1904 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Marathon (Men)

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Olympic rings
Marathon race during 1904 Summer Olympics.jpg
sport athletics
discipline Marathon run
gender Men
Attendees 38 athletes from 5 countries
Competition location Francis Field
Competition phase August 30, 1904
Winning time 3:28:53 h
Medalist
gold medal Thomas Hicks ( USA ) United States 45United States 
Silver medal Albert Corey ( USA ) United States 45United States 
Bronze medal Arthur Newton ( USA ) United States 45United States 

The men's marathon at the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games was held in St. Louis on August 30, 1904. 38 athletes took part, 14 of whom finished the race.

The US athletes were able to celebrate a triple victory. Thomas Hicks won ahead of Albert Corey and Arthur Newton .

Records

In the marathon there were no official world records until 2003 , there were unofficial world best times.

World best 2: 29: 23.6 h Canada 1868Canada Canada James Caffery 1901 ran over 39 km
Olympic record 2:58:50 h Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece Spyridon Louis 1896

Note on the marathon distance:

An agreement on the length of the route was only reached in 1921, when the IOC set the distance for the marathon of the 1908 Olympic Games in London as a binding length of 42.195 km.

Group of marathon runners: No. 3 Félix Carvajal, No. 25 Geo. D Vamvakitis, No. 30 John Furla, No. 38 John Lugitsas, No. 34 George Drosos, No. 37 Georgios Louridas, No. 32 Harry Janakas, No. 28 Andreas Ikonomou, No. 6 Christos D. Zehoouritis
Runners on the move on the marathon route

Results

space athlete country Time (h)
1 Thomas Hicks United States 45United States United States 3:28:53
2 Albert Corey United States 45United States United States 3:34:52
3 Arthur Newton United States 45United States United States 3:47:33
4th Félix Carvajal CubaCuba Cuba k. A.
5 Dimitrios Veloulis Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
6th David Kneeland United States 45United States United States
7th Harry Brawley United States 45United States United States
8th Sidney Hatch United States 45United States United States
9 Len Taunyane United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland South Africa
10 Christos Zechouritis Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
11 Harry Devlin United States 45United States United States
12 Jan Mashiani United KingdomUnited Kingdom South Africa
13 John Furla United States 45United States United States
14th Andreas Ikonomou Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
- Georgios Drosos Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece DNF

according to

Kluge /
SportsReference /
IOC page
Georgios Louridas Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
Ioannis Loungitsas Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
Petros Pipilis Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
Georgios Vamkaitis Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
Bertie Harris United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland South Africa
Edward P. Carr United States 45United States United States
Robert Fowler United States 45United States United States
John Foy United States 45United States United States
William Garcia United States 45United States United States
Thomas J. Kennedy United States 45United States United States
John Lordan United States 45United States United States
Sammy Mellor United States 45United States United States
Frank Pierce United States 45United States United States
Guy Porter United States 45United States United States
Michael Spring United States 45United States United States
Kharilaos Giannakas Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece DNF - Sp.Ref. / IOC
Sidney Hatch United States 45United States United States DNF according to IOC side
Harry Jenakas Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece DNF

according to
Kluge
K. Lantos Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
J. Thirla Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
D. Tsokas Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece
JJ Kennedy United States 45United States United States
Frederick Lorz United States 45United States United States DSQ

Course of the competition

The marathon was officially 40 kilometers or 24.85 miles, but it was probably almost 2 kilometers longer. At 3:08 p.m., 32 runners tackled the route that ran through the suburbs of St. Louis to the north of the stadium. The racing conditions were tough: the extremely hilly track (seven inclines with 30 to 100 meters difference in altitude) led over unpaved roads with a layer of dust several centimeters thick. Accompanying cars and horses also raised dust, causing many runners to suffer from severe coughing cramps. Although the temperatures were consistently above 32 ° C (90 ° F), only a single water point was available. In the course of the race there were numerous changes at the top, the individual runners were sometimes very far apart. After about halfway through, Thomas Hicks took the lead and finally reached the finish line after almost three and a half hours. Only 14 runners managed the entire route.

Hicks' victory run gives an insight into the lack of sports medicine knowledge at the time. On the advice of his companions, he was not allowed to drink water, only to rinse his mouth with distilled water. At about 28 km he received a milligram of strychnine with an egg white . At kilometer 32 there was a second protein with strychnine and a sip of brandy . In addition, his whole body was rubbed with warm water. On the last mile, Hicks ate two more eggs and drank some brandy, his companions repeating the water rub.

Frederick Lorz had given up after 15 kilometers. He got into an escort vehicle, which broke down. He went to the goal on foot and was celebrated there as the winner. Although he claimed he was joking, he was banned from the Olympics for life. The American federation was more lenient and let the ban expire the following year, after which Lorz honestly won the Boston Marathon.

Allegedly, the barefoot black South African Len Tau was allegedly pursued by a dog for more than a mile, losing about six to seven minutes. Fourth-placed Cuban Félix Carvajal - also known as Andarín Carvajal in some sources - ran the race with heavy street shoes. Since he didn't have gym shorts, he cut off the legs of his normal pants before starting to adapt to the heat. To refresh himself he ate fresh fruit on the way, after which he was slowed down by stomach cramps.

There is a complete match of the sources used except for the runners who gave up the race. These are listed in the table above with corresponding comments on the respective source.

literature

Web links

References and comments

  1. a b c Albert Corey was actually French. But since he started for the Chicago Athletic Association , the IOC lists him as an American in the statistics.
  2. Kluge cites this performance as an existing world record, although the running distance apparently did not correspond to that of the marathon.
  3. Marathon length: Why is the route always 42.195 km long? by Martin Maciej, October 29, 2015 from giga.de. Retrieved on July 30, 2018
  4. The Trials and Tribulations of 1904 Olympic Marathon Runners , May 6, 2016 at todayifoundout.com, accessed July 30, 2018