Great Britain at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Diving

Five divers consisting of three men and two women, represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Just as in 1912, the women had the better showing for the country. Armstrong posted the country's best result to that point, taking the silver medal in the platform. White, who had won Great Britain's only previous medal in the sport, was unable to match her bronze from 1912 and took fourth place in the platform.

Men

Ranks given are within the semifinal group.

Women

Ranks given are within the semifinal group.

Diver	Event	Semifinals			Final
		Points	Score	Rank	Points	Score	Rank
Beatrice Armstrong	10 m platform	7	158.0	1 Q	10	166.0
Isabelle White	10 m platform	20	148.5	3 Q	18	158.5	4

Swimming

Eighteen swimmers, twelve men and six women, represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. Great Britain won two medals, one in each of the relays. The men took bronze, while the women took silver. Jeans was the only individual finalist for the country, advancing to the finals in both of the women's events and taking fourth place each time.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Men

Swimmer	Event	Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Harold Annison	100 m free	Unknown	4	Did not advance
	400 m free	5:58.0	1 Q	Unknown	4	Did not advance
	1500 m free	24:28.2	1 Q	23:51.4	3	Did not advance
Albert Dickin	100 m free	Unknown	5	Did not advance
John Dickin	100 m free	1:10.0	3	Did not advance
Jack Hatfield	400 m free	5:50.6	3	Did not advance
	1500 m free	23:56.6	3	Did not advance
Rex Lassam	200 m breast	Unknown	4	Did not advance
	400 m breast	Unknown	4	Did not advance
Ernest Parker	200 m breast	Unknown	6	Did not advance
Edward Peter	400 m free	Unknown	5	Did not advance
	1500 m free	24:39.4	2 Q	Unknown	5	Did not advance
George Robertson	100 m back	N/A		Unknown	6	Did not advance
	200 m breast	Unknown	6	Did not advance
	400 m breast	7:28.0	3	Did not advance
Leslie Savage	100 m free	Unknown	5	Did not advance
William Stoney	200 m breast	3:20.8	3	Did not advance
Henry Taylor	400 m free	6:01.2	2 Q	Unknown	4	Did not advance
	1500 m free	Did not finish		Did not advance
George Webster	100 m back	N/A		Unknown	5	Did not advance
Harold Annison Edward Peter Leslie Savage Henry Taylor	4 × 200 m free relay	N/A		10:51.0	1 Q	10:37.2

Women

Swimmer	Event	Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Lillian Birkenhead	100 m free	Unknown	6	Did not advance
Hilda James	300 m free	5:07.2	4	Did not advance
Constance Jeans	100 m free	1:20.8	2 Q	1:22.8	4
	300 m free	4:57.8	2 Q	4:52.4	4
Grace McKenzie	100 m free	1:27.4	3	Did not advance
	300 m free	Unknown	4	Did not advance
Charlotte Radcliffe	100 m free	Unknown	7	Did not advance
Florence Sancroft	300 m free	Unknown	5	Did not advance
Hilda James Constance Jeans Grace McKenzie Charlotte Radcliffe	4 × 100 m free relay	N/A		5:40.8

Water polo

Great Britain competed in the Olympic water polo tournament for the fourth time in 1920, the fifth appearance of the sport in the Olympics. Britain won its fourth (and final, through 2008) gold medal in the sport.

The Bergvall System was used in 1920. Great Britain won all three of its matches, taking the gold medal.

