1923 International Universities Championships

Multi-sport event in Paris, France I International Universities Championships Paris1923logo.png Slogan : 12 2 sports May 3, 1923 May 6, 1923 Alexandre Millerand Stade de Colombes The 1923 International Universities Championships was organised by the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (UNEF) and held in Paris, France. Taking place from 3–6 May, ten nations were present in the men's only programme, which included athletics (18 events) and fencing (4 events). Background The first modern athletics clubs in the world were founded at Cambridge University in 1857,History https://www.cuac.org.uk/history#:~:text=The%20events%20in%20the%20first,were%20'individual'%20competitions,%20with 2025-05-17 CUAC en and Oxford University in 1860.History of the Club https://www.ouac.org/history-club 2025-05-18 www.ouac.org en none; The History of the Oxford University Athletic Club https://www.ouac.org/files/historypdf en 2025-05-18 www.ouac.orghttps://books.google.com/books?id=j2p68grSMFoC&pg=PA75 A History of American Amateur Athletics and Aquatics 1888 enTravers Nicholas https://books.google.com/books?id=cVMgEQAAQBAJ&pg=PT89 Victorian Britain Day by Day 2024-07-30 Pen and Sword History 978-1-3990-4177-5 en Those universities held Inter-'Varsity Sports, also called The Cambridge and Oxford Athletic Games, from 1864 onwards.The Varsity Match https://worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque/list/the-varsity-match World Athletics2025-06-05 Cambridge celebrates historic Varsity Athletics competition and World Athletics recognition https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-celebrates-historic-varsity-athletics-competition-and-world-athletics-recognition 2026-09-21 University of Cambridge en Other varsity matches developed between Cambridge and Oxford universities and spread to Harvard University and Yale University in the United States.Smith Ronald Austin https://books.google.com/books?id=NiwpDwAAQBAJ Sports and Freedom: The Rise of Big-time College Athletics 1988 Oxford University Press 978-0-19-506582-4 en Perhaps more than any other two colleges, Harvard and Yale gave form to American intercollegiate athletics--a form that was inspired by the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry overseas, and that was imitated by colleges and universities throughout the United States. Focusing on the influence of these prestigious eastern institutions, this fascinating study traces the origins and development of intercollegiate athletics in America from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century.Lewis Guy 1970 The Beginning of Organized Collegiate Sport https://history.msu.edu/hst329/files/2015/05/LewisGuy-TheBeginning.pdf American Quarterly 22 2 222–229 10.2307/2711645 0003-0678 2711645World Rowing - "The Race" – how Yale and Harvard kick-started US College Sport 170 years ago this month https://worldrowing.com/2022/09/02/the-race-how-yale-and-harvard-kick-started-us-college-sport-170-years-ago-this-month/ 2025-05-17 World Rowing en As the sport of rowing was growing rapidly in the United Kingdom with the founding of major events such as the Boat Race (1829) and Henley Royal Regatta (1839), rowing on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean was slowly progressing. “Amateur clubs were formed in the New York area in the 1830s, and races were well publicized,” says Weil, “so the idea was not novel when some Yale classmates bought a boat and established the first collegiate boat club in 1843. Harvard followed the next year.” English peace campaigner Hodgson Pratt was an early advocate of a global international sports competition between student athletes. He proposed the motion which was passed at the 1891 Universal Peace Congress in Rome to create a series of international student conferences in rotating host capital cities, with activities including art and sport. This did not come to fruition, but a national multi-sport event for university students was created in Germany in 1909 in the form of the Academic Olympia. Five editions were held from 1909 to 1913, all of which were hosted in Germany following the cancellation of an Italy-based event.Bell, Daniel (2003). Encyclopedia of International Games. McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina. 0-7864-1026-4.Topend Sports Sports Science, Fitness Testing & Event Analysis https://www.topendsports.com/events/games/university/academic-olympia.htm 2026-10-17 Topend Sports en By 1918, students' union presidents in the United Kingdom expressed the need to have an association