1904 Summer Olympics

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Games of the III. Olympics
Olympic rings
Venue: St. Louis ( United States )
Stadion: Francis Field
Opening ceremony: July 1, 1904
Closing ceremony: November 23, 1904
Opened by: David Francis (World Exhibition Organizer)
Olympic oath : - (only from 1920 )
Disciplines: 17 (16 sports)
Competitions: 94
Countries: 12
Athletes: 651 (including 6 women)
← Paris 1900
Athens 1906 (interludes) →
Medal table
space country G S. B. Ges.
01 United States 45United States United States 79 82 76 237
02 German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire 4th 5 7th 16
03 CubaCuba Cuba 4th 2 3 9
04th Canada 1868Canada Canada 4th 1 1 6th
05 Hungary 1867Hungary Hungary 2 1 1 4th
06th Mixed teamMixed team Mixed team 1 1 - 2
0 United Kingdom 1801United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Great Britain 1 1 - 2
08th Kingdom of GreeceKingdom of Greece Greece 1 - 1 2
0 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland 1 - 1 2
10 Austria CisleithanienCisleithania Austria - - 1 1
Medal table

The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially called the III Olympiad Games ) took place from July 1 to November 23, 1904 in St. Louis , Missouri, USA , as part of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition . This world exhibition was organized - one year late - to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase , i.e. the sale of the French colony of Louisiana to the United States in 1803.

As in 1900 in Paris , these Olympic Games were only a minor appendage to the world exhibition and received little attention. Due to the long journey time and the high travel costs, only a few countries sent some athletes from overseas. The Americans remained largely to themselves in numerous disciplines, the sporting competitions for the most part resembled national championships with occasional foreign participation.

The only achievement that has survived to this day was the gold medals presented to the Olympic champions . Previously, only the first and second place winners had been awarded a silver or a bronze medal.

Choice of venue

Pierre de Coubertin , President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), had already expressed the wish at the inaugural meeting in 1894 that the third modern Olympic Games should take place in the United States . Several American cities competed to host, in addition to St. Louis, Buffalo and Chicago . By far the most preparatory work was done by the Chicago Committee. On the occasion of the fourth session of the IOC on May 21 and 22, 1901 in Paris , it presented a framework program and a specific financial plan. The games were to take place from September 10 to 25, 1904.

The eleven IOC members present (out of a total of 28) chose Chicago as the venue. As a result, several specialist commissions were formed to initiate the preparations. US President Theodore Roosevelt took over the patronage of the third Olympic Games in September 1901 - a few days after the assassination of his predecessor William McKinley , who had also made a corresponding promise.

David Francis

Five years earlier, David Francis , the former governor of Missouri and 1896/97 Home Secretary in the Grover Cleveland government , had proposed to the St. Louis Businessmen Association that in 1903 the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase be celebrated with a major international exhibition. Construction work on the exhibition grounds in Forest Park - at that time still a densely forested area - began in the summer of 1901. This resulted in considerable delays and financial difficulties, which is why the exhibition in July 1902 had to be postponed by one year to 1904.

James E. Sullivan (responsible for the world exhibition's sports program) and David Francis (now President of the Organizing Committee) saw the postponement as an opportunity to bring the Olympic Games to St. Louis after all. Theodore Roosevelt, who had good contacts with Pierre de Coubertin, now also spoke out in favor of St. Louis, as preparations in Chicago had stalled. After the local committee asked for a postponement to 1905, Coubertin had a second vote on the venue carried out in December 1902. Fourteen of the 21 IOC members who responded by letter supported the award of the Games to St. Louis, five abstained.

organization

Program of the world exhibition, which refers to the Olympic Games

Responsible for the sporting events during the World's Fair was Division P ("Physical Culture") of the Organizing Committee of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, led by James E. Sullivan, Treasurer of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). Sullivan was also director of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Games Committee (OGC). Pierre de Coubertin had been booted out by Sullivan, so Coubertin didn't even go to St. Louis to attend his games. and instead invited to the 6th session of the IOC one week before the start of the Games in London. Here u. a. the games of 1908 awarded to London. Theodore Roosevelt was Honorary President of the OGC, while Alfred G. Shapleigh, Vice President of Washington University , served as Patron. The board consisted of several members of the AAU and the American Fencing Association. Members of the International Olympic Committee were not represented.

