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1896 Summer Olympics
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The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. These games were the first modern international Olympic Games to be organised by the International Olympic Committee. They were held between Monday, April 6 and Wednesday, April 15, 1896.
Organisation
The restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium, originally built in the fourth century BC, was funded by Georgios Averoff. The stadium was used again for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Panorama of the stadium in 2007The news that the Olympic Games would return to Greece was received favourably by the Greek public and media. However, the country was in financial troubles and was politically unstable, the job of prime minister alternating between Charilaos Trikoupis and Theodoros Deligiannis at a high frequency. In late 1894 the organising committee, headed by Etienne Skouloudis, presented a report that the cost of the Games would be three times higher than originally estimated by De Coubertin. They concluded the Games could not be held, and offered their resignation. The total cost of the Games was 3,740,000 drachmas (about US$448,000).
Greek crown prince Constantine, a supporter of the Games, decided to set up a new committee, with himself as the president. His enthusiasm sparked a wave of contributions from the Greek public, raising 330,000 drachmas. A special set of postage stamps raised a further 400,000, and ticket sales added 200,000 drachmas. At the request of Constantine, wealthy businessman George Averoff agreed to pay for the restoration of the Panathinaiko Stadium, which eventually cost 920,000 drachmas. As a tribute to his generosity, a statue of Averoff was constructed and unveiled on 5 April outside the stadium, where it still stands. The stadium had a straight running track of 232 meters, and very narrow curves, all covered with fine sand.
Organised sports were relatively new to Greece, and as such the organising committee had little experience in staging sports events. Their duties in this aspect were largely taken over by De Coubertin, who had to both elect the rules to follow and to invite athletes. Some of the athletes would take part in the Games because they happened to be in Athens at the time the Games were held, either on vacation or for work (e.g., some of the British competitors worked for the British embassy). The concept of a designated Olympic Village for the athletes did not appear until the 1932 Summer Olympics; the athletes had to provide their own lodging. The jury, the referees and the game director bore the same names as in antiquity (Ephor, Helanodic and Alitarc).
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony in the Panathenian StadiumOn 6 April, the Games of the First Olympiad were officially opened. It was Easter Monday for the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, and was also the anniversary of the outbreak of the war for Greek independence.
The Panathenaic stadium was filled, with an estimated 80,000 spectators including King George I of Greece, his wife Olga, and their sons. Most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organising committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the Games:
"I declare the opening of the first international Olympic Games in Athens. Long live the Nation. Long live the Greek people."
Afterwards, 9 bands and 150 choir singers performed the Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyros Samaras, with words by poet Kostis Palamas. The hymn was well received, and the crowd desired an encore.
The current Olympic opening ceremonies contain elements of this brief opening ceremony. The head of state of the organising nation still officially opens the Games, and the Olympic Hymn (official since 1958) is still played. Other elements, such as the parade of nations, the lighting of the Olympic Flame and the Olympic Oath were initiated later.
Sport by sport overview
At the 1894 Sorbonne congress, a large roster of sports had been mentioned for the programme in Athens. The first edition of the official announcement featured sports such as football and cricket, but these plans were never carried out. Rowing was scheduled, but had to be cancelled due to strong winds on the planned day of competition. Yachting was cancelled too, because "we had no proper boats for this, nor did any foreign ones appear for the contest" (Official Report).
Athletics
Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics
The athletics events had the most international field of any of the sports. The major highlight of the athletics programme, however, was the marathon held for the first time in international competition. Spiridon Louis, a previously unrenowned water carrier, won the event to become the only Greek athletics champion and a national hero. No world records were set, as few international top competitors had turned up. In addition, the curves of the track were very tight, making fast times in the running events virtually impossible, despite this Thomas Burke won both the 100 m and the 400 m for the U.S. in times of 12.0 and 54.2 and winning with relative ease. In the 100 m start, Tom Burke was the only one who put his knee on soil (technique invented by Sherrill in 1888), confusing the jury. Eventually, he was allowed to start from this "uncomfortable position", winning however casually.
Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Between them, Frenchmen Léon Flameng (left) and Paul Masson won four cycling events.The track cycling events were held at the newly built Neo Phaliron Velodrome. Only one road event was held, a race from Athens to Marathon and back (87 kilometres).
Frenchman Paul Masson was the best cyclist on the track, winning the one lap time trial, the sprint event, and the 10,000 metres. In the 100 kilometres event, Masson entered as a pacemaker for his compatriot Léon Flameng. Flameng won the event, after a fall, and after stopping to wait for his Greek opponent Kolettis to fix a mechanical problem. The Austrian fencer Adolf Schmal won the 12 hours race, which was completed by only two cyclists, while the road race event was won by Aristidis Konstantinidis.
