The Summer Olympic Games, VII in a row, were held in Antwerp. They officially opened on August 14 and closed on August 30. However, the first competitions within their framework (competitions of figure skaters and hockey players) were held back in April. In July, yachtsmen and shooters fought for medals, and the footballers played in August and September.
The 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp were held from 23 April to 12 September in total. 2675 athletes (including 78 women) from 29 countries competed for the highest awards in 158 disciplines from 25 sports. The youngest participant was Nils Skoglund from Sweden (14 years and 8 days), the oldest was Oskar Swann, again from Sweden (72 years and 281 days). The USA national team earned the most medals - 94 pieces. The Americans Lloyd Spooner and Willis Lee had the most medals - 7 pieces each.
The track and field competitions were held from 15 to 23 August. 509 men competed for medals in 29 disciplines. The youngest athlete was Spaniard Diego Ordonez (16 years and 283 days), the oldest was Matt McGrath, a native of the United States (42 years and 243 days). Finn Paavo Nurmi and Swede Erik Backman earned the most awards - 4 medals each.
For men, for the first time, a 3000 m hurdle race was added.
Athletes from Germany and allied countries in the First World War (Bulgaria, Turkey and Austria-Hungary) were not invited. For political reasons, athletes from Soviet Russia did not attend the Olympic Games either.
In Antwerp, the Olympic flag was raised for the first time, and the Olympic oath was pronounced - these traditions are respected today.
The hero of the Games was Finn Paavo Nurmi, who won the cross in the individual and team championships and the 10,000 m race, and also earned a silver medal in the 5,000 m race. The Englishman Albert Hill earned 2 top awards - in the 800 and 1,500 m race.
In Antwerp, he finished his career by winning his fourth Olympic gold medal in his career (marathon), one of the heroes of the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm - the stayer Hannes Kolehmainen. In addition to four gold awards, he had one "silver".
The overall medal standings (in terms of the number of highest awards) were led by the US team with 9 gold, 12 silver and 8 bronze medals. Finland also had 9 gold medals, but silver and bronze medals were respectively 4 and 3. Third place - Great Britain - 4 awards of each value.
