The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland competed as Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. It was the second appearance of Britain after having participated in the inaugural 1896 Games. In Olympic competition, the nation has always shortened its official name to Great Britain rather than the United Kingdom seen elsewhere.
| Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | GBR |
| NOC | British Olympic Association |
| in Paris | |
| Competitors | 101 in 14 sports |
| Medals Ranked 3rd |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |
Medallists
editAdditionally British competitors won five gold medals, three silver medals and five bronze medals while competing for the Mixed Team.
| Medal | Team | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Mixed Team | Athletics | 5000 metre team race |
| |
Mixed Team | Sailing | 2-3 ton (race 1) |
| |
Mixed Team | Sailing | 2-3 ton (race 2) |
| |
Mixed Team | Polo | Men's Polo |
| |
Mixed Team | Water Polo | Men's Water Polo |
 |
Mixed Team | Cricket | Men's Cricket |
| |
Mixed Team | Tennis | Mixed doubles |
| |
Mixed Team | Polo | Men's Polo |
 |
Mixed Team | Football | Men's Football |
| |
Mixed Team | Tennis | Mixed doubles (first bronze pair) |
| |
Mixed Team | Tennis | Mixed doubles (second bronze pair) |
| |
Mixed Team | Polo | Men's Polo |
| |
Mixed Team | Water Polo | Men's Water Polo |
Results by event
editSwimming
editGreat Britain made its Olympic swimming debut in 1900. Jarvis won gold medals in each of the two long distance freestyle events; as neither distance was used again, he is the only Olympic champion ever in both the 1000 metres and 4000 metres. Kemp added a bronze in the obstacle event, another one-time-only competition. This put Great Britain at the top of the leaderboard by gold-silver-bronze (Australia and Germany also had 2 gold medals, but neither won any other medals) though France (1 gold, 2 silvers, 2 bronzes) and Austria (3 silvers, 1 bronze) had more total medals.
| Swimmer | Event | Semifinals | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Robert Crawshaw | Men's 200 metre freestyle | 2:40.0 | 2 q | 2:45.6 | 4 |
| Peter Kemp | 2:51.0 | 2 | did not advance | ||
| F. Stapleton | 2:47.0 | 2 q | 2:55.0 | 6 | |
| Bill Burgess | Men's 1000 metre freestyle | 16:54.0 | 2 q | DNF | 10 |
| John Arthur Jarvis | 14:28.6 | 1 Q | 13:40.2 |
| |
| Bill Burgess | Men's 4000 metre freestyle | 1:15:04.8 | 2 q | 1:15:07.6 | 4 |
| William Henry | 1:22:58.4 | 3 q | DNF | 8 | |
| John Arthur Jarvis | 1:01:48.4 | 1 Q | 58:24.0 |
| |
| E. T. Jones | DNF | – | did not advance | ||
| Bill Burgess | Men's 200 metre backstroke | 3:50.4 | 3 q | 3:12.0 | 5 |
| Robert Crawshaw | 3:15.0 | 2 q | DNF | 9 | |
| William Henry | Men's 200 metre obstacle event | 3:14.4 | 2 Q | 2:58.0 | 6 |
| Peter Kemp | 3:12.0 | 1 Q | 2:47.4 |
| |
| F. Stapleton | 3:18.4 | 3 q | 2:55.0 | 5 | |
Water polo
editThe British water polo team won gold easily. The roster listed is that credited with gold medals by the IOC, but not by Olympedia[2][3] The roster for the Osborne Swimming Club of Manchester as listed by the International Olympic Committee is Thomas Coe, John Henry Derbyshire, Peter Kemp, William Lister, Arthur G. Robertson, Eric Robinson, and George Wilkinson. Lister, however, had died two weeks prior to the Games,[4] while Derbyshire, Robinson, and Wilkinson all played water polo matches in England either during the tournament or too soon after it to have traveled back from Paris in time. A list of players contemporary to the match does not include Robertson, but does list Coe and Kemp in addition to Robert Crawshaw, William Henry, John Arthur Jarvis, Victor Lindberg, and Frederick Stapleton.[4] Lindberg has been considered the first New Zealand Olympian,[5] although he "was born in Fiji to Swedish and Irish parents, lived in New Zealand from a young age and, in Paris, represented a British club."[4]
One British player (Thomas William Burgess) played on a French team that won a bronze medal, as well, but the IOC credits that appearance to France and not Great Britain or a mixed team.
