Rings, Men

The ring exercise was of two minutes in length. The result was a split decision in which three judges had Ioannis Mitropoulos first and three had Hermann Weingärtner first. Prince Georgios cast the deciding vote in favor of Mitropoulos. The Official Report noted of Mitropoulos’ victory, “Before the result is officially announced one of the judges shouts in French, ‘Vive la Grèce.’ A few minutes later the number of Mitropoulos is put up and the Greek flag is hoisted. He is the first Greek Olympic winner in the stadium. The enthusiasm bursts forth beyond control; tears damp the eyes, hats are hurled into the air, and handkerchiefs are waved frenziedly. The cheers and the endless applause of which the signal is given by the Royal Family constitute an indescribable composite sound.“