Sunday, April 9, 1906* Thousands of people filled the Kallimarmaros stadium to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, an event that became the “bridge” between the two Olympic Games.

The medals won by athletes may never have been taken into account by the International Olympic Committee, but, according to sports historians, it was the Olympic Games that kept the Olympic movement “alive” and removed from it … the mantle of commodification that was introduced at Paris (1900) and Sainte -Louis (1904) Games.

The Olympic competitions of 1900 and 1904 can be described more like trade fairs than sports competitions. In Paris, the competition began on May 14 and ended on October 28, while in Saint Louis the Games were held from 1^V from July to November 23rd.

Many of the eminent did not know that they participated in the Olympic Games, historians called them “farcical games”, and Pierre de Coubertin reportedly told his friends: “It is a miracle that the Olympic movement survived after them.”

However, the Athens Mid-Olympics breathed life into the Olympic movement. Greece demanded that the Olympic Games be held permanently in Athens, but Pierre de Coubertin was vehemently opposed. Thus, a compromise solution was found for Greece on the organization of intermediate links, an idea supported by the members of the International Olympic Committee, since the 1896 Games showed that the Greeks had the ability to organize sports events.

Thus, for the second time in its recent history, Athens hosted athletes from foreign countries only because, compared to 1896, it was a different city. The streets were paved, lit with electricity and decorated with flowers. The coats of arms of the participating states, flags, inscriptions in foreign languages ​​were placed specially for the event, as well as a tourist guide was printed. Many Athenians gave rooms in their houses for guests to stay, and the atmosphere was festive.

In the organization of Athens, some innovations were made for a while, which, however, in subsequent years will become part of the ritual of the Olympic Games. Thus, the Olympic Village first appeared, as the athletes lived in Zappeion. For the first time, the opening ceremony was held with a parade of athletes flying the flags of their countries. An official closing ceremony was held, which was attended by thousands of students, and all athlete registrations were carried out through the National Olympic Committees. The winners were shown the flags of their countries.

“Every street in Athens seemed to lead to the stadium. There was excitement everywhere. The aesons were impressive with their skirts and peculiar costumes. They lined up in two rows at the entrance to the stadium, leaving between them a ten-foot-wide lane across which the royal family could walk. When the gates opened, thousands of people began to enter the stadium with tickets in their hands. But there were also thousands of people who could not find a ticket and climbed the hills or waited in the streets to see and cheer for the royal family, who showed great interest in the event and watched the Games every day,” James describes, among other things. Sullivan, in his book The 1906 Athens Olympics, mentions that the number of spectators exceeded 100,000.

The event lasted eleven days. The venues for the Mesolimpiad were the Panathinaikos stadium, the Kallithea shooting range, the Faliro (Karaiskaki) bike path and the Athens Tennis Club. As a financial aid, the Greek state issued a collection of stamps. Medals were won by representatives of 18 countries. The US had an official mission but also a dress uniform. For the first time in modern Olympic history, ancient pentathlon competitions were held.

“These Games have increased the interest in sports in the world. We hope that the Olympic Games of the future will match the 1906 Olympic Games. There is no better place in the world than Athens to host this event. The Olympics are part of the history of the people of this country,” Sullivan says in his book, and his words are of particular value because he was the director of the 1904 competitions in St. Louis and was one of the founders of the United States. Amateur Athletic Association, States of America. His description of Kallimarmaro is interesting: “What the visitor will not forget is the Stadium. Rows of white marble seats that seem to reach into the clouds. It is unsurpassed in size and dimensions, and its construction is of incomparable beauty.”

Greek athletes won 35 medals (8-14-13). The “stars” of the event from the Greek side were Nikolaos Georgantas with one gold (shot put) and two silvers (discus, Greek discus), Dimitris Tofalos (gold in weightlifting) and Esme Simiriotou (gold in tennis).

The Athens Mesolimpiad has been described as one of the best events of those difficult decades. Some of the innovations introduced by its organizers are still used in the Olympics. But the medal-winning athletes were not recognized as Olympians by the International Olympic Committee. The Hungarian professor Ferenc Mezo in 1949 applied for recognition to the IOC, but was refused. The Mesolympiad of 1906 was supposed to be … the first and last. High financial costs and international events put an end to the event that had kept the Olympic Movement “alive”.

* In 1906, the Julian calendar was used in Greece.

Sources

Howell, Maxwell L. and Reet N. Howell. “The Olympic Games of 1900 and 1904: Farcical Games”. Paper presented at the VI Seminar of the International Association for the History of Sports and Physical Education, Trois-Rivières, Quebec, July 1976.

www.olympic.com

Sullivan, James E. (1906). Athens 1906 Olympic Games. New York: American Sports Publishing Company.