| Team | Event | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result | |||
| Osborne Swimming Club |
Men's water polo |  Tritons Lillois (FRA) W 12-0 |
Pupilles de Neptune de Lille #2 (FRA) W 10-1 |
 Brussels Swimming and Water Polo Club Belgium (BEL) W 7-2 |
|
Athletics
editGreat Britain took 4 gold medals in athletics, including one as part of a mixed team (with 4 British athletes and one Australian). This put them second on the leaderboard for that sport, behind the dominant United States as the two nations to win multiple gold medals in the sport. The British team won a total of 9 athletics medals including a sweep of the 4000 metre steeplechase event. 9 athletes competed in 10 events.
- Track events
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Alfred Tysoe | 800 m | 1:59.4 | 2 Q | — | 2:01.2 |
| |
| Charles Bennett | 1500 m | — | 4:06.2 |
| |||
| John Rimmer | Unknown | Unknown | |||||
| Sidney Robinson | 2500 m steeplechase | — | 7:38.0 |
| |||
| John Rimmer | 4000 m steeplechase | — | 12:58.4 |
| |||
| Charles Bennett | 12:58.6 |
| |||||
| Sidney Robinson | 12:58.6 |
| |||||
| E. Ion Pool | marathon | — | did not finish | ||||
| Frederick Randall | did not finish | ||||||
| William Saward | did not finish | ||||||
| W. Taylor | did not finish | ||||||
- Field events
| Athlete | Event | Qualifying | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Patrick Leahy | high jump | — | 1.78 |
| |
| long jump | 6.71 | 5 Q | 6.95 |
| |
| triple jump | — | Unknown | 4 | ||
| Launceston Elliot | discus throw | 31.0 | 11 | did not advance | |
Cricket
editGreat Britain was represented by the Devon and Somerset Wanderers in cricket in 1900. The team won the only match, a 2-day 12-man contest, by 158 runs.
| Cricketers | Event | Final | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result | |||
| Devon and Somerset Wanderers |
2-day 12-man |
France W by 158 runs |
|
Cycling
edit| Athlete | Event | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Lloyd Hildebrand[6] | Men's 25 kilometres |
|
- Note - Recorded as Great Britain and Ireland until 2024, the IOC Executive Board approved the change of Lloyd Hildebrand's silver medal at Paris 1900 Olympics from Great Britain to France.
Fencing
editGreat Britain send fencers to the Olympics for the first time in 1900. None of the 3 British men reached the final in their event.
| Fencer | Event | Round 1 | Quarterfinal | Repechage | Semifinal | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eugène Plisson | Men's masters foil | Not advanced by jury | did not advance | |||
| Josiah Bowden | Men's épée | 2 Q | Unknown | did not advance | ||
| Charles Robinson | Unknown | did not advance | ||||
Football
editUpton Park F.C. represented Great Britain in the football competition. The club squad won its only match, against Club Française, 4-0.
- Summary
| Team | Event | Match 1 | Match 2 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result | |||
| Upton Park F.C. | Men's football | Club Française (FRA) W 4–0 |
Bye |
|
- Match 1
Club Français  | 0–4 |  Upton Park FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nicholas  Turner 5'Zealley 7' |
| Team details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Golf
editGreat Britain was one of four nations to compete in the first Olympic golf events. The British golfers took the silver and bronze medals in the men's competition, making Great Britain the only nation other than the United States to win a golfing medal that year.
| Golfer | Event | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Bathurst Dove | Men's individual | 186 | 7 |
| David Donaldson Robertson | 175 |
| |
| Walter Rutherford | 168 |
| |
| George Thorne | 185 | 6 | |
| John Daunt | 184 | 5 |
Gymnastics Artistic
editGreat Britain's second Olympic gymnastics appearance was no more successful than the nation's first, resulting in no medals.
