Greece at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Greece was the host nation of the 1896 Summer Olympics held in Athens. The number of Greek contestants is commonly cited as 169, but as many as 176 Greeks[1] contested events in all nine sports. The Greeks were by far the most successful nation in terms of total medals with 46, 26 more than the United States of America. Nevertheless, their number of first-place finishes (10) was one fewer than the Americans' 11. The Greeks had 172 entries in 39 events. Only 4 events had no Greek entrants—the 400 metres and the high jump in athletics and the vault and the team horizontal bar in gymnastics.

Greece at the
1896 Summer Olympics
IOC codeGRE
NOCHellenic Olympic Committee
Websitewww.hoc.gr (in Greek and English)
in Athens
Competitors169 in 9 sports
Medals
Ranked 2nd
Gold
10
Silver
17
Bronze
19
Total
46
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Medalists

Medal Name Sport Event
 Gold Spyridon LouisAthletics Men's marathon
 Gold Aristidis KonstantinidisCycling Men's road race
 Gold Leonidas PyrgosFencing Men's masters foil
 Gold Ioannis GeorgiadisFencing Men's sabre
 Gold Ioannis MitropoulosGymnastics Men's rings
 Gold Nikolaos AndriakopoulosGymnastics Men's rope climbing
 Gold Pantelis KarasevdasShooting Men's 200 m military rifle
 Gold Georgios OrphanidisShooting Men's 300 m free rifle, three positions
 Gold Ioannis FrangoudisShooting Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol
 Gold Ioannis MalokinisSwimming Men's sailors 100 m freestyle
 Silver Charilaos VasilakosAthletics Men's marathon
 Silver Miltiadis GouskosAthletics Men's shot put
 Silver Panagiotis ParaskevopoulosAthletics Men's discus throw
 Silver Stamatios Nikolopoulos Cycling Men's sprint
Men's time trial
 Silver Georgios KolettisCycling Men's 100 km
 Silver Tilemachos KarakalosFencing Men's sabre
 Silver Thomas XenakisGymnastics Men's rope climbing
 Silver Nikolaos Andriakopoulos, Spyridon Athanasopoulos,
Petros Persakis, Thomas Xenakis
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
 Silver Pavlos PavlidisShooting Men's 200 m military rifle
 Silver Ioannis FrangoudisShooting Men's 300 m free rifle, three positions
 Silver Georgios OrphanidisShooting Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol
 Silver Antonios PepanosSwimming Men's 500 m freestyle
 Silver Ioannis AndreouSwimming Men's 1200 m freestyle
 Silver Spyridon ChazapisSwimming Men's sailors 100 m freestyle
 Silver Dionysios KasdaglisTennis Men's singles
 Silver Dionysios Kasdaglis, Demetrios PetrokokkinosTennis Men's doubles
 Silver Georgios TsitasWrestling Men's Greco-Roman
 Bronze Dimitrios GolemisAthletics Men's 800 m
 Bronze Evangelos DamaskosAthletics Men's pole vault
 Bronze Ioannis TheodoropoulosAthletics Men's pole vault
 Bronze Ioannis PersakisAthletics Men's triple jump
 Bronze Georgios PapasiderisAthletics Men's shot put
 Bronze Sotirios VersisAthletics Men's discus throw
 Bronze Periklis Pierrakos-MavromichalisFencing Men's foil
 Bronze Petros PersakisGymnastics Men's rings
 Bronze Ioannis Chrysafis, Filippos Karvelas,
Dimitrios Loundras, Ioannis Mitropoulos
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
 Bronze Nikolaos TrikoupisShooting Men's 200 m military rifle
 Bronze Nikolaos MorakisShooting Men's 25 m military pistol
 Bronze Ioannis FrangoudisShooting Men's 30 m free pistol
 Bronze Efstathios Chorafas Swimming Men's 500 m freestyle
Men's 1200 m freestyle
 Bronze Dimitrios DrivasSwimming Men's sailors 100 m freestyle
 Bronze Konstantinos PaspatisTennis Men's singles
 Bronze Alexandros NikolopoulosWeightlifting Men's one hand lift
 Bronze Sotirios VersisWeightlifting Men's two hand lift
 Bronze Stephanos ChristopoulosWrestling Men's Greco-Roman

Results by event

Swimming

Some of the Greek swimmers' names were not recorded. Greece's only swimming gold medal came in an event in which only Greek swimmers were allowed to compete, as did a silver and a bronze. In the three open events, the Greeks took two silvers and two bronzes, all in the two longer races.

