Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics explained

Noc:	GBR
Nocname:	British Olympic Association
Games:	Summer Olympics
Year:	1900
Flagcaption:	Flag of the United Kingdom
Location:	Paris
Competitors:	101
Sports:	14
Rank:	3
Gold:	15
Silver:	7
Bronze:	9
Appearances:	auto
See also:	1906 Intercalated Games

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.

Medallists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date













	Devon and Somerset Wanderers Cricket Team	Cricket
	Upton Park F.C.	Football





	^[1]

	Moseley Wanderers	Rugby Union

Additionally British competitors won five gold medals, three silver medals and five bronze medals while competing for the Mixed Team.

Medal	Team	Sport	Event
			5000 metre team race
			2-3 ton (race 1)
			2-3 ton (race 2)
			Men's Polo
			Men's Water Polo
			Men's Cricket
			Mixed doubles
			Men's Polo
			Men's Football
			Mixed doubles (first bronze pair)
			Mixed doubles (second bronze pair)
			Men's Polo
			Men's Water Polo

Results by event

Swimming

See main article: article and Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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
Swimmer	Event	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
		2:40.0	2 q	2:45.6	4
		2:51.0	2	did not advance
		2:47.0	2 q	2:55.0	6
		16:54.0	2 q		10
John Arthur Jarvis		14:28.6	1 Q	13:40.2
		1:15:04.8	2 q	1:15:07.6	4
		1:22:58.4	3 q		8
John Arthur Jarvis		1:01:48.4	1 Q	58:24.0
			–	did not advance
		3:50.4	3 q	3:12.0	5
		3:15.0	2 q		9
		3:14.4	2 Q	2:58.0	6
Peter Kemp		3:12.0	1 Q	2:47.4
		3:18.4	3 q	2:55.0	5

Water polo

See main article: article and Water polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

The 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	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Team	Event	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final	Rank
Osborne Swimming Club		W 12-0	W 10-1	W 7-2

Athletics

See main article: Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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
Athlete	Event	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	1500 m	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
Athlete	Event	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

See main article: Cricket at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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.thumb|the british cricket team in 1900

Cricketers	Event	Opposition Result	Place
Cricketers	Event	Final	Place
Devon and Somerset Wanderers		W by 158 runs

Cycling

See main article: Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Athlete	Event	Place
Lloyd Hildebrand^[6]

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

See main article: Fencing at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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
Eugène Plisson	Men's masters foil	Not advanced by jury	did not advance
Josiah Bowden	align=left rowspan=2	Men's épée	2 Q	Unknown	did not advance
Charles Robinson	Unknown	did not advance

Football

See main article: article and Football at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Upton 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	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Team	Event	Match 1	Match 2	Rank
Upton Park F.C.		W 4–0

Match 1

Golf

See main article: article and Golf at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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
		186	7
David Donaldson Robertson		175
Walter Rutherford		168
		185	6
		184	5

Gymnastics Artistic

See main article: article and Gymnastics at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great Britain's second Olympic gymnastics appearance was no more successful than the nation's first, resulting in no medals.

Gymnast	Event	Score	Rank
	250	31
	172	124
Pearce	238	54
	222	73

Polo

See main article: article and Polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Team	Event	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final	Rank
Foxhunters Hurlingham		W 10–0	W 6–4	W 3–1
BLO Polo Club Rugby			W 8–0	L 3–1
Bagatelle Polo Club de Paris			L 6–4	Did not advance

Rowing

See main article: Rowing at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Britain had a single rower present at the first Olympic rowing contests, winning the bronze medal in the single sculls event.

Rugby

See main article: article and Rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Britain 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	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Team	Event	Match 1	Match 2	Rank
Moseley Wanderers		L 27–8

Match 2

Roster

Sailing

See main article: article and Sailing at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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
	3–10 ton class race 2	4:38.49
Cecil Quentin		5:29:46
Selwin Calverley		5:30:06
		5:56:17
			–

Regatta events

Sailors	Event	Race 1		Race 2		Race 3		Overall
Sailors	Event	Time	Rank (points)	Time	Rank (points)	Time	Rank (points)	Score	Rank
Edward Hore		4:20:18	3rd, 8 points	3:41:49	1st, 10 points		–, 5 points	23 points
		4:25:48	5th, 6 points	3:53:17	5th, 6 points	3:36:02	4th, 7 points	19 points	5

Shooting

See main article: article and Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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
		12	7

Tennis

See main article: article and Tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Great 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	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Player	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final	Rank
Laurence Doherty		W 6-2, 6-3	W 6-2, 8-6

Notes and References

Web site: 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). 2024-06-13.
Web site: Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Olympedia.org. 20 July 2024.
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1900/WAP/mens-water-polo.html Sports-Reference
Web site: Gjerde. Arild. Jeroen Heijmans . Bill Mallon . Hilary Evans . Water Polo at the 1900 Paris Summer Games. Olympics. Sports Reference.com. December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20200417165216/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1900/WAP/mens-water-polo.html. dead. 17 April 2020. 7 December 2016.
News: Munro. Bruce. A nation strikes gold. Otago Daily Times. Allied Press. 2 August 2016. 7 December 2016.
Web site: 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). 2024-06-13.