Belgium at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Belgium at the 1900 Summer Olympics
IOC code	BEL
NOC	Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee
Website	www.olympic.be (Dutch) (French)
in Paris
Competitors	78 in 11 sports
Medals	Gold Silver Bronze Total 5 5 5 15
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Belgium competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. It was the first appearance of the European nation. Belgium was represented in France by 78^[1] athletes, all of them male, who competed in 11 disciplines. They comprised 95 entries in 28 events.

Medalists

Gold

• Emmanuel Foulon — archery, Sur la Perche à la Herse
• Aimé Haegeman — equestrian, jumping
• Hubert Van Innis — archery, Au Cordon Doré 33 metres
• Hubert Van Innis — archery, Au Chapelet 33 metres
• Constant van Langhendonck — equestrian, long jump

Silver

• Emile Druart — archery, Sur la Perche à la Herse
• Hubert Van Innis — archery, Au Cordon Doré 50 metres
• Georges van der Poële — equestrian, jumping
• Royal Club Nautique de Gand — rowing, coxed eights
• Brussels Swimming and Water Polo Club — water polo, men's tournament

Bronze

• Paul van Asbroeck — shooting, three positions military rifle
• Louis Glineux — archery, Sur la Perche à la Pyramide
• Charles Paumier — shooting, standing military rifle
• Georges van der Poële — equestrian, high jump
• Université de Bruxelles — football, men's competition

Results by event

Archery

Belgium took three of six gold medals, two of seven silver medals, and one of five bronze medals in the six archery events that were Olympic. France and the Netherlands were the only other nations that competed, with France taking the remaining twelve medals. Many of the French, Dutch, and Belgian competitors are unknown as their names were not recorded. 4 of the 18 Belgian archers are known by name, 14 are not. The 18 archers had 35 entries over all 6 events.

Event	Place	Archer	Score
Au Cordon Doré 50 metres	2nd	Hubert Van Innis	29
Au Cordon Doré 33 metres	1st	Hubert Van Innis	Unknown
Au Chapelet 50 metres	4th	Hubert Van Innis	Unknown
Au Chapelet 33 metres	1st	Hubert Van Innis	Unknown
Sur la Perche à la Herse	1st	Emmanuel Foulon	Unknown
	2nd	Emile Druart
	4-129	14 unknown competitors
Sur la Perche à la Pyramide	3rd	Louis Glineux	Unknown
	4-129	14 unknown competitors

Croquet

Belgium and France were the only two nations to compete in croquet. Belgium sent one man, who won no medals in the sport. He competed in only one of the three events, not finishing the first round.

Event	Place	Player(s)	Round 1	Round 2	Final
Singles one ball	—	Marcel Haentjens	Did not finish	Did not advance

Cycling

Belgium's first cycling appearance was at the second Olympic cycling competition, 1900. One cyclist from Belgium competed in one event, winning no medals. Only his surname is known.

Event	Place	Cyclist	Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
2000 metre sprint	—	Vincent	2nd place heat 9	2nd place quarterfinal 5	Did not advance

Equestrian

Belgium competed in the inaugural Olympic equestrian events, taking 2 of 3 gold medals. The names of 9 Belgian equestrians are unknown.

Event	Place	Equestrian	Time, height, or distance
Jumping	1st	Aimè Haageman	2:16.0
	2nd	Georges van der Poële	2:17.6
	4-37	9 other competitors
High jump	3rd	Georges van der Poële	1.70 metres
	5-18	3 other competitors
Long jump	1st	Constant van Langhendonck	6.10 metres
	5-17	2 other competitors

Fencing

Belgium competed in fencing at the nation's debut. The nation sent five fencers.

