Amsterdam was due to hold the 1924 Games, but the considerable influence of Baron de Coubertin found the Games back in Paris again.

His theory was that this Olympiad would overshadow the poorly organised 1900 Games in the French capital. Despite de Coubertin's efforts, Germany were still exempt from the Games, but the other four nations which were banned in 1920 were re-instated.

The 1924 Games saw a precedent set when American William DeHart Hubbard became the first individual black athlete to win a gold medal when he won the long jump.

His compatriot Robert LeGendre broke the long jump world record with a jump of 7.76m, but since he was competing only in the penthalon, he did not scoop the gold medal, but a bronze.

The Finns again were dominant in the middle distance events, with Paavo Nurmi taking five gold medals, two of which he won within an hour of each other. The Finn was honoured for his achievements in Paris when a statue of him was erected outside Helsinki stadium.

Tennis made its last appearance at the Olympics in Paris before it was awakened from its 60-year hiatus in Seoul. The IOC, who were fiercely anti-professional, had doubts whether the top players were truly amateurs.

Great Britain scored two major victories when Harold Abrahams became the first European to win a Olympic sprint medal, while Eric Liddell took the gold in the 400m in a time of 47.6 seconds.

Lidell's time was a world record, but was not officially recognised because the runners only had to run around one bend until 1936.

In the pool, Johnny Weissmuller, later to become Tarzan, won three golds in freestyle events and a bronze in the mens waterpolo.