hurlinghampolo.com
66
A R C H I V E
DAVID AGIE DE SELSAETEN
H I G H M O R A L E
It was a polo player who was instrumental
in bringing the Olympic Games to Antwerp
in 1920. Alfred Grisar, the father of Belgian
polo, was part of a small committee focused
on bringing the international sporting
event to Belgium, in order to boost the
spirits of the country following the end
of the First World War.
Grisar was adamant that polo be
featured in this edition of the Olympics,
as it had been played previously when the
Games were held in Paris in 1900 and
London in 1904, and he believed it to be an
excellent sport to foster the Olympic spirit.
But there was one small problem –
the actual polo matches were not played
in Antwerp. In 1913, Grisar had started
a new club in the Kapellen district of
northern Antwerp, with an intention to
form the Antwerp Polo Club. However,
during the German occupation, the grounds
were used as vegetable gardens. Fortunately,
before the war, Grisar had also taken over
the presidency of the Ostend Polo Club.
The coastal city of Ostend was, in those days,
a fashionable holiday resort for European
high society and a polo club had been started
there at the beginning of the 20th century.
With polo games planned in the 1920
schedule, there was only one solution: to
use the Ostend field, which had been less
damaged by the war.
Four teams entered the competition: England,
Spain, USA and Belgium. The tournament
began on Sunday 25 July, with Spain easily
defeating the United States by 13–3. The next
day was windy and rainy, but the match
between England and Belgium still took
place, with the British winning 8–3. Two days
later, the United States defeated the Belgians
for third place. The 35-goal English team,
led by Lord Wodehouse, won the Olympic
championship on 29 July, defeating Spain
13–11 in a very closely fought match.
In 2020, Belgian Polo will celebrate
the 100-year anniversary of the Antwerp
Olympic Games, with a unique event
commemorating this part of its polo history.
David Agie explores why Belgium has polo to thank for the opportunity
to host the post-war Olympic Games in 1920
With the absence of suitable post-war
polo fields in Antwerp, polo matches
at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games
were held in the city of Ostend
