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1924 Summer Olympics

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Games of the VIII Olympiad
Emblem of the 1924 Summer Olympics
Host cityParis, France
Nations44
Athletes3,089 (2,954 men, 135 women)
Events126 in 17 sports (23 disciplines)
Opening5 July 1924
Closing27 July 1924
Opened by
President Gaston Doumergue[1]
StadiumStade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir
Summer
Winter

The 1924 Summer Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (French: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had already started on 4 May. The Games were the second to be hosted by Paris (after 1900), making it the first city to host the Olympics twice.

The selection process for the 1924 Summer Olympics consisted of six bids, and Paris was selected ahead of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Prague, and Rome. The selection was made at the 20th IOC Session in Lausanne in 1921.[2] The cost of these Games was estimated to be 10,000,000F. With total receipts at 5,496,610F, the Olympics resulted in a hefty loss despite crowds that reached up to 60,000 in number daily.[3] The United States won the most gold and overall medals, having 229 athletes competing compared to France's 401.

Highlights[edit]

Colombes Olympic Stadium
  • The Uruguay national football team won the gold medal in football which was recognized as a world championship by FIFA.
  • The opening ceremony and several sporting events took place in the Olympic Stadium of Colombes, which had a capacity of 45,000 in 1924.
  • This VIII Olympiad was the last one organised under the presidency of Pierre de Coubertin.
  • The "Flying Finns" dominated the long-distance running, while the British and Americans dominated the shorter events. Paavo Nurmi won the 1500 m and 5,000 m (which were held with only an hour between them) and the cross country run. Ville Ritola won the 10,000 m and the 3,000 m steeplechase, while finishing second to Nurmi in the 5,000 m and cross country. Albin Stenroos won the marathon, while the Finnish team (with Nurmi and Ritola) was victorious in the 3,000 m and cross country team events.
  • The British runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell won the 100 m and the 400 m events, respectively. Liddell refused to compete in the 100-metre dash because it was held on a Sunday and he was an observant Christian. Their stories were depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire. In addition, Douglas Lowe won the 800-metre competition.
  • DeHart Hubbard became the first African-American to win an individual gold medal, in the broad jump.
  • The marathon distance was fixed at 42.195 km (26.219 mi), from the distance run at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
  • The 1924 Olympics were the first to use the standard 50 m pool with marked lanes.
  • Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller won three gold medals in swimming and one bronze in water polo.
  • Harold Osborn won gold medals and set Olympic records in both the high jump and the decathlon at the 1924 Olympics. His 6' 6" high jump remained the Olympic record for 12 years, while his decathlon score of 7,710.775 points also set a world record and resulted in worldwide press coverage calling him the "world's greatest athlete".
  • Fencer Roger Ducret of France won five medals, of which three were gold.
  • In gymnastics, 24 men scored a perfect 10. Twenty-three of them scored it in the now-discontinued event of rope climbing. Albert Seguin scored a 10 here and also a perfect 10 on side vault.
  • The Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) was used for the first time at the Olympics. It had been used before by the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques, a French sporting federation whose founding members included Pierre de Coubertin.[4] De Coubertin took the motto from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who had coined during a speech before a Paris youth gathering of 1891.[5]
  • Ireland was given formal recognition as an independent nation in the Olympic Movement in Paris in 1924, and it was at these games that Ireland made its first appearance in an Olympic Games as an independent nation.
  • Originally called Semaine des Sports d'Hiver ("Week of Winter Sports") and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, the sports competitions held in Chamonix between 25 January and 5 February 1924 were later designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic Winter Games. (1924 Winter Olympics)
  • These were the first Games to have an Olympic Village.
  • The Art competitions at the 1924 Summer Olympics were the first time that the Olympic Art competitions were contested seriously, with 193 entries in five categories. A total of 14 medals were awarded, though none were given in the music category.[6]

Sports[edit]

Overall map of the Olympic venues
The "Olympic Number" of Life, 10 Jul 1924.

126 events in 23 disciplines, comprising 17 sports, were part of the Olympic program in 1924. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.

Demonstration sports[edit]

Jeux de L’Enfance[edit]

The Jeux de L’Enfance, a program of youth sports competitions and activities, were held by Olympic organizers alongside the Games in cooperation with the YMCA.[8][9] The following future Olympic sports were exhibited:

Venues[edit]

Map of Olympic sites

Seventeen sports venues were used in the 1924 Summer Olympics. Stade de Colombes served as the final venue for the 1938 FIFA World Cup between Italy and Hungary.

Venue Sports Capacity Ref.
Bagatelle Polo 598 [10]
Bassin d'Argenteuil Rowing 2,216 [11]
Camp de Châlons Shooting (600 m free rifle individual and team) 395 [12]
Fontainebleau Modern pentathlon (riding) Not listed. [13]
Hippodrome d'Auteuil Equestrian 8,922 [14]
Issy-les-Moulineaux Shooting (trap shooting, including team event) 41 [15]
Le Havre Sailing 541 [16]
Le Stade Olympique de Reims Shooting (trap shooting, running target) 420 [17]
Le Stand de Tir de Versailles Modern pentathlon (shooting), Shooting (25 m rapid fire pistol, running deer) 82 [18]
Meulan-en-Yvelines Sailing 389 [19]
Piscine des Tourelles Diving, Modern pentathlon (swimming), Swimming, Water polo 8,023 [20]
Saint-Cloud Polo 7,836 [10]
Stade Bergeyre Football 10,455 [21]
Stade de Colombes Athletics, Cycling (road), Equestrian, Fencing, Football (final), Gymnastics, Modern pentathlon (fencing, running), Rugby union, Tennis 60,000 [22]
Stade de Paris Football 5,145 [23]
Stade Pershing Football 8,110 [24]
Vélodrome d'hiver Boxing, Fencing, Weightlifting, Wrestling 10,884 [25]
Vélodrome de Vincennes Cycling (track) 12,750 [26]

Participating nations[edit]

Participating Countries of the 1924 Olympiad
Number of athletes

A total of 44 nations were represented at the 1924 Games. Germany was still absent, having not been invited by the Organizing Committee.[27] China (although it did not compete), Ecuador, Ireland, Lithuania, and Uruguay attended the Olympic Games for the first time, while the Philippines competed for first time in an Olympic Games as a nation (though it first participated in the 1900 Summer Olympic Games, also in this city). Latvia and Poland also attended the Summer Olympic Games for the first time (having both appeared earlier at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix).

