At the 1900 Summer Olympics, a polo tournament was contested. Matches were held on 28 May, 31 May, and 2 June. Five teams competed. Four of these teams were of mixed nationality, with British and French athletes competing on three teams. There was no playoff for third place.
| Men's polo at the Games of the II Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Polo pictogram | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Bois de Boulogne | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 28 May – 2 June 1900 | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 19 from 4 nations | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Background
editThe "Olympic" polo tournament, or the "Grand Prix International d'Exposition", was one of multiple polo tournaments played in Paris in late May and early June 1900. It was the first time that polo was played at the Olympics; the sport would appear again in 1908, 1920, 1924, and 1936. Each time, the tournament was for men only.[1]
Competition format
editThe competition was a single elimination tournament, with no third place match. Teams did not have to consist of entirely players from a single nation at the time, with four of the five competing teams being mixed.
Further, players were apparently permitted to play for multiple teams during the same tournament: Maurice Raoul-Duval played for both Bagatelle and Compiègne.[1]
Participating nations
editA total of 20 players from 4 nations competed at the Paris Games:
France (7)
Great Britain (6)
Mexico (3)
United States (4)
Results
edit| Quarterfinal | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
 Foxhunters Hurlingham (ZZX) | 10 | |||||||||
| 31 May | ||||||||||
 Compiègne Polo Club (FRA) | 0 | |||||||||
| Foxhunters Hurlingham (ZZX) | 6 | |||||||||
| Bagatelle Polo Club de Paris (ZZX) | 4 | |||||||||
| 2 June | ||||||||||
| Foxhunters Hurlingham (ZZX) | 3 | |||||||||
| BLO Polo Club Rugby (ZZX) | 1 | |||||||||
| 31 May | ||||||||||
| BLO Polo Club Rugby (ZZX) | 8 | |||||||||
| North American Team (ZZX) | 0 | |||||||||
Rosters
editFoxhunters Hurlingham
edit- John Beresford (GBR)
- Denis St. George Daly (GBR)
- Foxhall Parker Keene (USA)
- Frank MacKey (USA)
- Alfred Rawlinson (GBR)
BLO Polo Club Rugby
editBagatelle Polo Club de Paris
edit- Robert Fournier-Sarlovèze (FRA)
- Frederick Agnew Gill (GBR)
- Maurice Raoul-Duval[2] (FRA)
- Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild (FRA)
North American Team
edit- Eustaquio de Escandón (MEX)
- Manuel de Escandón (MEX)
- Pablo de Escandón (MEX)
- Guillermo Hayden Wright (USA)[3][4]
Compiègne Polo Club
editMedal table
editAll four medals were won by mixed teams. Great Britain had competitors on the gold, the silver and one of the bronze medal teams, the United States on the gold, the silver medal teams and one of the bronze medal teams. France had players on the silver and one of the bronze medal teams, while Mexico had three players on the other bronze medal team.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mixed team (ZZX) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Totals (1 entries) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
Notes
edit- ^ a b "Polo, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b Raoul-Duval played on two different teams.
- ^ "William Hayden Wright". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ "Paris 1900 Polo Men Results". Olympics.com. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
References
edit- International Olympic Committee medal winners database
- De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Polo 1900". Accessed 25 February 2006. Available electronically at [1].
- Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.