Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump
The men's high jump was one of four jumping events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The high jump was held on 10 April. Five competitors took part in three of them Americans. Ellery Clark, who had won the long jump won this event. Garrett and Connolly tied for second place. All five cleared the bar at 1.55 metres. Hofmann was unable to clear 1.60 metres. Sjöberg could not clear 1.625 metres. All three Americans made that mark and the next, at 1.65 metres, but only Clark was able to clear 1.675 metres. He cleared 1.70, 1.75, 1.81 metres successively. Lampros, S. P.. G.. J. & Anninos, C.. The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture; the 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. Smith, Michael Llewellyn. Olympics in Athens 1896; the Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a group are referred to as the "horizontal jumps"; this event has a history in the Ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympic event for men since the first Olympics in 1896 and for women since 1948. At the elite level, competitors run down a runway and jump as far as they can from a wooden board 20 cm or 8 inches wide, built flush with the runway into a pit filled with finely ground gravel or sand. If the competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot past the foul line, the jump is declared a foul and no distance is recorded. A layer of plasticine is placed after the board to detect this occurrence. An official will watch the jump and make the determination; the competitor can initiate the jump from any point behind the foul line. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the competitor to get as close to the foul line as possible.
Competitors are allowed to place two marks along the side of the runway in order to assist them to jump accurately. At a lesser meet and facilities, the plasticine will not exist, the runway might be a different surface or jumpers may initiate their jump from a painted or taped mark on the runway. At a smaller meet, the number of attempts might be limited to four or three; each competitor has a set number of attempts. That would be three trials, with three additional jumps being awarded to the best 8 or 9 competitors. All legal marks will be recorded but only the longest legal jump counts towards the results; the competitor with the longest legal jump at the end of competition is declared the winner. In the event of an exact tie comparing the next best jumps of the tied competitors will be used to determine place. In a large, multi-day elite competition, a set number of competitors will advance to the final round, determined in advance by the meet management. A set of 3 trial round jumps will be held in order to select those finalists.
It is standard practice to allow at a minimum, one more competitor than the number of scoring positions to return to the final round, though 12 plus ties and automatic qualifying distances are potential factors.. For record purposes, the maximum accepted; the long jump is the only known jumping event of Ancient Greece's original Olympics' pentathlon events. All events that occurred at the Olympic Games were supposed to act as a form of training for warfare; the long jump emerged because it mirrored the crossing of obstacles such as streams and ravines. After investigating the surviving depictions of the ancient event it is believed that unlike the modern event, athletes were only allowed a short running start; the athletes carried a weight in each hand. These weights were swung forward, it was believed that the jumper would throw the weights behind him in midair to increase his forward momentum. Swinging them down and back at the end of the jump would change the athlete's center of gravity and allow the athlete to stretch his legs outward, increasing his distance.
The jump itself was made from the bater. It was most a simple board placed on the stadium track, removed after the event; the jumpers would land in. The idea that this was a pit full of sand is wrong. Sand in the jumping pit is a modern invention; the skamma was a temporary area dug up for that occasion and not something that remained over time. The long jump was considered one of the most difficult of the events held at the Games since a great deal of skill was required. Music was played during the jump and Philostratus says that pipes at times would accompany the jump so as to provide a rhythm for the complex movements of the halteres by the athlete. Philostratus is quoted as saying, "The rules regard jumping as the most difficult of the competitions, they allow the jumper to be given advantages in rhythm by the use of the flute, in weight by the use of the halter." Most notable in the ancient sport was a man called Chionis, who in the 656 BC Olympics staged a jump of 7.05 metres. There has been some argument by modern scholars over the long jump.
Some have attempted to recreate it as a triple jump. The images provide the only evidence for the action so it is more well received that it was much like today's long jump; the main reason some want to call it a triple jump is the presence of a source that claims there once was a fifty-five ancient foot jump done by a man named Phayllos. The long jump has been part of modern Olympic competition since the inception of the Games in 1896. In 1914, Dr. Harry Eaton Stewart recommended the "running broad jump" as a standardized track and field event for women. However, it was not until 1948 that the women's long jump was
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee, created by Pierre de Coubertin, it was held in Athens, from 6 to 15 April 1896. Winners were given a silver medal. Retroactively, the IOC has converted these to gold and silver, awarded bronze medals to third placed athletes. Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals; the United States won the most gold medals, 11, host nation Greece won the most medals overall, 46. The highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spyridon Louis; the most successful competitor was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann. Athens had been unanimously chosen to stage the inaugural modern Games during a congress organised by Coubertin in Paris on 23 June 1894, during which the IOC was created, because Greece was the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games; the main venue was the Panathenaic Stadium. The opening ceremony was held in the Panathenaic Stadium on 6 April, during which most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation.
After a speech by the president of the organising committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father opened the Games. Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed an Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras, with words by poet Kostis Palamas; the 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date; the Panathenaic Stadium overflowed with the largest crowd to watch a sporting event. After the Games and the IOC were petitioned by several prominent figures, including Greece's King George and some of the American competitors in Athens, to hold all the following Games in Athens. However, the 1900 Summer Olympics were planned for Paris and, except for the Intercalated Games of 1906, the Olympics did not return to Greece until the 2004 Summer Olympics, 108 years later. During the 19th century, several small-scale sports festivals across Europe were named after the Ancient Olympic Games; the 1870 Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium, refurbished for the occasion, had an audience of 30,000 people.
Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, adopted Dr William Penny Brookes' idea to establish a multi-national and multi-sport event—the ancient games only allowed male athletes of Greek origin to participate. In 1890, Coubertin wrote an article in La Revue Athletique, which espoused the importance of Much Wenlock a rural market town in the English county of Shropshire, it was here that, in October 1850, the local physician William Penny Brookes had founded the Wenlock Olympian Games, a festival of sports and recreations that included athletics and team sports, such as cricket and quoits. Coubertin took inspiration from the earlier Greek games organised under the name of Olympics by businessman and philanthropist Evangelis Zappas in 1859, 1870 and 1875; the 1896 Athens Games were funded by the legacies of Evangelis Zappas and his cousin Konstantinos Zappas and by George Averoff, requested by the Greek government, through crown prince Constantine, to sponsor the second refurbishment of the Panathenaic Stadium.
This the Greek government did despite the fact that the cost of refurbishing the stadium in marble had been funded in full by Evangelis Zappas forty years earlier. With deep feeling towards Baron de Coubertin's courteous petition, I send him and the members of the Congress, with my sincere thanks, my best wishes for the revival of the Olympic Games. On 18 June 1894, Coubertin organised a congress at the Sorbonne, Paris, to present his plans to representatives of sports societies from 11 countries. Following his proposal's acceptance by the congress, a date for the first modern Olympic Games needed to be chosen. Coubertin suggested. Concerned that a six-year waiting period might lessen public interest, congress members opted instead to hold the inaugural Games in 1896. With a date established, members of the congress turned their attention to the selection of a host city, it remains a mystery how Athens was chosen to host the inaugural Games. In the following years both Coubertin and Demetrius Vikelas would offer recollections of the selection process that contradicted the official minutes of the congress.
Most accounts hold that several congressmen first proposed London as the location, but Coubertin dissented. After a brief discussion with Vikelas, who represented Greece, Coubertin suggested Athens. Vikelas made the Athens proposal official on 23 June, since Greece had been the original home of the Olympics, the congress unanimously approved the decision. Vikelas was elected the first president of the newly established International Olympic Committee. News that the Olympic Games would return to Greece was well received by the Greek public and royal family. According to Coubertin, "the Crown Prince Constantine learned with great pleasure that the Games will be inaugurated in Athens." Coubertin went on to confirm that, "the King and the Crown Prince will confer their patronage on the holding of these games." Constantine conferred more than that. However, the country was in political turmoil; the job of prime minister alterna
Francis Lane
Francis Adonijah Lane was an American sprinter who competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Greece. At the time of the 1896 Summer Olympics Lane was in his junior year at Princeton University and was one of the four from the University that made up the American team of 14 competitors, the 16 day journey to Athens didn't help Lane, he arrived in the poorest condition after suffering from sea sickness. Lane competed in the 100 metres, when he won his heat in 12.2 seconds, he became the first American to compete at the Olympic Games and the first person to win a 100 metre race. In the final, he ran 12.6 seconds and tied for the third place with Alajos Szokolyi of Hungary, both are considered as bronze medalists. At those games the champion was honored with a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma, the second athlete with a bronze medal, laurel branch and a diploma. Nothing was given to the third best man. Lane's cousin Albert Tyler was part of the 1896 United States Olympic team and won a silver medal in the pole vault.
Lane was a member of the Franklin High School Class of 1891. In 1897 Lane graduated from Princeton University and went to the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis, he became the head of ophthalmology departments at Rush Medical College and the Presbyterian and Illinois Central Hospitals in Chicago. Lane is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford, IL. List of Princeton University Olympians 6. Burial Information https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101587151/francis-adonijah-lane
Germany at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Germany competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The Germans were the third most successful nation in terms of total medals. Gymnastics was the sport; the German team had 19 athletes. The Germans had 75 entries in 26 events. Hofmann's silver medal in the 100 metres was the only medal earned by the German athletes, though they finished 4th or 5th an additional 4 times. Track and roadField Events Germany's only cycling medal came in the long-distance road race. Germany dominated the gymnastics program, medalling in each event. Traun was defeated by Boland in the first round of the singles tournament; the two entered the doubles tournament as a pair, winning the gold medal in that competition as part of a mixed team. Schuhmann's lift was equal to that of the bronze medallist, but lifting form was used as a tie-breaker in the event. Schuhmann first faced Launceston Elliot, the one-handed lift weightlifting champion, defeating him easily, he received a bye in the semifinals. That contest took two days, after it had been postponed on account of darkness 40 minutes into the first day.