Swimmer Event Final
Time Rank
Georgios Anninos 100 m freestyle Unknown 3–10
Efstathios Chorafas Unknown 3–10
Alexandros Chrysafos Unknown 3–10
Antonios Pepanos 500 m freestyle 9:57.6
Efstathios Chorafas Unknown
Ioannis Andreou 1200 m freestyle 21:03.4
Efstathios Chorafas Unknown
N. Katravas Unknown Unknown
Ioannis Malokinis Men's sailors 100 metre freestyle 2:20.4
Spyridon Chazapis Unknown
Dimitrios Drivas Unknown

Athletics

The Greeks entered every event on the athletics program save the 400 metres and the high jump. They took 1 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze medals in the sport. It was initially thought that the Greek team had swept the top three places of the marathon event, until it was discovered that Spiridon Belokas had covered part of the distance by cart and was disqualified.

Track & road events
Athlete Events Heat Final
Time Rank Time Rank
Alexandros ChalkokondylisMen's 100 metres12.82 Q12.65
Georgios GennimatasUnknown4/5Did not advance
Dimitrios GolemisMen's 800 metres2:16.82 Q2:28.0
Angelos FetsisUnknown4Did not advance
Dimitrios TomprofUnknown5Did not advance
Angelos FetsisMen's 1500 metresN/AUnknown5
Dimitrios GolemisUnknown6
Konstantinos KarakatsanisUnknown7/8
Dimitrios TomprofUnknown7/8
Athanasios SkaltsogiannisMen's 110 metre hurdlesUnknown3/4Did not advance
Anastasios AndreouUnknown4Did not advance
Spiridon LouisMen's marathonN/A2:58.50
Charilaos Vasilakos3:06:03
Ioannis VrettosUnknown4
Eleftherios PapasymeonUnknown5
Dimitrios DeligiannisUnknown6
Evangelos GerakerisUnknown7
Stamatios MasourisUnknown8
Ioannis LavrentisDid not finish
Georgios GrigoriouDid not finish
Ilias KafetzisDid not finish
Dimitrios ChristopoulosDid not finish
Spyridon BelokasDisqualified
Field events
Athlete Events Final
Result Rank
Alexandros ChalkokondylisMen's long jump5.744
Athanasios SkaltsogiannisUnknown9
Ioannis PersakisMen's triple jump12.52
Christos ZoumisUnknown6–7
Evangelos DamaskosMen's pole vault2.60
Ioannis Theodoropoulos2.60
Vasilios Xydas2.405
Miltiadis GouskosMen's shot put11.03
Georgios Papasideris10.36
Panagiotis ParaskevopoulosMen's discus throw28.95
Sotirios Versis27.78
Georgios PapasiderisUnknown5–9

Cycling

Greece had entries in all six cycling events, winning one and taking second place in three more.

CyclistEventTime/DistancePlace
Stamatios NikolopoulosMen's time trial26.0 seconds
Stamatios NikolopoulosMen's sprint5:00.2
Aristidis KonstantinidisMen's 10 kilometresUnknown5
Georgios KolettisDid not finish
Georgios KolettisMen's 100 kilometresUnknown
Aristidis KonstantinidisDid not finish
Georgios ParaskevopoulosMen's 12 hour raceDid not finish
Nikos LoverdosDid not finish
A. Tryfiatis-TripiarisDid not finish
Konstantinos KonstantinouDid not finish
Aristidis KonstantinidisMen's individual road race3:22:31
Georgios AspiotisUnknown4–7
Miltiades IatrouUnknown4–7
Konstantinos KonstantinouUnknown4–7
Georgios ParaskevopoulosUnknown4–7

Fencing

Group of French and Greek fencers at 1896 Summer Olympics

Greek fencers won the top two places in the sabre competition, third place in the amateur foil competition, and in a major upset, Pyrgos defeated Joanni Perronet in the sole match of the masters foil event.

