1924 Summer Olympics

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Games of the VIII Olympiad
Games of the VIII Olympiad

Host city Paris, France
Nations participating 44
Athletes participating 3,089
(2,954 men, 135 women)
Events 126 in 17 sports
Opening ceremony May 4, 1924
Closing ceremony July 27, 1924
Officially opened by President Gaston Doumergue
Athlete's Oath Georges André
Stadium Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir

The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were held in 1924 in Paris, France. Paris was chosen to host the Games over bids of Amsterdam, Berlin, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and Rome.

Contents

[edit] Highlights

  • The opening ceremony and several sporting events took place in the Olympic Stadium of Colombes (official name Stade olympique Yves-du-Manoir), which had a capacity of 45,000 in 1924.
  • This VIII Olympiad was the last one organised under the presidency of Pierre de Coubertin.
  • The "Flying Finns" dominated long distance running. Paavo Nurmi won the 1500 m and 5000 m (which were held with only an hour between them) and the cross country run (held in extremely hot weather). Ville Ritola won the 10000 m and the 3000 m steeplechase, while finishing second to Nurmi on the 5000 m and cross country. Albin Stenroos won the marathon, while the Finnish team (with Nurmi and Ritola) was victorious in the 3000 m and cross country team events.
  • British runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell won gold medals in the 100 and 400 m, respectively. Their stories are depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.
  • The marathon distance was fixed at 42.195 km, from the distance run at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
  • Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller won three gold medals in swimming and one bronze in water polo.
  • Fencer Roger Ducret of France won five medals, of which three were gold.
  • The Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stronger), was used for the first time.
  • Ireland was given formal recognition as an independent nation in the Olympic Movement in Paris in 1924 and it was at these games that Ireland made its first appearance in an Olympic Games as an independent nation.
  • Originally called Semaine des Sports d'Hiver ("International Winter Sports Week") and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, the sports competitions held in Chamonix between 25 January and 5 February 1924 were later designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic Winter Games. (1924 Winter Olympics)

[edit] Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

[edit] Demonstration sports

  • Basque pelota
  • Canoe racing
  • Jeu de paume
  • La canne
  • Savate

[edit] Participating nations

participants
Enlarge
participants

A total of 44 nations were represented at the 1924 Games. Ecuador, Haiti, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Philippines, Poland, and Uruguay attended the Olympic Games for the first time.

[edit] Medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games.

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States United States 45 27 27 99
2 Finland Finland 14 13 10 37
3 France France (host nation) 13 15 10 38
4 Great Britain Great Britain 9 13 12 34
5 Italy Italy 8 3 5 16
6 Switzerland Switzerland 7 8 10 25
7 Norway Norway 5 2 3 10
8 Sweden Sweden 4 13 12 29
9 Netherlands Netherlands 4 1 5 10
10 Belgium Belgium 3 7 3 13

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Olympic Games
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SportsMedal countsNOCs
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Summer Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 19061, 1908, 1912, (1916)2, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940)2, (1944)2, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020
Winter Games: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940)2, (1944)2, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
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