At the 1896 Summer Olympics

1896 Summer Olympics

The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era...

, eight gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

 events, all for men, were contested in Panathinaiko Stadium

Panathinaiko Stadium

The Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro , is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896...

. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Wrestling and Gymnastics. Events took place on 9 April, 10 April, and 11 April 1896. 71 competitors from 9 nations (including 52 from Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

) took part in gymnastics.

Medal summary

These medals are retroactively assigned by the International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

; at the time, winners were given a silver medal and subsequent places received no award.

Horizontal bar			none
Parallel bars			none
Pommel horse			none
Rings
Rope climbing
Vault
Team parallel bars	Konrad Böcker Konrad Böcker Conrad Böcker was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Böcker had little success in individual events. He competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar, vault, pommel horse, and rings events... Alfred Flatow Alfred Flatow Alfred Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was Jewish.... Gustav Flatow Gustav Flatow Gustav Felix Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.... Georg Hillmar Georg Hillmar Georg Hillmar was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Hillmar won two gold medals as a member of the German team that won both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. He had less success in the individual events, contesting the parallel bars,... Fritz Hofmann Fritz Manteuffel Fritz Manteuffel Fritz Manteuffel was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Manteuffel was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar... Karl Neukirch Karl Neukirch Karl Neukirch was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Neukirch was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar... Richard Röstel Richard Röstel Richard Röstel was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Röstel was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. He also competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar,... Gustav Schuft Gustav Schuft Gustav Schuft was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Schuft was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar... Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann was a German athlete, who was born in Münster and won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era... Hermann Weingärtner Hermann Weingärtner Hermann Weingärtner was a German gymnast.He was born and died in Frankfurt .He started his career in his hometown at the local gymnastics club Frankfurter Turnverein 1860. Later on he moved to Berlin to compete for the Deutsche Turnerschaft.He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens...	Nikolaos Andriakopoulos Nikolaos Andriakopoulos Nikolaos Andriakopoulos was a Greek gymnast. He was a member of Panachaikos Gymnastikos Syllogos, that merged in 1923 with Gymnastiki Etaireia Patron to become Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi.-Olympics performances:... Spyros Athanasopoulos Sotirios Athanasopoulos Spyridon Athanasopoulos was a Greek gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Athanasopoulos was the team leader of the Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos team that placed second of the three teams in the event, giving him a silver medal.-References:*... Petros Persakis Petros Persakis Petros Persakis was a Greek gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Persakis competed in the individual rings and team parallel bars events. He placed third in the rings event... Thomas Xenakis Thomas Xenakis Thomas Xenakis was a Greek gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.He was born in Greece and died in Orange, California, United States....	Ioannis Chrysafis Ioannis Chrysafis Ioannis Chrysafis was a Greek gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Chrysafis was the team leader of the Ethnikos Gymnastikos Syllogos team that placed third of the three teams in the event, giving the members of the team bronze medals.... Ioannis Mitropoulos Ioannis Mitropoulos Ioannis Mitropoulos was a Greek gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Mitropoulos competed in both the individual and team events of the parallel bars, and the individual rings event. In the rings event, he gave Greece its first gold medal in gymnastics... Dimitrios Loundras Dimitrios Loundras Dimitrios Loundras was a Greek gymnast who competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Loundras competed in the team parallel bars event. In that competition, Loundras was a member of the Ethnikos Gymnastikos Syllogos team that placed third of the three teams in the event, giving him a bronze... Filippos Karvelas Filippos Karvelas Filippos Karvelas was a Greek gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Karvelas competed in both the individual and team events of the parallel bars. He did not win a medal in the individual event, though his ranking is unknown...
Team horizontal bar	Konrad Böcker Konrad Böcker Conrad Böcker was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Böcker had little success in individual events. He competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar, vault, pommel horse, and rings events... Alfred Flatow Alfred Flatow Alfred Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was Jewish.... Gustav Flatow Gustav Flatow Gustav Felix Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.... Georg Hillmar Georg Hillmar Georg Hillmar was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Hillmar won two gold medals as a member of the German team that won both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. He had less success in the individual events, contesting the parallel bars,... Fritz Hofmann Fritz Manteuffel Fritz Manteuffel Fritz Manteuffel was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Manteuffel was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar... Karl Neukirch Karl Neukirch Karl Neukirch was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Neukirch was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar... Richard Röstel Richard Röstel Richard Röstel was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Röstel was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. He also competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar,... Gustav Schuft Gustav Schuft Gustav Schuft was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Schuft was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar... Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann was a German athlete, who was born in Münster and won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era... Hermann Weingärtner Hermann Weingärtner Hermann Weingärtner was a German gymnast.He was born and died in Frankfurt .He started his career in his hometown at the local gymnastics club Frankfurter Turnverein 1860. Later on he moved to Berlin to compete for the Deutsche Turnerschaft.He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens...	none	none

Medal table

1		5	3	2	10
2		2	2	2	6
3		1	2	0	3

Bulgaria

Bulgaria at the 1896 Summer Olympics

The Bulgarian Olympic Committee claims one gymnast, Charles Champaud, competed for the nation at the 1896 Summer Olympics. This makes Bulgaria one of the 14 nations to appear at the inaugural Summer Olympic Games...

, Denmark

Denmark at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Three athletes from Denmark competed in five sports at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Two of the three combined to win a gold medal, two silvers, and three bronzes, while Eugen Schmidt earned no medals. Viggo Jensen contributed one of each color, while Holger Nielsen earned the second silver...

, France

France at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Thirteen athletes from France competed in six sports at the 1896 Summer Olympics. France won the fourth-most gold medals with 5 and the fourth-most total medals with 11. Cycling was the sport in which the French competitors had the most success, as they completely dominated the field...

, Great Britain, Hungary

Hungary at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Hungary competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.Austrian and Hungarian results at early Olympic Games are generally kept separate despite the union of the two nations as Austria-Hungary at the time....

, and Sweden

Sweden at the 1896 Summer Olympics

One competitor from Sweden was present at the 1896 Summer Olympics. He competed in athletics and gymnastics, with 5 entries in as many events. Sweden was one of four nations present that won no medals; Italy, Chile and Bulgaria were the others....

 had gymnasts compete, but won no medals.

Sub-Committee for Wrestling and Gymnastics

• Joan. Phokianos, president
• George Streit, secretary
• Joan. Yenissarlis
• Loukas Belos
• Nic. Politis
• Chas. Waldstein
• Dimitri Aighinitis
• Dim. Sekkeris
• Spiridon Comoundouros
• Const. Manos
• Sp. Antonopoulos

External links