Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics

Athletics

at the Games of the III Olympiad

Host stadium (shown in 2006)

Venue| Francis Olympic Field
Dates| 29 August – 3 September
No. of events| 25
Competitors| 233 from 10 nations

<- 1900

1908 ->

Athletics at the
1904 Summer Olympics

Track events
60 m| men
100 m| men
200 m| men
400 m| men
800 m| men
1500 m| men
110 m hurdles| men
200 m hurdles| men
400 m hurdles| men
2590 m steeplechase| men
4 mile team race| men
Road events
Marathon| men
Field events
Long jump| men
Triple jump| men
High jump| men
Pole vault| men
Standing long jump| men
Standing triple jump| men
Standing high jump| men
Shot put| men
Discus throw| men
Hammer throw| men
56 pound weight throw| men
Combined events
Triathlon| men
All-around| men

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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 two more than were held in 1900.

A track was built specifically for the Games on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. The track was a cinder track 1⁄3 mile (536.448m) in length, with one long straightaway.[1]

## Medal summary

[edit]

Event  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

60 metres
details | Archie Hahn
United States | 7.0 WR | William Hogenson
United States | 7.2  | Fay Moulton
United States | 7.2
100 metres
details | Archie Hahn
United States | 11.0  | Nate Cartmell
United States | 11.2  | William Hogenson
United States | 11.2
200 metres
details | Archie Hahn
United States | 21.6 OR | Nate Cartmell
United States | 21.9  | William Hogenson
United States | Unknown
400 metres
details | Harry Hillman
United States | 49.2 OR | Frank Waller
United States | 49.9  | Herman Groman
United States | 50.0
800 metres
details | James Lightbody
United States | 1:56.0 OR | Howard Valentine
United States | 1:56.3  | Emil Breitkreutz
United States | 1:56.4
1500 metres
details | James Lightbody
United States | 4:05.4 WR | Frank Verner
United States | 4:06.8  | Lacey Hearn
United States | Unknown
Marathon
details | Thomas Hicks
United States | 3:28:53  | Albert Corey
France | 3:34:52  | Arthur Newton
United States | 3:47:33
110 metres hurdles
details | Fred Schule
United States | 16.0  | Thaddeus Shideler
United States | 16.3  | Lesley Ashburner
United States | 16.4
200 metres hurdles
details | Harry Hillman
United States | 24.6  | Frank Castleman
United States | 24.9  | George Poage
United States | Unknown
400 metres hurdles
details | Harry Hillman
United States | 53.0 OR | Frank Waller
United States | 53.2  | George Poage
United States | 56.8
2590 metres steeplechase
details | James Lightbody
United States | 7:39.6  | John Daly[2]
Great Britain | 7:40.6  | Arthur Newton
United States | 7:45.6
4 miles team race
details |  United States (USA)
New York AC
Arthur Newton
George Underwood
Paul Pilgrim
Howard Valentine
David Munson | 27 pts  |  Mixed team (ZZX)
Chicago AA
James Lightbody
Frank Verner
Lacey Hearn
Albert Corey (FRA)
Sidney Hatch | 28 pts  | none awarded
Long jump
details | Myer Prinstein
United States | 7.34 m OR | Daniel Frank
United States | 6.89 m  | Robert Stangland
United States | 6.88 m
Triple jump
details | Myer Prinstein
United States | 14.32 m  | Fred Englehardt
United States | 13.90 m  | Robert Stangland
United States | 13.36 m
High jump
details | Samuel Jones
United States | 1.80 m  | Garrett Serviss
United States | 1.77 m  | Paul Weinstein
Germany | 1.77 m
Pole vault
details | Charles Dvorak
United States | 3.50 m OR | LeRoy Samse
United States | 3.35 m  | Louis Wilkins
United States | 3.35 m
Standing long jump
details | Ray Ewry
United States | 3.47 m WR | Charles King
United States | 3.27 m  | John Biller
United States | 3.25 m
Standing triple jump
details | Ray Ewry
United States | 10.54 m  | Charles King
United States | 10.16 m  | Joseph Stadler
United States | 9.60 m
Standing high jump
details | Ray Ewry
United States | 1.60 m  | Joseph Stadler
United States | 1.44 m  | Lawson Robertson
United States | 1.44 m
Shot put
details | Ralph Rose
United States | 14.81 m WR | Wesley Coe
United States | 14.40 m  | Lawrence Feuerbach
United States | 13.37 m
Discus throw
details | Martin Sheridan
United States | 39.28 m OR | Ralph Rose
United States | 39.28 m OR | Nicolaos Georgandas
Greece | 37.68 m
Hammer throw
details | John Flanagan
United States | 51.23 m OR | John DeWitt
United States | 50.26 m  | Ralph Rose
United States | 45.73 m
56 pound weight throw
details | Étienne Desmarteau
Canada | 10.46 m  | John Flanagan
United States | 10.16 m  | James Mitchell
United States | 10.13 m
Triathlon
details | Max Emmerich
United States | 35.7 pts  | John Grieb
United States | 34.0 pts  | William Merz
United States | 32.9 pts
All-around
details | Tom Kiely
Great Britain[3] | 6036 pts  | Adam Gunn
United States | 5907 pts  | Truxtun Hare
United States | 5813 pts

## Medal table

[edit]

Rank| Nation| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|
|

1|  United States| 23| 22| 22| 67
2|  Great Britain| 1| 1| 0| 2
3|  Canada| 1| 0| 0| 1
4|  France| 0| 1| 0| 1
Mixed team| 0| 1| 0| 1
6|  Germany| 0| 0| 1| 1
Greece| 0| 0| 1| 1
Totals (7 entries)| 25| 25| 24| 74

## Participating nations

[edit]

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

* Australia (2)
* Canada (5)
* Cuba (1)
* France (1)
* Germany (9)
* Great Britain (3)
* Greece (10)
* Hungary (2)
* South Africa (3)
* Switzerland (1)
* United States (196)

## Marathon

[edit]

Main article: Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

The marathon is widely regarded as one of the most bizarre events 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

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 20th 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

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]

## References

[edit]

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.

## External links

[edit]

* International Olympic Committee results database

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Events at the 1904 Summer Olympics (St. Louis)

* Archery
* Athletics
* Basketball (demonstration)
* Boxing
* Cycling
* Diving
* Fencing
* Football
* Gaelic football (unofficial)
* Golf
* Gymnastics
* Hurling (unofficial)
* Lacrosse
* Roque
* Rowing
* Swimming
* Tennis
* Tug of war
* Water polo
* Weightlifting
* Wrestling

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Athletics at the Summer Olympics

Editions|

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Events|

| Track|

* 100 m
* 200 m
* 400 m
* 800 m
* 1500 m
* 5000 m
* 10,000 m
* 4 × 100 m relay
* 4 × 400 m relay
* Sprint hurdles
* 400 m hurdles
* Steeplechase

|

Field|

* Shot put
* Discus throw
* Hammer throw
* Javelin throw
* Pole vault
* High jump
* Long jump
* Triple jump

Others|

* Combined events
* Marathon
* Race walking

Defunct|

* Cross country
* Team races
* 60 metres
* Weight throw
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* Professional events
* Handicap events

* List of medalists
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* Records
* Venues
* Medal sweeps

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