1924 Summer Olympics

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
Closing ceremony	July 27
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. The home town of Pierre de Coubertin which had already hosted the 1900 Games was chosen over bids of Amsterdam, Berlin, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and Rome. The cost of the Games of the VIII Olympiad were estimated at 10,000,000₣. With total receipts at 5,496,610₣, the Olympics resulted in a hefty loss despite crowds that reached 60,000 people at a time.^[1]

Highlights

• The opening ceremony and several sporting events took place in the Olympic Stadium of Colombes 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 the long distance running whilst the British and Americans dominated the shorter events. 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 won the 100 m and Eric Liddell won the gold medal in the and 400 m, respectively. Their stories are depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire. In addition Douglas Lowe won the 800 m
• 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.
• In gymnastics 24 men score a perfect 10.Twenty-three of them score it in the now discontinued event of rope-climbing. Albert Seguin scores a 10 here and also a perfect 10 on side vault.
• 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)
• This edition was the first to build an Olympic Village.

Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Demonstration sports

• Basque pelota
• Canoeing
• Jeu de paume
• La canne
• Savate

Participating nations

participants

A total of 44 nations were represented at the 1924 Games. Germany was still absent, having not been invited by the Organizing Committee.^[2] Ecuador, Haiti, Ireland, Lithuania, the Philippines and Uruguay attended the Olympic Games for the first time. Latvia and Poland attended the Summer Olympic Games for the first time (appeared earlier at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix).

Medal count

Main article: 1924 Summer Olympics medal count

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

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

See also

• International Olympic Committee
• IOC country codes

References

1. ^ Zarnowski, C. Frank (Summer 1992). "A Look at Olympic Costs". Citius, Altius, Fortius 1 (1): 16-32. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
2. ^ Guttmann, Allen (1992). The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, p. 38. ISBN 0-252-01701-3. 

External links

• IOC Site on 1924 Summer Olympics
• 1924 medal winners - from CBS
• Picture of the Olympic Stadium of Colombes
• History of the Olympic Stadium (in French)