The1908 Summer Olympics (officially theGames of the IV Olympiad and also known asLondon 1908) were aninternationalmulti-sport event held inLondon, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908.[2] The 1908 Games were originally scheduled to be held inRome, but were relocated on financial grounds following the violent eruption ofMount Vesuvius in 1906, which claimed over 100 lives; Rome eventually hosted the Games in1960.[3]
There were four bids for the 1908 Summer Olympics.Rome was selected ahead ofLondon,Berlin andMilan. The selection was made at the 6th IOC Session in London in 1904.[4]
Italian authorities were preparing to stage the games whenMount Vesuvius erupted on 7 April 1906, devastating the city ofNaples. Funds were diverted to the reconstruction of Naples, so a new host country was required. London was selected for the first time to hold the Games, which were held atWhite City alongside theFranco-British Exhibition, at the time the more noteworthy event.
TheWhite City Stadium, built in short time for the Games, held 68,000 people, with full crowds turning up to watch the events. The stadium track was three laps to the mile (536.448 metres per lap), as the current standard of 400 metres did not exist until 1962, with a pool (for swimming and diving events) and platforms (for wrestling and gymnastics) in the centre field.[5]
The distance from the start of themarathon to the finish at the stadium was established at these Games: the original distance of 25 miles was changed to 26 miles so the marathon could start atWindsor Castle and then changed again at the request ofPrincess Mary so the start would be beneath the windows of the Royal Nursery.[6] To ensure that the race would finish in front of the King, the finish line was moved by British officials who "felt compelled to restore the importance of the monarchy." As a result of these changes, the marathon covered a distance of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 km), which became the standard length starting with the1924 Summer Olympics.[7]
There were controversies at the games. On the opening day, following the practice introduced at theIntercalated Games of 1906, teams paraded behindnational flags. However, the arrangement caused complications:
SinceFinland was part of theRussian Empire, members of the Finnish team were expected to march under theRussian rather than Finnish flag, so many chose to march without a flag at all.
TheSwedish flag had not been displayed above the stadium, so the members of the Swedish team decided not to take part in the ceremony.
The United States' flag bearer,Ralph Rose, refused todip the flag toKing-Emperor Edward VII in the royal box. His fellow athleteMartin Sheridan allegedly declared that "this flag dips to no earthly King." The quote is held as an example of Irish and American defiance of the British monarchy, though itshistoricity is disputed.[8][9]
The 1908 Olympics also prompted establishment of standard rules for sports, and selection of judges from different countries rather than just the host. One reason was the 400 metre race, in which a US runner,John Carpenter, was accused by the British officials of interfering with a British runner. Part of the problem was the different definition of interference under British and international rules (the events were held under British rules by the decision of the Organising Committee). The officials decided to disqualify Carpenter and ordered a second final race without him. BritishHalswelle was to face the other two finalists. These athletes,William Robbins andJohn Taylor, were both Americans and decided not to participate in the repeat of the final to protest against the judges' decision. Halswelle was thus the only medallist in the 400 metres.
Dorando Pietri finishes the marathon.Original caption: "One of the most curious contests at the Olympic Games is the duelling with wax bullets. The combatants are as elaborately protected as a German student duellist, and even the revolver has a large hand-guard. The helmet has a plate-glass window."
The most famous incident of the games came at the end of the marathon.Dorando Pietri, Italy, began his race at a rather slow pace, but in the second half of the course began a powerful surge moving him into second position by the 32 km (20 mi) mark, 4 minutes behindSouth AfricanCharles Hefferon. When he knew that Hefferon was in crisis, Pietri further increased his pace, overtaking him at the 39 km (24 mi) mark.
The effort took its toll and with only two kilometres to go, Pietri began to feel the effects of extreme fatigue anddehydration. When he entered the stadium, he took the wrong path and when umpires redirected him, he fell down for the first time. He got up with their help, in front of 75,000 spectators.
