Fourteen competitors from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

competed in three sports at the 1896 Summer Olympics

1896 Summer Olympics

The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era...

in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. The Americans were the most successful nation in terms of gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

s, beating host nation Greece

Greece at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Greece was the host nation of the 1896 Summer Olympics held in Athens. The number of Greek contestants is commonly cited as 169, but as many as 176 Greeks contested events in all nine sports. The Greeks were by far the most successful nation in terms of total medals with 46, 26 more than the...

, 11 to 10. However, the Greeks' 46 total medals dwarfed the Americans' 20.

The United States team had 27 entries in 16 events, with 20 of the 27 resulting in top-three finishes.

Most of the American competitors were students at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 or Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 or members of the Boston Athletic Association

Boston Athletic Association

The Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit, organized sports association for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It hosts such events as the world-renowned Boston Marathon....

. The team trained at The Pennington School

The Pennington School

The Pennington School is a selective, independent, coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades 6 through 12, located in Pennington, New Jersey, a small community midway between New York City and Philadelphia in the northeastern United States.As of the 2009-10 school year, the...

, in Pennington, New Jersey

Pennington, New Jersey

Pennington is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 2,585.Pennington was established as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 31, 1890, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of...

, while preparing in secret for the first modern Olympic Games.

Medalists

Of the 14 Americans at the Athens Games, 12 won medals. Charles Waldstein, a shooter, and Gardner Williams

Gardner Williams

Gardner Boyd Williams was an American freestyle swimmer. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....

, a swimmer, were the two who did not win any medals.

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's 100 metres
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's 110 metre hurdles
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's 400 metres
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's high jump
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's long jump
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's triple jump
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's pole vault
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's discus throw
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's shot put
		Shooting Shooting at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, five sport shooting events were contested. These events took place at the newly constructed shooting range at Kallithea. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Shooting...	Men's 25 metre military pistol
		Shooting Shooting at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, five sport shooting events were contested. These events took place at the newly constructed shooting range at Kallithea. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Shooting...	Men's 30 metre free pistol
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's 400 metres
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's 1500 metres
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's high jump
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's high jump
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's long jump
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's pole vault
		Shooting Shooting at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, five sport shooting events were contested. These events took place at the newly constructed shooting range at Kallithea. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Shooting...	Men's 25 metre military pistol
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's 100 metres
		Athletics Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, twelve athletics events were contested. All of the events except the marathon were held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was also the finish for the marathon. Events were held on 6 April, 7 April, 9 April, and 10 April 1896 . 64 athletes, all men, from ten nations...	Men's long jump

Athletics

The United States squad won nine gold medals in the twelve athletics (track and field)

Athletics (track and field)

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

 events, with contributions from six different athletes. Six silver medals and two bronze medals also went to the Americans in athletics.

Event	Place	Athlete	Heat	Final
100 metres	1st	Thomas Burke	12.0 seconds	12.0 seconds
	3rd	Francis Lane Francis Lane Francis Adonijah Lane was an American athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Greece....	12.2 seconds	12.6 seconds
	–	Thomas Curtis Thomas Curtis Thomas Pelham "Tom" Curtis was an American athlete and the winner of the 110 metres hurdles at the 1896 Summer Olympics....	12.2 seconds	Did not start
400 metres	1st	Thomas Burke	58.4 seconds	54.2 seconds
	2nd	Herbert Jamison Herbert Jamison Herbert Jamison was an American track and field athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....	56.8 seconds	55.2 seconds
1500 metres	2nd	Arthur Blake	No heats	4:34.0
110 metre hurdles	1st	Thomas Curtis Thomas Curtis Thomas Pelham "Tom" Curtis was an American athlete and the winner of the 110 metres hurdles at the 1896 Summer Olympics....	18.4 seconds	17.6 seconds
	–	William Hoyt	Unknown	Did not start
Marathon	–	Arthur Blake	No heats	Did not finish

Event	Place	Athlete	Best mark
Long jump	1st	Ellery Clark Ellery Clark Ellery Harding Clark was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in high jump and long jump.-Biography:...	6.35 metres
	2nd	Robert Garrett Robert Garrett Robert Garrett was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in discus throw and shot put.-Biography:...	6.00 metres
	3rd	James Connolly	5.84 metres
Triple jump	1st	James Connolly	13.71 metres
High jump	1st	Ellery Clark Ellery Clark Ellery Harding Clark was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in high jump and long jump.-Biography:...	1.81 metres
	2nd	James Connolly	1.65 metres
		Robert Garrett Robert Garrett Robert Garrett was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in discus throw and shot put.-Biography:...	1.65 metres
Pole vault	1st	William Hoyt	3.30 metres
	2nd	Albert Tyler Albert Tyler (athlete) Albert Clinton Tyler was an American athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....	3.20 metres
Shot put	1st	Robert Garrett Robert Garrett Robert Garrett was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in discus throw and shot put.-Biography:...	11.22
	–	Ellery Clark Ellery Clark Ellery Harding Clark was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in high jump and long jump.-Biography:...	Unknown
Discus throw	1st	Robert Garrett Robert Garrett Robert Garrett was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in discus throw and shot put.-Biography:...	29.15 metres

Shooting

The Paine brothers contested only two events, taking the top two spots in the event in which they both competed, the military pistol. Sumner was the only one of the two to enter the free pistol, which he won. Waldstein was the third member of the American shooting contingent, competing in the military rifle event.

Event	Place	Shooter	Score	Hits
Military rifle	–	Charles Waldstein	Unknown
Military pistol	1st	John Paine	442	25
	2nd	Sumner Paine Sumner Paine Sumner Paine was an American shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Paine entered all three of the pistol events in the 1896 Games...	380	23
Free pistol	1st	Sumner Paine Sumner Paine Sumner Paine was an American shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Paine entered all three of the pistol events in the 1896 Games...	442	24

Swimming

Williams competed in two swimming events, placing in neither.

Event	Place	Swimmer	Time
100 metre freestyle	–	Gardner Williams Gardner Williams Gardner Boyd Williams was an American freestyle swimmer. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....	Unknown
1200 metre freestyle	–	Gardner Williams Gardner Williams Gardner Boyd Williams was an American freestyle swimmer. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....	Unknown