Event	Place	Fencer	Round 1	Quarterfinals	Repechage	Semifinals	Final
Foil	14th	Tony Smet	Advanced by jury	Advanced by jury	Straight to semifinal	8th place semifinal A	6th place consolation
Épée	19-31	Tony Smet	1st place pool P	4th-6th quarterfinal C	None held	Did not advance
Masters foil	10th	Pierre Selderslagh	Advanced by jury	Advanced by jury	Straight to semifinals	5th place semifinal B	2nd place consolation
	15th	Cyrille Verbrugge	Advanced by jury	Advanced by jury	Straight to semifinals	7th place semifinal A	7th place consolation
	44-60	F. Després	Not advanced by jury	Did not advance
Masters sabre	8th	Hébrant	1st-4th in pool	None held		2nd place semifinal A	8th place

Football

Université de Bruxelles represented Belgium in the football competition. The club squad lost its only match, to Club Française, to take third in the three-team competition.

Event	Place	Players	Match 1	Match 2
Men's football	3rd	Université de Bruxelles Albert Delbecque, Henrik van Heuckelum, Raul Kelecom, Marcel Leboutte, Lucien Londot, Ernest Moreau de Melen, Edmond Neefs, Georges Pelgrims (captain), Alphonse Renier, Emile Spannoghe, Eric Thornton	—	Lost vs. Club Française 6-2

Gymnastics

Belgium's inaugural Olympic appearance included competing in the gymnastics portion of the program.

Event	Place	Gymnast	Score
Combined	99	De Poorten	207
	112	Michelet	192

Rowing

Belgium, through the Royal Club Nautique de Gand, sent coxed pairs and coxed eights boats to the first Olympic rowing competition.

Event	Place	Boat	Round 1	Semifinals	Final
Coxed pairs	5th	Royal Club Nautique de Gand Prospère Bruggeman, Maurice Hemelsoet, Unknown cox	None held	7:00.4 3rd, semifinal 2	Did not advance
Coxed eights	2nd	Royal Club Nautique de Gand Jules de Bisschop, Prospère Bruggeman, Oscar De Somville, Oscar de Cock, Maurice Hemelsoet, Marcel van Crombrugghe, Frank Odberg, Maurice Verdonck, Alfred Van Landeghem (cox)	None held	5:00.2 2nd, semifinal 1	6:13.8

Shooting

Belgium's first Olympic appearance included competing in the shooting events. Belgian shooters competed in the military pistol and military rifle sets of events.

Event	Place	Shooter	Score
Military pistol individual	13th	Rooman	405
	14th	Thèves	404
	16th	Victor Robert	351
	17th	Eichorn	345
	19th	Lebègue	318
Military pistol team	4th	Eichorn, Lebègue, Victor Robert, Rooman, Thèves	1823
Military rifle standing	3rd	Charles Paumier	298
	4th	Paul van Asbroeck	297
	7th	Jules Bury	282
	21st	Edouard Myin	265
	30th	Joseph Baras	233
Military rifle kneeling	4th	Paul van Asbroeck	308
	9th	Charles Paumier	297
	24th	Jules Bury	269
	29th	Edouard Myin	249
	30th	Joseph Baras	210
Military rifle prone	8th	Paul van Asbroeck	312
	13th	Edouard Myin	304
	15th	Charles Paumier	302
	28th	Joseph Baras	270
		Jules Bury	270
Military rifle three positions	3rd	Paul van Asbroeck	917
	6th	Charles Paumier	897
	22nd	Jules Bury	821
	23rd	Edouard Myin	818
	30th	Joseph Baras	713
Military rifle team	6th	Paul van Asbroeck, Joseph Baras, Jules Bury, Edouard Myin, Charles Paumier	4166

Swimming

Event	Place	Swimmer	Semifinals	Final
Men's 4000 metre freestyle	—	Hermand	Did not finish semifinal 1	Did not advance

Water polo

Event	Place	Team	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
Men's water polo	2nd	Brussels Swimming and Water Polo Club Jean de Backer, Victor de Behr, Henri Cohen, Fernand Feyaerts, Oscar Grégoire, Albert Michant, Victor Sonnemans	Won 2-0	Won 5-1	Lost 7-2

Notes

1. This differs from de Wael's count of 84. De Wael counts three water poloists who are not included on the team roster according to the IOC, two equestrians who competed in only non-Olympic events (a third non-Olympic equestrian also competed in croquet), and two unknown coxswains in rowing where there was only one.

References

• De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "1900 Olympians from Belgium". Accessed 11 March 2006. Available electronically at .
• 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.