125 years of British Olympians – Part One (1896-1936)

125 Anniversary 05 Apr 21

Since the birth of the Olympic movement in 1896, only three countries have sent athletes to every Summer and Winter Games - and Great Britain is proudly among them.

The proceeding 125 years have brought an incredible array of moments which have become etched in British sporting folklore and those heading to Tokyo this summer are the latest to carry the baton in search of similar feats.

In this series of features, we will be shining a light on the stories behind some of Britain's most remarkable Olympians, the obstacles they have overcome and the legacy they have helped create.

We begin with the first four decades of the biggest and best multi-sport event in the world, a period which included trailblazing sprinters, heroic walkers and multi-talented athletes who excelled across disciplines.

OFF THE MARK

World records and Olympic records, as stunning as they are, are always liable to be beaten.

There is something extra special about being 'the first' to achieve a sporting feat and when it comes to British champions at the Olympic Games, this honour is held by Launceston Elliot - who took the first step on a path which has seen Team GB become the only country to have won gold at every Summer Games.

Technically, though Elliot came out on top in the weightlifting one-handed lift in Athens, he was not a 'gold' medal winner. At the very first Olympics, champions were awarded a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma, with runners-up handed a bronze medal, a branch of laurel and a diploma - there was nothing for third place in those early days.

Elliot took home both medals, having finished second in the two-handed lift, and also took part in the 100m, rope climbing and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Having been a men-only competition in its inaugural year, the Olympic Games welcomed female athletes for the first time in Paris in 1900.

It was here that Ealing-born Charlotte Cooper became the first individual female Olympic champion when she beat home favourite Hélène Prévost in straight sets.

Cooper, who won the Wimbledon singles title five times in a glittering career on court, also partnered Reggie Doherty in a victorious mixed doubles competition in Paris and Britain enjoyed regular tennis success in the early Olympic years until 1924, after which the sport did not return to the Olympic programme for 60 years.

SIBLINGS SHINE ON HOME SOIL

In terms of sheer medals, London 1908 stands alone as Great Britain's most successful Games.

The home nation finished top of the medal table and among those who earned Britain's 56 golds were two siblings whose sharp shooting saw them break new ground.

For Charlotte 'Lottie' Dod, an archery silver medal represented the newest addition to a bursting trophy cabinet which already boasted five Wimbledon singles titles, a British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship trophy and two England hockey caps.

Fellow Brit Sybil 'Queenie' Newall overcame Dod in London to become, at 53, the oldest female Olympic champion - a record which still stands to this day.

Dod's brother, William, was the surprise winner of the men's double York competition, mastering the wet conditions and sealing his triumph on his 41st birthday - a day which also saw Lottie and William become the first siblings to win Olympic medals in the same Games.

Among Great Britain's more unusual gold medals that summer was the tug of war, which saw three British police forces occupy all three spots on the podium - City of London leading the way ahead of their Liverpool and Metropolitan 'K' Division counterparts.

TRAILBLAZING SPRINTER CLAIMS DOUBLE BRONZE

The 1920 Games in Antwerp was notable for a series of firsts. The Olympic Rings made their debut, the Olympic flag was flown for the first time and the Olympic oath also made its introduction.

From a British perspective, it was Harry Edward blazing a trail. The sprinter became the first black athlete to compete and win medals for Team GB, winning bronze in both the 100m and 200m.

Edward's was a quite incredible tale. Having been detained as a prisoner of war at Ruhleben camp during World War I, Edward had to be convinced by friends he was allowed to stay awake after 10pm and raise his voice when he moved to London due to lingering scars from his wartime trauma.

Edward joined the Polytechnic Harriers and secured his place in Antwerp by beating Harold Abrahams - more on him later - in the Olympic trials.

Despite distractions - Edward claimed he was put off by a shout from a starter in the 100m and sprained his tendon in the semi-finals of the 200m - respective times of 11 seconds flat and 22.1s were enough for two bronze medals.