FencerEventRecordTouchesRound-robinFinalRank
WinsLossesForAgainst
Periklis Pierrakos-MavromichalisMen's foil21742nd
Group A
Did not advance
Athanasios Vouros21842nd
Group B
Did not advance4
Konstantinos Komninos-Miliotis12573rd
Group B
Did not advance6
Georgios Balakakis03394th
Group B
Did not advance7
Ioannis Poulos03494th
Group A
Did not advance8
Leonidas PyrgosMan's masters foil1031N/AWon
3-1
Ioannis GeorgiadisMen's sabre401261stN/A
Tilemachos Karakalos311152ndN/A
Georgios Iatridis043125thN/A5
Opponent nationWinsLossesPercent
Austria21.667
Denmark21.667
France26.250
Total international68.429
Greece77.500
Total1315.464

Gymnastics

The names of the members of the two teams that competed in the team events are, for the most part, unknown. The vault and the team horizontal bar were two of the four events (the other two in the athletics program) that had no Greek entrants. The Greeks took two of each color medal, with two medals in each of the rope climbing (gold and silver), rings (gold and bronze), and team parallel bars (silver and bronze) competitions.

Artistic

Gymnast Event Score Rank
Filippos Karvelas Parallel bars Unknown 3–18
Ioannis Mitropoulos Unknown 3–18
Antonios Papagiannou Unknown 3–18
Ioannis Mitropoulos Rings Unknown
Petros Persakis Unknown
Aristovoulos Petmezas Pommel horse Unknown 3–15
Antonios Papagiannou Horizontal bar Unknown 3–15
Leonidas Tsiklitiras Unknown 3–15
Athlete Event Result Rank
Nikolaos Andriakopoulos Rope climbing 14.0
Thomas Xenakis 14.0
Team Event Rank
Panellinios G.S. Team parallel bars
Ethnikos G.S. Athens

Shooting

Greek shooters dominated the two rifle events and the rapid fire pistol competition, but were largely unable to compete with the Paine brothers of the United States in the pistol events that the two brothers entered.

Shooter Event Hits Score Rank
Pantelis Karasevdas Men's 200 metre military rifle 40 2350
Panagiotis Pavlidis 38 1978
Nikolaos Trikoupis 34 1713
Anastasios Metaxas Unknown 1701 4
Georgios Orphanidis Unknown 1698 5
Georgios Diamantis Unknown 1456 7
Ioannis Theofilakis Unknown 1261 9
Alexios Fetsios Unknown 894 11
Spiridon Stais Unknown 845 12
Aristovoulos Petmezas Unknown Unknown 14–41
G. Karagiannopoulos Unknown Unknown 14–41
Georgios Orphanidis Men's 300 metre free rifle, three positions 37 1583
Ioannis Frangoudis 31 1312
Anastasios Metaxas Unknown 1102 4
Pantelis Karasevdas Unknown 1039 5
Antelothanasis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Georgios Diamantis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Alexios Fetsios Unknown Unknown 6–18
Karakatsanis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Hatzidakis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Nikolaos Levidis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Zinon Michailidis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Moustakopoulos Unknown Unknown 6–18
Panagiotis Pavlidis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Alexandros Theofilakis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Ioannis Theofilakis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Nikolaos Trikoupis Unknown Unknown 6–18
Leonidas Langakis Did not finish
Ioannis Vourakis Did not finish
Nikolaos Morakis Men's 25 metre military pistol 205 Unknown
Ioannis Frangoudis Unknown Unknown 4
Zinon Michailidis Unknown Unknown 6–13
Georgios Orphanidis Unknown Unknown 6–13
Pantazidis Unknown Unknown 6–13
Patsouris Unknown Unknown 6–13
Panagiotis Pavlidis Unknown Unknown 6–13
Aristovoulos Petmezas Unknown Unknown 6–13
Platis Unknown Unknown 6–13
Vavis Unknown Unknown 6–13
Pantelis Karasevdas Did not finish
Sanidis Did not finish
Ioannis Frangoudis Men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol 23 344
Georgios Orphanidis 20 248
Ioannis Frangoudis Men's 30 metre free pistol Unknown Unknown
Leonidas Morakis Unknown Unknown 4
Georgios Orphanidis Unknown Unknown 5

Tennis

Greece earned a silver medal and a bronze medal in the singles tournament. Kasdaglis and Petrokokkinos competed as a mixed team, winning another silver which is not counted in the Greek total.

