The1896 Summer Olympics (Greek:Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896,romanized: Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as theGames of the I Olympiad (Greek:Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας,romanized: Agónes tis 1is Olympiádas) and commonly known asAthens 1896 (Greek:Αθήνα 1896), were the first internationalOlympic Games held inmodern history. Organised by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC), which had been created by French aristocratPierre de Coubertin, the event was held inAthens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.
Fourteen nations (according to the IOC, though the number is subject to interpretation) and 241 athletes (all males; this number is also disputed) took part in the games.[2] Participants were all European or living in Europe, with the exception of theUnited States team, and over 65% of the competing athletes were Greek. Winners were given asilver medal, while runners-up received acopper medal. Retroactively, the IOC has converted these togold and silver, respectively, and awardedbronze medals to third-placed athletes. Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals. On April 6, 1896, AmericanJames Connolly became the first Olympic medalist in more than 1,500 years, competing in thetriple jump.[2] TheUnited States won the most gold medals, 11, while host nation Greece won the most medals overall, 47. The highlight for the Greeks was themarathon victory by their compatriotSpyridon Louis. The most successful competitor wasGermanwrestler andgymnastCarl Schuhmann, who won four events.
Athens had been unanimously chosen to stage the inaugural modern Games during a congress organised by Coubertin inParis on 23 June 1894 (during which the IOC was also created) because Greece was the birthplace of theAncient Olympic Games. The main venue was thePanathenaic Stadium, where athletics and wrestling took place; other venues included theNeo Phaliron Velodrome forcycling and theZappeion forfencing. The opening ceremony was held in the Panathenaic Stadium on 6 April, during which most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organising committee,Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the Games. Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed anOlympic Hymn, composed bySpyridon Samaras and written byKostis Palamas.
The 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. The Panathenaic Stadium overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event.[3]: 153 After the Games, Coubertin and the IOC were petitioned by several prominent figures, including Greece'sKing George and some of the American competitors in Athens, to hold all the following Games in Athens. However, the1900 Summer Olympics were already planned for Paris, and, with the exception of theIntercalated Games of 1906, the Olympics did not return to Greece until the2004 Summer Olympics, 108 years later.
During the 19th century, several small-scale sports festivals across Europe were named after theAncient Olympic Games. The 1870Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium, which had been refurbished for the occasion, had an audience of 30,000 people.[3]: 43–44 Pierre de Coubertin, a Frenchpedagogue and historian, adoptedWilliam Penny Brookes' idea to establish a multi-national andmulti-sport event—the ancient games only allowed male athletes of Greek origin to participate.[4][5] In 1890, Coubertin wrote an article inLa Revue Athlétique, which espoused the importance ofMuch Wenlock, a rural market town in the English county ofShropshire. It was here that, in October 1850, the local physician William Penny Brookes founded theWenlock Olympian Games, a festival of sports and recreations that included athletics and team sports, such ascricket,football andquoits.[6] Coubertin also took inspiration from the earlier Greek games organised under the name ofOlympics by businessman and philanthropistEvangelis Zappas in 1859, 1870 and 1875.[7] The 1896 Athens Games were funded by the legacies ofEvangelis Zappas and his cousinKonstantinos Zappas[3]: 117 [8][9] and byGeorge Averoff[3]: 128 who had been specifically requested by the Greek government, throughcrown prince Constantine, to sponsor the second refurbishment of thePanathenaic Stadium. The Greek government did this despite the cost of refurbishing the stadium in marble already being funded in full by Evangelis Zappas forty years earlier.[3]: 14
With deep feeling towards Baron de Coubertin's courteous petition, I send him and the members of the Congress, with my sincere thanks, my best wishes for the revival of the Olympic Games.