The implementation of the competitions was the responsibility of the national sports associations as well as representatives of various universities and sports clubs. International sports associations were still a rarity at the beginning of the 20th century and were also not taken into account. The juries consisted entirely of Americans, most of whom had no knowledge of any deviating European rules. In the course of the Olympic Games, this repeatedly led to misunderstandings, misjudgments and preferential treatment of one's own compatriots.

Competition venues

The central venue for the Olympic competitions was the Francis Field Stadium , around eleven kilometers west of the city center on the campus of Washington University . It is named after David Francis, the director of the World's Fair. The following sports were played here: basketball , archery , soccer , weightlifting , lacrosse , athletics , cycling , wrestling , roque , tug of war and gymnastics .

Francis Field

In 1899 Washington University commissioned the Cope & Stewardson architectural firm, which specializes in the construction of university buildings, to design a stadium for 25,000 spectators. In 1902 the construction work was completed. The stadium, which now serves the university's sports teams, was on the far northwestern edge of the 500-hectare exhibition site. Until the renovation in the mid-1980s, the shape was unusual for today's conditions: the cinder track was a third of a mile (536.44 m) long, had three short and one long straight, around 220 m long. This form was not very spectator-friendly, as the long straight, on which most of the decisions were made, was relatively far from the grandstand.

The Francis Gymnasium is right next to the stadium . The sports hall, built in 1903 in Tudor style , at that time still known as the Physical Education Building , was the venue for competitions in boxing and fencing as well as individual basketball games . The tennis tournaments took place on the three Francis Field Dirt Courts next to the stadium. The rowing competitions were held on Creve Coeur Lake , a lake about 18 km northwest of the stadium near the Missouri River . The golf tournaments were hosted by the Glen Echo Country Club , about 6 km north of the stadium in the suburb of Normandy ; the oldest still existing 18-hole golf course west of the Mississippi River had only opened three years earlier.

Only the water sports competitions ( swimming , water polo , diving ) took place in the middle of the actual world exhibition site, in the Life Saving Exhibition Lake . It was an artificially created lake in which the United States Coast Guard , the American Coast Guard , usually showed demonstrations in lifeguarding. The lake was traversed by a stream and was heavily polluted by fertilizer residues and cattle manure from the immediately adjacent agricultural exhibition, which is why numerous water sports enthusiasts fell ill during and after the competitions.

Attendees

Participating nations
Green: Min. for the second time
blue: first participation
Number of athletes.
America (600 athletes from 3 nations)
Europe (42 athletes from 7 nations)
Africa (8 athletes from 1 nation)
Oceania (2)
Other teams (8)
(Number of athletes) * Participation in Summer Olympics for the first time

For the first time athletes from the area of ​​what will later become South Africa were represented . Six immigrant Boers , who were probably employed as workers at the world exhibition, formed a team in the tug of war . Len Taunyane and Jan Mashiani from the Tswana took part in the marathon , the latter wrongly attributed to the Zulu . Both were as reporting runner of General Cronje veterans of the Boer War and participated with this in a reenactment of the war in part - one of the main attractions of the World Expo. After successfully participating in a mile run , Taunyane and Mashiani were invited to take part in the Summer Olympics. The fact that two blacks were among the first South African Olympians was largely kept secret during the apartheid period .

Austria and Hungary were part of the state Austria-Hungary , but the results of athletes from these countries were shown separately in the statistics. Most of the 15 Greeks present were people who had recently immigrated to the United States and who did not appear at later Olympic Games.

In general, it should be noted that overseas athletes formed only a small minority. The main reason was the high travel costs and the long travel time, which was up to three weeks. The event program, which was spread over several months, also prevented foreign delegations from arriving as one. Only in the German Reich was a support committee formed on the initiative of Willibald Gebhardt . This resulted in the German Reich Committee for the Olympic Games in the same year .

Medals and Awards

In Athens in 1896 and in Paris in 1900, only the two best athletes were honored with a silver and a bronze medal. At the Games in St. Louis, the top three in a discipline received a medal for the first time, with the newly introduced gold medal going to the winner. It is not known whether these medals looked the same in all sports. At least in athletics, a uniform design can be demonstrated.

