Who won the olympic games in 1896. The Legacy of Athens: History and Features of the First Modern Olympic Games
It is impossible to deny the fact that during the 19th century in some European countries there were competitions in various types sports are somehow dedicated to the ancient Olympic Games. However, the idea of reviving the Olympic Games and giving them international status belongs to Pierre de Coubertin.
As you know, he voiced his idea in 1889 and the decision was made at the International Athletic Congress ( in some sources erroneously olympic congress), which took place on June 16-23, 1894 at the Sorbonne with the participation of representatives of 11 countries (according to some sources - 12).
After the historic decision to revive the Olympic Games, the question arose of the time and place of the Games. Coubertin proposed to hold the first games in 1900 in Paris, which, in his opinion, would be the best thing, since they would coincide with the holding in the same year world exhibition in Paris. However, believing that interest in the Olympic Games would subside within six years, Congress decided to hold the first games in 1896.
Several members of the congress suggested London as the venue for the games, but after brief discussions with the delegate from Greece, D. Vikelas Coubertin, Athens was suggested. Greece was the ancestor of the games and therefore the congress unanimously agreed with Coubertin's proposal.
Organization of the I Olympiad
The news about the revival of the Olympic Games excited the world community. In Greece, with particular enthusiasm, they expected the start of the competition. However, serious difficulties that the organizers of the Games had to overcome soon became apparent. Holding competitions of such a high level required substantial financial costs, while an economic and political crisis was raging in the country.
The incumbent Greek Prime Minister Harilaos Trikoupis, who made various efforts to disrupt the Olympics, was not enthusiastic about the Games. On his orders, deputy Skuluzis, a member of the organizing committee, criticized the budget drawn up by Coubertin, said that it was much underestimated, convinced his colleagues of the unreasonableness of the enterprise, made a collective petition with them, motivating the refusal of the Games by the impossibility of obtaining the necessary amount of money. Coubertin had to hold many conversations and meetings with politicians, officials, businessmen, journalists in order to win them over to his side.
At the end of 1894, the predictions of skeptics came true - the organizing committee announced that the costs of the Games were actually three times higher than the estimated amount named before the start of construction. sports facilities. An opinion was expressed about the impossibility of holding the Games in Athens. Trikoupis gave the king an ultimatum - either he or the prince. The king was adamant, and on January 24, 1895, the prime minister resigned.
The Greek Prince Constantine, who was at the helm of the organizing committee of the Games, reorganized the committee, removing all opposition from it, carried out a series of measures to attract private capital, appointed Timoleon Philemon, the former mayor of Athens, as secretary general, and personally led all meetings of the committee until the start of the Games. Funds began to arrive in Athens from all over the country; the committee refused to accept money from abroad. Thanks to the generosity of the Greeks, the amount of the Olympic fund reached 332,756 drachmas. But that wasn't enough.
Then the proposal of the founder of the Greek Association of Postage Stamp Collectors Demetris Sakaraphos to issue the world's first Olympic stamps turned out to be very useful. The value of the stamps was supposed to exceed the postal rate, and Sakarafos offered to send the proceeds from the sale of this issue to the fund for the Games. The idea of Sakaraphos was picked up by the newspapers. The Greek Parliament approved a law on the issuance of the world's first Olympic stamps. The government allocated four hundred thousand drachmas for the sale of these stamps. Coubertin later recalled: "After the release of the Olympic stamps, the success of the organization of the Olympic Games was a foregone conclusion".
The sale of tickets and commemorative medals brought in another 200,000 drachmas. Finally, Prince Constantine wrote to Georgios Averoff, a Greek wealthy and patron of the arts from Alexandria, asking him to pay for the reconstruction of the Ancient Stadium, which was estimated at 580,000 drachmas. George agreed. The renovation ultimately cost him 920,000 drachmas. Stadium built by Lecurgus in the 4th century BC. e. shone again with Pentelik marble.
And yet, the obvious unpreparedness of Greece for serious events of this magnitude affected primarily sports results competitions that were low even by the estimates of that time. There was only one reason for this - the lack of properly equipped facilities.
The famous Panathenaic stadium was dressed in white marble, but its capacity was clearly insufficient. The sports arena did not withstand any criticism. Too narrow, with a slope along one edge, it turned out to be ill-suited for athletics competitions. The soft cinder track to the finish line had an increase, and the turns were too steep. Swimmers competed on the high seas, where the start and finish lines were marked with ropes stretched between the floats. In such conditions about high achievements didn't even have to dream. In addition, the unprecedented influx of tourists who rushed to Athens revealed the need to adapt the city economy to receive and serve them.