On 18 June 1894, Coubertin organised a congress at theSorbonne, Paris, to present his plans to representatives of sports societies from 11 countries. Following his proposal's acceptance by the congress, a date for the first modern Olympic Games needed to be chosen. Coubertin suggested that the Games be held concurrently with the 1900Universal Exposition of Paris. Concerned that a six-year waiting period might lessen public interest, congress members opted instead to hold the inaugural Games in 1896. With a date established, members of the congress turned their attention to the selection of a host city. It remains a mystery how Athens was finally chosen to host the inaugural Games. In the following years, both Coubertin andDemetrius Vikelas would offer recollections of the selection process that contradicted the official minutes of the congress. Most accounts hold that several congressmen first proposed London as the location, but Coubertin dissented. After a brief discussion with Vikelas, who represented Greece, Coubertin suggested Athens. Vikelas made the Athens proposal official on 23 June, and since Greece had been the original home of the Olympics, the congress unanimously approved the decision. Vikelas was then elected the first president of the newly establishedInternational Olympic Committee (IOC).[3]: 100–105
News that the Olympic Games would return to Greece was well received by the Greek public, media, androyal family. According to Coubertin, "the Crown Prince Constantine learned with great pleasure that the Games will be inaugurated in Athens." Coubertin went on to confirm that, "the King and the Crown Prince will confer their patronage on the holding of these games." Constantine later conferred more than that; he eagerly assumed the presidency of the 1896 organising committee.[3]: 108
However, the country had financial troubles and was in political turmoil. The job ofprime minister alternated betweenCharilaos Trikoupis andTheodoros Deligiannis frequently during the last years of the 19th century. Because of this financial and political instability, both prime minister Trikoupis andStephanos Dragoumis, the president of the Zappas Olympic Committee, which had attempted to organise a series of national Olympiads, believed that Greece could not host the event.[3]: 111–118 In late 1894, the organising committee underStephanos Skouloudis presented a report that the cost of the Games would be three times higher than originally estimated by Coubertin. They concluded the Games could not be held and offered their resignation. The total cost of the Games was 3,740,000 golddrachmas.[10]
Demetrius Vikelas, the first president of the International Olympic Committee, was credited with the successful organisation of the 1896 Games
With the prospect of reviving the Olympic games very much in doubt, Coubertin and Vikelas commenced a campaign to keep the Olympic movement alive. Their efforts culminated on 7 January 1895 when Vikelas announced that crown prince Constantine would assume the presidency of the organising committee. His first responsibility was to raise the funds necessary to host the Games. He relied on the patriotism of the Greek people to motivate them to provide the required finances.[3]: 118 [11] Constantine's enthusiasm sparked a wave of contributions from the Greek public. This grassroots effort raised 330,000 drachmas. A special set of postage stamps was commissioned; the sale of which raised 400,000 drachmas. Ticket sales added 200,000 drachmas. At the request of Constantine, businessmanGeorge Averoff agreed to pay for the restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium. Averoff would donate 920,000 drachmas[3]: 128 to this project.[12] As a tribute to his generosity, a statue of Averoff was constructed and unveiled on 5 April 1896 outside the stadium. It stands there to this day.[13]
Some of the athletes would take part in the Games because they happened to be in Athens at the time the Games were held, either on holiday or for work (e.g., some of the British competitors worked for the Britishembassy). A designatedOlympic Village for the athletes did not appear until the1932 Summer Olympics. Consequently, the athletes had to provide their own lodging.
