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| Games of the I Olympiad | |
| Nations participating | 14 |
| Athletes participating | 245 (245 men, 0 women) |
| Events | 43 in 9 sports |
| Opening ceremonies | April 6, 1896 (1) |
| Closing ceremonies | April 15, 1896 |
| Officially opened by | George I of Greece |
| Athlete's Oath | not applicable |
| Judge's Oath | not applicable |
| Olympic Torch | not applicable |
| (1) At the time, Greece still used the Julian calendar, according to which the dates are March 25 to April 3. | |
The first competitions to be held at the modern Olympic Games are the heats of the 100 m track and field event. All three heats are won by Americans. The first final of the Games is the triple jumpThe triple jump is an athletics (track and field) event, previously also known as "hop, step and jump", whose various names describe the actions a competitor takes. The athlete runs down a runway until he reaches a designated mark, from which the jump is, which is won by American James ConnollyFor the Irish labor leader, see James Connolly (nationalist James Brendan Bennet Connolly ( October 28, 1868 January 20, 1957) was an American athlete and author. In 1896, he became the first modern Olympic champion. Early life James Connolly was born to, thereby becoming the first Olympic Champion since the fourth century CE. A second final held is the discus throw, where American Robert GarrettRobert S. Garrett (born May 24, 1875 in Baltimore County, Maryland; died April 25, 1951) was an American athlete. He was the first Olympic champion in discus throw and shot put. Athens 1896 Robert Garrett came from a wealthy family and studied in Princeto beats the Greeks, who are sad to lose this classical Greek event. Garrett, who did not previously compete in this event as it was re-introduced at these Games, had been practising with a massive discus. When he arrived in Athens, he noticed that the discuses here were much easier to throw.
In the Zappeion, the first fencingFencing encompasses any system of sword-based offense and defense but is most commonly used to denote styles of European origin. Today it can be considered to refer to the European martial art of swordplay, Olympic sport-fencing, stage-fencing or academic events takes place, the foil for amateurs and for fencing masters. The latter event is the first event to be held especially for professionals. This is remarkable, as the Olympics did not, for a long time, allow professional athletes to compete, with the sole exception of fencing. The final of the amateur foil event is a French battle, won by Eugène-Henri Gravelotte. The fight between the two master fencers on foil is won by Leonidas Pyrgos, which thereby becomes the first Greek Olympic Champion of the modern era.
In the stadium, the Americans continue their dominance in athletics, winning the long jump (through Ellery Clark), the shot put (Garrett, winning his second title) and the 400 m ( Tom Burke). A fourth track and field event, the 1500 m, is won by Teddy Flack of Australia.
The weightlifting contests are also conducted in the Olympic stadium, with Launceston Elliot of Great Britain and Viggo Jensen of Denmark taking a first and a second place each in the single-hand and double-hand contests.