A Century Ago, the Paris 1924 Summer Olympics

Alan Taylor
July 17, 2024
31 Photos
In Focus

A hundred years ago, more than 3,000 athletes from 44 nations gathered in France for the Paris 1924 Summer Olympic Games (compared with 2024, when more than 10,000 athletes are expected from 206 nations). In 1924, competition took place in 126 events across 23 disciplines, at 17 Olympic venues in and around the city. Gathered below are images of the many events, athletes, and spectators at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

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Original caption from July 9, 1924: "Rocquencourt, France—The American Olympic candidates are taking more honors than hoped. Every man is right up to the minute physically, due to the rigorous training. Photo shows the American gymnasts during practice stunts at their Rocquencourt headquarters near here." #

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An aerial view of Colombes Olympic Stadium, situated along the Seine river near Paris, as spectators file in to watch the football final during the 1924 Olympic Games #

Archives CNOSF / AFP / Getty

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A general view of the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics at Colombes Stadium on July 5, 1924 #

AP via Reuters

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Edward, Prince of Wales (center), and Gaston Doumergue, president of France (right), attend the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics in July 1924. #

Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty

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The women of Team Great Britain, seen at the Opening Ceremony of the 1924 Olympic Games #

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Count Justinien Clary, president of the French Olympic Committee, speaks during the Opening Ceremony. #

PA Images / Reuters

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The Indian delegation prepares to march into the Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony. #

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Runners ready themselves at the start of a 100-meter-flat qualifying heat on July 6, 1924. Note the ropes separating the lanes, and the divots dug into the track to help them push off. #

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The Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi runs ahead of the pack, leading the men's individual cross-country event at the Summer Olympics, around the Colombes suburb of Paris, on July 12, 1924. To the left of the frame, a photographer records the race (having just passed the Rue Paul Bert), with spectators standing behind a stone wall in the background. Nurmi won gold in the event. #

Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty

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The Netherlands goalkeeper Gejus van der Meulen interrupts an attack by a player from Team Uruguay on June 6, 1924, during the Olympic Games in Paris. #

IMAGO / Piemags / Reuters

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Helen Wills of the United States plays during the doubles tennis match featuring Wills and partner Hazel Wightman against the British duo Phyllis Covell and Kathleen McKane. Wills and Wightman won the gold. #

PA Images / Reuters

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France's Maurice Martin, fourth in the featherweight weightlifting event, lifts during the 1924 Olympic Games. #

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Britain's Harold Abrahams wins the 100-meter-flat final, ahead of Jackson Scholz of the United States and Arthur Porritt of New Zealand, at the 1924 Olympic Games. #

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Original caption from Paris, July 1924: "This photo shows the radio station at the Colombes Stadium, by means of which spectators were able to follow the progress of the (Olympic) marathon race. Scouts along the route reported to this station by telephone, and a series of amplifiers carried the information to the thousands in the stands." #

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France's Albert Séguin performs a vault on the field inside Colombes Olympic Stadium on July 17, 1924. The format of the vault event at these Olympics differs from modern vaults—competitors ran and jumped from a small springboard, leaping over a bar, landing on their hands, and swinging their legs forward to land on the ground. #

Archives CNOSF / AFP / Getty

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Teams prepare at the start of the tandem-cycling final at La Cipale Municipal Velodrome on July 26, 1924. #

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Rows of competitors take aim during an Olympic shooting event in Reims on June 23, 1924. #

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Team Great Britain, seen during a men's eights rowing event on the Seine in Paris #

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DeHart Hubbard of the United States wins the running long jump with a distance of 24 feet 6 inches, becoming the first African American to win an individual Olympic gold medal. #

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The official photographers covering the events at the Paris Games pose inside Colombes Olympic Stadium in July 1924. #

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The American Lee Barnes competes in the pole-vault final. #

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Ville Ritola of Finland runs toward a gold-medal finish in the 10,000-meter event, with Edvin Wide of Sweden in second place, on the track in Colombes Stadium on July 6, 1924. #

PA Images / Reuters

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The American swimmers Ruth Thomas, Helen Wainwright, and Martha Norelius, photographed during an event in Paris, 1924 #

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Swimmers dive in at the start of the first heat of the 4x200m relay semifinals in the Tourelles water-sports stadium on July 18, 1924. #

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The American Caroline Smith wins the 10-meter-high diving competition at the Tourelles water-sports stadium. #

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Elizabeth Becker, from the United States, dives during the 1924 Games. #

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An energized crowd cheers for Olympic competitors inside the Tourelles water-sports stadium on July 15, 1924. #

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Olympic swimmers from Team USA, Johnny Weissmuller and Duke Kahanamoku, shake hands during the competition at the 1924 Paris Olympics. #

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Greece meets Czechoslovakia in a water-polo qualifier at the Tourelles water-sports stadium. #

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Olympic marathon runners pass by on the road to Cormeilles in July 1924. #

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The Frenchman René Lacoste takes on Vincent Richards, an American, in the men's singles quarterfinal on July 17, 1924. #

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