1920 Olympic Games

The 1916 Olympics were scheduled to be held in Berlin, but were canceled because of World War I. The 1920 Games were awarded to Antwerp, Belgium, to honor the suffering that had been inflicted on the Belgian people during the war.  Since the war had ravaged throughout Europe, funding and materials for the Games was difficult to acquire. When the athletes arrived in Antwerp, construction had not yet been completed. Besides the stadium being yet unfinished, the athletes were housed in close quarters and slept on folding cots.

A total of 29 countries (one more than participated in the war) sent a record 2,600 athletes to the Games. Germany and Austria, the defeated enemies of Belgium and the Allies, were not invited.

The United States turned in the best overall team performance, winning 41 gold medals; but the talk of the Games was 23-year-old distance runner Paavo Nurmi of Finland. Nurmi won the 10,000-meter run and 8,000-meter cross-country, took a third gold in the team cross-country and silver in the 5,000-meter run. In all, Finland won nine track and field gold medals, thus breaking the U.S. stronghold in the sport.

Albert Hill of Britain made his Olympic debut at age 36 and won both the 800 and 1,500-meter runs. World record holder Charley Paddock of the U.S. won the 100 meters, but was upset in the 200 by teammate Allen Woodring, who was a last-minute addition to the team. And in swimming, the U.S. won 11 of 15 events, led by triple gold medalists Norman Ross and Ethelda Bleibtrey, defending men's 100-meter freestyle champion Duke Kahanamoku and 14-year-old springboard diving champion Aileen Riggin.

The Antwerp Games were noteworthy for the introduction of the Olympic oath–uttered for the first time by Belgium fencer Victor Bion–and the Olympic flag, with its five multicolored, intersecting rings. Also making their debuts were track-and-field events and gymnastics for women. There had been much resistance to these additions by those who feared that having women compete in these events would cause them to either become "masculine" or to ruin their health and make them unable to have children.

Here is a list of all the tournaments at the 1920 Games:
Aquatics
Archery
Athletics
Boxing
Cycling
Equestrian
Fencing
Football
Gymnastics
Hockey
Modern Pentathlon
Polo
Rowing
Rugby
Sailing
Shooting
Tennis
Tug of War
Weightlifting
Wrestling