Athens played host to the first modern Olympic Games. After more than 1,500 years since the original Olympic Games, 60,000 spectators witnessed 14 nations compete in nine separate events. Some tourists visiting the area on holiday were even allowed to sign up for some events! The schedule for this Olympics included swimming, track and field, gymnastics, wrestling, weightlifting, fencing, shooting, tennis and cycling. The cycling featured both road and track disciplines. Five nations competed in the cycling events which included: Austria; France; Germany; Great Britain and Greece, but it was the French who dominated these events with Leon Flameng and Paul Masson winning 6 medals between them. Their medal haul included 4 gold on the track, a silver in the 10km and bronze in the sprint event. The bikes they were riding were fixed gear with Flameng’s bikes sporting a rather nice double top tube frame design.
Courtesy if Wikipedia.
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12 comments:
Loved catching up on your very interesting posts!! Always learn something new! Hope you're enjoying your summer!
The idea of tourists signing up for events made me laugh out loud! Very interesting information.
If you compare these bikes with the high tech ones they use for racing today, the difference is significant. I bet there is a weight difference of at least 10 kilos. And there is no gear to be seen. Magnificent photo! Thanks.
Fascinating... I had no idea. You must be feeling a little blue to have the Olympics closing this weekend.
This bikes would be classed as primitive these days, but I'll bet they don't cost anywhere near as much. Great photo.
Imagine the chaos today if tourists were allowed to sign up. Very interesting post!
Oh my, what a story, they are such a striking pair! Or is it their lovely outfits! Have I mentioned before how I smile every time I see your header photo? It's really very nice!
Wow! Tourists in the Olympics! I had no idea this ever happened. Imagine how frustrating that would have been to the athletes who'd trained for years if a tourist got the medal they were hoping for.
That's a great photo Peggy; they look as if they took their cycling pretty seriously!
What a lovely old photo - and a fascinating bit of history as well
Tourists competing in the Olympics...who knew! Interesting bit of trivia. I wonder how the cyclists of today would fare riding the bikes in the 1896 photo.
Nice pic!!
It seems a rather humble beginning to something that has become a grand event, and costly to do too!! I should know as Montreal turned out to be one of the worse financial disaster concerning this event...
:)~
HUGZ
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