Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics

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Athletics
at the Games of the III Olympiad
Athletics pictogram.svg
Athletics pictogram
VenueFrancis Olympic Field
Dates29 August – 3 September
No. of events25
Competitors233 from 10 nations
  1900
1908  

At the 1904 Summer Olympics, twenty-five athletics events were contested. A total of 74 medals (25 gold, 25 silver and 24 bronze) were awarded.

Multi-event competitions, the all-around and triathlon, were introduced, along with a 56-pound weight throw, while the short steeplechase was lengthened slightly from 2500 to 2590 metres, the team race was lengthened from 5000 meters to 4 miles (6,437 m), and the long steeplechase was dropped.

In all, the 25 events featured in 1904 were 2 more than were held in 1900.

A track was built specifically for the Games on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. The cinder track was 1/3 mile in length with one long straightaway. [1]

Medal summary

EventGoldSilverBronze
60 metres
details
Archie Hahn
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
7.0 WR William Hogenson
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
7.2 Fay Moulton
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
7.2
100 metres
details
Archie Hahn
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
11.0 Nate Cartmell
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
11.2 William Hogenson
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
11.2
200 metres
details
Archie Hahn
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
21.6 OR Nate Cartmell
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
21.9 William Hogenson
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
Unknown
400 metres
details
Harry Hillman
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
49.2 OR Frank Waller
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
49.9 Herman Groman
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
50.0
800 metres
details
James Lightbody
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
1:56.0 OR Howard Valentine
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
1:56.3 Emil Breitkreutz
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
1:56.4
1500 metres
details
James Lightbody
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
4:05.4 WR Frank Verner
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
4:06.8 Lacey Hearn
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
Unknown
Marathon
details
Thomas Hicks
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
3:28:53 Albert Corey
Flag of France.svg  France
3:34:52 Arthur Newton
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
3:47:33
110 metres hurdles
details
Fred Schule
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
16.0 Thaddeus Shideler
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
16.3 Lesley Ashburner
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
16.4
200 metres hurdles
details
Harry Hillman
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
24.6 Frank Castleman
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
24.9 George Poage
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
Unknown
400 metres hurdles
details
Harry Hillman
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
53.0 OR Frank Waller
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
53.2 George Poage
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
56.8
2590 metres steeplechase
details
James Lightbody
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
7:39.6 John Daly [2]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
7:40.6 Arthur Newton
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
7:45.6
4 miles team race
details
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States  (USA)
New York AC
Arthur Newton
George Underwood
Paul Pilgrim
Howard Valentine
David Munson
27 ptsOlympic flag.svg  Mixed team  (ZZX)
Chicago AA
James Lightbody
Frank Verner
Lacey Hearn
Albert Corey (FRA)
Sidney Hatch
28 ptsnone awarded
Long jump
details
Myer Prinstein
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
7.34 m OR Daniel Frank
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
6.89 m Robert Stangland
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
6.88 m
Triple jump
details
Myer Prinstein
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
14.32 m Fred Englehardt
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
13.90 m Robert Stangland
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
13.36 m
High jump
details
Samuel Jones
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
1.80 m Garrett Serviss
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
1.77 m Paul Weinstein
Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany
1.77 m
Pole vault
details
Charles Dvorak
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
3.50 m OR LeRoy Samse
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
3.35 m Louis Wilkins
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
3.35 m
Standing long jump
details
Ray Ewry
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
3.47 m WR Charles King
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
3.27 m John Biller
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
3.25 m
Standing triple jump
details
Ray Ewry
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
10.54 m Charles King
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
10.16 m Joseph Stadler
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
9.60 m
Standing high jump
details
Ray Ewry
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
1.60 m Joseph Stadler
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
1.44 m Lawson Robertson
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
1.44 m
Shot put
details
Ralph Rose
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
14.81 m WR Wesley Coe
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
14.40 m Lawrence Feuerbach
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
13.37 m
Discus throw
details
Martin Sheridan
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
39.28 m OR Ralph Rose
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
39.28 m OR Nicolaos Georgandas
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece
37.68 m
Hammer throw
details
John Flanagan
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
51.23 m OR John DeWitt
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
50.26 m Ralph Rose
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
45.73 m
56 pound weight throw
details
Étienne Desmarteau
Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada
10.46 m John Flanagan
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
10.16 m James Mitchell
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
10.13 m
Triathlon
details
Max Emmerich
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
35.7 pts John Grieb
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
34.0 pts William Merz
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
32.9 pts
All-around
details
Tom Kiely
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain [3]
6036 pts Adam Gunn
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
5907 pts Truxtun Hare
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
5813 pts

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 23222267
2Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 1102
3Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada 1001
4Flag of France.svg  France 0101
Olympic flag.svg  Mixed team 0101
6Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany 0011
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 0011
Totals (7 entries)25252474

Participating nations

233 athletes from 11 nations competed. This figure includes the athletic triathlon event, which some sources exclude.

Marathon

The marathon was the most bizarre event of the Games. It was run in brutally hot weather, over dusty roads, with horses and automobiles clearing the way and creating dust clouds. [4]

Hicks and his supporters at the marathon Marathon Hicks1904.jpg
Hicks and his supporters at the marathon

The first to arrive at the finish line was Frederick Lorz, who actually rode the rest of the way in a car to retrieve his clothes, after dropping out after nine miles, but after the car broke down at the 19th mile, he re-entered the race and jogged back to the finish line.

As officials and fans believed he had won the race, Lorz played along with his practical joke until he was found out shortly before the medal ceremony. He admitted the ruse, and was banned for life by the AAU; however, after Lorz apologized for this stunt and it was found he had no intention to defraud, he was reinstated, and won the 1905 Boston Marathon. [5]

Felix Carvajal on his way to 4th place in the marathon Carvajal1904.jpg
Felix Carvajal on his way to 4th place in the marathon

Thomas Hicks was the first to the finish legally, after having received from his trainers several doses of strychnine sulfate (a common rat poison, which stimulates the nervous system in small doses) mixed with egg whites and brandy. [6] While he was supported by his trainers when he crossed the finish line, he is still considered the winner: Hicks had to be carried off the track on a stretcher, and possibly would have died in the stadium had he not been treated by several doctors. He lost eight pounds during the course of the marathon.

A Cuban postman named Felix Carvajal joined the marathon, arriving at the last minute. He had to run in street clothes that a fellow runner cut around the legs to make them look like shorts. He stopped off in an orchard en route to have a snack on some apples which turned out to be rotten, and caused him to have to lie down and take a nap. Despite falling ill from the apples, he finished in fourth place. [7] [8]

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References

  1. "Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 September 2001.
  2. Daly represented Ireland in this event, but the IOC lists him as competing for Great Britain, which Ireland was part of at the time.
  3. Kiely represented Ireland in this event, but the IOC lists him as competing for Great Britain, which Ireland was part of at the time.
  4. "The 1904 Olympic Marathon May Have Been the Strangest Ever | History | Smithsonian Magazine".
  5. Cronin, Brian (2010-08-10). "Sports Legend Revealed: A marathon runner nearly died". Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles.
  6. Martin, David E.; Gynn, Roger W. H. (2000). The Olympic Marathon . Human Kinetics. p.  48. ISBN   9780880119696.
  7. Abbott, Karen. "The 1904 Olympic Marathon May Have Been the Strangest Ever". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  8. Martin, David E.; Gynn, Roger W. H. (2000). The Olympic Marathon . Human Kinetics. p.  50. ISBN   9780880119696.