1920 Summer Olympics

Games of the VII Olympiad
Host city	Antwerp, Belgium
Nations participating	29
Athletes participating	2,626 (2,561 men, 65 women)
Events	154 in 22 sports
Opening ceremony	April 20
Closing ceremony	September 12
Officially opened by	Albert I of Belgium
Athlete's Oath	Victor Boin
Stadium	Olympisch Stadion

The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium. The 1920 Games were awarded to Antwerp to honor the suffering that had been inflicted on the Belgian people during World War I.^[1][2] The initial choice for the site of the Games had been Budapest, Hungary.

The 1916 Summer Olympics, to be held in Berlin, capital of the German Empire, were canceled due to the war. The aftermath of the war and the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 affected the Olympic Games not only due to new states being created, but also by sanctions against the nations that lost the war and were blamed for starting it.

Budapest had initially been selected to host the Games over Amsterdam and Lyon, but as the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been a German ally in the First World War, the Games were transferred to Antwerp in April 1919. Hungary, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey were also banned from competing in the Games. Germany remained banned until 1925, and instead hosted a series of games called Deutsche Kampfspiele, starting with the Winter edition of 1922 (which predated the first Winter Olympics).

Highlights

• These Olympics were the first in which the Olympic Oath was uttered, the first in which doves were released to symbolize peace, and was the first time the Olympic Flag was flown.
• The USA won 41 Gold, 27 Silver, and 27 Bronze medals, the most won by any of the 29 nations attending. Sweden, Great Britain, Finland and Belgium rounded out the five most successful medal-winning nations.
• The Games also featured a week of winter sports, with figure skating and ice hockey making their Olympic debut.
• Duke Kahanamoku retained the 100 m swimming title he won before the war.
• Nedo Nadi won 5 gold medals in the fencing events.
• At the age of 72, Sweden's running deer double-shot event champion Oscar Swahn won in the team event to become the oldest Olympic champion ever.
• 23-year-old Paavo Nurmi won the 10,000 m and 8,000 m cross country races, took another gold in team cross country, and a silver in 5,000 m run. His contributions for Finland broke the U.S. dominance record in track and field with 9 medals.
• In a unique moment in Olympic history, the 12-foot dinghy event in sailing was held in two different countries. The final two races in the event were held in the Netherlands, as the only two competitors in the event were Dutch.[1]

Medals awarded

Demonstration sport

• Korfball

Participating nations

Participants in the 1920 games, with the nations in blue partaking for the first time.

A total of 29 nations participated in the Antwerp Games, only one more than in 1912, as Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey were not invited, having lost World War I. From the newly created European states, only Estonia took part, and Czechoslovakia, succeeding Bohemia which had sent athletes prior to World War I as part of the Austrian Empire. Argentina, Finland, Yugoslavia, Brazil, Monaco competed as nations at the Olympic Games for the first time. New Zealand, which had competed as part of a combined team with Australia in 1908 and 1912, competed on its own for the first time.

Medal count

Main article: 1920 Summer Olympics medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1920 Games.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	41	27	27	95
2	Sweden	19	20	25	64
3	Great Britain	15	15	13	43
4	Finland	15	10	9	34
5	Belgium (host nation)	14	11	11	36
6	Norway	13	9	9	31
7	Italy	13	5	5	23
8	France	9	19	13	41
9	Netherlands	4	2	5	11
10	Denmark	3	9	1	13

See also

• International Olympic Committee
• IOC country codes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

1920 Summer Olympics

• IOC Antwerp 1920 Page
• Flanders Today article on the 1920 Antwerp Olympics

References