Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics
| Athletics at the Games of the I Olympiad | |
| Venue | Panathinaiko Stadium |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6–10 April 1896 |
| Competitors | 63 from 9 nations |
| 1900» | |
| Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
| Track events | |
| 100 m | men |
| 400 m | men |
| 800 m | men |
| 1500 m | men |
| 110 m hurdles | men |
| Road events | |
| Marathon | men |
| Field events | |
| Long jump | men |
| Triple jump | men |
| High jump | men |
| Pole vault | men |
| Shot put | men |
| Discus throw | men |
At the 1896 Summer Olympics, there were 12 athletics events.[1] 25 medals were given. 12 silver medals were given to winners. 13 bronze medals were given for 2nd place. No medals were given for 3rd. After the olympics 37 modern medals were given out (12 gold, 13 silver, 12 bronze).[2] All of the events except the marathon were in the Panathinaiko Stadium. This stadium was also the finish for the marathon.[2]
Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896[a][2]
There were 63 athletes from nine nations competed. All of these athletes were men.[2] Athletics had the biggest number of countries out of any sport in the 1896 Olympics.
Schedule
| P | Preliminary round | Q | Qualification | H | Heats | ½ | Semi-finals | F | Final |
| Men's | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Apr 6 | Apr 7 | Apr 8 | Apr 9 | Apr 10 | |||||
| Event | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 100 m | H | F | ||||||||
| 400 m | H | F | ||||||||
| 800 m | H | F | ||||||||
| 1500 m | F | |||||||||
| 110 m | H | F | ||||||||
| Marathon | F | |||||||||
| High jump | F | |||||||||
| Pole vault | F | |||||||||
| Long jump | F | |||||||||
| Triple jump | F | |||||||||
| Shot put | F | |||||||||
| Discus throw | F | |||||||||
Medal summary
These medals were given after the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee. At the time, winners were given a silver medal and athletes in 2nd place were given bronze medals. There was no award for 3rd place.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres |
Thomas Burke United States |
12.0 | Fritz Hofmann Germany |
12.2 | Francis Lane United States |
12.6 |
| Alajos Szokolyi Hungary | ||||||
| 400 metres |
Thomas Burke United States |
56.2 OR | Herbert Jamison United States |
58.2 | Charles Gmelin Great Britain |
60.7 |
| 800 metres |
Edwin Flack Australia |
2:11.0 | Nándor Dáni Hungary |
2:11.8 | Dimitrios Golemis Greece |
2:28.0 |
| 1500 metres |
Edwin Flack Australia |
4:33.2 OR | Arthur Blake United States |
4:33.6 | Albin Lermusiaux France |
4:36.0 |
| 110 metre hurdles |
Thomas Curtis United States |
17.6 OR | Grantley Goulding Great Britain |
17.7 | none awarded | |
| Marathon |
Spiridon Louis Greece |
2:58:50 OR | Charilaos Vasilakos Greece |
3:06:03 | Gyula Kellner Hungary |
3:06:35 |
| High jump |
Ellery Clark United States |
1.81 m OR | James Connolly United States |
1.65 m | none awarded | |
| Robert Garrett United States | ||||||
| Pole vault |
William Hoyt United States |
3.30 m OR | Albert Tyler United States |
3.20 m | Evangelos Damaskos Greece |
2.60 m |
| Ioannis Theodoropoulos Greece | ||||||
| Long jump |
Ellery Clark United States |
6.35 m OR | Robert Garrett United States |
6.00 m | James Connolly United States |
5.84 m |
| Triple jump |
James Connolly United States |
13.71 m OR | Alexandre Tuffère France |
12.70 m | Ioannis Persakis Greece |
12.52 m |
| Shot put |
Robert Garrett United States |
11.22 m OR | Miltiadis Gouskos Greece |
11.03 m | Georgios Papasideris Greece |
10.36 m |
| Discus throw |
Robert Garrett United States |
29.15 m OR | Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos Greece |
28.95 m | Sotirios Versis Greece |
27.78 m |
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) | 9 | 6 | 2 | 17 |
| 2 | Australia (AUS) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Greece (GRE) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 7 | Germany (GER) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (7 entries) | 12 | 13 | 12 | 37 | |
Nations
63 athletes from 9 nations were at the Athens Games.[2] National Olympic Committees had not been fully made yet, so it is not sure what countries competed. For example, Olympedia says there was 1 athlete from Cyprus and 2 athletes from Smyrna. However, Cyprus and Smyrna both competed for the Greek team.[2] Chile also says they had a competitor.[3] However, some sources say that Luis Subercaseaux did not start his race.[1][2]
- Australia (1)
- Denmark (3)
- France (5)
- Germany (5)
- Great Britain (5)
- Greece (29)
- Hungary (3)
- Sweden (1)
- United States (10)
Notes
- ↑ These dates are from the Gregorian Calendar
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Athens 1896 Athletics Results". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ↑ Comité Olímpico de Chile. "La Presencia de Chile en los Juegos Olimpicos" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
- International Olympic Committee results database
- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at [1] Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine)
- Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at [2] Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine)
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.