1924 Summer Olympics

Olympics infobox|1924|Summer
Name = Games of the VIII Olympiad
Host city = Paris, France

Size = 200px
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
Judge's Oath =
Olympic Torch =
Stadium = Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France. The home city of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern games, was selected over bids of Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and Rome, though Paris had also hosted the 1900 Games.

The cost of the Games of the VIII Olympiad was estimated to be 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.cite journal | last = Zarnowski | first = C. Frank | year = 1992 | month = Summer | title = A Look at Olympic Costs | journal = Citius, Altius, Fortius | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 16–32 | url = http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/JOH/JOHv1n1/JOHv1n1f.pdf | accessdate = 2007-03-24]

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. 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 the 100 m and 400 m events, respectively. Their stories are depicted in the 1981 movie "Chariots of Fire". In addition Douglas Lowe won the 800 m competition.
* The marathon distance was fixed at 42.195 km, from the distance run at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
* The 1924 Olympics were the first to use the standard 50 metre pool with marked lanes.
* 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 scored it in the now discontinued event of rope-climbing. Albert Seguin scored 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. This was originally used as a motto by the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques, a French sporting federation whose founding members included Pierre de Coubertin ["The Official History of the Olympic Games and the IOC- Athens to Beijing, 1894-2008": David Miller (2008)] .
* 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" ("Week of Winter Sports") 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)
* These were the first Games to feature an Olympic Village.

Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

ee also

*International Olympic Committee
*IOC country codes

References

External links

* [http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/index_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=1924 IOC Site on 1924 Summer Olympics]
* [http://cbs.sportsline.com/olympics/summer/history/1924 1924 medal winners] - from CBS
* [http://olympics.ballparks.com/1924Paris/ Picture of the Olympic Stadium of Colombes]
* [http://stades.mythiques.9online.fr/colombes.htm History of the Olympic Stadium] fr icon
* [http://geschiedenis.vpro.nl/themasites/mediaplayer/index.jsp?media=39438124&refernr=39442933&portalnr=4158511&hostname=geschiedenis&mediatype=video&portalid=geschiedenis Original footage] of the opening ceremony of the 1924 Summer Olympics (by Polygoon) nl icon