| Gymnast | Event | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Connor | 250 | 31 | |
| Henry Hiatt | 172 | 124 | |
| Pearce | 238 | 54 | |
| William Lloyd Phillips | 222 | 73 |
Polo
editGreat Britain was one of four nations to compete in the first Olympic polo event. British athletes played on three of the five teams, two of which included either American or French players, while the third included both American and French. The mixed British/American combination took the top place, the British/American/French team secured the silver medal, while the British/French team reached third place.
| Team | Event | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result | |||
| Foxhunters Hurlingham |
Men's polo | Compiègne (FRA) W 10–0 |
 Bagatelle (ZZX) W 6–4 |
BLO Polo Club Rugby (ZZX) W 3–1 |
|
BLO Polo Club Rugby
|
Bye |  Mexico W 8–0 |
Foxhunters (ZZX) L 3–1 |
| |
Bagatelle Polo Club de Paris
|
Bye | Foxhunters (ZZX) L 6–4 |
Did not advance |
|
Rowing
editBritain had a single rower present at the first Olympic rowing contests, winning the bronze medal in the single sculls event.
| Rower | Event | First round | Semifinals | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Saint-George Ashe | Men's single sculls | 6:38.8 | 1 Q | 8:37.2 | 3 q | 8:15.6 |
|
Rugby
editBritain was one of three teams to compete in the first Olympic rugby games. Britain lost its only game, against France. The game against Germany was cancelled due to travel plans.
- Summary
| Team | Event | Match 1 | Match 2 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result | |||
| Moseley Wanderers | Bye | France national rugby union team (FRA) L 27–8 |
|
- Match 2
| 28 Oct |
| France | 27–8 | Great Britain |
| Report |
| Vélodrome de Vincennes, Paris Attendance: 6,000 Referee: M.T.B. Potter |
- Roster
Sailing
editGreat Britain was second to France in gold medals at the 1900 sailing events with 4, but took only 1 other medal, a bronze. France took 5 golds, 9 silvers, and 10 bronzes for a total of 24 medals to Britain's 6. However, even a perfect performance by the British athletes would have earned only a total of 8 medals—Great Britain failed to medal in only 2 of its attempts. The crew members listed are those listed by the IOC in their database. The Olympic historian Ian Buchanan in his book "British Olympians" (1991) states that "reports on many aspects of the 1900 regatta are inconclusive and the crew members of the British entry "Scotia" has never been positively settled. The records of the British Olympic Association give the crew as Lorne Currie, John Gretton and Linton Hope, but it has been established that Linton Hope was in England at the time of the races and his name only appears in the Olympic records as he was the designer of the "Scotia". Similarly the names of Currie and Gretton are probably only listed as the owners of the boat but as it is possible that they sailed their boat, they are listed as Olympic champions, although the participation of Lorne Currie, in particular, is in doubt. The one crew member whose participation has been established is Algernon Maudslay, whose name does not appear in any Olympic records, but from contemporary press reports it is clear that he was the helmsman of the "Scotia"".
- Single race events
| Sailors | Event | Time | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| ½–1 ton class race 1 |
3:29:45 |
| |
| ½–1 ton class race 2 |
3:45:46 | 4 | |
| 2–3 ton class race 1 |
2:17:30 |
| |
| 2–3 ton class race 2 |
4:17:34 |
| |
|
3–10 ton class race 1 | Unknown | 7 |
| 3–10 ton class race 2 | 4:14:58 |
| |
|
4:38.49 |
| |
| Cecil Quentin | 20+ ton class | 5:29:46 |
|
| Selwin Calverley | 5:30:06 |
| |
| Open class | 5:56:17 |
| |
| DNF | – |
- Regatta events
| Sailors | Event | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Overall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank (points) | Time | Rank (points) | Time | Rank (points) | Score | Rank | ||
| Edward Hore | 10–20 ton class | 4:20:18 | 3rd, 8 points | 3:41:49 | 1st, 10 points | DNF | –, 5 points | 23 points |
|
| Salusbury Mellor | 4:25:48 | 5th, 6 points | 3:53:17 | 5th, 6 points | 3:36:02 | 4th, 7 points | 19 points | 5 | |
Shooting
editGreat Britain was represented by one shooter in its second appearance. Merlin, who had competed for Great Britain four years earlier, competed again. He tied for 7th in the trap shooting event.
