1912

Stockholm 1912

Athletics

Diving

Fencing

Figure Skating

Football

Marathon Swimming

Modern Pentathlon

Swimming

Tennis

Wrestling

Australia

Belgium

Canada

Finland

Great Britain

Hungary

Italy

Poland

South Africa

Sweden

United States

The athletes, around 3,000 of whom had convened at the nearby Ostermalm Athletic Grounds, proceeded to the stadium and in what is now time\-honoured tradition, they entered in their national delegations in alphabetical – with the exception of Sweden, who came in last\. The Games were declared officially opened by

Stockholm shows its sunny side during Opening Ceremony

It was certainly the right stage for Fanny Durack, and the right time too\. Born in Sydney in 1889, the Australian grew up as a breaststroke specialist and was quickly recognised as something of a prodigy\. Still a schoolgirl when she won her first New South Wales state title in

Durack puts women’s swimming on the Olympic map

Kolehmainen, who was 22 at the time of the Games, came from strong sporting stock – his brothers, William and Tatu, were also distance runners of international quality\. It was Hannes, who worked as a bricklayer, who made a name for himself on the world stage, starting on 7 July

Kolehmainen crowned king of the track

It comprised five disciplines: athletics, fencing, riding, swimming and shooting\. The Official Report described the new event as follows: “The five events ought to be such as would test the endurance, resolution, presence of mind, intrepidity, agility and strength of those taking part in the competition, while, in drawing up

Lilliehöök delights home crowd with inaugural modern pentathlon gold

It was a familiar venue for local competitors at least, as it was the venue for a popular annual cycling race\. The course took in a total of 198 miles and was contested as a time trial\. Medals were awarded individually and for teams, with the winner of the latter

Magnificent Lewis takes the road to glory

Born to European\-Amerindian parents in 1887 and raised in the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma with his original given name of Wa\-Tho\-Huk \(&ldquo;Bright Path&rdquo;\), Jim Thorpe was a born athlete\. At 16, he went to study at Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, where his talent was quickly spotted\.

Jim Thorpe – a name etched in the annals of the Olympic Games 

Two trailblazers for Australian women&rsquo;s sport &ndash; who also happened to be fierce rivals &ndash; made the journey to Stockholm in 1912, via London, to represent Australasia \(Australia and New Zealand\) in the swimming competition at the Games of the V Olympiad: Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie\. Both were from

12 July 1912: Fanny Durack becomes the first female Olympic swimming champion

The plaudits rained in for the Swedish organisers\. “It will be an example to be followed by us all\. We admired the clear planning; we have watched its execution with the same admiration, and we have brought home with us to our nation a sum of useful and fundamental experience,”

Swedes praised for “most effective games yet”

However, it was not until two decades later in Stockholm, after lengthy and tortuous deliberations and planning, that equestrian events finally made their Olympic debut\. Among the many logistical complications was the issue of transporting the horses for the 62 riders, many of whom were travelling from abroad; the Swedish

Nordlander leads Swedish charge in the eventing

Adlerz had been just a week shy of his 16th birthday when he competed at the 1908 Games in London\. On that occasion, the young prodigy bowed out at the first round of the 10m platform event\. However, four years later, in the city of his birth, he was to

Adlerz swoops to conquer in the diving pool

The 24\-year\-old Ahlgren and 22\-year\-old Bohling were part of a 29\-strong field that included a particularly strong contingent from the Finns\. They competed under rules that were standardised for the Olympic Games, with many countries having different regulations for wrestling\.

Inseparable Ahlgren and Bohling share wrestling gold

Hodgson’s achievement was one of the most surprising witnessed at any Games\. He did not receive formal training, relying purely on raw talent, and catching the eye with an unusual stroke named the “trudgen”, which was effectively a mixture of the front crawl and sidestroke\. It made Hodgson an intriguing

Hodgson’s stroke of genius

&nbsp;Their stand\-out sabrist, Jenő Fuchs, who repeated his feats of London 1908 by winning double gold, did so in even more impressive style in Stockholm, remaining undefeated in both individual and team competitions\.

Fuchs underlines Hungarian sabre supremacy

At their helm was team captain Paul Anspach, one of the key figures in the creation of the Belgian Olympic Committee in 1906, who had been part of the Belgian team that captured silver in the team event four years earlier in London\. He had also competed in the individual

Anspach spearheads Belgians to epée golds

The 21\-year\-old, whose birthday fell just two weeks after his successes in the Olympic Stadium, made his first outing on 12 July in the single\-handed discus throw event\.

Hands-on Taipale wins double discus gold

It was some achievement for the Italian to be competing in a second Games at all: in the few years after the 1908 Games he had been stripped of his amateur status by the Italian Gymnastics Federation, suffered serious shoulder and rib injuries and, most tragically of all, mourned the

Braglia bounces back to deliver another golden gymnastics display

The swimming stadium had been specially constructed at Djurgardsbrunnsviken, just outside the Swedish capital\. Bathe’s first taste of the Olympic pool came on 7 July, when he competed in the fourth heat of the 200m breaststroke\. He wasted no time in making an impact, setting an Olympic record with a

Bathe in glory

Thorpe was born in 1887 in the US state of Oklahoma; his mother was partly descended from a well\-known native Indian tribe and he boasted an apt native name, “Wa\-Tho\-Huk”, meaning “Bright Path”\. He quickly showed himself to possess rare physical gifts and by the time the Games came around

Thorpe conquers all to become first great all-round Olympian

The 20\-year old, who had honed his skills at the University of Michigan, entered the Olympics as holder of the USA’s 100\-yard intercollegiate record and the international 220\-metre record\. He received a big billing in his home country: “Those who have seen him training claim he will show more speed

Speed merchant Craig claims sprint double

There was an understandable note of caution among the International Olympic Committee, following the experience of 1908, when Rome had pulled out of hosting the Games and London had been required to step in at short notice\. The 1908 Games had been successful in the end, but there was a

Swedish capital primed for “classic” Games

Four years previously, Great Britain had come out on top, beating Denmark 2\-0 in a gold medal match\. The winning side’s captain was Vivian Woodward, a centre\-forward, who was a prolific scorer for Tottenham Hotspur at the time\. An architect by profession, Woodward was known as an intelligent player whose

Woodward captains British to another football gold

The British\-born Kitson, in particular, was a highly experienced player\. He had just turned 38 when the tournament in Stockholm began and had competed at London 1908, falling in the second round of the singles to Great Britain’s George Caridia and seeing his doubles partnership with Victor Gauntlett thwarted at

Winslow and Kitson dominate men’s tennis

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