Athlete Event First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Dionysios Kasdaglis Men's singles  Defert (FRA)
W
 K. Akratopoulos (GRE)
W
 Tapavica (HUN)
W
 Boland (GBR)
L 3-6, 1-6
Konstantinos Paspatis  Robertson (GBR)
W
 A. Akratopoulos (GRE)
W
 Boland (GBR)
L
Did not advance
Aristidis Akratopoulos  Flack (AUS)
W
 Paspatis (GRE)
L
Did not advance 5
Evangelos Rallis  Petrokokkinos (GRE)
W
 Boland (GBR)
L
Did not advance 5
Konstantinos Akratopoulos Bye  Kasdaglis (GRE)
L
Did not advance 5
Demetrios Petrokokkinos  Rallis (GRE)
L
Did not advance 8
Dimitris Frangopoulos  Tapavica (HUN)
L
Did not advance 8
Dionysios Kasdaglis
Demetrios Petrokokkinos
Men's doubles n/a  Paspatis/
Rallis (GRE)
W
 Flack (AUS)/
 Robertson (GBR)
W
 Boland (GBR)/
 Traun (GER)
L 7-5, 4-6, 1-6
Aristidis Akratopoulos
Konstantinos Akratopoulos
n/a  Boland (GBR)/
 Traun (GER)
L
Did not advance
Konstantinos Paspatis
Evangelos Rallis
n/a  Kasdaglis/
Petrokokkinos (GRE)
L
Did not advance
Opponent nationWinsLossesPercent
 Australia101.000
 France101.000
 Hungary11.500
 Great Britain13.250
 Mixed team12.250
Total international56.454
Greece44.500
Total910.474

Weightlifting

In the one handed event, weightlifters had to lift with each hand successively. Nikolopoulos was able to list 57 kilograms with one hand, but only 40 kilograms with the other. He was judged to have come in third place in the event between the silver medallist Viggo Jensen who had lifted 57 with each hand and 4th-place finisher Versis who had lifted 40 with each, but had not been able to lift 57 with either.

Lifting form was used to break ties in the two handed competition.

Lifter Event Weight Rank
Alexandros Nikolopoulos One hand lift 57.0
Sotirios Versis 40.0 4
Sotirios Versis Two hand lift 90.0
Georgios Papasideris 90.0 4

Wrestling

Christopoulos won a battle of endurance against Momcsilló Tapavicza in the quarterfinals of the wrestling tournament. He then had to face Tsitas, who had received a bye in that round. Tsitas won, giving Christopoulos the bronze medal and a shoulder injury. Tsitas then faced Carl Schuhmann in the final. Schuhmann, having had a bye in the semifinals, took two days to defeat Tsitas, the match having to be postponed on account of darkness at the end of 40 minutes in the first day.

Wrestler Event Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Georgios Tsitas Greco-Roman Bye  Christopoulos (GRE)
W
 Schuhmann (GER)
L
Stephanos Christopoulos  Tapavica (HUN)
W
 Tsitas (GRE)
L
Did not advance


Opponent nationWinsLossesPercent
Germany01.000
Hungary101.000
Total international11.500
Greece11.500
Total22.500

Notes

  1. The names of 103 competitors are known. Up to 7 unknown swimmers, 22 unknown shooters, and 44 unknown gymnasts competed for a total of 176. Most historians reduce the number of swimmers to 6 unknowns, saying that two of the entries were by the same swimmer, as well as noting that the 104 known competitors include three gymnasts who probably were among the 44 unnamed competitors in the team event. These two changes reduce the total competitors to 172. A comparison of Mallon's tables of multiple-event athletes indicates that he believes 3 of the unknown gymnasts also competed in other sports, reducing the number further to 169, which is the number he uses for Greece, Smyrna and Cyprus.

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 )
  • 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 )
  • Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.
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