Find out more about Edward's life and athletics career in our Black History Month feature by clicking here.

CHARIOTS OF FIRE

In Paris four years later, two more British sprinters became notorious figures - and the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire brought the names of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams to a whole new audience decades after the event.

A devout Christian, Liddell - regarded as the finest sprinter of his time - did not take part in the 100m because the heats fell on a Sunday and doing so would have meant breaking the Sabbath.

That left the door ajar for Abrahams, who promptly became the first Briton to win 100m gold when he stormed home in 10.6 seconds.

Roles were reversed in the 200m, with favourite Abrahams finishing last and Liddell earning bronze before turning his attentions to the 400m.

Liddell's unorthodox running style cast doubts as to his suitability for the longer distance but he proved any doubters wrong by crossing five metres clear of his nearest competitor in an Olympic record time of 47.6 seconds.

Liddell gave up his sprinting the following year at the age of just 23 to become a missionary in China while Abrahams went on to offer his expertise as an athletics journalist for 40 years.

The Bedford-born sprinter also marked the anniversary of his greatest day by dining with bronze medal winner Arthur Porritt at 7pm - the start time of the 100m in Paris - on July 7 every year until his death in 1978.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

By the time of the LA Olympics in 1932, race walking had been a staple of the event for 24 years - but never over 50km.

And Tommy Green became the first gold medal winner in the discipline having overcome adversities which made such a scenario seem all but impossible.

Rickets meant Green could not walk at all until he was five and he was later wounded three times and gassed while serving in France during World War I.

Upon returning to the UK, Green was encouraged to take up race walking by a friend who had been blinded in the war and quickly enjoyed success in domestic races as well as winning the famous Milan 100km.

His crowning glory came Stateside, however, when he won the inaugural men's 50km gold by more than seven minutes having at one stage been more than a minute behind the leaders. Green was 38 at the time of his triumph and remains the oldest winner of the event.

The same Games saw Judy Guinness miss out on a gold medal with one of the most notable examples of fair play in sporting history.

Having been declared the winner by the judges against Austrian Ellen Preis, Guinness informed them they had missed two hits by her opponent and ended up leaving with silver.

BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT

While many events from the Games' early years remain key parts of the calendar today, not all were such a hit - with some falling off the schedule after just one appearance.

One such example is cricket, which was played in Paris in 1900 and won for Great Britain by the Devon and Somerset Wanderers touring team.

They were guaranteed at least a silver as only two countries entered - and the French team was made up largely of British expats.

The Wanderers won by 158 runs in what remains the only cricket match contested at an Olympic Games and both sides were awarded miniature Eiffel Towers to go alongside their medals.

Croquet also made its first and only appearance at the same Games, as did two unusual events in the pool - underwater swimming and the obstacle race, in which Peter Kemp won bronze for Great Britain. The event saw competitors climb over a pole, scramble over a row of boats, then swim under another row of boats.

Other one-off Olympic events from the era include powerboating (1908), diving's 'plunge for distance' (1904) and the 12-hour cycling race (1896).

WINTER WONDERLAND

The first Winter Olympics took place in Chamonix in 1924 and ran concurrently with the Summer Games until 1992, when the events moved to separate four-year cycles.

Among Great Britain's medal winners in the inaugural competition was Ethel Muckelt, from Moss Side in Manchester, who earned figure skating bronze at the age of 38 and continued competing into her fifties.

Cecilia Colledge continued Britain's affinity with the event by winning silver in 1936, four years after becoming the youngest British Olympian at a Winter or Summer Games when she competed aged 11 in Lake Placid, USA.

Britain's men's curling team, meanwhile, were awarded posthumous gold medals in 2006 following their victory in Chamonix. Curling was believed to have been a demonstration event but a campaign started on behalf of the team members' families by Glasgow-based newspaper The Herald led to the IOC ruling the sport had been part of the official Olympic programme.

For the next feature in this series, focusing on 1948-1996, visit www.teamgb.com on Thursday.

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