Silver medal in the 800 meter run
Archie Hahn with the trophy for the winner of the 100 meter run

The medals manufactured by Dieges & Clust in New York had a diameter of 39 millimeters and a thickness of 3 millimeters. On the front is an athlete standing on a staircase, holding a wreath in his right hand and raising his left arm. Behind him is a relief depicting ancient sports disciplines, overlooked by an acropolis . "Olympiad" and "1904" are engraved on the edge. The reverse shows the Greek goddess of victory Nike, standing on a globe . In her right hand she holds a palm branch, in the outstretched left hand a laurel branch. To the left of the goddess is a bust of Zeus , to the right of her another laurel wreath with the name of the discipline in the space between. "Universal Exposition" is written at the top and "St. Louis USA ”. A ribbon of fabric in five colors is attached to the medals, with a fastening pin on the upper edge. It reads: "1904 Universal Exposition Olympic Games St. Louis".

The not very numerous medal winners from abroad received additional medals from the Amateur Athletic Union, which were also produced by Dieges & Clust . On the front of it, the Roman goddess of fortune Fortuna is depicted, who presents an athlete with a wreath. The discipline is engraved on the back above the center, surrounded by depictions of various sports equipment.

In addition to the medals, various private individuals donated trophies, which were presented to the winners of certain disciplines as a special prize. In athletics, for example, 19 different trophies could be won, while golfers received a total of 14. The greatest prestige was the trophy donated by Albert Spalding for the best club. Spalding, a well-known baseball player and founder of a sporting goods company, led an unofficial overall ranking of all disciplines that the New York Athletic Club won. David Francis donated the trophy to the winner of the marathon.

Calendar of events

Overview of all sporting events in the context of the world exhibition

It was often unclear which sports events had Olympic status at all. Individuals were designated as Olympic by the organizers, but later not recognized as such by the IOC. Others were Olympic, but there was no corresponding reference to the name. The handicap disciplines (all non-Olympic) , which enjoyed great popularity at the beginning of the 20th century , formed a significant part of the program . Weaker participants were given a specification, for example a shorter distance or a time credit according to certain calculation methods.

Department P originally proposed over 300 sports and eventually included 102 in the program. The boundary between Olympic disciplines and show events as part of the world exhibition was quite fluid. Often the sporting events had more of the character of fairground attractions, which is why the 1904 Olympic Games were sometimes criticized as a "western show". The IOC now recognizes only 16 sports as official, with swimming, water polo and diving being grouped together as swimming sports .

The table below provides an overview of the sporting events as part of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It includes both Olympic and non-Olympic events in the officially recognized sports.

Barrel jumping was one of the rather bizarre events
date name of the event sport Olympic
May 14th Interscholastic meet for the state of Missouri (Inter school meeting of the State of Missouri) - No
May 21 Open handicap athletic meeting (open handicap athletics meeting ) athletics No
28th of May Interscholastic meet for the schools of the Louisiana Purchase Territory ( Interscholastic meet for the schools of the Louisiana Purchase
Territory) 		- No
30th May Elementary school championships (Primary championships) - No
2th of June AAU handicap meeting ( AAU handicap meeting ) - No
3rd of June AAU junior championships ( AAU junior championships ) - No
June 4th AAU senior championships ( AAU senior championships ) - No
June Amateur baseball tournament ( amateur baseball tournament ) baseball No
June 11th Western college championships (Western College Championships) - No
23rd June Turner's exhibition mass (mass demonstration of Turner) do gymnastics No
25th June Olympic college championships (Olympic College Championships) - No
June 29th to 30th Interscholastic championships (Inter University Championship) - No
July 1 Athletic games in honor of cardinal Satolli
(Athletic games in honor of Cardinal Francesco Satolli ) 		- No
July 1st to 2nd "International Gymnastics Competition" do gymnastics Yes
July 4th AAU All-around championships (AAU decathlon championship ) athletics Yes
July 4th to 6th Public school championships (championship of public schools) - No
July 5th to 7th Olympic lacrosse championships (Olympic lacrosse championships) lacrosse Yes
July 11th to 12th Olympic basketball championships ( Olympic basketball championships ) basketball No
July 13-14 Olympic College basketball championships (Olympic College Basketball Championships) basketball No
July 20-23 Irish sports (Irish Sports) - No
29th of July Handicap meeting of the Western Association (handicap meeting of the Western Association) - No
30th July Championships of the Western Association (championships of the Western Association) - No
July 29th to 30th Olympic world's regatta (Olympic World Championship regatta ) rowing partially
August 1st to 6th Grand circuit meet and national amateur championships of the NCA ( Grand circuit meet and national amateur championships of the
NCA) 		Cycling partially
3rd to 6th August - Roque Yes
August 11th Bohemian gymnastics (Bohemian gymnastics) - No
August 12-13 Anthropology days (Anthropological days) Athletics
archery 		No
August 15th to 20th YMCA athletics championships (athletics championships YMCA ) athletics No
August 29th to September 3rd Olympic games (Olympic Games) Weightlifting
athletics
tug of war 		partially
August 29th to September 3rd - tennis partially
September 5th to 7th AAU swimming and water polo championships ( AAU swimming and water polo championships
) 		Swimming
water polo
diving 		partially
September 6th to 8th World's fencing championships (World Fencing Championships) fencing partially
September 14th to 15th AAU wrestling championships ( AAU wrestling championships ) Wrestling Yes
September 19-21 Grand annual meeting target of the NAA
(Large annual meeting of the shooting NAA) 		Archery Yes
September 19 to 24 Olympic golf championship (Olympic golf championships) golf partially
September 21-23 World's boxing championships (world championships) Boxing Yes
October 28-29 AAU gymnastic championships ( AAU gymnastic championships
) 		do gymnastics partially
November 12th Olympic college football (Olympic college football) College football No
November 16-23 - Soccer Yes