to promote sport at universities across the country. The Inter-Varsity Athletics Board of England and Wales (IVAB) was established in 1919 and organised the first inter-varsity track and field meeting that year at Manchester University.2019-09-19 British Universities and Colleges Sport Celebrates 100 Year Anniversary https://www.fisu.net/2019/09/19/british-universities-and-colleges-sport-celebrates-100-year-anniversary/ 2025-05-18 FISUOur History https://www.bucs.org.uk/about/our-history.html 2025-05-17 www.bucs.org.ukBritish Universities' Sports Association Records - Archives Hub https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/c8d24e5e-5284-34be-9efc-693894b5b8b4 2025-05-17 archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk19 November 2019 University of Manchester celebrates 100 years of inter-varsity sport https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1087192/university-of-manchester-100-birthday www.insidethegames.biz ITG Media DMCC In the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), at the time a discussion group and rules-making body, organised its first National Collegiate Track and Field Championships in 1921.NCAA History between 1910 and 1980 https://web.archive.org/web/20131212033410/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/about%2Bthe%2Bncaa/history December 12, 2013 Precursors At the start of the 20th century, Jean Petitjean of France began attempting to organise a "University Olympic Games". After discussion with Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Petitjean was convinced not to use the word "Olympic" in the tournament's name. Petitjean was the first to build a series of international events, beginning with the 1923 International Universities Championships.FISU History https://www.fisu.net/federation-internationale-du-sport-universitaire/fisu-history/ 2026-10-11 FISU en-US Organisation and events The championships was organised by the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (UNEF).World Student Games (Pre-Universiade) http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/wsg.htm 2026-10-11 www.gbrathletics.com Held in Paris, France from 3–6 May, ten nations were present in the men's only programme,Bell, Daniel (2003). Encyclopedia of International Games. McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina. 0-7864-1026-4. which included athletics (18 events) and fencing (4 events). Athletics medal summary 100 metresCharles Paddock USA10.4Bohus Fleischer TCH11.4eFournier FRAFirst name not known from source recordNot known 200 metresCharles Paddock USA21.0Bohus Fleischer TCH22.4eCarlo Mereu ITA 1861Not known 400 metresAdriaan Paulen NED51.2Wilbeaux BELNot knownGossé FRANot known 800 metresPaul Martin SUI1:57.0Adriaan Paulen NED1:57.2ePierre Villeneuve FRA2:00.5e 1500 metresSuby FRA4:20.8René Chatelain FRANot knownFrancis Bordes FRANot known 5000 metresR.A.S. Castell ENG16:28.0Pippo Orio ITA 186116:28.8eBinder FRANot known 110 m hurdlesOtto van Rappart NED16.0Gabriel Sempé FRA16.1eAdolfo Contoli ITA 1861Not known 400 m hurdlesRené Resal FRA59.4Vigoni BELNot knownMaurice Frichoux FRANot known 4 × 100 m relayHarry van RappardOscar van RappardWim VenletChris Bovens44.8Italy 186144.8Émile VerckenFred ZinnerRoelsWilbeaux45.0e 4 × 400 m relayGosséPierre VilleneuveLe FlochRené Resal3:32.03:32.0Italy 1861Not known 1000 m medley relayAdriaan PaulenHarry van RappardWim VenletChris Bovens2:05.2Italy 18612:05.2Not known High jumpLouis Zwahlen FRA1.79Gabriel Sempé FRAEttore Uicich ITA1.75Not awarded Pole vaultHenry Petersen DEN3.70Adolfo Contoli ITA 1861Jan Milde TCH3.40Not awarded Long jumpGabriel Sempé FRA7.06Georges Krotoff FRA6.59Alois Sobotka TCH6.54 Shot putJan Milde TCHMilde was from Bulgaria but represented Czechoslovakia12.84Dušan Ivkovic TCHIvkovic was from Yugoslavia but represented Czechoslovakia12.22Édouard Duhour FRA11.73 Discus throwJan Milde TCH35.92Antonín Svoboda TCH35.88Gabriel Sempé FRA33.46 Javelin throwCarlo Clemente ITA 186153.80Marco Manuel Gismondi ITA 186147.84Václav Chmelík TCH47.26 PentathlonAdolfo Contoli ITA 186109.00Antonín Svoboda TCH12.00Fred Zinner BEL14.00 Medal table flagteam 5 4 8 2 5 4 ITA 1861 2 5 2 2 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 3 Participating nations 20em Italy 1861 Lithuania 1918 Poland 1919 United States 1912 References World Student Games (Pre-Universiade) - GBR Athletics Category:Athletics at the Summer World University Games International University Championships Category:Athletics in Paris Category:International athletics competitions hosted by France Category:1923 in France