ATHENS 1896

Is this 1896 - or ten years later? An early snapshot of Olympic competition at Athens, the home of the Games.

Although the title proclaims this to be Athens 1896, the first Olympic Games of the modern era, this film is almost certainly of the so-called Intercalated Games of 1906 - the event captured is the standing high jump, which did not feature in the 1896 Games. The interim competition was held at a time when Athens and the International Olympic Committee were at odds over the decision to hold the Games in different cities of the world.

This tantalisingly brief snapshot shows two of the three competitors in the standing high jump failing miserably to complete their jumps successfully.