1920 Olympic Games

King of Belgium greets athletes at Olympic opening ceremony

Antwerp, 14 August 1920 - The 7th Olympic Games were officially opened today in Antwerp. The proceedings began with each country’s team, carrying its national flag, marching past and saluting the King of Belgium, Albert I. The British team removed their straw hats, while the French team raised their right...

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Explainer: Who took part in the Antwerp Olympics?

The 7th Summer Olympics were held in the Belgian city of Antwerp. These were the first games since before the war began, the 1916 games were scheduled to be held in Berlin but were cancelled as Europe was engulfed in violence. While there may have been great excitement at the return...

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Irish success at weight-throwing event

Antwerp, 21 Aug 1920 - Irishman Pat McDonald won a gold medal for the United States at today’s 56 pound weight-throwing event. McDonald broke the Olympic record by throwing the weight 11.00 metres. His performance today took place before a huge crowd; 30,000 people crammed into the Olympic stadium to view the sporting...

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Athletics on the agenda at first day of Antwerp Olympics

Antwerp, 16 Aug 1920 – The first full day of the seventh Olympic meeting took place today with athletic events on the agenda. The javelin throwers began their competition in the stadium at 11am with Finland and the US supplying most of the competitors. The heats for the 800m provided some...

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U.S. leads points tables as Olympics draw to a close

Antwerp, 4 Septeber 1920 - The 7th Olympiad in Antwerp has come to a close and the final points tally, published in the Manchester Guardian, is as follows: USA: 218.5 Finland: 97.5 Britain: 94 Sweden: 93.5 France: 33 Italy: 29 South Africa: 29 Estonia: 8 Belgium 7 New Zealand: 5 Australia: 5 Netherlands: 5 Czechoslovakia: 2 Luxembourg: 1 The table reveals much about the games. That...

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US dominates as records broken at the second day of the Olympic games

Antwerp, 16 Aug 1920 – Today was a strenuous one at the athletics stadium, beginning at 9.30am with the men's 100 metres. The final was a somewhat curious race. There were two false starts, then a band struck up and a long wait took place before the music could be stopped and...

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Belgium win dramatic Olympic football final after Czechoslovak tantrum

Antwerp, 2 September 1920 - Most of Antwerp seemed to be making for the football stadium early this afternoon so as to be on time for the great event of the day – Belgium versus Czechoslovakia competing for the gold medal. By the time the teams lined up there was not a...

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United States continues strong showing in and on the water

Antwerp, 30 August 1920 - The swimming events ended today and the American team dominated the events. In the women’s 100m and 300m races American Ethelda Bleibtrey took home gold, with the U.S. also taking home the silver and bronze in both. The Americans cemented their dominance by winning...

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British athletes face hostility at home and abroad

Antwerp, 27 August 1920 - The final of the men's water polo competition took place today between Great Britain and Belgium. The game was nail-biting with Great Britain scoring three minutes before the end to win the game 3-2. The home crowd, disappointed with the result, booed and whistled at the...

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American swimmer Ethelda Bleibtrey breaks world records

Antwerp, 26 August 1920 - American swimmer Ethelda Bleibtrey smashed world records in both the 100m and 300m races today. The swimmer has managed to break records in every race she has competed in so far during the summer games. She won the 100m final today, with fellow Americans Irene Guest and...

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Wimbledon champ Lenglen takes home double gold in the tennis for France

Antwerp, 24 August 1920 - The idyllic weather attracted huge crowds to the Olympic grounds today, with water sports and the women’s tennis finals being the main events. The women’s 10m diving heats were notable due to the number of competitors taking part. One of the standout...

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Final day of track events at Antwerp games

Antwerp, 23 August 1920 - Today was the last day of track events at the Olympic stadium in Antwerp. The final of the men's 4 x 400 metre relay race took place with Great Britain securing the gold medal, while South Africa, which included the gold medal winner Bevil Rudd, took home silver...

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New world record set in marathon

Antwerp, 22 Aug 1920 - Hannes Kolehmainen, of Finland, set a new world record time for the marathon, the highlight of the Olympic programme today. 48 men lined up in brightly coloured jerseys on the start line and at precisely 12 minutes past 4 o’clock the pistol fired and off they went. The...

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Silver for Irish-born Patrick Flynn in action-packed day of athletics

Antwerp, 20 August 1920 - Having already secured the men's 10km walking title, Italy's Ugo Frigerio was back in action today in the 3km heats, easily qualifying for the final. The walking events have not been without controversy and the Belfast Newsletter has questioned the virtues of the discipline as...

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Irishman wins gold for America at Olympics, but what of Ireland's right to compete?

Antwerp, 19 August 1920 - Limerick-native Patrick Ryan has won a gold medal for the United States at the Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Ryan cruised to victory in the hammer throwing event, continuing a strong tradition of Irish athletes in Olympic field events. The final of the event took place today,...

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Gold for Canada, Italy and the US in another exciting day's track and field events

Antwerp, 18 August 1920 - The highlight of today’s events was the men's 110m hurdles final, which took place at 2.30pm. It was a fiercely exciting race. Going over the final hurdle all six of the competitors were within three yards of each other, but it was the Canadian...

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Sport and self-determination – making Ireland’s case for Olympic recognition

Maybe the International Olympic Committee had invested too much in the branding, had gone too far down the road of designing logos and producing the signage, t-shirts, mugs and all the other sell-able bric-a-brac to do any different. Tokyo 2020 it was and Tokyo 2020 it will remain, even if, courtesy...

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