics, swimming, wrestling, gymnastics, fencing, French and British boxing, and other activities like yacht racing and cycling.

The organization was messy. Some people in charge changed, and many athletes left. The games were not well-run, and some people didn’t even realize they were part of the Olympics. Records of the results were incomplete for years.

Highlights

These Olympic Games were the first organized under the leadership of Pierre de Coubertin.

Alvin Kraenzlein from the United States won four gold medals in the 60 metres, 110 metre hurdles, 200 metre hurdles, and the long jump events. This record for most gold medals in track and field still stands today.

Hélène de Pourtalès, who was born in America, became the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal as part of the Swiss team in the 1-2 ton sailing event. Shortly after, Charlotte Cooper from the UK became the first woman to win an individual Olympic event by winning the women's singles tennis competition. She also later won the mixed doubles tournament.

In the coxed pairs and eights rowing events, some crews used children instead of adult coxswains.

Sports

In the 1900 Summer Olympics, many different sports were played. There were 95 events where athletes could win medals. Some sports from the earlier Olympics in 1896, like weightlifting and wrestling, were not included. But 12 new sports were added, such as cricket, golf, and rugby.

Here’s a look at the sports that were part of the games:

• Aquatics
  • Swimming (7 events)
  • Water polo (1 event)
• Archery (7 events)
• Athletics (23 events)
• Basque pelota (1 event)
• Cricket (1 event)
• Croquet (3 events)
• Cycling (3 events)
• Equestrian
  • Driving (2 events)
  • Jumping (3 events)
• Fencing (7 events)
• Football (1 event)
• Golf (2 events)
• Gymnastics (1 event)
• Polo (1 event)
• Rowing (5 events)
• Rugby union (1 event)
• Sailing (13 events)
• Shooting (8 events)
• Tennis (4 events)
• Tug of war (1 event)

Venues

The 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris used 14 different places for 20 sports. Some of these places were well-known, like the Vélodrome de Vincennes, Tuileries Garden, and Bois de Boulogne. Others included Puteaux, Neuilly-sur-Seine, and the Seine river for rowing, water polo, and swimming. The map shows these venues spread across Paris and nearby areas like Satory, Compiègne, and Le Havre.

Sport-by-sport overview

The 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris had different levels of competition in various sports. Track and field events were very strong, thanks to top American college athletes. Tennis, swimming, and fencing also had high-quality competitions. Polo, a sport for wealthy people, also had strong players.

Some sports did not have as many strong competitors. Only athletics, swimming, and fencing had athletes from more than ten countries.

Archery

Main article: Archery at the 1900 Summer Olympics

The archery events at the 1900 Olympics were confusing. The IOC lists six archery events as official. About 150 archers competed. Belgian Hubert Van Innis won two gold medals.

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics

The track and field events happened at the Croix-Catelan stadium in Bois de Boulogne. The races were on uneven grass.

The sprints

In the short races, the United States won many medals. Athletes from Columbia University, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania won gold. Two students from the University of Pennsylvania, Alvin Kraenzlein and Walter Tewksbury, were standouts. Kraenzlein won four gold medals.

Middle- and long-distance races

The United States did well in the short races, but the United Kingdom did well in the longer races, except for George Orton from Canada.

The Marathon

The marathon was unusual. The course was hard to follow. Michel Théato of France won.

Field events

Rudolf Bauer from Hungary won a gold medal. American athletes like Ray Ewry and Irving Baxter did very well. Meyer Prinstein became the first Jewish person to win an Olympic gold medal.

Basque pelota

Main article: Basque pelota at the 1900 Summer Olympics

The game of Basque pelota was only held once at the Olympics. The Spanish team of Amezola and Villota won the gold medals.

Cricket

Main article: Cricket at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Only two teams played cricket. A team from Paris played against a team from southwest England. The English team won.

Croquet

Main article: Croquet at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Croquet was played at the Olympics for the first and only time. Women played for the first time at the Olympics.

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics

France won many cycling medals.

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Equestrian events were held for the first time at the Olympics. Gian Giorgio Trissino from Italy won a gold and a silver medal.

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Fencing had athletes from nineteen nations. French fencers did well.

Football

Main article: Football at the 1900 Summer Olympics

The first Olympic football champions were a team of amateur players from London called Upton Park F.C..

Golf

Main article: Golf at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Margaret Ives Abbott from Chicago won a golf tournament in Paris. She later found out it was part of the Olympics.

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 1900 Summer Olympics

135 gymnasts competed in many events.

Polo

Main article: Polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Eight polo tournaments were held, but only one counted for official medals. Mexico won its first Olympic medal in polo.

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Rowing events were on the River Seine.

Rugby union

Main article: Rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Three teams played rugby. A French team beat teams from Germany and England.

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 1900 Summer Olympics

The sailing events were different from other Olympics. France and Great Britain were the top countries in sailing.

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Konrad Stäheli from Switzerland won three shooting titles.

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Swimming races were in the Seine River. John Arthur Jarvis from Great Britain, Frederick Lane from Australia, and Ernst Hoppenberg from Germany each won two titles.

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics

The men's tennis tournament was very strong. Charlotte Cooper became the first woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal by winning the singles tennis event.

Tug of war

Main article: Tug of war at the 1900 Summer Olympics

A team made up of athletes from Sweden and Denmark beat the French team.

Water polo

Main article: Water polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics

The British team, Osborne Swimming Club, won the water polo tournament. One player, Victor Lindberg, was from New Zealand.

Olympic status of sports and events

The 1900 Games were held together with the 1900 World's Fair instead of having a special Olympic committee. Many things happened, but not all followed the rules for official Olympic events.

Back then, it wasn’t always easy to tell which events were real Olympic events and which were just for fun. Experts now say that for an event to be Olympic, it needed to be for amateur players, have people from many countries, be open to everyone, and not give special help to anyone. For the 1900 Games, only croquet was officially called an Olympic event, even though a few others almost were. Some sports, like ballooning and motor racing, were part of the World's Fair but didn’t count as Olympic events.

Other fun things to do during the fair included angling, ballooning, baseball, boules, cannon shooting, and many more. Some events that were planned didn’t happen because not enough people joined.

Participating nations

26 nations sent competitors to the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. At that time, there were no official teams chosen by groups called National Olympic Committees.

Some athletes from countries not usually counted competed for other nations. For example, two athletes from Canada competed for the United States, and a winner of the marathon race actually came from Luxembourg but competed for France. Other athletes from Colombia, New Zealand, and possibly Brazil also competed for other countries.

New nations that first took part in the Olympics included Argentina, Belgium, Bohemia, Cuba, Haiti, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Persia, Peru, Romania, Russia, and Spain.

Some countries that took part in the 1896 Olympics in Athens, like Bulgaria and Chile, did not send athletes to Paris in 1900.

Medal count

The 1900 Olympics was special because it had rectangular medals made by Frédérique Vernon. Some first-place winners got gilt silver medals in sports like shooting and gymnastics. Second-place winners received silver medals in sports such as rowing and tennis. Third-place winners got bronze medals in a few sports. But in many sports, winners got cups or other trophies instead of medals. Later, the International Olympic Committee decided to call first-place winners gold medalists, second-place winners silver medalists, and third-place winners bronze medalists to match today’s rules.

Because this was one of the earliest Olympics, it’s hard to know exactly how many medals each country won. Teams often had athletes from many different countries, and the idea of national teams chosen by National Olympic Committees didn’t exist yet.

These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1900 Games.

Key   Host nation (France)

Podium sweeps