PGB 14: The 1900 Non-Olympic Olympics

Paris at the dawn of the 20th Century. The 2nd Olympic Games in Modern History. Which managed to not be called the Olympics. Where the prizes were largely cash and random objets d’art. Whose athletes largely were unaware they were competing in the Olympiad. And who sometimes weren’t human. Oh, and there were cannons.

The 1900 Olympics in Paris were a wild ride! Let’s explore further in this episode of Paris Gone By!

The Olympics today are a heavily promoted event, with years of planning, construction, and intense training by the athletes. But at the second Olympic Games, things were a lot more chaotic, a lot less structured, and a number of the athletes had trained extensively…to compete in the games and competitions attached to the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The Olympic name was nowhere to be found. How exactly did it get to that point?

The Modern Olympic Games Are Born: 1894-1900

Here’s a quick timeline of the events leading up to the 1900 Olympics:

1870-1871: Franco-Prussian War. France loses to the rising power of a proto-German state.

1889: The Exposition Universelle is held, giving the world the Eiffel Tower. The Germans were not invited.

1892: After some government officials decide that part of the reason France lost to Prussia was the poor physical state of its young men, physical education becomes compulsory.
The project for the new Exposition Universelle 1900 is also launched.

Nov. 1893: The commissioner of the new Exposition Universelle, Alfred Picard, is granted approval to include athletic events at the expo.

Jan. 1894: Baron Pierre de Coubertin, athletics educator, historian, and zealot, presents Picard with his vision for bringing back the ancient Olympic Games and launching them at 1900 Expo. This includes building replica ancient Greek buildings. Picard dismisses the construction projects and the broad idea as an “anachronism”.

June 1894: Coubertin forms the first iteration of an Olympic Planning Committee. They decide to not wait until 1900, instead planning the first Olympiad for 1896 in Athens, traditional home of the ancient games. Paris would host the 2nd Olympiad.

Nov. 1894: Picard begins planning the athletic events for the Expo. Coubertin is invited to the committee but is unable to attend because he’s in Greece, busy with the first Olympics.

May 1895: Picard’s planning committee releases their plan for the athletics events. Coubertin is so disappointed, he declares he will put together the games himself, without the help of the Expo that will be hosting the games.

1896: The First Olympic Games successfully take place in Athens.

Spring 1898: Coubertin forms the International Olympic Committee for the 1900 Olympics, with Viscount de le Rouchefoucauld and other aristocratic friends. The international community responds positively and starts committing athletes.

Nov. 1898: L’Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques (USFSA) (Union of French Athletic Sports Societies) declares that they are in fact in charge of sporting events at the Expo, not the IOC, surprising everyone. Including their Secretary General, Pierre de Coubertin. This was, in reality, an incredibly well-played bluff. The IOC essentially dissolves. Coubertin agrees to the following compromises:
• The Olympic events will be held as part of the Expo. They will not be called the Olympics officially. But they can, in the annals of the Olympics, be called Olympic events. At least those that qualify as suitably Olympic.
• Some events would consist of professionals and amateurs, not just amateurs.
• Women would be allowed to compete.

1899: Daniel Mérillon is appointed the General Delegate for sports at the Expo. The new committee for athletics changes many aspects of the games, upsetting the international teams. They threaten to leave the games. Coubertin, now in a reduced capacity as a vice president of a sub-committee (and still erstwhile president of the IOC), has to perform a quick PR tour and lots of PR in the media to keep the peace.

The 1900 Games

For the games themselves, I think photos are the coolest way to enjoy them now. Don’t worry animal lovers, I’m leaving out the pigeon killers shooters.

And video from the 1900 Expo, that includes some of the sporting events!

123 year-old Olympic footage! 😵🇫🇷

Today, we commemorate the start of the Paris 1900 Olympic Games, where the passion for sports ignited a global movement that continues to inspire generations. 🌍🥇 pic.twitter.com/zl0992Yh7Y

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) June 3, 2023

Closing Ceremony

Now that we’ve seen how the Olympics were handled over a century ago, how do you feel about the 2024 Olympics so far? Which games do you wish they still had? What are you excited about most this year? And would you swim in the Seine?!

Let me know if you attended this year’s games! I’m glad I opted to stay in (sadly hot and smoky) Denver. But if there had been a replica of medieval Paris, I would have maybe found a way… 😉

To Explore Further

🥇 For a very detailed look at the Olympic-qualified games, I suggest you check out The 1900 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary by Bill Mallon. 1998.
Internet Archive [Free With Account] or on Amazon

🥈 For the Visitor’s Guide mentioned in the episode (in French): Paris Exposition, 1900 : Guide Pratique du Visiteur de Paris et de l’Exposition. Published by Hatchette. Free on Internet Archive (opens to the Athletics section)

🥉 For a peek at the extensive efforts behind the full exposition (also in French): L’Exposition de Paris (1900). This is only book 1! Free on Internet Archive. The binding is worth checking out in its own right.

I hope you enjoyed this trip to the OG Paris Olympics and are enjoying the 2024 Olympic Games!

À bientôt!

M

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Image Credits:

Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Baron Pierre de Coubertin.jpg, Wikimedia Commons, George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress. Public Domain.
Alfred Picard. Exposition universelle de 1900 – portraits des commissaires généraux-Alfred Picard.jpg. Photo by Eugène Pirou (1841–1909). Wikimedia Commons, Bibliothèque nationale de France. Public domain.
Fencing Poster. Paris 1900 olympic poster.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929
Charlotte Cooper. Charlotte Cooper.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929
Michel Théato. Marathon des JO de Paris 1900, arrivée de Michel Théato.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. Collection Jules Beau. Photographie sportive]:T. 13. Année 1900 / Jules Beau, Gallica. Public Domain.
Margaret Ives Abbott. Margaret-abbott-gold-medal-1900-golf.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Basque Poleta. Pelota1900.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. IOC Museum Collection. Public Domain.
4 Horse & Carriage. Four-person-carriage-international-horse-riding-competition-JO1900.jpg. Le Sport universel illustré No. 203. Gallica. Public Domain.
Swimming. Swimming 1900.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. 1900. Public Domain.
Fencing. ItaloSantelli1900Olympics.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. 1900. Public Domain.
Marathon Start. Start of the 1900 Olympic Marathon.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. Collection Jules Beau. Photographie sportive] : T. 13. Année 1900 / Jules Beau, Gallica. Public Domain.
Cannon Shooting. 90 to 60 meter cannon shooting competition at the 1900 World’s Fair, at the Vincennes polygon, 29 07 to 04 08 1900.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. From Life in the Great Outdoors, August 4, 1900. Public Domain.
High Jump. File:Gardere 1900.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. French weekly magazine “La vie au grand air”, page issue no.3 from 1900. Public Domain.
Tug of War. File:Tug of war.jpg. Wikimedia Commons. IOC Museum Collection. Public Domain.
Old Paris. Histoires de Paris: Le Vieux Paris de l’Exposition Universelle de 1900. Origin unknown. 1900.