Participating National Olympic Committees
  • Beiyang government China also took part in the Opening Ceremony, but its four athletes (all tennis players) withdrew from competition.[28]

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees[edit]

Medal count[edit]

Main article: 1924 Summer Olympics medal table

These are the nations that won medals the 1924 Games.

  *   Host nation (France)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States45272799
2 Finland14131037
3 France*13151038
4 Great Britain9131234
5 Italy83516
6 Switzerland781025
7 Norway52310
8 Sweden4131229
9 Netherlands41510
10 Belgium37313
11 Australia3126
12 Denmark2529
13 Hungary2349
14 Yugoslavia2002
15 Czechoslovakia14510
16 Argentina1326
17 Estonia1146
18 South Africa1113
19 Uruguay1001
20 Austria0314
 Canada0314
22 Poland0112
23 Haiti0011
 Japan0011
 New Zealand0011
 Portugal0011
 Romania0011
Totals (27 entries)126127125378

Legacy[edit]

The 1924 Summer Olympics were the second edition of the Summer Olympics to be held in Paris. 100 years later, the city will host the 2024 Summer Olympics, marking the third time the city hosts the games. One venue from the 1924 Games is slated to be used in 2024. The extensively renovated and downsized main stadium, known since 1928 as Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, will host field hockey.

Last surviving competitor[edit]

The last surviving competitor of the 1924 Summer Olympics was Croatian swimmer Ivo Pavelić, who died on 22 February 2011 at the age of 103; he competed for Yugoslavia, which Croatia was part of at the time. [31]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Factsheet - Opening Ceremony of the Games f the Olympiad" (PDF) (Press release). International Olympic Committee. 13 September 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Past Olympic host city election results". GamesBids. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  3. ^ Zarnowski, C. Frank (Summer 1992). "A Look at Olympic Costs" (PDF). Citius, Altius, Fortius. 1 (1): 16–32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. ^ The Official History of the Olympic Games and the IOC- Athens to Beijing, 1894–2008: David Miller (2008)
  5. ^ "Opening Ceremony" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. 2002. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2012.; "Sport athlétique", 14 mars 1891: "[...] dans une éloquente allocution il a souhaité que ce drapeau les conduise 'souvent à la victoire, à la lutte toujours'. Il a dit qu'il leur donnait pour devise ces trois mots qui sont le fondement et la raison d'être des sports athlétiques: citius, altius, fortius, 'plus vite, plus haut, plus fort'.", cited in Hoffmane, Simone La carrière du père Didon, Dominicain. 1840 - 1900, Doctoral thesis, Université de Paris IV - Sorbonne, 1985, p. 926; cf. Michaela Lochmann, Les fondements pédagogiques de la devise olympique „citius, altius, fortius"
  6. ^ M. Avé, Comité Olympique Français, pp. 601–612
  7. ^ "Demonstration sports : history at the Olympic Summer Games / The Olympic Studies Centre". Olympic World Library. 19 January 2024. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  8. ^ Barker, Philip (3 March 2015). "Did the first Youth Olympics really take place in Paris 100 years ago?". International Society of Olympic Historians – ISOH. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  9. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 628. (in French)
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 528-9. (in French)
  11. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 165-7. (in French)
  12. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 565-6. (in French)
  13. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 501-3. (in French)
  14. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 222-3. (in French)
  15. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 544-6, 549. (in French)
  16. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 584, 587. (in French)
  17. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 563-5, 568. (in French)
  18. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 489, 548-9.
  19. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 582-3, 587. (in French)
  20. ^ 1924 Olympic official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 438-40, 443-4, 499 (in French).
  21. ^ 1924 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 318, 320. (in French)
  22. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 50-5, 96-7, 121, 152, 216, 222, 238, 248, 265, 318, 339, 375, 499, 503, 536. (in French)
  23. ^ 1924 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 318, 321. (in French)
  24. ^ 1924 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 318, 322. (in French).
  25. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 182-3, 203-4, 255, 266, 400, 425, 507. (in French)
  26. ^ 1924 Olympics official report. Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine pp. 200-217. (in French)
  27. ^ Guttmann, Allen (1992). The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-252-01701-3.
  28. ^ M. Avé (ed.). Les Jeux de la VIIIe Olympiade Paris 1924 – Rapport Officiel (PDF) (in French). Paris: Librairie de France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2012. 39 seulement s'alignérent, ne représentant plus que 24 nations, la Chine, le Portugal et la Yougoslavie ayant déclaré forfait.
  29. ^ Georgiou, Mark (26 March 2012). "Everest Olympic medal pledge set to be honoured". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  30. ^ Douglas, Ed (19 May 2012). "My modest father never mentioned his Everest expedition Olympic gold". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  31. ^ "Ivo Pavelić". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1924 Summer Olympics.
Summer Olympics
Preceded by VIII Olympiad
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