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PHOTOS: What did the Olympics look like 100 years ago?
By Christopher Adams,
2024-07-26
(KXAN) — As excitement builds around the 2024 Paris Olympics , we’re taking a look back in time, 100 years ago to the 1924 Olympics, which were also held in Paris.
The 1924 Summer Olympics were the seventh in modern history, and the second hosted by Paris. The city also played host to the 1900 Olympics.
How many athletes competed?
A total of 3,089 athletes took part in the 1924 Olympics, from 44 competing teams — up from 29 four years prior. The International Olympic Committee said, “The Paris Games signaled the acceptance of the Games as a major event with widespread appeal.” This was the first time an Olympic Village was created to house the athletes.
Here are some photos of the Opening Ceremony. You may notice some athletes doing the Olympic salute, raising their arm with the hand stretched out. The salute also appeared on the official poster for the 1924 Olympics. It has since fallen out of use because of the resemblance to the Nazi salute.
High angle view of the Opening Ceremony at the 1924 Summer Olympics, at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, the Olympic stadium for the 1924 Summer Olympics, in the Colombes suburb of Paris, France, July 1924. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
An interior view of the opening ceremony at Colombes Stadium during the Paris Olympics. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
An Austrian athlete carrying the ‘Autriche’ placard leads the flagbearer and the Austrian team, gives the Olympic salute during the opening ceremony of the 1924 Summer Olympics, held at the Stade Olympique de Colombes, in the Colombes suburb of Paris, France, 5th July 1924. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
General view as Georges Andre leads the Olympic Oath during the Opening Ceremony of the VIII Olympic Games on May 4, 1924 in Paris, France. (Photo by Getty Images)
Géo André takes the Olympic oath during the Opening Ceremony on July 5, 1924. (Photo by Archives CNOSF/AFP via Getty Images)
A parade opens the Olympic Games in Paris on July 12, 1924. (Bettman/Getty Images)
British athletes marching during the Opening Ceremony on July 5, 1924. (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images)
The women of the Great Britain team at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, Paris, 4th May 1924. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Poster for Olympic Games in Paris in 1924 by Jean Droit (Photo by Apic/Getty Images)
The first ever Olympic Village, built for the 1924 games in Paris. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Athletes sitting in front of a cabin in the Olympic Village at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The 1924 Games were the first Games to have an Olympic Village, with a number of cabins built near the stadium to accommodate visiting athletes. (Photo by Topical Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Who won the most medals?
The United States was far and away at the top of the leaderboard, with 99 medals in total, including 45 gold medals. Host France was second, with 41 total medals, including 14 gold.
Of the 44 competing teams, 31 won at least one medal, and 21 teams won at least one gold medal.
What events were featured?
The 1924 Olympics featured 126 medal events in total. The sports featured were athletics, boxing, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, football (soccer), gymnastics, modern pentathlon, polo, rowing, rugby, sailing, shooting, swimming, tennis, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling.
Lawn tennis at the 1924 Olympics. Hazel Wightman and Helen Wills (United States) seen during their match in which they beat Kathleen McKane and Phyllis Covell (Great Britain). (Courtesy Allsport Hulton/Archive via Getty Images)
Elizabeth Becker won the silver medal in highboard diving at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. At the same Games she won the gold for springboard diving. (Bettman/Getty Images)
Competitors having just passed the Rue Paul Bert during the men’s cross country event at the 1924 Summer Olympics, around Colombes near Paris, France, July 1924. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
(Original Caption) Pierre Lewden, the phenomenal French jumper, who in spite of his small stature dogged the trail of Osborn of the US in the high jumps until Osborn passed the 1 meter and 95 centimeter mark. Lewden is shown making the 1.95 meter height with graceful ease. (Bettman/Getty Images)
American athlete Lee Barnes clears the bar, watched by officials, as he completes his winning vault in the final of the men’s pole vault event of the 1924 Summer Olympics, held at the Stade Olympique de Colombes, in the Colombes suburb of Paris, France, 10th July 1924. Barnes cleared 3.95 metres to win gold in the event. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Britain’s Miss Morton winning gold in the 200m breast stroke at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images)
Paavo Nurmi (L, #323) of Finland prepares to take the lead at the finish of the 3,000 meter Olympic race. (Bettman/Getty Images)
The United States rowing crew in single, doubles, four oar are starting out in trials on the Seine. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
British athlete Henry Stallard leads from American athlete Bill Richardson (visible beside Stallard’s left shoulder) and Swiss athlete Paul Martin (partially obscured behind Stallard) during the first semifinal of the men’s 800 metres event at the 1924 Summer Olympics, at the Stade Olympique de Colombes, in the Colombes suburb of Paris, France, 7th July 1924. Stallard finished the race in first place, Richardson in second, and Martin third. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Photo taken on July 17, 1924 shows the water polo tournament between France and Belgium during the 1924 Summer Olympics at the Piscine des Tourelles in Paris. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
US athlete Harold Marion Osborn sets a new Olympic record of 6 feet 6 inches in the high jump at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, France. (Photo by FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Ariel view of the Olympic Stadium during the opening football match of the 1924 summer Olympic games in Paris, France. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
The Great Britain team (comprising British rowers Reginald Bare, Cecil Chandler, Horace Debenham, Peter Dulley, Ian Fairbairn, Alexander Long, Harold Morphy, and Charles Rew, with their coxswain, British cox and magician John Godwin) during the men’s eights rowing event of the 1924 Summer Olympics, on the river Seine in Paris, France, July 1924. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
DeHart Hubbard wins the long jump at the 1924 Paris Olympics. The performance is remarkable for he made his great jump while suffering from excruciating pain from a pulled muscle. (Bettman/Getty Images)
Finnish athlete Ville Ritola leads from American athlete Marvin Rick, as French athlete Paul Bontemps clears a jump during the men’s 3000 metres steeplechase event of the 1924 Summer Olympics, held at the Stade Olympique de Colombes, in the Colombes suburb of Paris, France, 9th July 1924. Ritola won gold in the event, with Bontemps taking bronze and Rick finishing in fourth place. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
American Caroline Smith winning high diving competition at Tourelles Pool in the 1924 Paris Olympics. (Bettman/Getty Images)
Preliminary rounds in the water polo competition taking place in the pool at Tourelles during the Paris Olympics, 16th July 1924. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Of those, polo is the only one not still featured in the Olympics, having last been an event in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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