Ten athletes from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

competed in seven 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...

. The British and Irish athletes were the fifth most successful in terms of overall medals (7) and tied for fifth in 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 (2). The 7 medals came on 23 entries in 14 events.

Two British tennis players also played in mixed team

Mixed team at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Early Olympic Games allowed for individuals in a team to be from different nations. The International Olympic Committee now groups their results together under the mixed team designation...

 squads, contributing to a gold and a bronze medal. These medals are not counted as part of the British total.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
		Tennis Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, two tennis events were contested, both for men. They were begun on 8 April and continued on 9 April, 10 April, and 11 April. 13 competitors from 6 nations, including 7 Greeks, took part in the tennis competition...	Singles
		Weightlifting Weightlifting at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, two weightlifting events were contested . The top two places were won by the same two men in each event, though their order was reversed for the two events. The bronze medals were split by the two Greek weightlifters. A total of seven men from five nations competed...	One hand lift
		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...	110 m hurdles
		Cycling Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, six cycling events were contested at the Neo Phaliron Velodrome. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Cycling. Events were held on 8 April, 11 April, 12 April and 13 April 1896...	12 hour race
		Weightlifting Weightlifting at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, two weightlifting events were contested . The top two places were won by the same two men in each event, though their order was reversed for the two events. The bronze medals were split by the two Greek weightlifters. A total of seven men from five nations competed...	Two hand lift
		Cycling Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, six cycling events were contested at the Neo Phaliron Velodrome. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Cycling. Events were held on 8 April, 11 April, 12 April and 13 April 1896...	Road race
		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...	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
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot was a Scottish weightlifter. He was the first British Olympic champion.Launceston Elliot was born in India. His family was an established part of the Scottish aristocracy with Lord Minto being head of the family which had strong connections with India. The 4th Earl Minto served...	100 m	Unknown	3	Did not advance
Charles Gmelin Charles Gmelin Charles Henry Stuart Gmelin was a British athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.-Personal life:...	100 m	Unknown	3	Did not advance
George Marshall George Marshall (athlete) George Marshall was a British athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Marshall ran in the 100 metres, finishing last of five runners in his preliminary heat and not advancing to the final....	100 m	Unknown	5	Did not advance
Charles Gmelin Charles Gmelin Charles Henry Stuart Gmelin was a British athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.-Personal life:...	400 m	Unknown	2 Q	55.6
George Marshall George Marshall (athlete) George Marshall was a British athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Marshall ran in the 100 metres, finishing last of five runners in his preliminary heat and not advancing to the final....	800 m	Unknown	4	Did not advance
Grantley Goulding Grantley Goulding Grantley Thomas Smart Goulding was a British athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.- Personal life :...	110 m hurdles	18.4	1 Q	17.6
George S. Robertson George S. Robertson George Stuart Robertson was a British athlete, tennis player, and classical scholar. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....	Discus throw	N/A		25.20	4

Cycling

Battel 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
	100 km	DNF	-
Frank Keeping Frank Keeping Frederick Keeping was a British racing cyclist. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Keeping competed in the 333 metres and 12 hours races. In the 12 hours race, Keeping was one of only two cyclists to finish, covering 314.664 kilometres. He was only one lap behind the winner, Adolf...	Time trial	27.0	5
	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 Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot was a Scottish weightlifter. He was the first British Olympic champion.Launceston Elliot was born in India. His family was an established part of the Scottish aristocracy with Lord Minto being head of the family which had strong connections with India. The 4th Earl Minto served...	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 Sidney Merlin Sidney Louis Walter Merlin was a British botanist and sports shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics and the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens.- Life :...	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 Machonet Machonet was a British shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Machonet, a last name possibly mis-transliterated from the Greek and whose first name is unknown, competed in the military rifle event. His place and score in the event are unknown, but he was not among the top 13...	200 m military rifle	Unknown	Unknown	-

Tennis

Boland 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

Mixed team at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Early Olympic Games allowed for individuals in a team to be from different nations. The International Olympic Committee now groups their results together under the mixed team designation...

. 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

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

 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
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
John Pius Boland John Pius Boland John Mary Pius Boland was an Irish Nationalist politician, and Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for South Kerry 1900-1918...	Singles	W	W	W	W 6-2, 6-2
George S. Robertson George S. Robertson George Stuart Robertson was a British athlete, tennis player, and classical scholar. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....	Singles	L	Did not advance			8

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
	1	0	1.000
	5	2	.714
Total	6	2	.750

Weightlifting

Elliot lifted the same amount as Viggo Jensen

Viggo Jensen

Alexander Viggo Jensen was a Danish weightlifter, shooter, gymnast, and athlete. He was the first Danish Olympic champion, at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....

 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 Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot was a Scottish weightlifter. He was the first British Olympic champion.Launceston Elliot was born in India. His family was an established part of the Scottish aristocracy with Lord Minto being head of the family which had strong connections with India. The 4th Earl Minto served...	One hand lift	71.0
	Two hand lift	111.5

Wrestling

Elliot was defeated by eventual champion Carl Schuhmann

Carl Schuhmann

Carl Schuhmann was a German athlete, who was born in Münster and won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era...

 in the first round of the wrestling competition, tying for 4th and last place.

Athlete	Event	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot was a Scottish weightlifter. He was the first British Olympic champion.Launceston Elliot was born in India. His family was an established part of the Scottish aristocracy with Lord Minto being head of the family which had strong connections with India. The 4th Earl Minto served...	Greco-Roman	L	Did not advance		4

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Germany Germany at the 1896 Summer Olympics Germany competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.The Germans were the third most successful nation in terms of both gold medals and total medals . Gymnastics was the sport in which Germany excelled. The German team had 19 athletes...	0	1	.000
Total	0	1	.000