Great Britain at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Great Britain at the; 1896 Summer Olympics
	Flag of the United Kingdom
IOC code	GBR
NOC	British Olympic Association
in Athens
Competitors	10 in 7 sports
Medals	Gold 2 Silver 3 Bronze 2 Total 7
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
	1896; 1900; 1904; 1908; 1912; 1920; 1924; 1928; 1932; 1936; 1948; 1952; 1956; 1960; 1964; 1968; 1972; 1976; 1980; 1984; 1988; 1992; 1996; 2000; 2004; 2008; 2012; 2016; 2020;
Other related appearances
	1906 Intercalated Games

Ten athletes from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland competed in seven sports at the 1896 Summer Olympics. The Great Britain athletes were the fifth most successful in terms of overall medals (7) and tied for fifth in gold medals (2). The 7 medals came on 23 entries in 14 events.

Two tennis players (one English, one Irish) also played in mixed team squads, contributing to a gold and a bronze medal. These medals are not counted as part of the Great Britain total.

Medallists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Gold	John Pius Boland	Tennis	Singles
Gold	Launceston Elliot	Weightlifting	One hand lift
Silver	Grantley Goulding	Athletics	110 m hurdles
Silver	Frederick Keeping	Cycling	12 hour race
Silver	Launceston Elliot	Weightlifting	Two hand lift
Bronze	Edward Battell	Cycling	Road race
Bronze	Charles Gmelin	Athletics	400 m

Athletics

The British athletes took two medals and a fourth-place finish in athletics. The 100 metres and the 800 metres were the two events in which they had little success.

Athlete	Events	Heat		Final
Athlete	Events	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Launceston Elliot	100 m	12.9	3	Did not advance
Charles Gmelin		12.9	3	Did not advance
George Marshall		Unknown	5	Did not advance
Charles Gmelin	400 m	Unknown	2 Q	55.6
George Marshall	800 m	Unknown	4	Did not advance
Grantley Goulding	110 m hurdles	18.4	1 Q	17.6
George S. Robertson	Discus throw	N/A		25.20	4

Cycling

Battell and Keeping each won a medal in the cycling program, earning a 4th place and a 5th-place finish as well.

Track

Athlete	Event	Time / Distance	Rank
Edward Battell	Time trial	26.2	4
Edward Battell	100 km	DNF	-
Frederick Keeping	Time trial	27.0	5
Frederick Keeping	12 hour race	314.664 km

Road

Athlete	Event	Time / Distance	Rank
Edward Battell	Road race	Unknown

Gymnastics

Elliot finished in last place in the rope climbing competition. He did not make it all the way up the 14-metre rope, retiring at some point below 12.5 metres (the distance of the bronze medallist).

Athlete	Event	Result	Rank
Launceston Elliot	Rope climbing	Unknown	5

Shooting

Merlin and Machonet were unable to win any medals in the shooting events.

Athlete	Event	Hits	Score	Rank
Sidney Merlin	200 m military rifle	Unknown	1156	10
	300 m free rifle, 3 positions	Unknown	Unknown	-
	25 m military pistol	DNF	-	-
	25 m rapid fire pistol	DNF	-	-
Machonet	200 m military rifle	Unknown	Unknown	-

Tennis

Boland (later best known as an Irish nationalist politician) was by far the best player in the tennis competition, amassing a 6-0 record over both events and two gold medals, though one of them was as part of a mixed team. He defeated Traun in the first round of the singles competition, then teamed up with him for the doubles competition. Robertson was much less successful, losing both of the matches he played, though he was awarded a retroactive bronze medal by the International Olympic Committee as his bye in the doubles quarterfinals put him in third place in that event. Like Boland's doubles gold medal, Robertson's bronze is not counted as part of the British total because the two played on mixed teams.

Athlete	Event	First round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
John Pius Boland	Singles	Traun (GER) W	Rallis (GRE) W	Paspatis (GRE) W	Kasdaglis (GRE) W 6-2, 6-2
George S. Robertson	Singles	Paspatis (GRE) L	Did not advance			8

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Germany	1	0	1.000
Greece	5	2	.714

Total	6	2	.750

Weightlifting

Elliot (born in British India of Scottish ancestry) lifted the same amount as Viggo Jensen in the two handed lift, but was declared by Prince George of Greece to have taken second place based on lifting form. In the one handed lift, he easily defeated Jensen, who lifted only 57 kilograms.

Athlete	Event	Weight	Rank
Launceston Elliot	One hand lift	71.0
Launceston Elliot	Two hand lift	111.5

Wrestling

Elliot was defeated by eventual champion Carl Schuhmann in the first round of the wrestling competition, tying for 4th and last place.

Athlete	Event	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Launceston Elliot	Greco-Roman	Schuhmann (GER) L	Did not advance		4

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Germany	0	1	.000

Total	0	1	.000

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References

Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at )
Mallon, Bill; Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at )
Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.

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