With regard to the accommodation of athletes, the concept Olympic village embodied much later, at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1932. At the very first games, the athletes themselves had to take care of their living.
And yet the games were destined to take place. The Organizing Committee sent invitations to many countries:
"On June 16, 1894, the International Sports Congress took place at the Paris Sorbonne, which decided to resume the Olympic Games and scheduled the 1st Games in Athens for 1896.
In accordance with this decision, which was received with great enthusiasm in Greece, the All-Athenian Committee, under the chairmanship of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Greece, sends you this invitation to the opening of the competition, which will take place from 6 to 15 April 1896 in Athens. At the same time, the conditions of the competition are sent.
This invitation is sent according to the authority received from the Paris-based International Olympic Committee. We hope for your prompt reply.Timoleon Philemon, Secretary General of the Hellenic Olympic Committee
And then the long-awaited day came - April 6, 1896. A cannon shot rang out, and sounds shot up Olympic anthem accompanied by the angelic singing of the female choir. The echoes of the music that brought fame to the opera composer Spiro Samara echoed far beyond the hills that frame the city. 80 thousand people gathered at the Marble Stadium. In deep silence, the words of the Greek king George I were heard: - I declare the first International Olympic Games in Athens open!
A new Olympic era has begun...
(From various sources)
Some interesting facts
I Olympic Games were held from 6 to 15 April according to the Gregorian calendar (modern style). At that time, Greece recognized the Julian calendar, according to which the games were held from March 25 to April 3.
It should be noted that the closing of the games was scheduled to take place on Tuesday April 14, however, due to rainy weather, the ceremony was held on Wednesday April 15 at 10.30 local time.
Unlike the current games, all the winners of the 1st Olympiad were awarded on the closing day of the games. The prizes were presented by the King of Greece George I himself. The winners of the competition were awarded a diploma (artist - Greek Nikolaos Gyzis), a silver medal, and a wreath of olive branch was placed on his head. The runners-up received a diploma, a bronze medal (designed by French sculptor J. Chaplin) and a laurel wreath. Bronze medalists in the current sense (3rd place) were not awarded (the tradition of determining three winners appeared on III Olympic Games ah in St. Louis). All athletes who took part in the games were also awarded commemorative medal (Designed by Greek artist Nikephoros Lytras).
Controversial issues from the history of the I Olympiad
A lot of controversy among sports historians raises the question of the number of participants in the first Olympic Games. In various sources, the numbers range from 145 to 311. This is mainly due to the fact that the names of some Olympians have not been preserved. There was no statistics system, the principle of national teams as well. Anyone can enter the Games. At the moment, the names of 176 participants are known. According to fragmentary information with a small error, it is possible to establish the participation of 246 athletes. The names of at least 41 competitors in gymnastics, 22 in shooting (army rifle) and seven in swimming have not been preserved.
There is no consensus on the participation of a particular country in the first Olympic Games. (see relevant sections). The International Olympic Committee refers to the fact that there were 14 such countries. Some sources indicate the participation of 12 countries (excluding Chile and Bulgaria), others - 15 countries (including Cyprus). Egypt is also sometimes either included or excluded from the list of participating countries, as there is no single position on the Greek athlete Dionysios Kastaglis, who lived in Egypt. At the moment, it is considered controversial participation Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Italy, Egypt, Turkey (Izmir).
Disputes around the participating countries, as well as the lack of clearly defined rules during the competition, give rise to disputes about medals. In statistics, in addition to correlating medals on a country (or national) basis, the question arises with those medals that were won in team competitions, where one team included representatives of several countries (nationalities). At the moment, there is a practice to count such medals in the treasury of the "Mixed team" (Mixed team). If necessary, such points are reflected in the relevant statistical sections of this encyclopedia. For example, gold and bronze medals won in the men's doubles tennis competition are currently credited to the "Mixed Team".
Time spending: April 6, 7, 9 and 10, 1896.
Number of disciplines: 12
Number of countries: 9
Number of athletes: 63
men: 63
women: 0
Completed sets of medals: 12
The youngest member: Georges de la Nézière (France, age: 17, 250 days)
Oldest member: Eugen Schmidt (Denmark, age: 34, 49 days)
Medal-winning countries: USA (17)
Athletes with medals: Bob Garrett USA (4)
In the afternoon of April 6, 1896, at the Marble Stadium, where about 80 thousand people gathered, a cannon shot hit and the solemn sounds of the Olympic anthem sounded. They echoed far beyond the hills that flank the city. In deep silence, the words of the Greek king George I were heard:
"I declare the first International Olympic Games in Athens open!"