Olympic competition program

94 competitions in 16 sports / 17 disciplines were held (91 for men and 3 for women). This was 5 more competitions, but 3 sports / disciplines less than in Paris 1900 . Below are the changes to in detail:

  • Women's archery debut with the Double Columbia Round, Double National Round and Team Round. In the men's program, the Double York Round, Double American Round and Team American Round were added - on the other hand, Au cordon doré (target shooting) 33 m, Au cordon doré (target shooting) 50 m, Au chapelet (target shooting) 33 m, Au chapelet were omitted (Target shooting) 50 m, Sur la perche à la herse (mast shooting) and Sur la perche à la pyramide (mast shooting) for the men.
  • Boxing was taken into the Olympic program for men in the weight classes fly, bantam, feather, light, Welter, medium and heavyweight.
  • Cricket , croquet (3 competitions) and pelota have been removed from the Olympic program.
  • In fencing , the foil team and singlestick for men expanded the program - on the other hand foil for fencing masters, swords for fencing masters, sabers for fencing masters and rapiers for amateurs and fencing masters were omitted.
  • Weightlifting with two-armed and one-armed all-around competitions was back in the Olympic program after it was missing in Paris in 1900.
  • In golf , the program was expanded to include the team competition for men - however, there was no individual for women.
  • Lacrosse and Roque were included in the Olympic program.
  • In athletics , weight throwing, triathlon and all-around competitions for men expanded the program - the 2590 m obstacle replaced the 2500 m obstacle and the 4-mile team run replaced the 5000 m team run - on the other hand, the 4000 m obstacle for men was omitted.
  • Polo , rugby union , shooting (9 competitions), show jumping (3 competitions), sailing (7 boat classes) and water polo were not part of the Olympic program in Saint Louis 1904.
  • The cycling was with the discipline track cycling in the Olympic program. The program was expanded to include the ¼ mile, ⅓ mile, ½ mile, 1 mile, 2 miles, 5 miles and 25 miles - while the 25 km and sprint for men were eliminated.
  • Wrestling was represented by the freestyle discipline in Saint Louis in 1904. The program included the weight classes of fly, paper, feather, bantam, light, Welter, and heavyweight for men.
  • In rowing , the double scull for men expanded the program - the two without a helmsman and the four without a helmsman replaced the two with a helmsman and four with a helmsman.
  • For swimming , the program was expanded to include 50 yards freestyle, 100 yards freestyle, 220 yards freestyle, 440 yards freestyle, 880 yards freestyle, 1 mile freestyle, 4 × 50 yards freestyle relay, 100 yards back and 440 yards chest - 200 yards were dropped m freestyle, 1000 m freestyle, 4000 m freestyle, 200 m back, 400 m team swimming, 200 m obstacle swimming and underwater swimming for the men.
  • Diving was diving 10 meters and long jump for men head part of the Olympic program.
  • In tennis , the women’s singles and mixed doubles were omitted.
  • In gymnastics , the program was expanded to include team all-round competitions, club swinging and the combination competitions (three-way and four-way combination) for men - bars, pommel horse, horizontal bar, rings, jumping and rope swinging for men were reintroduced