| Shooter | Event | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney Merlin | Men's trap | 12 | 7 |
Tennis
editGreat Britain competed in tennis for the second time in 1900, again with great success. The Doherty brothers, Reginald and Laurence, and Charlotte Cooper won all 4 gold medals. Harold Mahony took silver in the men's singles and was on a mixed-nationality team that earned silver in the mixed doubles. Great Britain also took both of the bronzes in the men's singles and one of the bronzes in the men's doubles, as well as having British players comprise half of each bronze-medal mixed doubles pair. Ultimately, each of the 6 British tennis players took at least 1 medal.
Reginald and Laurence Doherty refused to play each other prior to the final. Since they were seeded in such a way that they would face each other in the semifinals, Reginald withdrew, accepting a bronze medal while Lawrence went on to win gold.
| Player | Event | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result | |||
| Laurence Doherty | Men's singles | Lebréton (FRA) W 6-2, 6-3 |
 de Garmendia (USA) W 6-2, 8-6 |
R. Doherty W walkover |
 Mahony (GBR) W 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 |
|
| Reginald Doherty | Durand (FRA) W 6-1, 6-3 |
Lecaron (FRA) W 6-2, 6-1 |
L. Doherty (GBR) L walkover |
Did not advance |
| |
| Harold Mahony | Sands (USA) W 6-2, 6-3 |
Bye | Norris (GBR) W 8-6, 6-1 |
L. Doherty (GBR) L 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 |
| |
| Arthur Norris | Prévost (FRA) W 6-4, 6-4 |
Warden (GBR) W 6-4, 6-2 |
Mahony (GBR) L 8-6, 6-1 |
Did not advance |
| |
| Archibald Warden | Bye | Norris (GBR) L 6-4, 6-2 |
did not advance | 5 | ||
| Charlotte Cooper | Women's singles | — | Fourrier (FRA) W 6-2, 6-0 |
Jones (USA) W 6-2, 7-5 |
Prévost (FRA) W 6-1, 6-4 |
|
| Men's doubles | — | Lebréton/Lecaron (FRA) W 6-2, 6-3 |
Mahony/Norris (GBR) W 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 |
Decugis (FRA)/ de Garmendia (USA) W 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 |
| |
| Durand/Fauchier-Magnan (FRA) W 6-8, 6-1, 6-8 |
L. Doherty/R. Doherty (GBR) L 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 |
Did not advance |
| |||
| Decugis (FRA)/ de Garmendia (USA) L 6-8, 6-3, 7-5 |
did not advance | 5 | ||||
| Mixed doubles | — | Bye | Jones (USA)/ L. Doherty (GBR) W 6-2, 6-4 |
H. Prévost (FRA)/ Mahony (GBR) W 6-2, 6-4 |
| |
| Bye |  Rosenbaumová (BOH)/ Warden (GBR) W 6-3, 6-0 |
Cooper/R. Doherty (GBR) L 6-2, 6-4 |
| |||
| G. Jones/Sands (USA) W 6-1, 7-5 |
Cooper/R. Doherty (GBR) L 6-2, 6-4 |
Did not advance |
| |||
| Gillou/Verdé-Delisle W 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 |
H. Prévost (FRA)/ Mahony (GBR) L 6-3, 6-0 |
Did not advance |
| |||
References
edit- ^ "Recorded as Great Britain and Ireland until 2024. (IOC Executive Board approves change of Lloyd Hildebrand's silver medal at Paris 1900, from Great Britain to France)". Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^ "Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics". Olympedia.org. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ Sports-Reference Archived 2016-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Gjerde, Arild; Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon; Hilary Evans (December 2016). "Water Polo at the 1900 Paris Summer Games". Olympics. Sports Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ Munro, Bruce (2 August 2016). "A nation strikes gold". Otago Daily Times. Allied Press. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Recorded as Great Britain and Ireland until 2024. (IOC Executive Board approves change of Lloyd Hildebrand's silver medal at Paris 1900, from Great Britain to France)". Retrieved 13 June 2024.