One hundred years ago , Paris , which hosts the Olympic Games for the third time later this year , put on one of the most memorable Olympics of the modern era . Crikey , where do I begin ? With the mind-blowing exploits of the

Flying Finn ? With the appearance of a future Tarzan of the Apes of the silver screen ? What about the gold medal-winning performances by two men who were later immortalised in a multi – and I mean , multi - award-winning movie ?

Or the appearance of an Australian in his third Olympics – it should have been his fourth – who later became Lord Mayor of Melbourne and the founder of a renowned major motor vehicle tyre business ?

And the Paris 1924 Olympics also gave birth to the Olympic Motto – Citius , Altius , Fortius – faster , higher stronger .

Australia sent 37 athletes to Paris to compete across eight sports – track and field , boxing , cycling , diving , lawn tennis , rowing , swimming and wrestling .

The Aussies won three gold medals , one silver and two bronze .

It was an all-male team , three members of which grew up in Manly , and all of whom won gold medals .

Must have been something in the water – out of the tap and down at the beach !

Anthony “ Nick ” Winter won the hop , step and jump ( triple jump ), Richmond “ Dick ” Eve , the Plain High Dive , and the great Andrew “ Boy ” Charlton had a welldeserved win in the 1500m freestyle .

Well-deserved because the champion also stepped onto the medal ’ s dais on two occasions for a bronze in the 400m

freestyle and silver as a member of the 4x200m freestyle relay .

Other members of that relay team were Moss Christie , Ernest Henry and the legendary Frank Beaurepaire , who had already scored a bronze behind Charlton in the 1500m freestyle .

Beaurepaire first represented Australia at the 1908 London Olympics , winning a bronze in the 1500m freestyle and silver in the 400m freestyle .

Such was his form leading up to the 1912 Stockholm Games , he was considered a hot favourite to win several medals . However , the NSW Swimming Association , and then the International Swimming Federation , ruled him ineligible because he had earned three quid a week as a swimming instructor .

But the great man bounced back at 1920 Antwerp Games , winning bronze in the 1500m freestyle and silver as a member of the 4x200m freestyle relay .

Beaurepaire retired after the Paris Games , but he was still to make a huge impact in this country .

In 1922 , Frank and a fellow Coogee Beach lifesaver , Jack Chalmers , were each awarded a Royal Humane Society Gold Medal plus a handsome 500 pounds for rescuing a shark attack victim .

He used the substantial sum to fund Beaurepaires , a tyres , wheels and batteries business which grew to in excess of 230 stores Australia-wide .

The much-admired Sir Frank Beaurepaire ( he was knighted in ’ 42 ) served as Melbourne ’ s Lord Mayor from 1940-42 and was a Member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1942-1952 .

The great man passed away on May 29 , 1956 , aged 65 , just seven months prior to his beloved city hosting Australia ’ s first Olympic Games .

The very aptly nicknamed The Flying Finn , Paavo Nurmi , is one of history ’ s greatest Olympians – his running achievements were mindboggling .

He was at his very peak in Paris , notching five gold medals in the 1500m , 5000m , Individual Cross Country , Team Cross Country and 3000m Team , a race in which Nurmi won , with his team-mates also performing well for the Finnish team to claim the title .

Previously in Antwerp , he was on the gold medal dais on three occasions for victories in the Individual Cross Country , Team Cross Country and 10,000 metres .

His swansong was four years later in Amsterdam where he added to his gold collection with victory in the 10,000m and two silvers in the 5000m and 3000m steeplechase . Tarzan of the Apes ? It was of course the fabulous Johnny Weissmuller who starred at the 1924 Paris Games and four years later in Amsterdam . His superb performances in the pool in Paris and Amsterdam caught the eye of Hollywood film producers which led to him retiring from competitive swimming and commencing a lucrative career in film .

The strapping 191cm , 86kg Weissmuller found fame on the silver screen , playing Tarzan in 11 movies from 1932 until 1947 and then as Jungle Jim in 12 movies from 1948-1954 .

Weissmuller won gold in the 100m , 400m and 4x200m freestyle events in Paris

and further gold in the 100m freestyle and

4x200m freestyle in Amsterdam . Chariots of Fire ? The 1981 movie – one of the all-time greats - “ chronicles and contrasts the lives and viewpoints of Scottish-born evangelist Eric Liddell , and England ’ s Harold Abrahams , a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania ”.

Both men won track and field fold medals in Paris – Abrahams in the 100m and Liddell in the 400m .

Liddell would have been one of the hot favourites for the 100m but because the final was scheduled to be held on a Sunday , the devout Christian switched to the 400m .

That resulted in Abrahams toeing the line in the 100m and going on to score a meritorious victory , with Liddell later being first to greet the judge in the 400m in world record time .

Liddell became a missionary , serving in China until his death from a brain tumor in a Japanese civilian internment camp in 1945 .

Abrahams , who died aged 78 in January 1978 , went on to forge successful careers as a barrister , journalist and sports commentator .

Chariots of Fire won a swag of awards all around the globe including four Academy Awards for Best Picture , Best Screenplay , Best Costume Design and Best Original Score .

Yep , the 1924 Paris Olympics was a bewdy , bottler !