The first regulation voted on by the new IOC in 1894 was to allow only amateur athletes to participate in the Olympic Games.[14] The various contests were thus held under amateur regulations with the exception of fencing matches.[15] The rules and regulations were not uniform, so the Organising Committee had to choose among the codes of the various national athletic associations. The jury, the referees and the game director bore the same names as in antiquity (Ephor,Helanodic andAlitarc).Prince George acted as final referee; according to Coubertin, "his presence gave weight and authority to the decisions of the ephors".[16]
Women were not entitled to compete at the 1896 Summer Olympics, because de Coubertin felt that their inclusion would be "impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and incorrect".[17]
The Bay of Zea is aseaport andmarina in the Athens area;[19] it was used as the swimming venue because the organizers of the Games wanted to avoid spending money on constructing a special purpose swimming venue.[20]
Four of the 1896 venues were reused as competition venues for the 2004 Games. Thevelodrome would be renovated into afootball stadium in 1964 and was known asKaraiskakis Stadium.[21] This venue was renovated in 2003 for use as afootball venue for the 2004 Games.[22]: 324 During the 2004 Games, Panathinaiko Stadium served as host forarchery competitions and was the finish line for theathletic marathon event.[22]: 237, 242 The city of Marathon itself served as the starting point for both marathon events during the 2004 Games.[22]: 242 The Zappeion served as the first home of the organizing committee (ATHOC) for the 2004 Games from 1998 to 1999, and served as the main communications center during those Games.[23][22]: 20
Note: Silver medals were awarded to the winners, with copper medals given to the runners-up, and no prizes were given to those who came in 3rd place in any events.
OnEaster Monday 6 April (25 March according to theJulian calendar used in Greece until 1923),[27] the games of the First Olympiad were officially opened.[28] The Panathenaic Stadium was filled with an estimated 80,000 spectators, including KingGeorge I of Greece, his wifeOlga, and their sons. Most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organising committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the Games with the words (inGreek):[29]
"I declare the opening of the first international Olympic Games in Athens. Long live the Nation. Long live the Greek people."
Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed anOlympic Hymn, composed bySpyridon Samaras, with words by poetKostis Palamas. Thereafter, a variety of musical offerings provided the backgrounds to the Opening Ceremonies until1960, since which time the Samaras/Palamas composition has become the official Olympic Anthem (decision taken by the IOC Session in 1958). Other elements of current Olympic opening ceremonies were initiated later: theOlympic flame was first lit in1928, the first athletes' oath was sworn at the1920 Summer Olympics, and the first officials' oath was taken at the1972 Olympic Games.[29]
At the 1894 Sorbonne Congress, a large roster of sports was suggested for the program in Athens.
The first official announcements regarding the sporting events to be held featured sports such as football and cricket,[30][full citation needed] but these plans were not finalised, and these sports did not make the final program for the Games.[31]Rowing andsailing events were also scheduled but were cancelled on the planned days of competition: sailing due to a lack of special boats in Greece and no foreign entries, and rowing due to poor weather.[32]: 99–100, 109
As a result, the 1896 Summer Olympics programme featured 9 sports encompassing 10 disciplines and 43 events. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.
The athletics events had the most international field of any of the sports. The major highlight was themarathon, held for the first time in international competition.Spyridon Louis, a previously unrecognised water carrier, won the event to become the only Greek athletics champion and a national hero. Although Greece had been favoured to win thediscus and theshot put, the best Greek athletes finished just behind the AmericanRobert Garrett in both events.[3]: 153
Noworld records were set, as few top international competitors had elected to compete. In addition, the curves of the track were very tight, making fast times in the running events virtually impossible. Despite this,Thomas Burke, of the United States, won the100-meter race in 12.0 seconds and the400-meter race in 54.2 seconds. Burke was the only one who used the "crouch start" (putting his knee on soil), confusing the jury. Eventually, he was allowed to start from this "uncomfortable position".[33]