As with other events in the 1896 Summer Olympics, women were not allowed to compete.
Athletics competitions became the most massive - 63 athletes from 9 countries took part in 12 events. The largest number of species - 9 - was won by representatives of the United States.
11 events were held at the Marble Stadium, which turned out to be inconvenient for runners. On ancient games the competitions were not held in a circle, but in a straight line (when running for more than 1 stage, the participants at the opposite end of the stadium turned back). During the reconstruction, the stadium was not expanded, so the circular track turned out to be elongated with very steep turns, which reduced the speed. In addition, the track was too soft.
In the 100m and 400m races, the American Tom Burke won, the only one of the participants to use a low start, which at first caused ridicule from the audience. The 800m and 1500m were won by the only Australian at the Games, Teddy Flack, and the 100m hurdles by American Thomas Curtis.
All jump events were won by the Americans - Ellery Clark (high and long jump), Wells Hoyt (pole vault) and James Connolly (triple jump). Triple jump competitions ended on April 6 before other events on the Olympic program, and Connolly became the first Olympic champion modernity.
In discus throwing, which has ancient roots, the Greeks counted on winning: international competitions it was not held before the 1896 Games, and the Greek athletes were preparing for several months in a training camp. However, having taken the lead in the last attempt, the American Robert Garrett won, who first saw how the discus was thrown a few days before the competition. He also won the shot put; taking in addition to this 2nd place in the high jump, he became the most titled athlete of the Games.
Another view took place outside the stadium - a race along the legendary route from the city of Marathon to Athens (40 km), called the marathon. It was won by the Greek Spiridon Louis, who became a national hero in his homeland.
Countries
In the competition for athletics 63 athletes from 9 countries participated.
The number of athletes in athletics is indicated in brackets, if it is known exactly:
Australia (1)
UK (5)
Hungary (3)
Germany (5)
Greece (29)
Denmark (3)
USA (10)
France (6)
Sweden (1)
- The I Olympic Games at the time of the event were called the I International Olympic Games.
- 241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the Olympics
- At the 1st Olympiad, women were not allowed to compete
- All winners of the 1st Olympiad were awarded on the closing day of the Games
- The winners of the competitions were crowned with an olive branch wreath.
The first Olympic Games were
competitions in 9 sports:
medal standings
1986 Athens Olympic medal
The winners of the competition (for the first place) were awarded medals made of silver, an olive branch and a diploma.The second place winners received bronze medals.
Those who took third places were not taken into account, and only starting from the III Olympic Games in St. Louis - 1904, the International Olympic Committee included them in the medal standings. 
silver medal champion Games of the I Olympiad in 1894 On the front side of the medal is depicted the head of Olympian Zeus, the father of the gods, holding the globe in his hand with the goddess of victory Nike standing on it with an olive branch in her hands. On the left is an inscription in Greek letters: Olympia. On the right is the name of the artist J. C. Chaplain (J. Chaplain).
On the reverse side of the Acropolis. At the top in a semicircle and at the bottom in two lines there is an inscription in Greek: International Olympic Games in Athens, 1896. 
Coin of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation "Olympic Age of Russia"
IOC founders Pierre de Coubertin and Alexey Dmitrievich Butovsky
In Paris, in the Great Hall of the Sorbonne, a commission has gathered to revive the Olympic Games. Baron Pierre de Coubertin became its general secretary. Then the International Olympic Committee- The IOC, which includes the most authoritative and independent citizens of different countries.
The first modern Olympic Games were originally planned to be held in the same stadium in Olympia where the Olympic Games were held. Ancient Greece. However, this required too much restoration work, and the first revived Olympic competitions took place in Athens, the capital of Greece.
On April 6, 1896, at the restored ancient stadium in Athens, the Greek King George declared the first modern Olympic Games open. The opening ceremony was attended by 60 thousand spectators.
The date of the ceremony was not chosen by chance - on this day, Easter Monday coincided in three directions of Christianity at once - in Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. This first opening ceremony of the Games laid two Olympic tradition- the opening of the Games by the head of state where the competitions are held, and the performance of the Olympic anthem. However, such indispensable attributes modern Games, as the parade of participating countries, the ceremony of lighting the Olympic flame and the recitation of the Olympic oath, was not; they were introduced later. There was no Olympic village, the invited athletes provided themselves with housing.
241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the Games of the I Olympiad: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary (at the time of the Games, Hungary was part of Austria-Hungary, but Hungarian athletes competed separately), Germany, Greece, Denmark, Italy , USA, France, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden.
