Pierre de Coubertin and the History of Paris Olympics

In the late 1800s, the vitality of the French man was questioned. As France modernized, more people moved into cities and fewer labored for a living. Observers thought this purported ease of city living would sap the strength of the nation’s men.  

A possible remedy for the deterioration of France’s health was the cultivation of sports. An advocate for physical activity was Pierre de Coubertin. He was part of an aristocratic family who saw their world and their fortunes dwindle since the French Revolution. Pierre was impatient with his family’s nostalgic ennui and he devoted himself to the physicality of fencing, boxing and horsemanship. These pastimes would turn into a full-time vocation.  

In 1883, at the age of 20, Pierre de Coubertin toured the elite British sporting academies such as Rugby, Harrow and Eton, plus Oxford and Cambridge universities, where he saw the benefits of combining a physical and intellectual education. It was an approach to education first developed by the ancient Greeks that Pierre felt the rest of the world had forgotten. He was convinced that England’s great growth and power during the 19th century could be attributed to physicality. Stretching and strengthening the body and the mind created well-rounded individuals. Pierre de Coubertin believed such determination could be exported to France.  

Returning to France, he had a mission to invigorate the confined urban youth by toughening the body and spirit through sport. However, the obvious places for boys’ sports, the lycées, lacked the space for such activities. After an exhausting 11-hour school day, teachers had no interest in smelly sports.  

De Coubertin had more success recreating the Olympic Games and dedicated the rest of his life to the revival of sport. In his 1888 book, L’Education en Angleterre, de Coubertin wrote, “Organized sport can create character and social strength. Not only did organized games help set the mind and body in equilibrium, they also prevented time being wasted in other ways.” De Coubertin romanticized ancient Greece and looked towards the Athenian example of peaceful, athletic competitions held every four years.  

De Coubertin’s France was one of great change. He had lived through the Siege of Paris at one of the family properties, a five-story townhouse still in existence at 20 rue Oudinot in the 7th arrondissement. He was an exceptionally clever student at his private Jesuit school. Ahead of his time, he feared a new world dominated by mass consumption and self-indulgence. De Coubertin studied history, literature, sociology, and education and wrote copiously about them all. In 1886, he graduated from law and public affairs at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques.  

He developed into a very noticeable figure. De Coubertin was short, just 161cm tall or 5’3”. His hair turned white and he sported a fashionably flamboyant mustache. While his peers were entering military and political careers, de Coubertin’s passion remained sport’s education  – pedagogie sportive. 

However, it seemed de Coubertin was a natural born politician after all. Politics became inseparable from the modern Olympics since the decision was taken at the Sorbonne in 1894 to revive them. It was on June 23 of that year, that de Coubertin managed to assemble 78 delegates representing both French and foreign sports organizations. At the central amphitheater of the university, the decision was made to revive the ancient Olympics. De Coubertin hoped the resurrected Olympics would promote a healthy population, and foster a peaceful coexistence within nations.   

De Coubertin seemed to have amnesia about other attempts to revive the Olympic Games. Greek advocates planned to resurrect the Olympics with games staged in 1859, 1870, 1875 and 1889. Britain formed the National Olympian Association in 1850. De Coubertin’s games weren’t the first attempt at revival. However, de Coubertin’s Olympics were the first quadrennial series.  

From the get-go, de Coubertin tried to spirit the Greek games away to Paris. Originally it had been de Coubertin’s idea to hold the first modern Olympics in his home city. However de Coubertin’s colleague and committee member, Demetrios Vikelas, a Greek national, convinced him that the new Olympics should be held in Athens to symbolically link them to the original games. The date and location of the first Modern Olympic Games was set for 1896 in Athens. The second celebration was to be the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.  

Consequently, it was in 1894 that the International Olympic Committee was founded with Vikelas a president. De Coubertin took over the position of president of the IOC from Vikelas in 1900, a position he held until 1925. In the intervening years de Coubertin came up with the Olympic motto and created the symbol of the colorful, interlinking rings representing five participating continents.  

“The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.” 

The 1900 Olympic Games 

The second Olympiad recognized in the modern era, the 1900 Paris Olympics lasted from mid-May until the end of October. There were 1,226 participants from 26 nations. Ninety-five events were held over 19 different sports. Unfortunately, there was some crossover with the 1900 Paris Exposition running concurrently. Some participants didn’t know which exhibition they were competing in, unaware that they were in fact competing in the Olympic Games. Thus, de Coubertin found himself in a contest of his own with the much more important Paris World’s Fair, struggling to have the so-called “International Contests of Physical Exercise and Sport” afforded the title of “Olympic Games.” 

