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The Evolution of the Early Olympics

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The Evolution of the Early Olympics International Society of Olympic Historians - ISOH Contributing to understanding the history of the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games http://isoh.org The Evolution of the Early Olympics The Evolution of the Early Olympics By Robin Voigt Baron Pierre de Coubertin, an influential French aristocrat and historian, proposed a revival of the Ancient Olympic Games at a congress that he organised in Paris in 1894. The congress resulted in the formation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Athens was chosen to stage the first of the Modern Olympics in 1896. Pierre de Coubertin had been keen for the inaugural Games to be held in Paris but as Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympics, Athens was perceived to be the more appropriate choice to stage the first Games of the modern era. They became known as the Games of the First Olympiad and were declared a success. However the subsequent two Games after this were fraught with controversy and confusion. Both the Games of the Second Olympiad in Paris in 1900 and the Games of the Third Olympiad in St Louis, Missouri in 1904 were held in conjunction with the World’s Fair, and the sporting events were simply treated as a side-show to the main fair. They were disorganised, the venues were poor 1 / 15 and there were no officially agreed rules and regulations. In fact the 1900 and 1904 Games almost caused the downfall of the Modern Olympic movement and it took the interim Games of 1906 held in Athens and the London Games of 1908 to get them back on track. After the success of the inaugural Modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 there were calls for the Games to be staged there permanently. However Pierre de Coubertin rejected this believing that they should be organised in different countries every four years in order to raise awareness of the Olympic movement and to ensure that they were truly international and more nations could compete. It was finally agreed to hold the second of the Modern Olympic Games in de Coubertin’s home city of Paris but the staging of the 1900 Games became embroiled in political controversy. The French Government took control, a new committee was formed to take over from the IOC to oversee all sporting events connected to the Exposition and de Coubertin ended up playing only a minor administrative role. The 1900 Summer Games in Paris took place from 14th May to 28th October and were held alongside the Exposition Universelle International which was staged to celebrate the achievements of the past century - the diesel engine (running on peanut oil), escalators, talking films and the telegraphone (the first magnetic audio recorder) were first displayed there. The fair was spread over 216 hectares and an estimated 50 million people visited during the seven months that it ran. Countries from around the world were invited by France to take part to showcase their culture and achievements. The buildings were huge and ornate; many featured the newly emerging style of Art Nouveau in their architecture. After the fair was over, many of the buildings were demolished and everything that could be salvaged and recycled was sold. One of the most impressive exhibits was the Palais de l’Optique which housed the world’s largest refracting telescope at that time. Designed to follow the movement of the stars, it was 120 metres long, with a movable 2-metre mirror which projected onto a 144 m² screen. Grouped around the main gallery were rooms which showed all that was known in the field of optics. One room contained a diorama of the underwater world; another featured truly amazing paintings which depicted the terrestrial arrival of man on earth. There was also a ‘moon’-themed restaurant. But the centerpiece of the fair was the Palais de l`Électricité which supplied the energy for the entire exhibition using machinery driven by steam-driven pumps. It was the most spectacular building at the fair and quickly became the most popular for visitors to see. The building was massive and opulent, with archways and staircases. Dubbed the Temple of Fire it was fitted with five thousand multicoloured incandescent lamps and eight massive lamps. It was 2 / 15 surrounded by a vast grassed area which featured a lake and illuminated fountains at the entrance. The top of the building was decorated with a chariot led by hippogryphs – a mythical creature, part eagle and part horse - firing brilliantly coloured flames. However the extravagance and excitement of the World’s Fair overshadowed the sporting events which suffered from poor marketing and organisation. The sports competitions ran from 1st July to 23rd November and 1224 participants from 31 countries took part. There were 1201 men and 23 women but many of the athletes taking part weren’t even aware they were competing in the Olympic Games. De Coubertin later commented that he should not have stepped aside and that it was a miracle that the Olympic Movement survived. Although the 1900 Paris Olympics were largely a complete shambles, the next Games in St Louis in 1904 were even more disastrous, rated as possibly the worst in Olympic history. The 1904 Summer Games were the first Olympics held in the United States and there were many problems and disputes during the running of these Games. It was the first time the Games were held outside of Europe. Only 15 countries competed as in those days the journey to the United States from other parts of the world was lengthy and expensive. The Games at that time weren’t a competition between nations but a contest between individual amateur sports people. Many top athletes were not able to take part as participants had to find their own way there and pay for travel and accommodation expenses themselves. There were 650 participants, nearly all were men; only six were women - all of whom competed in archery. In the main the competitors were Americans, an estimated 525 were from the host country, with Canadians making up the next largest group. Less than half the events had competitors from other countries. It was very much an American college competition with the athletes competing for their college teams rather than for the USA itself. The 1904 Games had originally been scheduled to take place in Chicago, but were relocated to St Louis, Missouri with President Roosevelt’s approval as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was being held there at the same time. Also known as the St Louis World's Fair it was an international event to mark the centenary of the Louisiana Purchase and showcase the world’s newest technologies which included the motor car, airplanes and electricity. As the Exposition was on such an immense scale, the planned 1903 opening was delayed until 30th April 1904 to allow for the building to be completed and participation of more foreign countries. It was even bigger than the Paris World’s Fair, spread over 1272 acres, with more than 1500 ornate buildings, and connected by 120 km of roads and walkways. Exhibits were staged by 62 nations, as well as the United States government and 43 US states. Industries and businesses were promoted and scientific, educational and cultural displays were offered, along with variety of entertainment. Nearly 20 million people attended the Exposition during the seven months it was 3 / 15 open. The sporting competitions ran for almost five months from 1st July to 23rd November 1904 but like Paris they were considered just an adjunct to the fair and not all the events were Olympic ones. The track and field competitions, which were considered to be the main Olympic events, were held over a few short days from 29th August to 3rd September 1904. One of the most outstanding performances at the 1904 Games was by George Eyser, a member of the Concordia Turnverein Club. He was a German-American gymnast who won six medals on the one day. All the more amazing considering that he competed with a wooden leg, having lost his left leg in an accident in his youth. Another interesting fact about the 1904 Games, which is not well known, was that separate competitions called ‘Anthropology Days’ took place for minority groups on August 12th and 13th just before the official Olympic events. These were staged by the organisers of the World’s Fair and received no endorsement from the International Olympic Committee. ‘Natives’ who had been brought over to be in the Fair’s ethnic displays, from the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico and Patagonia, as well as American Indians and pygmies, were recruited to take part in ‘sports’ events such as mud fighting, rock throwing, greased-pole climbing and spear throwing. They also half-heartedly competed in javelin, archery, discus and tug-of-war – sports they knew nothing about and did not take seriously. Grounded in the belief of the physical superiority of the Anglo-American race, the ‘Anthropology Days’ were designed as a ‘scientific’ test of the speed, stamina and strength of ‘savages’ compared to ‘civilised men’. Olympics founder Baron de Coubertin rightfully criticised the event, calling it embarrassing and inhuman. He did not attend the Games because he believed that world fairs like these were purely exercises in nationalism and undermined the seriousness of the Olympic Games. After a rocky beginning due to these Games, the United States has now hosted the Olympic Games more than any other country, eight times including both summer and winter Olympics. They were the first Olympic Games at which gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for first, second and third place.
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