Games of the II Olympiad, celebrated in Paris (France) in 1900 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1900 Summer Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900), officially called the Games of the II Olympiad, were held in Paris, France. The games went from 14 May to 28 October 1900.[1] The games were part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle (Paris World's Fair). The sports events were not well planned. The games were not thought to be a success.[2] In total, there were 1,226 athletes. These athletes were played in 19 different sports.[3][note1] 720 of the 997 athletes were from France. France won the most gold, silver, and bronze awards. U.S won the 2nd most awards. Britain won the 3rd most awards.[4]
Host city | Paris, France | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nations | 26[note1] | ||
Athletes | 1226[note1] | ||
Events | 95 in 19 sports (21 disciplines) [note1] | ||
Opening | 14 May 1900 | ||
Closing | 28 October 1900 | ||
Stadium | Vélodrome de Vincennes | ||
|
This was the first Olympic Games where women competed. The sailor Hélène de Pourtalès was the first woman to win an Olympic game.[5]
The 1900 Olympic Games were also very unusual. There were many events that were only at this Olympics. These events were angling,[6] motor racing,[7] ballooning,[8] cricket,[9] croquet,[10] Basque pelota,[11] 200m swimming obstacle race and underwater swimming.[12] This was also the only Olympic Games to use live animals as a target in shooting.[13]
Weightlifting and wrestling were not in the 1900 Olympics, even though they were in the 1896 Summer Olympics. However, 12 new sports were added.[lower-alpha 1] Croquet was the only sport where only French players played. The number of events is in parentheses.
There were 14 venues (or places) at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
Venue | Sports | Capacity | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
7th arrondissement (Place de Breteuil) | Equestrian | Not listed. | [14] |
Bois de Boulogne | Croquet, Polo, Tug of war | Not listed. | [15][16][17] |
Bois de Vincennes | Archery | Not listed. | [18] |
Boulogne-Billancourt | Shooting | Not listed. | [14] |
Compiègne | Golf | Not listed. | [19] |
Croix-Catelan Stadium | Athletics | Not listed. | [19] |
Le Havre | Sailing | Not listed. | [14] |
Meulan-en-Yvelines | Sailing | Not listed. | [20] |
Neuilly-sur-Seine | Basque pelota | Not listed. | [21] |
Puteaux | Tennis | Not listed. | [22] |
Satory | Shooting | Not listed. | [14] |
Seine | Rowing, Swimming, and Water polo | Not listed. | [23] |
Tuileries Garden | Fencing | Not listed. | [14] |
Vélodrome de Vincennes | Cricket, Cycling, Football, Gymnastics, and Rugby union | Not listed. | [24] |
There were 24 nations that sent athletes to compete at the Paris games.[25]
The 1900 Olympics is the only Olympic Games that had rectangle medals. These medals were made by Frédérique Vernon.[26] Gilt silver medals were given to 1st place in shooting, lifesaving, automobile racing and gymnastics.[27][28] 2nd place silver medals were given in shooting, rowing, yachting, tennis, gymnastics, sabre, fencing, equestrian and athletics.[27] 3rd place bronze medals were given in gymnastics, firefighting and shooting.[28][27] In many sports, there were no medals given. Many of the prizes were cups or other trophies.[29]: 9 After the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee gave the athletes gold, silver, and bronze medals to the athletes who were in 1st, 2nd or 3rd-place.[29]
These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1900 Games.[30][29]
Key Host nation (France)
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | France (FRA)* | 27 | 38 | 37 | 102 |
2 | United States (USA) | 19 | 14 | 15 | 48 |
3 | Great Britain (GBR) | 15 | 8 | 9 | 32 |
4 | Mixed team (ZZX) | 8 | 5 | 6 | 19 |
5 | Belgium (BEL) | 6 | 7 | 4 | 17 |
6 | Switzerland (SUI) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
7 | Germany (GER) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
8 | Italy (ITA) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
9 | Australia (AUS) | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
10 | Denmark (DEN) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
Totals (10 entries) | 91 | 82 | 79 | 252 |
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