Schuhmann won on the second morning. Lampros, S. P.. G.. J.. The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. Mallon, Bill; the 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. Smith, Michael Llewellyn. Olympics in Athens 1896; the Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes; the battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army decisively defeated the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars; the first Persian invasion was a response to Athenian involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when Athens and Eretria had sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule. The Athenians and Eretrians had succeeded in capturing and burning Sardis, but they were forced to retreat with heavy losses. In response to this raid, Darius swore to burn down Eretria. According to Herodotus, Darius had his bow brought to him and shot an arrow "upwards towards heaven", saying as he did so: "Zeus, that it may be granted me to take vengeance upon the Athenians!".
Herodotus further writes that Darius charged one of his servants to say "Master, remember the Athenians" three times before dinner each day. At the time of the battle and Athens were the two largest city-states in Greece. Once the Ionian revolt was crushed by the Persian victory at the Battle of Lade in 494 BC, Darius began plans to subjugate Greece. In 490 BC, he sent a naval task force under Datis and Artaphernes across the Aegean, to subjugate the Cyclades, to make punitive attacks on Athens and Eretria. Reaching Euboea in mid-summer after a successful campaign in the Aegean, the Persians proceeded to besiege and capture Eretria; the Persian force sailed for Attica, landing in the bay near the town of Marathon. The Athenians, joined by a small force from Plataea, marched to Marathon, succeeded in blocking the two exits from the plain of Marathon; the Athenians sent a message asking for support to the Spartans. When the messenger arrived in Sparta, the Spartans were involved in a religious festival and gave this as a reason for not coming to aid of the Athenians.
The Athenians and their allies chose a location for the battle, with marshes and mountainous terrain, that prevented the Persian cavalry from joining the Persian infantry. Miltiades, the Athenian general, ordered a general attack against the Persian forces, composed of missile troops, he reinforced his flanks. The inward wheeling flanks enveloped the Persians; the Persian army broke in panic towards their ships, large numbers were slaughtered. The defeat at Marathon marked the end of the first Persian invasion of Greece, the Persian force retreated to Asia. Darius began raising a huge new army with which he meant to subjugate Greece. After Darius died, his son Xerxes I restarted the preparations for a second invasion of Greece, which began in 480 BC; the Battle of Marathon was a watershed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten. The battle showed the Greeks that they were able to win battles without the Spartans, as they had relied on Sparta previously; this victory was due to the Athenians, Marathon raised Greek esteem of them.
Since the following two hundred years saw the rise of the Classical Greek civilization, enduringly influential in western society, the Battle of Marathon is seen as a pivotal moment in Mediterranean and European history. The main source for the Greco-Persian Wars is the Greek historian Herodotus. Herodotus, called the "Father of History", was born in 484 BC in Halicarnassus, Asia Minor, he wrote his Enquiries around 440–430 BC, trying to trace the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars, which would still have been recent history. Herodotus's approach was novel, at least in Western society, he does seem to have invented "history" as we know it; as Holland has it: "For the first time, a chronicler set himself to trace the origins of a conflict not to a past so remote so as to be utterly fabulous, nor to the whims and wishes of some god, nor to a people's claim to manifest destiny, but rather explanations he could verify personally." Some subsequent ancient historians, despite following in his footsteps, criticised Herodotus, starting with Thucydides.
Thucydides chose to begin his history where Herodotus left off, may therefore have felt that Herodotus's history was accurate enough not to need re-writing or correcting. Plutarch criticised Herodotus in his essay On the malice of Herodotus, describing Herodotus as "Philobarbaros", for not being pro-Greek enough, which suggests that Herodotus might have done a reasonable job of being even-handed. A negative view of Herodotus was passed on to Renaissance Europe. However, since the 19th century his reputation has been rehabilitated by archaeological finds which have confirmed his version of events; the prevailing modern view is that Herodotus did a remarkable job in his Historiai, but that some of his specific details should be viewed with skepticism. There are still some historians who believe Herodotus made up much of his story; the Sicilian historian Diodorus Siculus, writing in the 1st century BC in his Bibliotheca Historica provides an
Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon
The men's marathon event was a special race invented as part of the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Michel Bréal originated the idea of a race from the city of Marathon to Athens, taking inspiration from the legend of Pheidippides; the first such marathon race was a Greek national competition that served as a qualifier for the Olympic marathon, won by Charilaos Vasilakos. The length of the marathon in 1896 was 40 km. Twenty-five athletes traveled to Marathon for the race from there to Athens, though only seventeen began the race. Just as in the 1500 metre race, Albin Lermusiaux took the lead early. Edwin Flack and Arthur Blake maintained second and third place until Blake dropped out at 23 kilometres. At 32 kilometres, Lermusiaux dropped out as well. However, Spyridon Louis was making full use of his endurance to gain on Flack. Exhausted from trying to maintain his pace, Flack dropped out of the race with three kilometres left. Louis was left alone at the front, finishing the 40 kilometre race in one minutes and ten seconds under three hours.
Vasilakos finished second, followed 30 seconds by Spyridon Belokas, who held off Gyula Kellner, with Kellner subsequently lodging a protest, claiming Belokas had covered part of the course by carriage after having dropped out of the race. The protest was upheld, Belokas was disqualified. Stamata Revithi - A Greek woman who tried to enter the event Lampros, S. P.. G.. J. & Anninos, C.. The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture; the 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. Smith, Michael Llewellyn. Olympics in Athens 1896; the Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X. Specific
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