Quarterfinals

Great Britain

9–0

Spain

Antwerp

Semifinals

Great Britain

7–2

United States

Antwerp

Final

Great Britain

3–2

Belgium

Antwerp

Final rank

Gold

41 athletes represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's sixth appearance in athletics, having competed in the sport at every Olympics. With four medals of each type, Great Britain was the third most successful nation in athletics, behind the United States and Finland.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Harold Abrahams	100 m	11.0	1 Q	11.0	4	Did not advance
	200 m	23.3	2 Q	23.0	3	Did not advance
	Long jump	6.05	20	—				Did not advance
John Ainsworth-Davis	400 m	51.5	2 Q	50.7	2 Q	49.9	3 Q	50.6	5
Benjamin Howard Baker	Triple jump	13.675	8	—				Did not advance
	High jump	1.80	1 Q	—				1.85	6
Joe Blewitt	5000 m	—				15:19.8	1 Q	15:19.0	5
Guy Butler	400 m	53.2	2 Q	50.7	2 Q	50.2	2 Q	50.1
Timothy Carroll	High jump	1.80	1 Q	—				1.75	9
Charles Clibbon	10000 m	—				32:08.8	2 Q	Did not finish
Laurence Cummins	Cross country	—							26
Victor d'Arcy	100 m	11.1	2 Q		3	Did not advance
	200 m	24.0	3	Did not advance
Charles Dowson	3 km walk	—				13:54.9	4 Q	13:28.0	6
	10 km walk	—				Did not finish		Did not advance
Eric Dunbar	110 m hurdles	—			4	Did not advance
	High jump	1.70	14	—				Did not advance
Harry Edward	100 m	10.9	2 Q	10.8	1 Q	10.8	1 Q	10.9
	200 m	22.8	1 Q	22.0	1 Q	22.5	2 Q	22.2
Walter Freeman	Cross country	—							22
George Gray	110 m hurdles	—			2 Q		4	Did not advance
	400 m hurdles	—		58.8	3	Did not advance
Charles Gunn	3 km walk	—					5 Q	13:34.0	10
	10 km walk	—				48:22.0	5 Q	49:43.9
James Hatton	10000 m	—				32:23.0	5 Q	32:14.0	5
Anton Hegarty	Cross country	—						27:57.0	5
William Hehir	3 km walk	—					5 Q	13:29.8	7
	10 km walk	—				51:33.8	1 Q	50:11.8	5
Albert Hill	800 m	—		1:56.2	2 Q	1:56.4	1 Q	1:53.4
	1500 m	—				4:03.2	2 Q	4:01.8
William Hill	100 m	11.0	1 Q	11.0	1 Q	11.3	5	Did not advance
	200 m	23.8	2 Q	23.2	3	Did not advance
Percy Hodge	3000 m steeplechase	—				10:17.4 OR	1 Q	10:00.4 OR
Leslie Housden	Marathon	—						3:14:25.0	31
William Hunter	110 m hurdles	—			2 Q		5	Did not advance
	Long jump	6.42	13	—				Did not advance
	High jump	No mark	21	—				Did not advance
Herbert Irwin	5000 m	—				15:17.8	2 Q		12
Robert Lindsay	400 m	52.0	1 Q	51.6	4	Did not advance
Charles Lively	Long jump	5.87	22	—				Did not advance
	Triple jump	13.15	14	—				Did not advance
Duncan McPhee	1500 m	—				4:07.2	2 Q	Did not finish
Arthur Mills	Marathon	—						2:48:05.0	14
Edgar Mountain	800 m	—		1:57.6	1 Q	1:58.2	2 Q	1:53.7	4
Alfred Nichols	5000 m	—				15:54.0	4 Q	15:24.0	8
	Cross country	—						28:20.0	12
Tom Nicolson	Hammer throw	45.70	6	—				45.70	6
Philip Noel-Baker	800 m	—		1:56.0	1 Q	Did not start		Did not advance
	1500 m	—				4:14.0	2 Q	4:02.4
George Piper	Marathon	—						3:02:10.0	29
Eric Robertson	Marathon	—						3:55:00.0	35
William Seagrove	5000 m	—				15:53.6	3 Q	15:21.06	6
Christopher Vose	Cross country	—							19
Edward Wheller	400 m hurdles	—		58.4	2 Q		4	Did not advance
James Wilson	10000 m	—				33:40.2	1 Q	31:50.8
	Cross country	—						27:45.2	4
Hedges Worthington-Eyre	400 m	52.6	2 Q	53.2	5	Did not advance
Frank Hegarty Alfred Nichols James Wilson	Team cross country	—						21
Harold Abrahams Denis Black Victor d'Arcy William Hill	4 × 100 m relay	—				43.3	2 Q	43.0	4
John Ainsworth-Davis Guy Butler Cecil Griffiths Robert Lindsay	4 × 400 m relay	—				3:40.9	2 Q	3:22.2
Joe Blewitt Albert Hill Duncan McPhee William Seagrove	3000 m team	—				11	1 Q	20

16 boxers represented Great Britain at the 1920 Games. It was the nation's second appearance in boxing. Great Britain was one of two countries to send two boxers in each of the eight weight classes, along with the United States. The British boxers won a total of six medals, one more than Canada and two more than the United States, but fell behind the Americans in number of gold medals three to two.