He fell four more times, and each time the umpires helped him up. In the end, though totally exhausted, he managed to finish the race in first place. Of his total time of 2h 54min 46s, ten minutes were needed for that last 340 metres. Second was AmericanJohnny Hayes. The American team immediately lodged a complaint against the help Pietri received from the umpires. The complaint was accepted and Pietri was disqualified and removed from the final standings of the race. Since he had not been responsible for his disqualification,Queen Alexandra awarded him a gilded silver cup the next day.
These Games were the first to include winter events, as had originally been proposed for the Games. There were fourfigure skating events, although held on 28 and 29 October, months after most of the other events.
Oscar Swahn fromSweden, who won the gold medal forrunning deer shooting, became the oldest Olympic champion of all time, and set another age record by being 72 years and 279 days old during his triumph at the1920 Summer Olympics inAntwerp,Belgium. One of the more unusualshooting events in 1908 wasOlympic dueling. The discipline, which was an associate event (that is, not official), was performed by facing opponents wearing protective clothing and masks and firing wax bullets.[10]
AmericanJohn Taylor was a member of the winning medley relay team, making him the first African-American athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.[11] Times for the winning team were United States (3:29.4): William Hamilton, 200 metres (22.0); Nathaniel Cartmell, 200 metres (22.2); John Taylor, 400 metres (49.8); andMelvin Sheppard, 800 metres (1:55.4).[12] Less than five months after returning from the Olympic Games in London, Taylor died oftyphoid fever on 2 December 1908 at the age of 26.[13]
The budget of the organising committee showed a cost of£15,000; over one-third was labelled "entertainment expense". Donations were the major source of revenue; only 28% of income derived from ticket sales. Total receipts of £21,378 resulted in organisers claiming a profit. Construction of the White City Stadium, which cost the government about £60,000, was not counted.[14]
Twenty-two sports, representing 110 events in 25 sporting disciplines, were contested. A golf tournament had also been planned but it was cancelled a few days before it was scheduled to start.[15] Swimming, diving, and water polo are considered three disciplines of the same sport,aquatics. At the time, tug-of-war was part of athletics and the two differentfootball codes (association andrugby (union)) were listed together. The International Olympic Committee now considers tug-of-war a separate sport as well as referring to association football as simply "football" and to rugby union as "rugby."[16] In one of seven cycling events (cycling sprint) no medals were awarded. The sailing program was open for a total of five sailing classes, but actually only four sailing events were contested. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.
Participants of the 1908 GamesNumber of participating athletes per country
The 1908 Games featured athletes representing 22National Olympic Committees.Finland,Turkey andNew Zealand (as part of the team fromAustralasia) made their first appearance at the Olympic Games. The fact that the United Kingdom competed as a single team was upsetting to some Irish competitors, who felt that Ireland should compete on its own, despite being part of the UK at the time. They relied on the precedent set byGrand Duchy of Finland, which while being a part of theRussian Empire, competed in London as a separate country.[33] Fearing an Irish boycott, the authorities changed the name of the team to Great Britain/Ireland, and in two sports, field hockey and polo, Ireland participated as a separate country, winning silver medals in both, although their medals counted towards the UK's tally.[34] Irish athletes in the United States were not affected by this controversy, and many Irish immigrants to the United States competed for theU.S. Olympic team as members of theIrish American Athletic Club. Members of the Irish American Athletic Club won ten of the U.S. Olympic team's total 23 gold medals, or as many as the nations ofFrance,Germany andItaly combined.
Britain had more than a quarter of competitors in their team, with 676, compared to 112 on the American team which placed second in the medal standings.
^"Londra 1908: le prime Olimpiadi inglesi e Dorando Pietri" (in Italian). giochiolimpiciparalimpici.wordpress.com. 22 November 2016. Retrieved22 March 2018.Siamo nel 1901 quando il CIO si riunisce per decidere chi sarà la città ad ospitare la quarta edizione Olimpica. A contendersi questo onore ci furono Roma e Berlino, e ne uscì vincitrice la prima. Purtroppo, però, la nostra città italiana dovette ritirarsi qualche anno prima dei Giochi a causa dell'eruzione del Vesuvio
^Bill Mallon and Ian Buchanan (1999)."To No Earthly King ..."(PDF).Journal of Olympic History: 21. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 9 September 2008. Retrieved30 June 2008.
