Paris 1900 Olympic Games

Paris 1900 Olympic Games, athletic festival held in Paris that took place May 14–Oct. 28, 1900. The Paris Games were the second occurrence of the modern Olympic Games.

The second modern Olympic competition was relegated to a sideshow of the World Exhibition, which was being held in Paris in the summer of 1900. Pierre, baron de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics and president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), lost control of his hometown Games to the French government. The Games suffered from poor organization and marketing, with events conducted over a period of five months in venues that often were inadequate. The track-and-field events were held on a grass field that was uneven and often wet. Broken telephone poles were used to make hurdles, and hammer throwers occasionally found their efforts stuck in a tree. The swimming events were contested in the Seine River, whose strong current carried athletes to unrealistically fast times. There was such confusion about schedules that few spectators or journalists were present at the events. Officials and athletes often were unaware that they were participating in the Olympics. See Sidebar: Margaret Abbott: A Study Break.

Nevertheless, the Games were attended by nearly 1,000 athletes representing 24 countries. There was an infusion of new events, some of which were not officially part of the Olympic program or were later discontinued (e.g., golf, rugby, cricket, and croquet). Archery, football (soccer), rowing, and equestrian events were among those introduced at the 1900 Games. Women, competing in sailing, lawn tennis, and golf, participated in the Olympics for the first time even though women’s events were not officially approved by the IOC. The confusion surrounding the events led to similar confusion over who was the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal: Swiss yachtswoman Hélène de Pourtalés, tennis player Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain, and golfer Margaret Abbott of the United States could all lay claim to that honour.

Despite the problems of the Paris Games, the quality of athletic performance improved. Athletes from the United States, led by jumper Ray Ewry and sprinter Alvin Kraenzlein, again dominated the track-and-field competition. American athletes won 17 of the 23 track-and-field events, while French athletes earned more than 100 medals, by far the most for any nation at the 1900 Games.