1920 Years [IV]: Portugal in the Olympic Games
Part 4: The first participations, the first Portuguese athletes in the Olympics and other Philateral Curiosities
The debut of Portugal
Portugal debuted at the Stockholm Games (1912), with three modalities: Athletics: António Stromp, Armando Courtyard, Francisco Lázaro. Fencing: Fernando Correia. Fight: António Pereira, Joaquim Vital.
VII Olympiad: 1920
The Berlin Games (1916), were canceled, returning Portugal to participate in the Antwerp (1920). In these, Portugal would only be present in two modalities (fencing and shot) which illustrates the poor performance of organization of Portuguese sport.
The Portuguese fencing team at the 1920 Olympic Games, in the newspaper Sporting, no. 7 (1921)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
The Fencing team: António Mascarenhas Menezes, Fernando Correia, Frederico Paredes, Henrique da Silveira, João Sassetti, Jorge Paiva, Manuel Queiroz, Rui Mayer.
Photograph of the Portuguese shooting team of the VII Olympics (1920)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
The Shooting team: António Andréa Ferreira, António da Silva Martins, António dos Santos, Dario Cannas, Francisco Félix Bermudez, Hermínio Rebelo.
The credential is signed by the main editor, declaring: «Mr. Constantine Mouton Osório, a bearer of this, is one of the corresponding sportives in the Olympics in Anvers, from the Portuguese newspaper "Os Sports". Lisbon, July 29, 1920».
Photograph of the Portuguese delegation entering the Paris Olympic Games (1924)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
The situation would change a little in the Olympics of Paris (1924), with a national delegation composed of 25 athletes, divided by eight modalities.
Vignette Olympic Games Paris 1924 (1924)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
The eight modalities with which Portugal participated were Athletics, Fencing, Weightlifting, Equestion, Swimming, Tennis, Shooting and Sailing.
António da Silva Martins on the cover of Foto-Sport magazine n.3 (1924-04-15)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
Despite having the best shooters in shooting mode ...
Illustrated postcard Official poster of the Paris 1924 Olympic Games (s/d)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
Shooting team: António Andréa Ferreira, António da Silva Martins, António Montez, Dario Cannas, Francisco Real, Francisco Félix Bermudez, Francisco Paulo Mendonça, Manuel da Silva Guerra.
Photograph of the delivery of the 1st Olympic medal to Portugal, in the horse riding discipline (1924)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
... Portugal would for the first time a medal (bronze) in the Riding mode, in the specialty of heels of obstacles per teams.
Postcard Olympic Games Paris 1924 / Fight (1924)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
The Athletics team: António da Silva Martins, Gentil dos Santos, Karel Pott
António Pereira on the cover of Football magazine (1920-06-03)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
There was only one Portuguese representative in each of the following modalities: in Weightlifting: António Pereira (in weights and alteres); In Swimming: Mário da Silva Marques; In Tennis: Rodrigo Castro Pereira; In Sailing: Frederico Burnay
At Amsterdam Games (1928),
still in this decade, Portugal would participate with 31 athletes.
Athletics: Henrique Santos, José Palhares da Costa, José Silver de Lima. Fencing: Frederico Paredes, Henrique da Silveira, Jorge Paiva, Mário de Noronha, Paulo d'Eça Leal, Sebastião Freitas Branco Heredia. Football: António Fernandes Roquet, Armando Martins, Augusto Silva, Carlos Alves, César de Matos, João dos Santos, Jorge Vieira, José Manuel Martins, José Manuel Soares, Raul Figueiredo, Valdemar Mota, Vítor Silva.
Weightlifting: António Pereira. Horse riding: Hélder de Sousa Martins, José Mouzinho de Albuquerque, Luís Ivens Ferraz. Fight: Benjamim Araújo. Modern Pentatlo: Sebastião Freitas White Herdia. Sailing: António Guedes de Hédio, Carlos Eduardo Bleck, Ernesto Mendonça, João Penha Lopes.
Illustrated postcard Chile-Portugal football match - Entry of the Portuguese (Olympic Games 1928) (1928)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
The national soccer selection reached the end rooms
The Game Portugal-Chile was the inaugural game of the Olympic Football Tournament, at the Olympic Stadium of Amsterdam, on May 27, 1928. Portugal won Chile by 4-2, with goals from Vitor Silva, Pepe (two) and Valdemar Mota.
Philatelic and Olympic Curiosities ...
on the participation of Portugal in the 1928 edition: the Portuguese Olympic Committee obtained the support of the post office to issue a stamp to finance the participation of a national delegation in the games.
In the so-called "Olympic days" from May 22 to 24, all correspondence was a franchise with an additional postage stamp of 15 cents. Its failure implied the fine folded in the form of a seal of 30 centavos.
It was issued 1,800,000 seals, which rendered 90 contos of reis and allowed the sending of 29 men to Amsterdam. The drawing is from Roque Gameiro and is the first seal of Olympic theme by a non-organizing country of the games.
Stamp of a series of 3 emitted by the Belgian post office commemoratively of the 1920s Olympic Games. A part of the revenue (5c) went to the disabled of the war of 1914-18, as indicated in the lower frieze 'pour les mutiles / Verminkten Voor'. The seal represents a quadrigation, car pulled by four horses and driven by the goddess Victoria or Niké, in allegory to the Greek and Roman antiquity games.
Series of stamps from the IX Olympiad Amsterdam 1928 (1928)National Sports Museum - IPDJ
A series of 8 seals was issued by the Dutch post office at the request of the National Olympic Committee. The stamps were sold for a price above their facial value, which yielded 50,000 florins that revert to the committee.
It was the first Olympic seals to represent modern sports modalities.
Keep visiting
You have finished the visit to the 4th part of the exposure dedicated to the 1920s. Follow to the next.
Part 1: History and Physical Education
Part 2: Sports Journals
Part 3: Associativism
Part 5: Aviation
Exhibition «Years 1920 - Part 4: Portugal in the Olympic Games»
Original Version - 2022
Curatoria and Contents: National Sports Museum
Note: The exhibition was developed based on the selection of museum's estate
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