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Vincent Richards
(8) 1924: The Double Olympic 
Champion Vincent Richards

Version française - French version
French translation


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1924 was to be the last year that tennis was played at the Olympic Games before seeing a break with the international movement for over 60 years. The sport would have to wait until the games of 1984 to re-establish itself, firstly on a demonstration level and then finally as a fully-fledged Olympic Sport again in 1988. The year before, in 1923, the International Tennis Federation had also obliged all of the major European championships to drop the term “World” from their titles in order to appease the Americans and to place all of the principal tournaments, in particular Wimbledon and Forest Hills, on a more equal footing (Refer to “The Last World Clay Court Championships”)


Vincent Richards and
Helen Wills
  The crowd at the last World Clay Court Championships in Paris in 1923 had marvelled at the skills of the American William Johnston. The Olympic Games of 1924 were also staged in Paris but now it was two new rising stars, Vincent Richards and Helen Wills, who were to make their impression.

“Vinnie” Richards was 21 years old. He had trained with and shown himself to be one of the most gifted students of the great Bill Tilden. He arrived in Paris already an experienced player, having won the doubles title at Forest Hills with his mentor Tilden in 1918 at the ripe old age of 15. He had also played and won several doubles matches in the Davis Cup in partnership with Williams. Indeed, he’d only been excluded from success in singles at this point in time by the presence of the two Bills, Tilden and Johnston, on the tournament circuit. 

Richards came to Paris in 1924 with the American Olympic team to demonstrate the continued supremacy of American tennis. His partner in the men’s doubles was Frank Hunter, another bright prospect for the future. Frank had reached the singles finals at Wimbledon the previous year.

Helen Wills was 18 years old. She too was already an established competitor. She had won the singles at Forest Hills in 1923 and was now seen as a very credible contender to the world number one Suzanne Lenglen.

The other members of the American team were less known: Dick Williams would play the mixed doubles with Hazel Wighman, who, whilst a good player, is primarily be remembered for her husband’s creation the Wighman Cup some years later. This is a women’s team trophy between Great Britain and the USA.Hazel would play the women’s doubles with Helen Wills. Finally, Vincent Richards’ partner at mixed doubles was the total newcomer Marion Jessop.

Only the French could mount any form of credible resistance at the games against such a strong American challenge.  Their players included Suzanne Lenglen who had been Wimbledon Singles Champion since 1919, Henri Cochet, World Clay Court Champion in 1922,  Jean Barota who had only just recently won the Wimbledon title, a young Rene Lacoste and the 29 year old Toto Brugnon.

Unfortunately, the big and keenly awaited confrontation between the French world number one and Helen Wills was not to be. Suzanne Lenglen fell ill before the games and had to withdraw. This also deprived her partner Henri Cochet a shot at a very probable gold medal in the mixed doubles.
 

 
Henri Cochet in 1924


Vincent Richards, Paris, 1924
The Americans walked away with a grand slam and with Vincent Richards a memorable hero of the games. He won two gold medals and one silver and left a well prepared Henri Cochet with one of the biggest disappointments of his life. Henri would later relate in his memoires: “ I was in excellent physical condition and reached the final by beating Jean Barota in the semis. I then went down in five sets to an inspired Vincent Richards. At the beginning of the fifth set the French team captain Decugis plunged an enormous sponge into a bucket of iced water and then splashed it down on the back of my head. I was simply too exhausted to respond however”.

It was the same outcome in the men’s doubles where Richards and Hunter beat Cochet and Brugnon in five sets; 4/6, 6/2, 6/3, 2/6, 6/3.

As for Helen Wills, in the absence of Suzanne Lenglen, nobody could match her. She won gold medals in both the singles and the doubles.

Finally, Vincent Richards won his third and silver medal with Marion Jessop losing to Wighman and Williams in the final of the mixed doubles.

It is curious to note that having won such an impressive Olympic triple, Richards never managed to assert himself again in singles at any of the major events. He did go on to collect several new doubles titles and in 1924 together with Suzanne Lenglen established himself on the American circuit as one of the first professional players of the new era. Helen Wills never did play her big rival in an official tournament but did effectively take her place by becoming the women’s world number one, a position she held onto for over a decade.

This table lists the Olympic tennis champions from the early period pre-1924. Note the German-British team combination of 1896! In these days it wasn’t essential to have both players from the same country. Hence, four years later in 1900 we find the men’s doubles finalists to be Max Decugis of France with a Mr Spalding de Garmendia of the USA!! 

Note also that J.Boland, the Olympic Singles Champion of 1896 is said to be Irish. He did indeed emanate from the Emerald Isle, but Ireland didn’t actually gain independence until 1922.

Mes single
Ladies double
Men double
Mixed double
Ladies double
1896
Athènes
J.Boland (U.K.)
-
J.Boland (U.K.) and F.Traun (Ger.)
-
-
1900
Paris
L.Doherty
(U.K.)
C.Cooper
((U.K.)
R. and L.Doherty
(U.K.)
C.Cooper 
R.Doherty 
(U.K.)
-
1904
St-Louis
B.Wright (USA)
-
E.Leonard B.Wright
(U.S.A.)
-
-
1908
Londres
Out door
W.Eaves (U.K.)
D.Lambers-Chambers
(U.K.)
G.Hillyard
R.Doherty
(U.K.)
-
-
1908
Londres
In door
A.Gore (U.K.)
G.Smith (U.K.)
A.Gore
H.Barret
(G.B.)
-
-
1912
Stockholm
C.Winslow (S.Afr)
M.Broquedis (Fr)
C.Winslow
H.Winslow
(S.Afr)
D.Koring 
H.Schomburgk
(Ger.)
-
1912
Stockholm
In door
A.Gobert (Fr.)
E.Hannam
(U.K.)
A.Gobert 
M.Germot (Fr.)
E.Hannam 
C.Dixon
(U.K.)
-
1920
Anvers
L.Raymond (S.Afr)
S.Lenglen (Fr.)
N.Turnbull (S.Afr).
M.Woosnam(U.K.)
S.Lenglen 
.Decugis
(Fr.)
K.McKane
W.McNair
(U.K.)
1924
Paris
V.Richards (USA)
H.Wills (USA)
 V.Richards F.Hunter
(USA)
H.Wightman
R.Williams
(USA)
H.Wills 
H.Wightman
(USA)

Previous story : 1923, Little Bill Johnston and the end of the early World Clay Court Championships
Next story : 1922-1926 The beginning of the french Musketeers adventure

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Dernière mise à jour : 22 Octobre 2001
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Mars 2000.