FrenchmenLéon Flameng(left) andPaul Masson won four cycling eventsFencerLeonidas Pyrgos became the first Greek modern Olympic champion by winning the masters foil competitionThe German individual gymnastics champions: Schuhmann,Flatow, andWeingärtner
Chile claims one athlete,Luis Subercaseaux, who competed for the nation at the 1896 Summer Olympics. This makes Chile one of the 14 nations to appear at the inaugural Summer Olympic Games. Subercaseaux's results are not listed in the official report, though that report typically includes only winners and Subercaseaux won no medals.[34][unreliable source] Some sources[specify] claim that he was entered to compete in the 100m, 400m and 800m events but did not start.[35] An appraisal of a famous photo of series 2 of the 100 meters sprint, performed by facial recognition experts of theChilean forensic police, concluded that Subercaseaux was one of the participants.[36]
The day after the official marathon,Stamata Revithi ran the 40-kilometer course in 5 hours 30 minutes, finishing outsidePanathinaiko Stadium.[37] However, some of the authors, who believe that "Melpomene" and Revithi are the same person, attribute to the latter the more favorable time of4+1⁄2 hours.[38] She was denied entry into the official race as the 1896 Olympicsexcluded women from competition.[39]
In the track events, the best cyclist was FrenchmanPaul Masson, who won the one laptime trial, the sprint event, and the 10,000 meters. In the 100 kilometres event, Masson entered as a pacemaker for his compatriotLéon Flameng. Flameng won the event, after a fall, and after stopping to wait for his Greek opponentGeorgios Kolettis to fix a mechanical problem. The Austrian fencerAdolf Schmal won the 12-hour race, which was completed by only two cyclists, while the road race event was won byAristidis Konstantinidis.[40]
The fencing events were held in theZappeion, which, built with moneyEvangelis Zappas had given to revive the ancient Olympic Games, had never seen any athletic contests before.[3]: 148 Unlike other sports (in which only amateurs were allowed to take part at the Olympics), professionals were authorised to compete in fencing, though in a separate event. These professionals were considered gentlemen athletes, just like the amateurs.[16]
Four events were scheduled, but theépée event was cancelled for unknown reasons. Thefoil event was won by a Frenchman,Eugène-Henri Gravelotte, who beat his countryman,Henri Callot, in the final.[3]: 148 The other two events, thesabre and themasters foil, were won by Greek fencers.Leonidas Pyrgos, who won the latter event, became the first Greek Olympic champion in the modern era.[citation needed]
The gymnastics competition was carried out on the infield of the Panathinaiko Stadium. Germany sent an 11-man team, which won five of the eight events, including both team events: in the team event on thehorizontal bar, the German team was the only entry.[citation needed]
A regatta of sailing boats was on the program of the Games of the First Olympiad for 31 March 1896 (Julian calendar). However this event had to be given up.
The regatta was therefore postponed to three o'clock in the afternoon. In the afternoon however the storm was still on the increase, some of the lighter embarkations were thrown on the shore by the violence of the waves, and the elements continued to rage with such fury that every idea of a boatrace had to be given up.
The German rower, Berthold Küttner, wrote several articles about the 1896 Games that were published in his Berlin rowing club's magazine in 1936 and reprinted in theJournal of Olympic History in 2012. He stated that he and Adolf Jäger had lined up for the start of thedouble sculls event. He further wrote that "The double scull would be the first to start because the wind had become much stronger. On a fishing boat we took our double scull to the starting line. We already had problems getting into the double scull because of the swells. From our opponents no one had appeared – although both Greeks and Italians had applied. Because a longer wait for them seemed pointless, the starter told us to sail without competition.
"After the official salutation and presentation in the Court Loge, where many of the attendees could not hide a laugh about my clothing, Prince George, President of the Committee, praised me for our appearance at the racing track and presented me with the winners medal in bronze. At the same time he also gave me one forBundesbruder Jäger. The commemorative medal, which each of the participants received, had already been presented to us earlier."
