1924 - Paris

The 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, France May 4 - July 27, 1924 Mascot - none 44 countries, 3070 athletes (136 women) 17 sports (archery, hockey dropped), 126 events Opening - President Gaston Doumergue Torch lit by - none Candidates: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Prague, Rome Lord of the pool: before becoming famous as Tarzan in Hollywood, Johnny Weissmuller was more known for his unique swimming ability. He was the first man to swim the 100m freestyle in less than a minute, winning two consecutive 100m titles in 1924 and 1928. Paris - the first Olympic village France drew a veil under the poor impression left by its hosting of the 1900 Games when it staged the 1924 event between May 4 and July 27, a year before 61-year-old Pierre de Coubertin stood down as IOC president in favor of the Belgian count, Henri de Baillet-Latour. The choice of the French capital as host of the Games was not a smooth affair, however. The memory of the 1900 debacle prevented many IOC members from initially submitting their full support, opting for either Los Angeles or Amsterdam. A major occurrence did take place at these Games, however - the IOC's decision to host a Winter Olympic Games as of 1924. Chamonix was chosen as the first host city. After Chamonix, Paris offered 3,070 athletes from a record 44 countries purpose-built sites, including the first Olympic village, the 60,000 seat Colombes stadium in the suburbs of Paris, and the first purpose-built Olympic pool in Tourelles in the heart of the capital. With 99 medals (45 gold), America regained the lead at the top of the medals table. But the exploit of the Games came courtesy of Finland's Paavo Nurmi, winner of five gold medals in athletics. Other notable figures included the English sprinter Harold Abrahams and the American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller, who would later star as Tarzan in the cinema and become one of the biggest film stars in Hollywood. The host nation finished third in the medal tally with 38 (13 gold), behind Finland, who won 37 (14 gold). These Games were historic for a number of reasons. "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stronger) - the message which was created by Father Didon and adopted at the heart of olympism - was recited for the first time. Another innovation appeared during the opening ceremony - three flags were raised: the IOC flag, the flag of the host city, and finally the flag of the subsequent host city. Finally, the absence of huge crowds and certain difficulties - mostly money-related - in promoting the event could not deflect from the fact that the Paris 1924 Games were a sporting success. As an honor to the retiring IOC founder and president Pierre de Coubertin (and at his request) the 1924 Olympic Games were held in Paris. After much debate, winter sports were added to the Olympic Games this year. The winter events were held in January and February, creating a tradition that the winter events would be held a few months before the summer events (this tradition ended in 1992). Because of problems determining amateur status, tennis was taken off the list of events after the 1924 Olympics and were not readded until 1988. Paavo Nurmi, called a "superman," was back running and won gold in the 1,500-meter (set an Olympic record), 5,000-meter (set an Olympic record), and the 10,000-meter cross-country run. Nurmi was also a member of the winning Finnish teams on the 3,000-meter relay and the 10,000-meter relay. It was this Olympics that became fictionalized in the Academy Award winning film Chariots of Fire in 1981. In all, over 3,000 athletes participated in the events, representing 44 countries. PARIS 1924 GOLD MEDAL WINNERS 108 Men, 10 Women, 8 Open Events Women's Fencing introduced; 4 sports removed - Archery, Figure Skating, Hockey, Ice Hockey ATHLETICS, Men 100m: Harold Abrahams, Great Britain 200m: Jackson Scholz, USA 400m: Eric Liddell, Great Britain 800m: Douglas Lowe, Great Britain 1500m: Paavo Nurmi, Finland 5000m: Paavo Nurmi, Finland 10000m: Ville Ritola, Finland 4x100m: United States 4x400m: United States 110m Hurdles: Dan Kinsey, USA 400m Hurdles: Morgan