Track and field events took place on the far western side of Paris on a rough field at the Racing Club de France in the Bois de Boulogne’s Croix Catelan. Rowing, swimming and water polo contenders splashed about in the Seine, while cycling, soccer and gymnastics events, which at that time included weight lifting, cricket and rugby matches were held at the far eastern side of the city at the Bois de Vincennes. Shooters were relegated to the city’s outskirts while fencers parried on the historic terrace of the Jeu de Paume in the Tuileries.  

Women first competed in the 1900 Olympic Games, participating in five sports: croquet, sailing, tennis, golf, and equestrian events. The first Olympic medal won by a woman was earned by the American-born Swiss competitor Hélène de Pourtales, who raced alongside her husband in a yachting event. Women competed in tennis doubles and singles. The first individual medal for a woman was won by the British Charlotte Cooper. While wearing an ankle-length skirt, long sleeves and a corset, Cooper went on to win the mixed doubles match too.  

Sensible clothing was the reason behind the gold medal in golf won by American Margaret Abbott. Margaret, who had been visiting Paris with her mother, ostensibly to see the Exposition Universelle, enrolled on the spot. In her eyes, she was free from restrictive clothing, although we would not think so today.  

At the Paris 1900 games, the American track star Alvin Kraenzlein won four medals but was allegedly punched by a team member for breaking a gentleman’s agreement to stand solidly with the other American contenders who would not compete on Sundays. This religious viewpoint was the impetus behind the 1981 film Chariots of Fire in which a member of the British track team would not compete in the Paris 1924 games.  

Some odd sports were only offered at the 1900 Paris Olympics, and then archived. There was canon firing, for French men only. There was fishing (angling for the most fish and the biggest fish), pigeon racing and live pigeon shooting. Cities competed for the fire-fighting medal. Above it all, were the whimsical kite flying and ballooning events. Regarding 1900, the IOC has never decided what events were part of the World’s Fair and which were Olympic sports.   

The only instance of the obstacle swim was at the 1900 Olympics. Held in the Seine, the race featured competitors climbing a pole that hovered just above the water’s surface, and then scrambling both over and under rows of boats while swimming as fast as possible to finish this exhausting 200-meter race. Underwater swimming was cancelled after 1900 because it held little spectator appeal! The Spanish athletes won out in Basque pelota, because the French team withdrew with a disagreement about the rules. This is the only time this court game was an official sport, though it would be a demonstration sport in 1924, 1968 and 1992. Croquet would not survive as an Olympic event, nor would cricket, or motorcycle racing.  

The 1900 marathon took place on July 19, despite storms and a daytime temperature of 39 °C (102 °F). Badly marked, the runners became lost, wandered aimlessly and had to contend with horses and buggies, the occasional auto and bicycles. The winner was accused of taking short cuts.  

The host nation of France comprised 72% of the athletes at the 1900 Games, and won the most medals. The U.S. athletes came second, and the British placed third.

The 1924 Olympic Games

“Citius, Altius, Fortius” –  Faster, Higher, Stronger,  was the motto de Coubertin introduced during the 1924 Olympiad, the last one organized under his presidency. In Paris that summer were 3089 participants – 2954 men and 135 women. There were 126 events in 17 sports. Johnny Weissmuller, who would go on to be Hollywood’s most famous Tarzan, won three gold medals in swimming and one bronze in water polo. 

The 1924 Paris Olympics were the first to have an Olympic Village. Art competitions were held as part of the games. These attempts at fine art were part of the Olympic program from 1912-1948, and discontinued because of a debate between amateurism and professionalism. There were five competitive categories, architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. All ventures had to be inspired by sports-related themes.  

The number of athletes during the 2024 Paris summer Olympics will exceed 10,500 who’ll compete in 329 events over 32 sports categories. Set to kick off on July 26, the Paris games will include four extra sports – breaking, surfing, skateboarding, and sport wall climbing. The surfing will be hosted in Tahiti. Karate, baseball and softball have been removed from the roster this year. Many events will be held outdoors and the opening ceremonies plan to have the competing nations glide down the Seine under the watchful eye of spectators. The atmosphere will be that of a World’s Fair, or perhaps the ancient Olympics that de Coubertin so admired.