He went on to state that the single sculls and race for naval boats were postponed until the following day, then ultimately cancelled when the weather worsened. TheInternational Olympic Committee does not recognize any of this.[41]
Held at a range atKallithea, the shooting competition consisted of five events—two using a rifle and three with thepistol. The first event,the military rifle, was won byPantelis Karasevdas, the only competitor to hit the target with all of his shots. The second event, formilitary pistols, was dominated by two American brothers:John andSumner Paine. They became the first siblings to finish first and second in the same event. To avoid embarrassing their hosts, the brothers decided that only one of them would compete in the next pistol event, thefree pistol. Sumner Paine won that event, thereby becoming the first relative of an Olympic champion to become Olympic champion himself.[42]
The Paine brothers did not compete in the25-meter pistol event, as the event judges determined that their weapons were not of the required calibre. In their absence,Ioannis Phrangoudis won. The final event, thefree rifle, began on the same day. However, the event could not be completed due to darkness and was finalised the next morning, whenGeorgios Orphanidis was crowned the champion.[42]
ForAlfréd Hajós of Hungary, this meant he could only compete in two of the events, as they were held too close together, which made it impossible for him to adequately recuperate. Nevertheless, he won the two events in which he swam, the 100 and 1200 meterfreestyle. Hajós later became one of only two Olympians to win a medal in both the athletic andartistic competitions, when he won a silver medal for architecture in 1924. The 500-meter freestyle was won by Austrian swimmerPaul Neumann, who defeated his opponents by more than a minute and a half.
Although tennis was already a major sport by the end of the 19th century, none of the top players turned up for the tournament in Athens. The competition was held at the courts of theAthens Lawn Tennis Club, and the infield of the velodrome used for the cycling events.John Pius Boland, who won the event, had been entered in the competition by a fellow-student of his at Oxford; the Greek, Konstantinos Manos. As a member of the Athens Lawn Tennis sub-committee, Manos had been trying, with the assistance of Boland, to recruit competitors for the Athens Games from among the sporting circles of Oxford University. In the first round, Boland defeatedFriedrich Traun, a promising tennis player fromHamburg, who had been eliminated in the 100-meter sprint competition. Boland and Traun decided to team up for the doubles event, in which they reached the final and defeated their Greek opponents after losing the first set.[43]
Launceston Elliot, winner of the one-armed weightlifting event, was popular with the Greek audience, who found him very handsome
The sport of weightlifting was still young in 1896, and the rules differed from those in use today. Competitions were held outdoors, in the infield of themain stadium, and there were no weight limits. The first event was held in a style now known as the "clean and jerk". Two competitors stood out: BritonLaunceston Elliot andViggo Jensen of Denmark. Both of them lifted the same weight, but the jury, with Prince George as the chairman, ruled that Jensen had done so in a better style. The British delegation, unfamiliar with this tie-breaking rule, lodged a protest. The lifters were eventually allowed to make further attempts, but neither lifter improved, and Jensen was declared the champion.[44]
Elliot got his revenge in theone hand lift event, which was held immediately after the two-handed one. Jensen had been slightly injured during his last two-handed attempt and was no match for Elliot, who won the competition easily. The Greek audience was charmed by the British victor, whom they considered very attractive. A curious incident occurred during the weightlifting event: a servant was ordered to remove the weights, which appeared to be a difficult task for him. Prince George came to his assistance; he picked up the weight and threw it a considerable distance with ease, to the delight of the crowd.[44]
No weight classes existed for the wrestling competition, held in the Panathenaic Stadium, which meant that there would only be one winner among competitors of all sizes. The rules used were similar to modernGreco-Roman wrestling, although there was no time limit, and not all leg holds were forbidden (in contrast to current rules).
Apart from the two Greek contestants, all the competitors had previously been active in other sports. Weightlifting champion Launceston Elliot faced gymnastics championCarl Schuhmann. The latter won and advanced into the final, where he metGeorgios Tsitas, who had previously defeatedStephanos Christopoulos. Darkness forced the final match to be suspended after 40 minutes; it was continued the following day, when Schuhmann needed only fifteen minutes to finish the bout.[45]
A silver medal was awarded to the winner of each event. The current system of gold, silver, and bronze medals was not implemented until the1906 Olympic Games.
On the morning of Sunday 12 April (or 31 March, according to the Julian calendar then used in Greece), King George organised a banquet for officials and athletes (even though some competitions had not yet been held). During his speech, he made clear that, as far as he was concerned, the Olympics should be held in Athens permanently. The official closing ceremony was held the following Wednesday after being postponed from Tuesday due to rain. Again, the royal family attended the ceremony, which was opened by thenational anthem of Greece and an ode composed inancient Greek byGeorge S. Robertson, a British athlete and scholar.[28]: 50
Afterwards, the king awarded prizes to the winners. Unlike today, the first-place winners received a silver medal, anolive branch and a diploma, while runners-up received a copper medal, alaurel branch and a diploma.[46][47] Third place winners did not receive a prize.