Russian athletes were quite actively preparing for the Olympics, but due to lack of funds Russian team was not directed to the Games.
As in ancient times, only men took part in the competitions of the first modern Olympiad.
The program of the first Games included nine sports - classical wrestling, cycling, gymnastics, athletics, swimming, bullet shooting, tennis, weightlifting and fencing. 43 sets of awards were played.
According to ancient tradition, the Games began with athletics competitions.
Athletics competitions became the most massive - 63 athletes from 9 countries took part in 12 events. The largest number of species - 9 - was won by representatives of the United States.
The first Olympic champion was the American athlete James Connolly, who won the triple jump with a score of 13 meters 71 centimeters.
Wrestling competitions were held without uniform approved rules for wrestling, there were also no weight categories. The style in which the athletes competed was close to today's Greco-Roman, but it was allowed to grab an opponent by the legs. Only one set of medals was played among five athletes, and only two of them competed exclusively in wrestling - the rest took part in competitions in other disciplines.
Since there were no artificial pools in Athens, swimming competitions were held in an open bay near the city of Piraeus; the start and finish were marked with ropes attached to the floats. The competition aroused great interest - by the beginning of the first swim, about 40 thousand spectators had gathered on the shore. About 25 swimmers from six countries took part, most of them are naval officers and sailors of the Greek merchant fleet.
The medals were played in four types, all heats were held in "freestyle" - it was allowed to swim in any way, changing it along the distance. At that time, the most popular swimming methods were breaststroke, overarm (an improved way of swimming on the side) and "trend-style". At the insistence of the organizers of the Games, the program also included applied view swimming - 100 meters in sailor's clothing. Only Greek sailors participated in it.
In cycling, six sets of medals were played - five on the track and one on the road. Track races were held at the Neo Faliron velodrome specially built for the Games.
In the competition for gymnastics eight sets of awards were played. Competitions were held outdoors, at the Marble Stadium.
In shooting, five sets of awards were played - two in rifle shooting and three in pistol shooting.
Tennis competitions were held on the courts of the Athens Tennis Club. Two tournaments were held - in singles and doubles. At the 1896 Games, there was not yet a requirement that all team members represent one country, and some couples were international.
Weightlifting competitions were held without division into weight categories and included two disciplines: squeezing the ball bar with two hands and lifting the dumbbell with one hand.
In fencing, three sets of awards were played. Fencing became the only sport where professionals were also admitted: separate competitions were held among "maestro" - fencing teachers ("maestro" were also admitted to the 1900 Games, after which this practice ceased).
The culmination of the Olympic Games was the marathon. Unlike all subsequent Olympic competitions in marathon running, the length of the marathon distance at the Games of the I Olympiad was 40 kilometers. classic length marathon distance- 42 kilometers 195 meters. The Greek postman Spyridon Louis finished first with a result of 2 hours 58 minutes 50 seconds, who became a national hero after this success. In addition to the Olympic awards, he received a gold cup, established by the French academician Michel Breal, who insisted on the inclusion of marathon running in the Games program, a barrel of wine, a voucher for free meals throughout the year, free tailoring of dresses and use of hairdresser services throughout life, 10 centners of chocolate, 10 cows and 30 sheep.
June 23, 1894 The Congress on the revival of the Olympic Games was held at the Sorbonne (Paris, France). The main initiator of this event was the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin. The result of the Congress was not only an attempt to revive the Olympic Games, but also the creation of the IOC, the election of the President of the IOC (the Greek Dimitrios Vikelas became it), the choice of the first host city of the Olympics, which rightfully became the capital of Greece - Athens.
The opening ceremony of the Games of the first Olympiad took place on April 6, 1896. The date was not chosen by chance. This Sunday was Easter, and coincided immediately in three directions of Christianity- Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. In addition, April 6 is Greek Independence Day.
During the opening ceremony of the Games, the anthem of the Olympic Games, written by Spyros Samaras with lyrics by Kostis Palamas, was performed by a choir of 150 people. This is the first opening ceremony of the Games, which has preserved two Olympic traditions - the opening of the Games by the head of state, where the competitions are held and the performance of the Olympic anthem. The parade of the participating countries, the ceremony of lighting the Olympic flame and the recitation of the Olympic oath were absent.
The opening ceremony of the Games was attended by 80 thousand spectators, including almost all The Royal Family- King George I, his wife Olga and their children. King George I from the podium solemnly declared the First International Olympic Games in the city of Athens open.
