Olympics 1908

Olympics 1908 – London

After the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in April 1906, Italy asked the IOC to re-allocate the Games of the IV Olympiad, initially awarded to Rome. A bid from London was accepted, and the British Olympic Association (BOA) hastily erected the 68,000 capacity White City stadium, which housed the cycling and running tracks, a swimming pool and football pitch. This magnificent setting hosted the wettest Games in history. The weather, and overpriced tickets, resulted in poor attendances. These were not the happiest Games with the controversies dogging them matching the showers in frequency and intensity.

After noticing there was no American flag flying over the stadium during the Opening Ceremony, US discus thrower Martin Sheridan refused to dip the stars and stripes before the Royal Box during the march past. Also missing was the Swedish flag, leading some Swedes to boycott the Games and athletes from Russian- ruled Finland were obliged to march behind the Russian flag. The Americans abandoned the tug-of-war when one of the British team members was found to be wearing spiked shoes to prevent them slipping. The Americans then boycotted the re-run of the 400 meters final, and a British athlete ran alone to victory. These were the last Games in which the host country had full jurisdiction over all the sports.

On the eleventh day of the Games the rain relented and in its place a heat wave coincided with the marathon. About 100,000 spectators, an unprecedented attendance for an athletic event packed the stadium. The route measured 26 miles and 385 yards; the additional 385 yards added to place the finish line directly in front of Queen Alexandria’s Royal Box. The winner, an Italian, Dorando Pietri was disqualified for being supported for 50 meters by officials after he fell, short of the finish line. Second placed John Hayes, a 22 years old American protested and became the winner. The loser Pietri had however won the hearts of the crowd and brought it to tears. He had become a hero and was offered the Queen’s Cup in consolation. The Queen summoned Pietri, who made his way to the Royal Box among rapturous applause, and presented him with a gold cup.

The final of the 400 meters included what was to be a controversial mix of three Americans and a Briton, Lieutenant Wyndham Halswelle, who had set an Olympic record of 48.4 seconds in the semi finals.  In the finals, Halswelle was elbowed out of the track and on to the grass, by an American, John Carpenter. The race stewards reported the manoeuvre and the race was declared void. The jury disqualified Carpenter and ordered the race to be re-run, two days later. Refusing to accept the disqualification, the two US athletes boycotted the event, and so Halswelle ran a solo lap in a modest time of 50 seconds.

In swimming, Henry Taylor a Briton like a Dickens’ character, orphaned, then raised by his brother, working in a cotton mill  and training at lunchtime and after work in any stretch of water available – canals, rivers or the public baths; thrilled the home crowd with wins in 400, 1500 and 4 x 200 meters events.

Games in Brief

Opening Date                          27 April 1908

Closing   Date                          31 Oct    1908

Sports Events                          23

Nations Represented              22

Athletes Participated             2035

Olympic Flame                       Not Lit

Olympic Oath                         Not Taken

Games Opened By                  King Edward VII of England

IOC President                         Baron Pierre de Coubertin

During the Opening Ceremony, the athletes filed into the stadium country by country, behind their flags. It was a first. The Games took place in two parts: the summer Games (for individual sports) and the autumn Games (for figure skating, boxing and team sports). The three sports opened to women were still very middle class disciplines: tennis, figure skating and archery. It was at London that the Bishop of Pennsylvania declared: “The important thing about these Olympic Games is less the winning than the taking part”. This quote was later taken up by Baron de Coubertin.

PS - : Material researched from the Olympic museum in Lausanne

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

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