United States at the 1896 Summer Olympics

United States at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Flag of the United States
IOC code	USA
NOC	United States Olympic Committee
in Athens
Competitors	14 in 3 sports
Medals Ranked 1st	Gold 11 Silver 7 Bronze 2 Total 20
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Fourteen competitors from the United States competed in three sports at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The Americans were the most successful athletes in terms of gold medals, beating host nation Greece, 11 to 10, despite fielding only 14 competitors compared to an estimated 169 Greek entrants. However, the Greeks' 46 total medals dwarfed the Americans' 20.

The United States team had 27 entries in 16 events, with 20 of the 27 resulting in top-three finishes.

Most of the American competitors were students at Harvard University or Princeton University or members of the Boston Athletic Association. The team trained at The Pennington School, in Pennington, New Jersey, while preparing for the first modern Olympic Games.

Medalists[]

Of the 14 Americans at the Athens Games, 12 won medals. Charles Waldstein, a shooter, and Gardner Williams, a swimmer, were the two who did not win any medals.

Several members of America's first Olympic team in 1896. Standing: T.E. Burke, Thomas P. Curtis, Ellery H. Clark. Seated: W.W. Hoyt, Sumner Paine, Trainer John Graham, John B. Paine, Arthur C. Blake

Several members of America's first Olympic team

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Gold	Thomas Burke	Athletics	Men's 100 metres
Gold	Thomas Curtis	Athletics	Men's 110 metre hurdles
Gold	Thomas Burke	Athletics	Men's 400 metres
Gold	Ellery Clark	Athletics	Men's high jump
Gold	Ellery Clark	Athletics	Men's long jump
Gold	James Connolly	Athletics	Men's triple jump
Gold	William Hoyt	Athletics	Men's pole vault
Gold	Robert Garrett	Athletics	Men's discus throw
Gold	Robert Garrett	Athletics	Men's shot put
Gold	John Paine	Shooting	Men's 25 metre military pistol
Gold	Sumner Paine	Shooting	Men's 30 metre free pistol
Silver	Herbert Jamison	Athletics	Men's 400 metres
Silver	Arthur Blake	Athletics	Men's 1500 metres
Silver	James Connolly	Athletics	Men's high jump
Silver	Robert Garrett	Athletics	Men's high jump
Silver	Robert Garrett	Athletics	Men's long jump
Silver	Albert Tyler	Athletics	Men's pole vault
Silver	Sumner Paine	Shooting	Men's 25 metre military pistol
Bronze	Francis Lane	Athletics	Men's 100 metres
Bronze	James Connolly	Athletics	Men's long jump

Results by event[]

Aquatics[]

Swimming[]

Williams competed in two swimming events, placing in neither.

Men

Athletics[]

Thomas Curtis

US athletic team

The United States squad of 11, which featured only one national champion, won nine gold medals in the twelve athletics events, with contributions from six different athletes. Six silver medals and two bronze medals also went to the Americans in athletics.

Track & road events

Athlete	Events	Heat		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Thomas Burke	100 m	11.8	1 Q	12.0
Francis Lane		12.2	1 Q	12.6
Thomas Curtis		12.2	1 Q	Did not start
Thomas Burke	400 m	58.4	1 Q	54.2
Herbert Jamison		56.8	1 Q	55.2
Arthur Blake	1500 m	n/a		4:34.0
Thomas Curtis	110 m hurdles	18.0	1 Q	17.6
William Hoyt		Unknown	2 Q	Did not start
Arthur Blake	Marathon	n/a		Did not finish

James Connolly

Field events

Athlete	Events	Final
		Result	Rank
Ellery Clark	Long jump	6.35
Robert Garrett		6.00
James Brendan Connolly		5.84
James Brendan Connolly	Triple jump	13.71
Ellery Harding Clark	High jump	1.81
James Brendan Connolly		1.65
Robert Garrett		1.65
William Hoyt	Pole vault	3.30
Albert Tyler		3.20
Robert Garrett	Shot put	11.22
Ellery Harding Clark		Unknown	5–7
Robert Garrett	Discus throw	29.15

Shooting[]

The Paine brothers contested only two events, taking the top two spots in the event in which they both competed, the military pistol. Sumner was the only one of the two to enter the free pistol, which he won. Waldstein was the third member of the American shooting contingent, competing in the military rifle event.

Shooter	Event	Hits	Score	Rank
John Paine	25 m military pistol	25	442
Sumner Paine		23	380
Sumner Paine	30 m free pistol	24	442
Charles Waldstein	200 m military rifle	Unknown		14–41

References[]

• Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at [1])
• Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at [2])
• Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.