As in ancient times, only men took part in the competitions of the first modern Olympiad. The organizers of the Games wanted in this way to preserve one of the most important traditions of ancient Greek Olympic competitions. The number of athletes was 311 people(230 of which were Greeks). Many authors argue that the figure of 311 was overstated, since the participants were counted by the number of entries in the sport, without taking into account the fact that the same athlete could compete in several disciplines.
Forty-three sets were played Olympic medals in 9 sports: classical wrestling, cycling, Athletics, swimming, artistic gymnastics (8), bullet shooting (5), tennis (2), weightlifting, fencing.
According to the IOC data, representatives of fourteen countries took part in the First Modern Games, including: Australia, Bulgaria, Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Izmir, Italy, Denmark, USA, Chile, France, Sweden and Switzerland.
Russian athletes were actively preparing for the Olympics, but the lack of material resources was the reason why the athletes could not fly. However, several athletes from Odessa managed to go to Greece, but they did not reach their destination due to lack of funds. Only Nikolai Ritter from Kiev managed to arrive in Athens, he applied for participation in competitions in wrestling and shooting sports, but then decided to withdraw from the competition for hitherto unknown reasons. Although there are several unofficial versions related to the loss of a lucky medallion, different competition rules, drinking alcohol before the competition.
The first Olympic champion of the Games of the I Olympiad was an American athlete who won gold medal in the triple jump. The victory in this sport was brought to the American by a jump of 13 meters 71 centimeters.
Marathon running became the main number of the competition program. The race started from the village of Marathon, and the finish line was in Athens. Along this route in 490 BC. the legendary Greek warrior Philippiadad fled, who brought the news of the victory of the Hellenes over the Persians (although immediately after that he fell to the ground and did not rise again).
The representative of Greece became the winner in this hardest form. After this success, he was recognized as a national hero and received many valuable prizes and gifts, such as: a goblet, a barrel of wine, a voucher for free food for a year, free tailoring of a dress and use of a hairdresser for a lifetime, 10 centners of chocolate, 10 cows and 30 sheep.
In athletics, athletes from the United States were in the lead. Thomas Burke won two gold medals in the 100m and 400m. Already at the First Games, American sprinters used the low start for the first time.
14 athletes took part in the competition of swimmers at a distance of 100 m freestyle, including 11 Greeks and 3 foreigners. The Hungarian athlete became the winner of the swimming competition. An interesting fact is that the swims at the Olympic Games were held on the high seas. The start and finish lines were marked with ropes attached to the floats. The weather was not the most favorable for swimming, as the water temperature was about 13°C. French cyclist Paul Massoy won the most gold medals in Athens with three wins on the track.
The hosts of the Games won the largest number of medals - 10 gold, 19 silver and 17 bronze, in second place in terms of the number of medals were the US Olympians who won 19 medals - 11 gold, 7 silver, 1 bronze, and in 3rd place was Germany Germany, with total 14 medals - 7 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze. At the same time, according to the modern unofficial team standings, the first place was won by American athletes, which testified to high level sports development in the United States.
The closing ceremony of the First Olympic Games was scheduled for April 14, but due to adverse weather conditions, it was postponed to the next day. On April 15, the Closing Ceremony of the competition began with the performance of the Olympic anthem and the declaration of an ode composed by Briton George Robertson, who won the third place in tennis. Then King George I presented the athletes with awards: silver medals for champions, bronze medals for runners-up, and olive branches. After the awards ceremony, the athletes went through the lap of honor to the anthem of the Games. At the very end of the ceremony, the King of Greece solemnly declared the 1st Olympic Games closed.
It should be noted that women were not allowed to participate in the Games, however, the representative of Greece, Stamata Revihti, wanted to participate in the marathon. She was refused, and then she ran the distance alone the day after the official race. At the end of the run, she ran around the Marble Stadium, as she was even forbidden to run into its territory, as the male participants did.
For the first and last time, the program of the Games included the following types of competitions: 10 km and 12 hours cycling races, a 2 km sprint race (later it was held for 1 km); gymnastic team competitions on the crossbar and uneven bars; swims at a distance of 500 m and 1200 m, a swim in sailor clothes. There were athletes who competed in several sports: Viggo Jensen, Carl Schumann and Lancheston Elliot competed in four different types sports, Holger Nielsen and Momchilo Tapavica in three, and another 12 athletes in two.
The youngest participant in the First Olympic Games (until today) was Dimitrios Lundras, bronze medalist in artistic gymnastics - he was 10 years and 218 days old. Most of the participating athletes were from European countries, 14 from the USA, and only one participant each from Australia and Chile.
