Who won the first Olympic gold medal awarded at the modern 1896 Games?

James Connolly won the first Olympic gold medal awarded at the modern 1896 Games.

Representing the United States, Connolly won the triple jump on 6 April 1896 at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. His winning mark was 13.71 metres, and he finished ahead of France’s Alexandre Tuffèri and Greece’s Ioannis Persakis.

The medal is commonly described as the first Olympic gold of the modern era, although the 1896 medal system differed from today’s. Winners received a silver medal and an olive branch, while runners-up received a bronze medal and a laurel branch. Gold, silver and bronze medals in their modern order were introduced at the 1904 Olympics.

Connolly later competed in the high jump and long jump. Spyridon Louis, by contrast, became the celebrated winner of the marathon several days later, so the two athletes are frequently confused in accounts of Athens 1896.