Olympic medal began in 1896 medals started to be given to successful olympian competitors. However, gold medals were not awarded at the inaugural Olympics in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The winners were instead given a silver medal and an olive branch, while runners-up received a laurel branch and a copper or bronze medal. In 1900, most winners received cups or trophies instead of medals. The custom of the sequence of gold, silver, and bronze for the first three places dates from the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has retroactively assigned gold,
Austria at the 1896 Summer Olympics race-off between the two broke the tie in favor of the Greek athlete. Schmal also competed in the sabre fencing tournament, placing fourth in the five-man round robin. Two Austrian swimmers competed in 1896. One of the two competed in each of the three open events, and each swimmer won one medal. Austria at the 1896 Summer Olympics Three sportsmen from Austria competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics. Though Austria was then a part of Austria-Hungary, most sources separate Austrian competitors from the Hungarians at the 1896 Games. Austria finished in seventh position in the final medal rankings, with two