Fencing at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Fencer Leonidas Pyrgos became the first Greek modern Olympic champion by winning the masters foil competition.The fencing events were held in the Zappeion, named after Evangelos Zappas, who had organised Greek Olympic Games in the mid-19th century. Unlike other sports (in which only amateurs were allowed to take part at the Olympics), professionals were allowed to compete in fencing, though in a separate event. These fencing masters were considered gentlemen athletes, just as the amateurs.
Four events were scheduled, but the épée event was cancelled for reasons unknown. The foil event was won by a Frenchman, Eugène-Henri Gravelotte, while the other two events, the sabre and the foil for masters, were won by Greek fencers. Leonidas Pyrgos, who won the latter event, became the first Greek to become Olympic champion in the modern era.
Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics
The gymnastics exercises were carried out on the infield of the Panathenaic Stadium. Germany had sent an 11-man team, which dominated and won 5 of the 8 events, including both team events. In the team event on the horizontal bar, the German team was unopposed. Three Germans added individual titles. Hermann Weingärtner, who also took two seconds and a third place, won the horizontal bar event, while Alfred Flatow won the parallel bars. Carl Schuhmann, who also competed successfully in wrestling, won the vault.
The remaining events were won by Louis Zutter, a Swiss gymnast who won the pommel horse, while Greeks Ioannis Mitropoulos and Nikolaos Andriakopoulos were victorious in the rings and rope climbing events, respectively.
Shooting at the 1896 Summer Olympics
There were five shooting events—two rifle events and three pistol shooting competitions.
The first event, for military rifles over 200 metres, was won by Pantelis Karasevdas, the only competitor to hit the target with all of his shots. The second event, for military pistols, was dominated by two brothers, Americans John and Sumner Paine. In order to avoid embarrassing their hosts, the brothers decided that only one of them would compete in the next pistol event, the free pistol. Sumner Paine dominated that event alone, thereby becoming the first relative of an Olympic champion to become Olympic champion himself.
The Paine brothers did not compete in the 25 metre pistol event, as their weapons were judged to be not of the required calibre. In their absence, Ioannis Phrangoudis won. Frangoudis also placed second in the final event, the free rifle, held on the same day. However, the event could not be completed due to darkness, and was completed on the next morning, when Georgios Orphanidis was celebrated as the champion.
Swimming at the 1896 Summer Olympics
.Unlike today, the 1896 swimming competitions were held at open sea. Nearly 20,000 spectators were noted to have watched the event, in the Bay of Zea, off the Piraeus coast.
All four events were held on the same day (11 April). For Alfréd Hajós of Hungary, this meant he could only compete in two of the events, as they were held shortly after one another, giving him little time to recuperate. Nevertheless, he won the two events in which he swam, the 100 metres and the 1200 metres freestyle. Hajós later became one of only two Olympians to win a medal in both athletic and artistic competitions when he won a silver medal for architecture in 1924.
The third event, the 500 metres freestyle, was easily won by Austrian swimmer Paul Neumann, beating his opponents by more than one-and-a-half minutes.
In addition, a special swimming event open to Greek sailors only was held.
Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Although tennis was already a major sport by the end of the 19th century, none of the top players turned up for the tournament in Athens, which was held at the courts of the Athens Lawn Tennis Club, and the infield of the velodrome.
Irishman John Pius Boland, who was in Athens on holiday, had been entered in the competition by a Greek friend, and won relatively easily. In the first round, he defeated Friedrich Traun, a German who had been eliminated in the 800 m competition. They decided to team up for the doubles event, in which they reached the final and defeated their Greek and Egyptian opponents after losing the first set.
Weightlifting at the 1896 Summer Olympics
The sport of weightlifting was still very young in 1896, and the rules different from those in use today. Competitions were held outdoors, in the infield of the main stadium, and there were no weight limits.
The first event was the two-handed event, held in a style now known as "clean and jerk". Two competitors stood out: Scotsman Launceston Elliot and Viggo Jensen of Denmark. Both of them lifted the same weight; but the jury, with Prince George as the chairman, ruled that Jensen had done so in a better style. The British delegation, unfamiliar with this tie-breaking rule, lodged a protest. The lifters were eventually allowed make further attempts, but neither lifter improved, and Jensen was declared the champion.
Elliot got his revenge in the single handed "snatch" event, which was held immediately after the two-handed one. Jensen had been slightly injured in his last two-handed attempt, and was no match for Elliot, who won the competition easily ahead of Jensen. The Greek audience was very charmed by the Scottish victor, whom they considered very attractive. Allegedly, he even received a marriage proposal from a "highly placed lady" in the audience.
Wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics
No weight classes existed for the wrestling competition, held in the Panathenaic Stadium which meant that there would only be one winner among competitors of all sizes. The rules used were similar to modern Greco-Roman wrestling, although there was no time limit, and not all leg holds were forbidden (in contrast to current rules).
Apart from the two Greek contestants, all competitors had previously been active in other sports. Weightlifting champion Launceston Elliot faced gymnastics champion Carl Schuhmann from Germany. The latter won easily and advanced into the final, where he met Georgios Tsitas. Their final match had to be abandoned after 40 minutes of wrestling when darkness fell in and was continued the following day, when the German finished the bout within a quarter of an hour.
Closing ceremony
On the morning of Sunday 12 April, King George organised a banquet for officials and athletes (even though some competitions were not to be held). During his speech, he made clear that, as far as he was concerned, the Olympics should be held in Athens permanently.
The official closing ceremony was held the following Wednesday, being postponed from Tuesday due to rain. Again the royal family attended the ceremony, which was opened by the national anthem of Greece and an ode composed and cited by George S. Robertson, a British athlete and scholar.
Afterwards, the king awarded prizes to the winners. Unlike today, the winners received silver medals and the second-placed athletes bronze medals. Some winners also received additional prizes, such as Spyridon Louis, who received a cup from Michel Bréal, a friend of De Coubertin who had conceived the marathon event. Louis then led the medallists on a lap of honour through the stadium, while the Olympic Hymn was played again. The King then formally closed the Games, saying "I declare the First International Olympic Games terminated."
Participating nations
The concept of national teams was not a major part of the Olympic movement until the Intercalated Games ten years later, though many sources list the nationality of competitors in 1896 and give medal counts.
Sources conflict as to which nations competed. The International Olympic Committee gives a figure of 14, but no list. The following 14 are most likely the ones which the IOC figure includes. Some sources list 12, excluding Chile and Bulgaria; others list 13, including those two but excluding Italy. Egypt is also sometimes included, as Dionysios Kasdaglis was Greek-Egyptian and living in Egypt.
Australia – Despite Australia's lack of independence from the British Empire, the results of Teddy Flack are typically given with him listed as Australian.
Austria – Austria was part of Austria-Hungary at the time, though the results of Austrian athletes are typically reported separately.
Bulgaria – The Bulgarian NOC claims that gymnast Charles Champaud was competing as a Bulgarian.[6] Champaud was a Swiss national living in Bulgaria. Mallon and de Wael both list Champaud as Swiss.[7]
Chile – The Chilean NOC claims to have had one athlete, Luis Subercaseaux, compete in the 100, 400, and 800 metre races in the athletics programme.[8] No further details are given. No mention is made of Subersaceaux in Mallon, de Wael, or the Official Report.
Denmark
France
Germany
Great Britain – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has historically maintained separate athletic organisations for each of its constituent countries. The major exception to this has been the Olympic Games, in which the country is considered as a single entity. However, it has conventionally used the name "Great Britain" at the Olympics rather than the more common shortening of the name to "the United Kingdom".
Greece – Greek results typically include the results of competitors from Cyprus and Smyrna. Occasionally, Kasdaglis of Egypt is also included in the Greek count.
Cyprus – Some sources give Cypriot results separately, though most count Anastasios Andreou, a Greek-Cypriot and the only athlete from Cyprus, as Greek. Cyprus was a protectorate of the United Kingdom at the time.
Smyrna – The two athletes from Smyrna are nearly always included in the Greek listings, similarly to the Cypriot athlete.
Hungary – Hungary is usually listed separately from Austria, despite the two being formally joined as Austria-Hungary at the time. However, Hungarian results are considered to include those of athletes from Vojvodina (now part of Serbia) and Slovakia.
Italy
Sweden
Switzerland
United States
Entered nations that did not compete
Belgium and Russia had entered the names of competitors, but withdrew. Whether or not the Chilean athlete competed is questionable. Many sources list Italy in this category, as the most prominent Italian involved with the games, Carlo Airoldi, was deemed a professional and excluded from competition. However, the shooter listed by name simply as Rivabella was also Italian and did compete.
It should be noted, first, that no gold medals were awarded at all, and the third place finishers did not receive any prize in Athens. Secondly, national teams as we know now hardly existed. Greece and Hungary had held selection matches, but most other athletes represented their clubs or themselves. Furthermore, not all of the countries listed below existed in 1896. For example, Australia was not yet independent of the UK, and Hungary and Austria were formally joined together as one nation. Nevertheless, most sources have the countries as listed below.
Female competitors
Women were not allowed to compete at the 1896 Summer Olympics. One, named Stamata Revithi and nicknamed Melpomene after the Greek muse of tragedy, protested by running the marathon course on 11 April, the day after the men had run it.