Boxer	Weight class	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / Bronze match
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Frederick Adams	Featherweight	Bye	Erdal (NOR) L	Did not advance			9
Daniel Bowling	Bantamweight	N/A	Hartman (USA) L	Did not advance			9
Hugh Brown	Light heavyweight	N/A	Bye	Andreasen (DEN) W	Sørsdal (NOR) L	Franks (GBR) L	4
James Cater	Featherweight	Bye	Nielsen (DEN) W	Garzena (ITA) L	Did not advance		5
William Cuthbertson	Flyweight	N/A	Jensen (DEN) W	Zegwaard (NED) W	Pedersen (DEN) L	Albert (FRA) W
Frank Dove	Heavyweight	N/A	Bye	Petersen (DEN) L	Did not advance		5
Harold Franks	Light heavyweight	N/A	Bye	Piochelle (FRA) W	Eagan (USA) L	Brown (GBR) W
James Gilmour	Lightweight	N/A	Sæterhaug (NOR) L	Did not advance			9
Frederick Grace	Lightweight	N/A	Nak (NED) W	Mosberg (USA) L	Did not advance		5
Alexander Ireland	Welterweight	Bye	Reichenbach (SUI) W	Suhr (DEN) W	Clark (USA) W	Schneider (CAN) L
Harry Mallin	Middleweight	Bye	Cranston (USA) W	Lagonia (USA) W	Herscovitch (CAN) W	Prud'Homme (CAN) W
George McKenzie	Bantamweight	N/A	Bye	Koss (NOR) W	Walker (RSA) L	Hébrants (BEL) W
Ronald Rawson	Heavyweight	N/A	Bye	Stewart (USA) W	Eluère (FRA) W	Petersen (DEN) W
Frederic Virtue	Flyweight	N/A	Zegwaard (NED) L	Did not advance			9
Frederick Whitbread	Welterweight	Bye	Gillet (FRA) L	Did not advance			9
Edward White	Middleweight	Bye	Olsen (DEN) L	Did not advance			9

Thirteen cyclists represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. Great Britain was one of six different nations to win a gold medal in the six cycling events; the British team also took three silvers and one bronze to make the nation the most successful cycling team in 1920. All of Great Britain's medals came in track cycling, with the gold coming from Lance and Ryan's tandem.

Road cycling

Track cycling

Ranks given are within the heat.

Cyclist	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Repechage semis		Repechage final		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Cyril Alden	50 km	N/A										Unknown
Thomas Harvey	50 km	N/A										Unknown	8
Horace Johnson	Sprint	12.6	1 Q	11.8	1 Q	Advanced directly				14.8	1 Q	15.1
	50 km	N/A										Did not finish
Thomas Lance	Sprint	13.2	1 Q	Unknown	3 R	Unknown	4	Did not advance
Harry Ryan	Sprint	13.2	1 Q	12.8	1 Q	Advanced directly				12.6	1 Q	15.1
William Stewart	50 km	N/A										Unknown	8
Albert White	Sprint	Unknown	2 Q	12.6	1 Q	Advanced directly				15.3	3	Did not advance
Cyril Alden William Stewart	Tandem	N/A		15.6	1 Q	N/A				Unknown	2 B	Unknown	4
Thomas Lance Harry Ryan	Tandem	N/A		12.0	1 Q	N/A				11.6	1 Q	11.2
Henry Lee William Ormston	Tandem	N/A		Unknown	3	N/A				15.3	3	Did not advance
Cyril Alden Thomas Harvey Horace Johnson Henry Lee William Stewart Albert White	Team pursuit	N/A		5:23.8	1 Q	N/A				5:14.0	1 Q	5:13.8

Eighteen fencers represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. The British team's best individual result came from its only event finalist, Dalglish, who placed eighth in the sabre. The foil team placed fifth for the best overall result for Britain.

Ranks given are within the group.

Great Britain competed in field hockey for the second time, fielding a single team this time. The team took the gold medal in the four-team round robin, defeating each of the other three teams.

Team	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Great Britain men's national field hockey team	Field hockey	3–0

Great Britain competed in the Olympic football tournament for the fourth time, having missed only the 1904 tournament. The country had won gold medals in each of its first three appearances while going undefeated. The team's streak was abruptly halted in 1920, however, with a stunning first round loss to Norway.

First round

August 28, 1920

Norway	3–1	Great Britain
Gundersen 13' 51' Wilhelms 63'	Report	Nicholas 25'

Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Johannes Mutters (NED)

Final rank

10th

Twenty-seven gymnasts represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's fifth appearance in the sport, matched only by France. The British squad included only one team, with no gymnasts competing in the individual all-around. The team came in last place of the five competing countries.

