The first Olympic games in Paris, held in 1900, featured several events that are not to be found in the sequel in the same city 124 years later. A noteworthy example of this is the sport of ballooning.
Note that I did not use the term "hot-air ballooning." Although there was a competition for hot-air balloons (as well as for kites and weather balloons), in the majority of the events the balloons in question were spherical sealed bags containing a lighter-than-air gas. If the various black and white photos of the event can be trusted, the balloons were all monochromatic and all looked pretty much alike.
About the only way that the balloonists could control their vessels was by dumping ballast to go higher and venting gas to go lower. The choice of gas (and ballast) was up to the balloonist. Hydrogen, as the lightest element was a favorite choice for the gas (albeit highly inflammable), but it was too expensive for some of the contestants. The balloonists were also permitted to carry a supply of oxygen so that they could breathe at higher altitudes.
The competitions for gas balloons included altitude, duration, landing at the minimum distance from a point fixed in advance, longest distance traveled, and photography from a balloon. A grand prize (Grand Prix de l’Aéronautique) of 1,000 francs was awarded to balloonist Comte Henri de la Vaulx for the best combination of points from the long duration, short duration, and altitude flights. De la Vaulx's long distance flights included a landing in Włocławek (just west of Warsaw, Poland (768 miles) and a landing in Korostychel (just west of Kyiv, Ukraine (1,194 miles). Both of these landing sites were part of Russia at the time, and de la Vaulx claimed that he was apprehended by the police after each flight for failing to file the proper passport requests and was subjected to the indignities of being supplied with items like tea, cigarettes, and unlimited supplies of champagne while in custody.
Balloons thereafter were and still are often a feature of the modern Olympics, but 1900 was the only year that they were a competitive event.
Ministere du Commerce de L'Industrie des Postes et des Telegraphes,
Government de France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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