Great Britain at the 1924 Summer Olympics |
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IOC code | GBR | ||||||||
NOC | British Olympic Association | ||||||||
in Paris | |||||||||
Competitors | 267 (239 men and 28 women) in 18 sports | ||||||||
Flag bearer | Arthur Hunt | ||||||||
Medals Ranked 4th |
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Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
Other related appearances | |||||||||
1906 Intercalated Games |
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland competed as Great Britain at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Despite the name, athletes from the newly independent Irish Free State competed separately. Following the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927, the name changed (officially) to 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' but the Olympic team competed as Great Britain from the 1928 games onwards. 267 competitors, 239 men and 28 women, took part in 115 events in 18 sports.
Sixty-five athletes represented Great Britain in 1924. It was the nation's seventh appearance in the sport; Great Britain was one of three nations, along with Greece and the United States, to have competed in each edition of the Olympic athletics competitions. With three gold medals and eleven total medals, the British athletes finished third in both counts behind the Americans and the Finns. Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, two of the British Olympic champions in the sport, would later be the subjects of the film Chariots of Fire for their competition in Paris.
Liddell won the 400 metres, breaking the world record in the final. Abrahams took the gold medal in the 100 metres, matching the Olympic record in three of the four rounds. Lowe took the third championship for Great Britain, in the 800 metres. The 4 × 100 metre relay team, including Abrahams, briefly took the world record, though relinquished it to the American team which beat the British squad in the final.
Ranks given are within the heat.
Sixteen boxers represented Great Britain at the 1924 Games; Great Britain was one of four nations to have two wrestlers in each weight class (along with France, Italy, and the United States). It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Great Britain matched the United States for most gold medals, at two, and most silver medals, also at two; those were all the medals won by the British team, however, while the United States also took a pair of bronzes to take the top medal spot with six to Great Britain's four. Mallin's middleweight championship came after a quarterfinal win by disqualification (Brousse bit Mallin) and a bout against countryman Elliott in the final. Mitchell took the light heavyweight crown without being bitten.