1896 Summer Olympics

The 1896 Summer Olympics, formally called the Games of the I Olympiad, were the first modern Summer Olympic Games and the first Games since Roman emperor Theodosius I banned the Ancient Olympic Games in AD 393 as part of the Christian campaign against paganism. They were held between 6 April and 15 April 1896.

Medal count

Currently, many media sources publish medal counts for the Olympic Games. This was not the case in 1896, but many sources have tallied the 1896 medals to be able to compare the 1896 edition with later Games. These statistics should be used with care, however.

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It should be noted, first, that no gold medals were awarded at all, and the third place finishers did not receive any prize in Athens. Secondly, national teams as we know now hardly existed. Greece and Hungary had held selection matches, but most other athletes represented their clubs or themselves. Furthermore, not all of the countries listed below did actually exist as of 1896. For example, Australia was not yet independent of the UK, and Hungary and Austria were formally joined together as one nation. Nevertheless, most sources have the countries as listed below. (Host country in bold.)

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Numbers in parentheses indicate the results if nations are credited with medals won as part of mixed teams.

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