The second modern Olympics was held in Paris in 1900, as part of their 1900 International Exposition. Twenty-four nations fielded 997 athletes who participated in a total of 95 events. France won 26 first-place medals, and 92 overall; the United States came in second overall, with 19 first place medals, 47 overall. This was the first Olympics ever held outside of Greece, and the first that featured competitions for women. The 1900 Paris event was also the only modern Olympics in which the word "Olympics" does not appear anywhere on the award, as the organizers felt the event was a subsidiary part of their International Exhibition. The composition of first, second and third place medals wasn't standardized until 1904; until then, medals varied with each sport. Incidentally, the 1904 Olympics also - amazingly - dropped weightlifting and wrestling as events - but added tug-of-war! This lovely and exceedingly rare 1 5/8" x 2 3/8" medal is made of silver-plated bronze, and was awarded to the winner in the Gymnastics competition. Both sides feature rich and highly detailed figures in relief. The obverse depicts Nike, the winged goddess of victory, with a background scene of Paris and "Paris / 1900". The reverse shows a victorious athlete with raised olive branch, with a stadium and Grecian temples in the background. Condition is Fine, with some loss of silver plating on the high points of the Nike, largely confined to her knee and elbow, and some very light surface scratching on both sides. The medal looks and displays extremely well, however, and is an impressive piece of Olympic history.