Taylor, USA 10km Walk: Ugo Frigerio, Italy 3000m Steeplechase: Ville Ritola, Finland 3000m Team Race: Finland Individual Cross-Country: Paavo Nurmi, Finland Team Cross-Country: Finland Marathon: Albin Stenroos, Finland Pentathlon: Eero Lehtonen, Finland Decathlon: Harold Osborn, USA Discus Throw: Bud Houser, USA Hammer Throw: Fred Tootell, USA High Jump: Harold Osborn, USA Javelin Throw: Jonni Myyra, Finland Long Jump: William Hubbard, USA Pole Vault: Lee Barnes, USA Shot Put: Bud Houser, USA Triple Jump: Nick Winter, Australia BOXING 50.8kg: Fidel LaBarba, USA 53.5kg: William Smith, South Africa 57.2kg: John Fields, USA 61.2kg: Hans Nielsen, Denmark 66.7kg: Jean Delarge, Belgium 72.6kg: Harry Mallin, Great Britain 79.4kg: Harold Mitchell, Great Britain 79.4kg+: Otto von Porat, Norway CYCLING, Men Road Race: Armand Blanchonnet, France Team Road Race: France 2000m Tandem Sprint: Lucien Choury/Jean Cugnot, France 50km Track Race: Jacobus Willems, Netherlands Sprint: Lucien Michard, France Team Pursuit: Italy EQUESTRIAN, Open Ind. Dressage: Ernst Linder, Sweden Ind. Jumping: Alphonse Gemuseus, Switzerland Ind. 3-day Event: Adolph van der Voort van Zijp, Netherlands Team Jumping: Sweden Team 3-day Event: Netherlands FENCING M\Individual Foil: Roger Ducret, France M\Team Foil: France M\Individual Epee: Charles Delporte, Belgium M\Team Epee: France M\Individual Sabre: Sandor Posta, HUN M\Team Sabre: Italy W\Individual Foil: Sandor Posta, Hungary FOOTBALL Team, men: Uruguay GYMNASTICS, Men Horizontal Bar: Leon Stukelj, Yugoslavia Parallel Bars: August Guttinger, Switzerland Pommel Horse: Josef Wilhelm, Switzerland Rings: Francesco Martino, Italy Rope Climbing: Bedrich Supcik, Czechoslovakia Sidehorse Vault: Albert Seguin, France Vault: Frank Kriz, USA Individual All-Around: Leon Stukelj, Yugoslavia Team: Italy MODERN PENTATHLON Individual: Bo Lindman, Sweden POLO Team, men: Argentina ROWING, Men Single Sculls: Jack Beresford Jr., Great Britain Double Sculls: John Kelly Sr./Paul Costello, USA Coxed Pair: Switzerland Coxless Pair: Antonie Beijnen/Wilhelm Rosingh, NED Coxed Four: Switzerland Coxless Four: Great Britain Eight: United States RUGBY Team, men: United States SAILING X\6m Class: Norway X\8m Class: Norway M\FINN: Leon Huybrechts, Belgium SHOOTING, Men 100m Run/Deer Single Shot: John Boles, USA 100m Run/Deer Single Shot Team: Norway 100m Run/Deer Double Shot: Ole Andreas Lilloe-Olsen, NOR 100m Run/Deer Double Shot Team: Norway 25m Rapid Fire Pistol: Henry Bailey, USA 400+600+800m Free Rifle Team: United States 50m Small-Bore Rifle Prone: Pierre Coquelin de Lisle, France 600m Free Rifle: Morris Fisher, USA Trap: Gyula Halasy, Hungary Trap Team: United States SWIMMING M\100m Freestyle: Johnny Weissmuller, USA M\400m Freestyle: Johnny Weissmuller, USA M\1500m Freestyle: Andrew Charlton, Australia M\100m Backstroke: Warren Paoa Kealoha, USA M\200m Breaststroke: Robert Skelton, USA M\4x200m Freestyle Relay: United States M\3m Springboard: Albert White, USA M\10m Platform: Albert White, USA M\Plain High Diving: Richmond Eve, Australia M\WATER POLO: France W\100m Freestyle: Ethel Lackie, USA W\400m Freestyle: Martha Norelius, USA W\100m Backstroke: Sybil Bauer, USA W\200m Breaststroke: Lucy Morton, Great Britain W\4x100m Freestyle Relay: United States W\3m Springboard: Elizabeth Becker, USA W\10m Platform: Caroline Smith, USA TENNIS M/Singles: Vincent Richards, USA M/Doubles: Vincent Richards & Frank Hunter, USA W/Singles: Helen Wills, USA W/Doubles: Hazel Wightman & Helen Wills, USA Mixed Doubles: Hazel Wightman & Norris Williams, USA WEIGHTLIFTING 60kg: Pierino Gabetti, Italy 67.5kg: Edmond Decottignies, France 75kg: Carlo Galimberti, Italy 82.5kg: Charles Rigoulot, France 82.5kg+: Giuseppe Tonani, Italy WRESTLING, FREESTYLE 56kg: Kustaa Pihlajamaki, Finland 61kg: Robin Reed, USA 66kg: Russell John Vis, USA 72kg: Hermann Gehri, Switzerland 79kg: Fritz Hagmann, Switzerland 87kg: John Franklin Spellmann, USA 87kg+: Harry Dwight Steel, USA WRESTLING, GRECO-ROMAN 58kg: Eduard Putsep, Estonia 62kg: Kaarlo Anttila, Finland 67.5kg: Oskar David Friman, Finland 75kg: Edvard Westerlund, Finland 82.5kg: Clarl Oscar Westergen, Sweden 82.5kg+: Henri Deglane, France