The first Mediterranean Games took place between 5 and 20 October 1951, on the basis of an idea by Muhammed Taher Pasha. 10 countries participated with 734 athletes, including 243 Egyptians. Only men took part in this first edition, as was the case in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.

One would need to wait for the fifth edition of the Games in 1967 to see women participating in the competition. Italy presented itself with 99 athletes and finished first in the medal table by winning 62 in total, 28 of which were gold, achieving a medal percentage close to 62%.

The big stars of this first edition were French. More specifically, the gymnast Raymond Dot who won the greatest number of medals (7 gold medals, including one team and one bronze medal), while his compatriots Alain Mimoun, future Olympic marathon champion, who won the 5000m and 10000m races, and Patrick El Mabrouk (800m, 1500m and 4X400m), excelled in athletics.

Read the full history of the Mediterranean Games