The First Olympic Summer Games of 1896 in Athens

About the Games

• Ten of the 14 countries represented at the Games won medals. The United States won the most gold medals, 11. Greece won the most medals, 46. During the awards ceremony, the champions of the Games of the First Olympiad were presented with silver medals, while the runners-up received copper medals.
• The Olympic Anthem, composed by Spyros Samaras (music) and Kostis Palamas (lyrics), was first performed at the opening of the Games of the First Olympiad and is still performed at all opening ceremonies.
• Greek runner Spyros Louis, breaking away from the pack with 4 kilometers to go, outpaced his closest competitor by 7 minutes. Unlike all subsequent Olympic marathon competitions, the marathon distance at the Games of the First Olympiad was 40 kilometers. The classic marathon distance is 42.195 kilometers.
• The first modern Olympic champion, on April 6, 1896, was American track and field athlete James Connolly, who won the triple jump. Connolly also placed second in the high jump and third in the long jump.