King George I opens the first Olympiad
"I declare the opening of the first international Olympic Games in Athens.
Long live the Nation. Long live the Greek people."
Opening Ceremony - On April 6 the games of the First Olympiad were officially opened; it was Easter Monday for both the Western and Eastern Christian Churches and the anniversary of Greece's independence. The Panathenaic Stadium was filled with an estimated 80,000 spectators which included most of the athletes grouped by their countries on the infield.
Men's 100 metres - The first event in the history of the Olympics was the heats for the Men's 100 metre dash.
Heat 1 - In the first heat American Francis Lane edged out Alajos Szokolyi of Hungary while Charles Gmelin of Great Britain just missed the cut. The top two finishers in each heat qualify directly to the final which will be run on April 10.
Heat 2 - The second heat saw Thomas Curtis of the USA lead the way followed by Alexandros Chalkokondylis of Greece.
Heat 3 - In the most anticipated heat of the three, Thomas Burke set an Olympic Record while finishing first. Germany's Fritz Hofmann was nearly two-one hundredths behind the American.
Next up: We continue on with April 6 as next up will be the Triple Jump.