Some winners also received additional prizes, such as Spyridon Louis, who received a cup fromMichel Bréal, a friend of Coubertin, who had conceived the marathon event. Louis then led the medalists on a lap of honour around the stadium, while the Olympic Hymn was played again. The King then formally announced that the first Olympiad was at an end and left the Stadium, while the band played the Greek national hymn and the crowd cheered.[48]
Like the Greek king, many others supported the idea of holding the next Games in Athens; most of the American competitors signed a letter to the Crown Prince expressing this wish. Coubertin, however, was heavily opposed to this idea, as he envisioned international rotation as one of the cornerstones of the modern Olympics. According to his wish, the next Games were held in Paris, although they would be somewhat overshadowed by theconcurrent Universal Exposition.[3]: 156
Participating countriesNumber of athletes from each country
The concept of national teams was not a major part of the Olympic movement until theIntercalated Games 10 years later, though many sources list the nationality of competitors in 1896 and give medal counts. There are significant conflicts with regard to which nations competed. The International Olympic Committee gives a figure of 14, but does not list them.[2] The following 14 are most likely the ones recognised by the IOC. Olympedia lists 13, excluding Chile;[49] other sources list 12, excluding Chile and Bulgaria; others list 13, including those two but excluding Italy. Egypt is also sometimes included because of the participation ofDimitrios Kasdaglis, a Greek national who resided in Alexandria after living in Great Britain for years. Belgium and Russia had entered the names of competitors but withdrew.
Participating Nations
Australia(1) –Prior to 1901 Australia was not a unified nation but six separately administered British colonies, but the results ofEdwin Flack are typically given with him listed as Australian. This is a modern convention, because theAustralian Olympic Committee was only founded in 1920. The concept of "national teams" chosen byNational Olympic Committees did not exist at this point in time.
Bulgaria(1) – TheBulgarian Olympic Committee claims that gymnastCharles Champaud was competing as a Bulgarian.[50] Champaud was a Swiss national living in Bulgaria. Mallon and de Wael both list Champaud as Swiss.[51] Olympedia listed him as a member of the Bulgarian team of Swiss nationality.[52]
Chile(1) – The Chilean Olympic Committee claims to have had one athlete,Luis Subercaseaux, compete in the 100, 400, and 800-meter races in the athletics programme.[36][53][54][55][56] If so, he was 13 years old at the Olympics. No further details are given, and no mention is made of Subercaseaux in de Wael, or the Official Report. Olympedia claims that he was entered to compete in the 100m, 400m and 800m events but did not start.[35]
Great Britain(10) Tennis championJohn Boland became a prominentIrish nationalist; his daughterBridget later claimed that he had objected when theUnion Jack was raised to mark his doubles triumph, pointing out that Ireland had its owngreen harp flag, following which the organisers apologised and agreed to prepare an Irish flag.[57][58] While historian Kevin MacCarthy is sceptical of this story, by 1906, Boland was crediting his medals to Ireland.[57] On the IOC website, his singles gold is credited to Great Britain,[59] although a photograph captioned his nationality as "IRL/GBR".[60]
Greece(169) – Greek results typically include the results of competitors from Cyprus,Smyrna and Egypt.[61] Some sources give Cypriot results separately, though most countAnastasios Andreou, a Greek-Cypriot and the only athlete from Cyprus, as Greek (Cyprus was a protectorate of the United Kingdom at the time). Kasdaglis, an athlete of Greek origins living inAlexandria, Egypt, is listed by the IOC as Greek during both his competition in thesingles tennis competition and thedoubles tennis competition along with his teammate, the Greek athleteDemetrios Petrokokkinos.[62]
Italy(1) – The most prominent Italian involved with the games,Carlo Airoldi, was deemed a professional and excluded from competition. However, the shooterGiuseppe Rivabella was also Italian and did compete.[63][64]
Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals, in addition to two medals won bymixed teams (teams made up of athletes from multiple nations). The IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to the three best placed athletes in each event to comport with more recent traditions. In this regard, five of the bronze medalists at the Games are unknown: two in swimming and three in gymnastics.
