The fittest, quickest, and most limber in the world will descend upon Paris—whether the locals like it or not—in three weeks, as the 2024 Summer Olympics officially kick off.
This isn’t the first time that the French capital city has played host to the Olympics. In 1900, the Games of the II Olympiad found a home in the City of Love as part of the World’s Fair.
But like many new ventures, the early iteration of the modern Games left some room for improvement. Events took place over the course of five months—as opposed to the 16 days it will take this year—and were conducted as part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. It was so laughably promoted that many athletes who competed were entirely unaware that they were even Olympians, thinking instead that they were competing in typical athletic tournaments, perhaps tied to the World’s Fair.
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One team seemed to have an edge on the rest, however. The winningest nation? France. Most gold medals? France. Most athletes? France. Countries that entered events where they were the only participants? You guessed it: France.
In the 124 years since the city last hosted the Olympics, Paris has seen tremendous change. It experienced two world wars. Picasso has come and gone. And the Eiffel Tower now has a light show.
In honor of the quickly approaching summer Olympiad, here are some reminders of what the Games looked like at the turn of the last century.
Women were allowed to participate in the Olympics for the first time in 1900, and Charlotte “Chattie” Cooper Sterry from the U.K. became the first ever female champion. She defeated Hélène Prévost in straight sets in the tennis singles.
The French dominated the fencing competition, winning 15 of 21 of the medals, two of which went to Albert Ayat, who won gold in both Masters and Amateurs-Masters épée.
Sailing made its first appearance at the second modern Olympic games, consisting of eight different “classes” (events).
The Belgians gave the French a run for their money in the equestrian arena, winning one more gold than the host nation. Yet the home team ultimately took home more medals (including Louis de Champsavin’s bronze for individual jumping).
Tug-of-war was genuinely once an Olympic event—it’s nothing short of a travesty that it is no longer. 1900 was the first year that the event was played. A mixed French team (five French and one Colombian) and mixed Scandinavian team (three Swedes and three Danes) vied for the title and the northmen won. Americans then competed against the mixed Scandinavian team and—apparently—were victorious in two pulls. But it was not officially considered part of the Olympics, so no history books for Team USA.
Paris’ first turn at hosting the Games is the only time the medals have been anything but round. Frédéric Vernon designed rectangular awards, one side depicting a winged figure holding laurel branches above the city of Paris and the other an athlete holding a laurel branch in front of the Athenian Acropolis. Medals were not awarded to winners in every event, many instead receiving cups or trophies.
Another Olympic first: Archery made its debut in Paris. And like with most events at this Olympics, France won (13 of 20).
USA took home gold and silver in men’s pole vaulting at these Olympics, but it wasn’t without its drama. The event took place on a Sunday, upsetting the Americans. Despite assurances that they could compete the following day and have their scores count, the French organizers eventually reneged and failed to alert the American delegation until after the event finished. Despite the turmoil, the only two Yankees who made it to the Sunday vaulting event—Iriving Baxter and Meredith Colket—took spots one and two on the podium.
Americans took a clean sweep in shot put at these Games, taking home gold, silver, and bronze in honor of the stars and stripes.
Polo was another to make its Olympics debut in 1900. Unlike some of its freshman contemporaries, however, this pony show wasn’t long for Olympic life and hasn’t been contested since the 1936 Berlin Games.
The first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal, golfer Margaret Abbott, did so at these Paris Games. But she would not have told you that, as she didn’t actually know. Like many of the events in 1900, golf was considered part of the Exposition Universelle and was only given classified Olympic status years later. As for Abbott, she holds one other impressive record, this time along with her mother, Mary. They are the only mother-daughter duo to ever compete in the same Olympic event at the same time.
Another event, another French victory. The host nation won both of the rugby union matches played at these Games to take home gold, though it lost to Great Britain in the cricket final—the only time cricket has featured at the Olympics (though it’s scheduled to return for Los Angeles 2028). France walked away from the Games with a total of 102 medals, 54 more than the second-place finisher, the United States.
