100 years ago: the 1924 Paris Olympics in photos

All eyes soon will be on the French capital for the world's biggest sporting event: the Olympics. And it's not the first time Paris has hosted this global event! As we approach the 2024 Olympics, let's travel back a hundred years and relive the Olympic Games held in Paris from July 5 to 27, 1924.

The opening ceremony took place on July 5, 1924, at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Colombes, near Paris. Géo André (center), a former rugby player and Olympic medalist in 1908 and 1920, was the flag bearer for the French team.

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This was the VIII Olympiad of the modern Olympic Games and the second held in France. Paris had previously hosted the Olympics in 1900 during the World's Fair, but that edition, which lasted nearly six months, was a complete fiasco. The French were determined to do much better in 1924.

A total of 44 nations participated in the 1924 Olympics, including the Indian delegation (pictured).

These 44 nations were represented by 3,089 athletes, of which only 135 were women. In this photo, you can see the women representing Great Britain.

Here is the start of the 3,000-meter team race. Finnish runner Ville Ritola (#329) is in the front row and would become one of the most decorated athletes of these Olympics, winning 6 medals (4 gold, 2 silver).

Among the flagship events of the Olympics is the pole vault! At Paris 1924, American Lee Barnes (pictured) won the gold medal.

This man is Johnny Weissmuller, the first superstar in the history of swimming. At the 1924 Olympics, he won the 100m freestyle, the 400m freestyle, the 4x200m freestyle relay, and earned bronze in water polo. Thanks to him, swimming gained significant popularity, with new pools opening all over France and the world. If his name sounds familiar, it's because he played Tarzan in movies during the 1930s and 1940s!

In 1924, the rowing event was held on the Seine. In this photo, you can see the team from Great Britain.

The American gymnasts formed a pyramid before their Olympic event. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't enough to win gold! Italy was crowned the Olympic champion in the team competition.

Nicknamed the "Flying Finn," Finland's Paavo Nurmi was one of the most decorated athletes of Paris 1924, with 5 gold medals (1,500m, 3,000m team, 5,000m, individual cross country, team cross country).

Here you can see the joy of Italian athlete Ugo Frigerio raising his arms in victory during the semi-final of the men's 10km event. A few days later, he won the gold medal in the final of this event.

This photo was taken during the high jump qualifiers. The winner of this event was American Harold Osborn.

In 1924, the final of the 400-meter hurdles was won by American athlete Morgan Taylor. Finnish runner Erik Vilen came in second.

Greco-Roman wrestling has been a part of the Olympic Games since the first modern edition, held in Athens in 1896.

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The marathon at the Paris 1924 Olympics took place under suffocating conditions! It was so hot that many participants had to drop out during the race.

In the end, it was Finnish runner Albin Stenroos who claimed the Olympic gold in the marathon event.

In this photo, American Robert LeGendre breaks the world record in the long jump before winning the bronze medal in the pentathlon.

With a leap of 7.44 meters (24.4 feet) in the long jump, American William DeHart Hubbard became the first Black athlete to win an individual Olympic event.

The water polo final at the Paris 1924 Olympics saw France facing Belgium. Ultimately, it was the French team that was crowned Olympic champions.

In this photo, you can see Frenchman Charles Rigoulot, who became the Olympic middleweight weightlifting champion at the 1924 Games.

That year, the cycling event was not won by one of these two Egyptian riders, Mohamed Madkour and Ahmed Salem-Hassan, competing in the individual road race, but by French cyclist Armand Blanchonnet.

At the Olympic Games, equestrian sports are represented by three disciplines: eventing, dressage, and show jumping (photo). In 1924, Swiss rider Alphonse Gemuseus won gold in individual show jumping. Sweden won the team event.

In this beautiful photo from 1924, we see American Elizabeth Becker diving during the high dive event, where she won the silver medal.

At the 1924 Olympics, the football final pitted Uruguay against Switzerland. The Uruguayans of La Celeste, one of the greatest football nations of the time, were crowned Olympic champions.

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