The Inter-Allied Games was a one-off multi-sport event held from 22 June to 6 July 1919 at the newly constructed Pershing Stadium just outside

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

following the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The host stadium had been built near the Bois de Vincennes by the U.S. Military in cooperation with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. The event was only open to participation by military personnel who were currently serving or had formerly served in the armed forces during the War. Around 1500 athletes from a total of eighteen nations participated in the proceedings which featured nineteen sports. Following the conclusion of the games, Pershing Stadium was presented as a gift to the people of France from the United States of America. The area, still known as Le Stade Pershing, continues to be used as an open air recreation park to this day.

Sports

A total of nineteen sports were contested at the games. A number of military-oriented events was initially planned, but only hand-grenade throwing and shooting made it on to the final programme.

Participating nations

A total of twenty-eight nations from the

Allies of World War I The Allies or the Entente (, ) was an international military coalition of countries led by the French Republic, the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, the United States, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire of Japan against the Central Powers ...

were invited to the competition and eighteen nations accepted the invitation.

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

aimed to compete, but ultimately was unable to send any athletes to the games within the timescale. It did, however, provide medals and trophies in support of the games. The

Kingdom of Hejaz The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz (, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region of Western Asia that included the western portion of the Arabian Peninsula that was ruled by the Hashemite dynasty. It was self ...

sent a delegation but with no athletes, choosing to demonstrate the skills of their Arabian horsemen instead. A full list of participants was made by the organisers.

Gold medalists

These athletes competed in and won gold medals at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games: * Ralph Parcaut – Gold Medal, Light Heavyweight Division, Catch as Catch Can Wrestling * Paul Prehn – Gold Medal, Middleweight Division, Catch as Catch Can Wrestling * Gene Tunney – Gold Medal, Boxing * Max Friedman – Gold medal, Basketball * Norman Ross – 5 Gold Medals, Swimming *Carl F. Haas, William Clinton Gray, Floyd F. Campbell, and Lawrence M. Shields – Medley Relay Race *United States of America, First Place, Rifle Shooting Team, Team Members include – Brigadier General Paul A. Wolf * Darcy Hadfield – Gold Medal, Single Sculls, Rowing * Adam DeBus – Gold Medal, Baseball * Williamn Marriott – Gold Medal, Baseball

References

*Bell, Daniel (2003). ''Encyclopedia of International Games''. McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina. .
Full text of ''The inter-allied games, Paris, 22nd June to 6th July, 1919''
Albert R Mann, Cornell University Library.

External links

A description of the basketball tournament
{{multi-sport events Multi-sport events in France International sports competitions in Paris 1919 in multi-sport events 1919 in French sport Allies of World War I Defunct multi-sport events 1919 in European sport June 1919 July 1919 1919 in Paris