History

When Paris became the first city to host the Olympics for a second time, it was a major triumph for Baron Pierre de Coubertin. He had announced his retirement as president of the IOC, and the 1924 games gave him a chance to go out in glory by showing his native country that his idea had succeeded and also, incidentally, by showing the rest of the world that France could successfully host the Olympics, despite the debacle of 1900.

Despite the country's financial problems and a major flood in the spring before the Olympics, the 1924 games were very successful. In fact, 1924 is often considered the beginning of a truly modern Olympic era. International sports became big during the 1920s, mainly because of Wimbledon and the French Open in tennis, the British and French Opens in golf, and major cycling events in Europe. As a result, the international press followed the 1924 Olympics in much greater detail before. An estimated 1,000 journalists were on hand for part or all of the Olympics.

More than 3,000 athletes from 45 countries took part. And, in 1924, virtually every participating country had its own Olympic committee that conducted trials to select a national team, so most of the world's first-class athletes in every sport were in Paris. Women's swimming was greatly expanded and women's fencing was added to the program, paving the way for much greater future participation by female athletes.

The French were happy because their athletes outdid the Italians in cycling and fencing. Roger Ducret became a national hero by winning three golds and two silvers in fencing.

In track and field, the U. S. returned to something like its former dominance, winning 10 gold medals, including a tie for the pole vault gold between Lee Barnes and Glenn Graham. The Finns again won eight gold medals and dominated distance running, Paavo Nurmi won the 1500- and 5000-meter runs and the 10,000-meter cross-country, while teammate Ville Ritola won the 10,000-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The surprise winner of the games was Harold Abrahams of Great Britain in the 100-meter dash. His story was later fictionalized in the movie, "Chariots of Fire."

Johnny Weismuller, who later became Hollywood's best-known Tarzan, not only won three gold medals in swimming, he was a member of the American bronze medal water polo team. In all, the United States won all but three swimming and diving events, and they swept all medals in six of them.

Two American gold medalists in boxing later became world professional champions: Fidel LaBarba, who won the flyweight championship in 1925, and Jackie Fields, who captured the welterweight title in 1929.

In 1924, France also hosted a "Winter Sports Festival" at Chamonix that was sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, over Coubertin's opposition. The festival retroactively became the first Winter Olympics.

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