Polo was introduced in the Summer Olympics at the 1900 Games. It was contested in another four Olympics before being removed from the official programme after the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Polo declined in relative popularity around the time of World War II due at least in part to the logistical and financial difficulties of competing in the sport. In 1996, the International Olympic Committee voted to classify polo as a recognized sport.
Polo was accepted as a demonstration sport for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
Events
Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 Years Men's tournament X X X X X 5 Events - 1 - 1 - 1 1 - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 Year 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 5
Tournaments YearHostGold medal gameBronze medal gameGold medalistScoreSilver medalistBronze medalistScoreFourth place1900DetailsParisGreat Britain3–1Great BritainFrance (United States and Mexico) Round Robin—1908DetailsLondonGreat Britaintwo matchesGreat BritainGreat Britain—only 3 teams—1920DetailsAntwerpGreat Britain13–11SpainUnited States11–3Belgium1924DetailsParisArgentinaRound RobinUnited StatesGreat BritainRound RobinSpain1936DetailsBerlinArgentina11–0Great BritainMexico16–2Hungary
Medal table Sources:
Players per nation
+Number of nations and players per nation in the Olympic polo tournament by year Year 1900 1908 1920 1924 1936 - - - 5 4 - - 4 - - 6 - - 5 - 7 12 4 4 4 - - - - 4 - - - - 5 4 - - - 4 - - 4 6 - 3 - 4 4 - Number of nations - 4 - 1 - 4 5 - - 5
Medalists Among the contestants were 87 men from nine countries. The youngest participant was 21-year-old Roberto Cavanagh from Argentina, while the oldest was 52-year-old Justo San Miguel of Spain. The top country medal winner was Great Britain with six medals. No equestrian had more than two medals, but four riders, all from Great Britain, won two medals each. In 1900, at the first appearance of the sport, all medals went to "mixed teams", while in the second appearance at the 1908 Games, all medals went to British teams.
1900 Paris1904 St. Louisnot included in the Olympic program1908 LondonCharles Darley MillerGeorge Arthur MillerPatteson Womersley NickallsHerbert Haydon WilsonWalter BuckmasterFrederick FreakeWalter JonesJohn Wodehousenone awarded (Ireland)John Hardress LloydJohn Paul McCannPercy O'ReillyAuston Rotherham1912 Stockholmnot included in the Olympic program1920 AntwerpTeignmouth Philip MelvillFrederick W. BarrettJohn WodehouseVivian LockettLeopoldo Saínz de la MazaDuke of PeñarandaMarquess of VillabrágimaJosé de Figueroa y Alonso-MartínezDuke of AlbaArthur HarrisTerry AllenJohn MontgomeryNelson Margetts1924 ParisArturo KennyJuan MilesGuillermo NaylorJuan NelsonEnrique PadillaElmer BoesekeTommy Hitchcock, Jr.Frederick RoeRodman WanamakerFrederick BarrettDennis BinghamFred GuestKinnear Wise1928-1932not included in the Olympic program1936 BerlinLuis DugganRoberto CavanaghAndrés GazzottiManuel AndradaDiego CavanaghBryan FowlerWilliam HindeDavid DawnayHumphrey Patrick GuinnessJuan GraciaJulio MuellerAntonio NavaAlberto Ramos
See also List of Olympic venues in discontinued events
References
General