Croquet at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Singles, one ball

The 1900 Olympic Croquet one-ball singles tournament was held over three rounds on 28 June 1900. Nine athletes from France competed. The event was won by Gaston Aumoitte, with Georges Johin taking second and Chrétien Waydelich third.

Background

This was the only appearance of the event at the Olympics; it was one of three croquet competitions in 1900.

Croquet was also one of the first Olympic sports open to women (only sailing had female competitors before croquet, due to that sport taking place earlier in 1900), with three of the nine players in this event being women.

An Englishman was the only fan who watched, having traveled from Nice to do so.

Competition format

The competition was a three-round tournament. The top four players in the first round advanced to the second round; the top two in the second round moved on to the final.

Schedule

Date Time Round Thursday, 28 June 1900 First roundSecond roundFinal

Results

First round

The first round eliminated five players, allowing four to advance. Four players, including two of the three women, did not finish the round. The third woman, Desprès, finished the round with 24 points but did not advance among the top four.

Rank Player Nation Score Notes 1 Chrétien Waydelich 11 2 Georges Johin 13 3 Al. Blachère 17 4 Gaston Aumoitte 18 5 Louise Anne Marie Després 24 — Jeanne Filleul-Brohy Marcel Haëntjens Marie Ohier Jacques Sautereau

Second round

Waydelich and Blachère were eliminated in the second round. Waydelich, in third place, is now considered by the International Olympic Committee to be a bronze medalist.

Rank Player Nation Score Notes 1 Georges Johin 16 2 Gaston Aumoitte 18 Chrétien Waydelich 20 4 Al. Blachère 22

Final

Gaston Aumoitte won the championship.

Rank Player Nation Score Gaston Aumoitte 15 Georges Johin 21

References

De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Croquet 1900". Accessed 10 January 2006. Available electronically at . Mallon, Bill. "The First Two Women Olympians" in Citius, Altius, Fortius, Autumn 1995, No. 3, p. 38. Available in pdf format from the AAFLA .