Artistic gymnastics

Four pentathletes represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in the sport, having competed in both instances of the Olympic pentathlon.

A point-for-place system was used, with the lowest total score winning.

Great Britain competed in the Olympic polo tournament for the third time, the only nation to have competed in each edition of the competition to that point (and, eventually, the entire time polo was played at the Olympics). Great Britain fielded a single team in 1920, as opposed to 1900 and 1908, when the country had players on six of the eight teams to play. The British team nevertheless took another gold medal, defeating Belgium in the semifinals and Spain in the final.

Semifinals

 

Great Britain (GBR)	8–3	Belgium (BEL)

 

Final

 

Spain (ESP)	11–13	Great Britain (GBR)

 

Final rank

Gold

Ten rowers represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. Both of the British boats earned silver medals; in each instance, it was an American boat which beat Great Britain's representative in the final.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Rower	Cox	Event	Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
			Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Jack Beresford	N/A	Single sculls	7:45.0	1 Q	7:45.0	1 Q	7:36.0
Ewart Horsfall Guy Oliver Nickalls Richard Lucas Walter James John Campbell Sebastian Earl Ralph Shove Sidney Swann	Robin Johnstone	Eight	6:19.0	1 Q	6:26.4	1 Q	6:05.8

Six sailors represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Britain had the only female sailor of 1920. Both of the nation's boats took gold medals, without competition in the 18 foot class and over a Norwegian team in the 7 metre.

Sailors	Class	Race 1		Race 2		Race 3		Total
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Score	Rank
Robert Coleman William Maddison Cyril Wright Dorothy Wright	7 metre	Unknown

Figure skating

Six figure skaters represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in the sport; Great Britain was one of three countries to compete in both Summer Olympics figure skating competitions. The British team was able to capture only a single bronze medal in 1920.

Skater	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Kenneth Beaumont	Men's singles	59.0	9
Phyllis Johnson	Ladies' singles	18.5	4
Basil Williams	Men's singles	49.5	7
Phyllis Johnson Basil Williams	Pairs	25.0
Ethel Muckelt Sydney Wallwork	Pairs	34.0	5
Kenneth Beaumont Madeleine Beaumont	Pairs	55.0	8

Seven shooters represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's fifth appearance in the sport; France was one of three nations (along with Denmark and France) to have competed at each Olympic shooting contest to that point. The British shooters were unable to secure a medal for the first time since 1900.

Eight tennis players, four men and four women, competed for Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's fifth appearance in the sport, tied with France for the most of any country. The doubles competitions were Great Britain's strength, with both gold medals coming from pairs—men's and women's. The country added a pair of silver medals in the women's and mixed doubles. The British players also took a pair of medals in the women's singles; Holman took silver and McKane won the bronze.