The United States won the most gold medals (11), while host nation Greece won the most medals overall (47), as well as the most silver (18) and bronze (19) medals, finishing with one fewer gold medal than the United States, though having 155 athletes more than the U.S.[66]
To sort this table by nation, total medal count, or any other column, click on the icon next to the column title.
^ The number of countries, given by the International Olympic Committee, is open to interpretation and could be between 10 and 15. There are numerous reasons for the disparity: national teams hardly existed at the time, with most athletes representing themselves or their clubs, and countries were not always as well-defined as they are today. The number of countries here reflects the number used by most modern sources, including the International Olympic Committee website. Seethe relevant section for further details.
^ The number of competitors given according to the International Olympic Committee. Mallon & Widlund give a total of 245 athletes, while De Wael gives 246. The identities of 179 athletes at the Games are known.
^Some scholars allege that during the Sorbonne congress Coubertin was led by tactical considerations, and used the amateur requirement only as a bait in order to realize his actual aim—namely the reintroduction of the Olympic Games—more quickly (Lennartz–Wassong [2004]), 20.
^Professionalism vs amateurism was one of the dominant themes of the 19th century regarding athletics. In Greece the amateurism of athletes debate was taken a step further to encompass the question of the participation of the lower classes in the Games. In 1870, during the Zappian Olympic Games, Philippos Ioannou, a classical scholar and professor, criticised the games, and attacked the ideal of amateurism. His contention was that they were a parody, because people from the working class had taken part in the games. Ioannou suggested that only young people from the upper class should be accepted in the following Olympiad –"Professionals and Amateurs, Foundation of the Hellenic World".www.fhw.gr. Retrieved9 February 2023.
^Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Swimming (Men): 100-Meter Freestyle". InThe Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 897–8.
^Martin & Gynn,Running through the Ages, 22; Tarasouleas,Stamata Revithi, "Alias Melpomeni", 55; Tarasouleas,The Female Spiridon Loues, 12.
^E.g. Miragaya,The Female Olympian, 314, who citesDeFrantz, A. (1997). "The Changing Role of Women in the Olympic Games".37th International Session for Young Participants – IOA Report. Ancient Olympia: International Olympic Academy.
^Officially, she was rejected because the deadline for participation had expired; however, as Olympic historians David Martin and Roger Gynn point out, the real problem was her gender. Greek participants had been chosen through two trial national races, which had taken place on 10[O.S. 27 February and 24 March[O.S. 12 March. Another athlete,Carlo Airoldi, was also not allowed to run because he was a professional (Martin–Gynn,Running through the Ages, 12, 21).
^AboutOlympics."1896 Athens Olympics". Archived fromthe original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved21 February 2011.Fourteen nations were represented – Australia, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, USA, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland
Bijkerk, Anthony T. (2004). "Pierre de Coubertin". In John E. Findling, Kimberly D. Pelle (ed.).Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement. Greenwood Publishing Group.ISBN0-313-32278-3.OCLC52418065.
Lennartz, Karl, ed. (1996).Die olympischen Spiele 1896 in Athen: Erläuterungen zum Neudruck des Offiziellen Berichtes. Kassel: Agon.
MacAloon, John J (1982).This Great Symbol: Pierre de Coubertin and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004).Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books.ISBN1-86197-342-X.OCLC186174794.
Wallechinsky, David (2000).The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics. Woodstock: Overlook Press.ISBN1-58567-033-2.OCLC43561597.
_pictogram.svg)
_pictogram.svg)
_pictogram.svg)
