Very little is known about croquet at the 1900 Olympics. Some Olympic historians will state that it was not an Olympic sport. However, it is listed among the “Jeux Athlétiques” in the 1900 Official Report, and definitely appears to have been a championship of the exposition. In addition, the only known “Programme des Jeux Olympiques de 1900 - Paris” lists croquet as one of the “Jeux” on the programme. It is also listed on the programme of the “Olympische Spiele”, published in the 23 March 1900 edition of Sport im Wort.
There were four events contested in association with the Exposition – singles for one ball, singles for two balls, doubles, and a handicap singles event. The handicap event cannot be considered of Olympic caliber. It was won, however, by Maurice Vignerot, who also competed in the singles for two balls.
There were no foreign entrants that we know of. The croquet events were sparsely covered in the news in 1900, the best coverage being in Journal des Sports, although both La Vie au Grand Air and Le Sport Universal Illustré had coverage of the event. In fact, there is almost no mention of the doubles event in any sporting journal or paper. Absolutely nothing is known about that event, other than the names of the winners.
The most important occurrence at 1900 croquet is that women made their Olympic début in this sport. In fact, three women competed. They competed in croquet, which began on 28 June, and they competed against the men in the same competition. Thus, they would be among the first female Olympians, trailing only the Swiss Hélène de Pourtalès in yachting. Their names are listed in the Paris daily sporting journal of the time, Journal des Sports, and in La Vie au Grand Air, a sporting weekly. They are Jeanne Filleul-Brohy (goddaughter of Brohy), Marie Ohier, and Louise Anne Marie Després, the wife of André Després, the President of the French Croquet Federation.
FRA