Player	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals	Rank
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score
Alfred Beamish	Men's singles	Woffek (TCH) W 6–1, 6–3, 6–4	Ardelt (TCH) W 6–2, 6–4, 6–3	Alonso (ESP) L 6–1, 5–7, 5–7, 6–3, 6–1	Did not advance			9
Geraldine Beamish	Women's singles	N/A	Bye	Holman (GBR) L 8–6, 6–2	Did not advance			9
Edith Holman	Women's singles	N/A	Bye	Beamish (GBR) W 8–6, 6–2	Arendt (BEL) W 6–2, 6–3	McKane (GBR) W	Lenglen (FRA) L 6–3, 6–0
Francis Lowe	Men's singles	Bye	Zerlentis (GRE) W 14–12, 8–10, 7–5, 6–4	Colombo (ITA) W 6–4, 6–0, 2–6, 7–5	Winslow (RSA) L 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2	Did not advance		5
Kathleen McKane	Women's singles	N/A	Vaussard (FRA) W 6–4, 6–4	Gagliardi (ITA) W 6–1, 1–6, 6–2	D'Ayen (FRA) W 6–2, 6–3	Holman (GBR) L	Fick (SWE) W 6–2, 6–0
Winifred McNair	Women's singles	N/A	Bye	Lenglen (FRA) L 6–0, 6–0	Did not advance			9
Oswald Turnbull	Men's singles	Bye	Bye	Balbi (ITA) W 3–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–8, 6–2	Alonso (ESP) W 0–6, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5	Raymond (RSA) L 5–7, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4	Winslow (RSA) L	4
Max Woosnam	Men's singles	Müller (SWE) W 3–6, 6–1, 6–3, 6–3	Alonso (ESP) L 6–1, 2–6, 6–1, 6–3	Did not advance				17
Alfred Beamish Francis Lowe	Men's doubles	N/A	Blackbeard & Dodd (RSA) L 6–1, 10–8, 6–3	Did not advance				17
Alfred Beamish Geraldine Beamish	Mixed doubles	N/A	McNair & Turnbull (GBR) W 4–6, 6–4, 7–5	Décugis & Lenglen (FRA) L 6–2, 6–0	Did not advance			9
Geraldine Beamish Edith Holman	Women's doubles	N/A	N/A	Bye	de Borman & Tschaggeny (BEL) W 6–2, 6–4	Arendt & Storms (BEL) W 6–1, 6–1	McKane & McNair (GBR) L 8–6, 6–4
Edith Holman Francis Lowe	Mixed doubles	N/A	McKane & Woosnam (GBR) L 7–5, 8–6	Did not advance				14
Kathleen McKane Winifred McNair	Women's doubles	N/A	N/A	Bye	Chaudoir & Dupont (BEL) W 6–2, 7–5	d'Ayen & Lenglen (FRA) W 2–6, 3–6, 8–6	Beamish & Holman (GBR) W 8–6, 6–4
Kathleen McKane Max Woosnam	Mixed doubles	N/A	Holman & Lowe (GBR) W 7–5, 8–6	d'Ayen & Hirsch (FRA) W 6–4, 6–2	Bye	Skrbková & Žemla-Rázný (TCH) W 9–7, 6–3	Décugis & Lenglen (FRA) L 6–4, 6–2
Winifred McNair Oswald Turnbull	Mixed doubles	N/A	Beamish Beamish (GBR) L 4–6, 6–4, 7–5	Did not advance				14
Oswald Turnbull Max Woosnam	Men's doubles	N/A	Bye	Týř & Woffek (TCH) W 6–1, 6–2, 6–3	Balbi & Colombo (ITA) W 6–2, 6–8, 6–1, 6–3	Albarran & Décugis (FRA) W 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 10–8	Kashio & Kumagai (JPN) W 6–2, 5–7, 7–5, 7–5

Great Britain competed in the Olympic tug of war tournament for the third time in 1920, the final appearance of the sport in the Olympics. Along with Sweden and the United States, Great Britain's three appearances in the five Olympic tug of war tournaments were the most of any nation.

The Bergvall System was used in 1920. Great Britain won all three of its matches, taking the gold medal to become the only country to win two Olympic golds in the tug of war.

All matches were best-of-three pulls.

Quarterfinals

 

Great Britain (GBR)	2–0	United States (USA)

 

Semifinals

 

Great Britain (GBR)	2–0	Belgium (BEL)

 

Final

 

Great Britain (GBR)	2–0	Netherlands (NED)

 

Final rank

Gold

Two weightlifters represented Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in the sport, having competed in 1896 but not 1900.

Ten wrestlers competed for Great Britain in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. The British wrestlers competed only in the freestyle, with two wrestlers in each weight class. Bernard and Wright took bronze medals; they were the only two Britons to get any wins at all, winning two matches apiece.

Freestyle

Wrestler	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals / Bronze match	Rank
Edgar Bacon	Middleweight	Bye	Penttala (FIN) (L)	Did not advance			9
Stanley Bacon	Middleweight	Bye	Frantz (USA) (L)	Did not advance			9
Bernard Bernard	Featherweight	N/A	Bye	Harrasse (FRA) (W)	Ackerly (USA) (L)	Shindes (IND) (W)
Henry Inman	Featherweight	N/A	Bye	Shindes (IND) (L)	Did not advance		5
Frederick Mason	Heavyweight	N/A		Meyer (USA) (L)	Did not advance		5
Archie MacDonald	Heavyweight	N/A		Nilsson (SWE) (L)	Did not advance		5
Walter Wilson	Light heavyweight	N/A	Bye	Redman (USA) (L)	Did not advance		5
Noel Rhys	Light heavyweight	N/A	Westerlund (FIN) (L)	Did not advance			9
Walter Wilson	Light heavyweight	N/A	Bye	Redman (USA) (L)	Did not advance		5
Herbert Wright	Lightweight	N/A	Bye	Joudiou (FRA) (W)	Svensson (SWE) (L)	Thys (BEL) (W)

• Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 16 August 2007.
• International Olympic Committee results database