The 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closing ceremonies were held.
The 1900 Summer Olympics were held as part of the 1900 World's Fair, during which many cycling events were contested. The IOC website currently affirms a total of 3 medal events, after accepting, as it appears, the recommendation of Olympic historian Bill Mallon regarding events that should be considered "Olympic". These additional events include the men's points race. Thus, three cycling events are considered Olympic events. These three competitions were held between 9 September and 16 September 1900. The cycling part of the World's Fair included 250 competitors, 160 of them French. In the sprint and 25 km events, 72 competitors, all men, from seven nations competed.
At the 1900 Summer Olympics, five equestrian events were contested. The competition was held from 29 May to 2 June at the Place de Breteuil in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, as part of the Exposition Universelle in Paris. The equestrian events were organised by the Société Hippique Française and titled as the Concours Hippique International, with competitors from eight countries competing in three jumping and two driving events.
At the 1900 Summer Olympics one gymnastics event for men was contested. The competition was held on Sunday, 29 July 1900, and on Monday, 30 July 1900. There were 135 competitors from 8 nations. The top 18 places were taken by French gymnasts, of which there were more than 100. The event was won by Gustave Sandras, with Noël Bas finishing second and Lucien Démanet third. The highest-placing foreign gymnast was Jules Ducret of Switzerland, in a tie for 19th place.
At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, many shooting events were featured within the concurrent 1900 Exposition Universelle, but only eight events currently are considered as "Olympic" by IOC. Before July 2021 the International Olympic Committee has never decided which events were "Olympic" and which were not. The competitions were held from 3 August to 5 August and took place at the military sporting complex in Satory and at Boulogne-Billancourt. According to Olympic historian Bill Mallon, one of these nine shooting events was an event for professionals with prize money and therefore does not meet inclusion criteria for 1900 Olympic Games events.
Four tennis events were contested at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. These were played at the Cercle des Sports de l'Île de Puteaux. All four events were won by Great Britain. 26 tennis players from 4 nations competed, with over half from the host nation of France.
The men's 2500 metres steeplechase was a track & field athletics event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was the first time that a steeplechase race was held at the Olympics. The race was held on July 15, 1900, on a 500-metre track. Six athletes from six nations competed in the shorter of the two steeplechase events. The 4000 metre steeplechase race was held one day later. The event was won by George Orton of Canada, the nation's first gold medal in athletics. Sidney Robinson of Great Britain took silver, while Jean Chastanié of France earned bronze.
The men's triple jump was a track & field athletics event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 16, 1900. 13 athletes from six nations competed. The event was won by Myer Prinstein of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's triple jump. Prinstein became the first, and through the 2016 Games, only, person to have won both the long jump and the triple jump. James Brendan Connolly took second, making him the first man to medal twice in the triple jump. Lewis Sheldon finished third, completing what would later be known as a medal sweep.
Belgium competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. It was the first appearance of the European nation. Belgium was represented in France by 78 athletes, all of them male, who competed in 11 disciplines. They comprised 95 entries in 28 events.
Austria competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Austrian and Hungarian results at early Olympics are generally kept separate despite the union of the two nations as Austria-Hungary at the time.
Argentina at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France was the nation's debut appearance out of two editions of the Summer Olympic Games. Argentina did not participate in the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics. Francisco Camet has the distinction of being Argentina's debut Olympian in the nation's debut Olympic sporting event, men's épée, placing fifth overall.
The men's 20 metre rapid fire pistol was one of the competitions in the 1900 Summer Olympics shooting events in Paris. It was held from August 1 to August 4, 1900. Six athletes from 2 nations competed. This event was contested for prize money by professionals. It is no longer included in the International Olympic Committee website's database of Olympic medal events. Five of the six shooters were from France; the host nation swept the medals as Maurice Larrouy won with Léon Moreaux second and Eugène Balme third.
The men's individual competition with free revolver event was one of the competitions in the Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics events in Paris. It was held on 1 August 1900. 20 shooters from 4 nations competed, with five shooters per nation. Medals were given for individual high scores, and the scores of the five shooters were summed to give a team score for the team event. The target designed for this competition is still being used today. The event was won by Karl Röderer of Switzerland, with his countryman Konrad Stäheli taking bronze. Between them was Achille Paroche of France with silver.
The 1900 Olympic Croquet one-ball singles tournament was held over three rounds on 28 June 1900. Nine athletes from France competed. The event was won by Gaston Aumoitte, with Georges Johin taking second and Chrétien Waydelich third.
The 1900 Olympic Croquet two-ball singles tournament was held on 4 and 11 July 1900. Eight athletes from France competed. The event was won by Chrétien Waydelich, the only person to earn two singles medals in Olympic croquet. Silver went to Maurice Vignerot and bronze to Jacques Sautereau.
The 1900 Olympic Croquet doubles tournament has only one double from France known. It was held on 22 July 1900. The rest of the results are unknown. Gaston Aumoitte and Georges Johin, who had taken first and second in the singles one-ball event, were the winning pair. Very little is known about the event, including the competition format.
The four-in-hand "mail coach" driving was an equestrian event at the 1900 Summer Olympics. There were 31 entrants listed for the event; all 28 of them are known by name. The event was won by Georges Nagelmackers of Belgium. Silver went to Léon Thome and bronze to Jean de Neuflize, both of France.
The men's 300 metre free rifle prone event was one of five free rifle events of the competitions in the Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics events in Paris. It was held from August 3 to August 5, 1900. 30 shooters from 6 nations competed, with five shooters per team. Medals were given for individual high scores in each of the three positions, overall individual high scores, and the scores of the five shooters were summed to give a team score. Achille Paroche of France won the gold medal in the prone event, with Anders Peter Nielsen of Denmark taking silver and Ole Østmo bronze.
The 50 metre team free pistol event was one of the competitions in the Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics events in Paris. It was held on 1 August 1900. 20 shooters from 4 nations competed, with five shooters per team. Medals were given for individual high scores, and the scores of the five shooters were summed to give a team score. The winning team was from Switzerland; silver went to France and the Netherlands took bronze.
The men's 300 metre team free rifle event was one of five free rifle events of the competitions in the Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics events in Paris. It was held from August 3 to August 5, 1900. 30 shooters from 6 nations competed, with five shooters per team. Medals were given for individual high scores in each of the three positions, overall individual high scores, and the scores of the five shooters were summed to give a team score. The top scoring team was Switzerland, led by individual champion Emil Kellenberger. Silver went to Norway, while France took bronze.