Olympic sports / disciplines

Number of competitions in brackets

Time schedule

July August September

Time schedule
discipline Fr.
1.		 Sat.
2.		 So.
3.		 Mon.
4.		 Tuesday
5th		 Wed.
6.		 Thursday
7.
...		 Mon.
11.		 Tuesday
12
...		 Sat.
30.
...		 Tues.
2.		 Wed.
3.		 Thursday
4.		 Fr.
5.		 Sat.
6.		 Sun
7.		 Mon.
8.
...		 Mon.
29.		 Tuesday
30		 Wed.
31.		 Thu.
1.		 Fri.
2.		 Sat.
3.		 Sun.
4.		 Mon.
5.		 Tuesday
6th		 Wed.
7.		 Thursday
8		 Decision-
disk-
applications
July August September
Fencing pictogram.svg fencing 2 3 5
Weightlifting pictogram.svg Weightlifting 2 2
Lacrosse pictogram.svg lacrosse 1 1
Athletics pictogram.svg athletics 1 6th 1 4th 5 7th 24
Cycling (track) pictogram.svg Cycling 1 2 4th 7th
Roque pictogram.svg Roque 1 1
Rowing pictogram.svg rowing 5 5
Swimming sport Swimming pictogram.svg swim 2 4th 4th 10
Diving pictogram.svg Diving 1 1
Tug of war pictogram.svg Tug of war 1 1
Tennis pictogram.svg tennis 2 2
Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg Gymnastics 1 4th 4th
Demonstration competitions
basketball
Water polo
decisions 4th 1 1 5 1 2 4th 1 6th 1 4th 6th 11 2 4th 7th 3 63
Fr.
1.		 Sat.
2.		 So.
3.		 Mon.
4.		 Tuesday
5th		 Wed.
6.		 Thursday
7.
...		 Mon.
11.		 Tuesday
12
...		 Sat.
30.
...		 Tues.
2.		 Wed.
3.		 Thursday
4.		 Fr.
5.		 Sat.
6.		 Sun
7.		 Mon.
8.
...		 Mon.
29.		 Tuesday
30		 Wed.
31.		 Thu.
1.		 Fri.
2.		 Sat.
3.		 Sun.
4.		 Mon.
5.		 Tuesday
6th		 Wed.
7.		 Thursday
8
July August September
1In gymnastics there were also eight decisions in October. A total of 12 decisions - here only the decisions in gymnastics from July.

September October November

Time schedule
discipline Sat.
17.		 Sun.
18.		 Mon.
19.		 Tuesday
20		 Wed.
21.		 Thursday
22.		 Fri.
23.		 Sat.
24.
...		 Fri.
14.		 Sat.
15.
...		 Fr.
28.
...		 Wed
16.		 Thursday
17.		 Fri.
18.
...		 Wed.
23.		 Decision-
disk-
applications
September October November
Archery pictogram.svg Archery 2 2 2 6th
Boxing pictogram.svg Boxing 7th 7th
Football pictogram.svg Soccer 1 1
Golf pictogram.svg golf 1 1 2
Wrestling Freestyle pictogram.svg Wrestling 7th 7th
Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg do gymnastics 8th 8th
decisions 1 2 2 2 7th 1 7th 8th 1 31
Sat.
17.		 Sun.
18.		 Mon.
19.		 Tuesday
20		 Wed.
21.		 Thursday
22.		 Fri.
23.		 Sat.
24.
...		 Fri.
14.		 Sat.
15.
...		 Fr.
28.
...		 Wed
16.		 Thursday
17.		 Fri.
18.
...		 Wed.
23.
September October November
1In gymnastics there were also four decisions in July. A total of 12 decisions - here only the decisions in gymnastics from October.

Color legend

  • Competition day (no decisions)
  • Competition day (x decisions)

    • Ceremonies

    In contrast to 1896, but as in 1900, there were no opening or closing ceremonies at the third Olympic Games. The festivities on April 30, 1904, the first day of the World's Fair, can be regarded as the opening ceremony. After a speech by Secretary of War William Howard Taft in front of the main entrance, David Francis addressed the over 200,000 spectators shortly after 1 p.m. and announced:

    “Open ye gates, swing wide ye portals, enter in ye sons of men, learn the lessons here taught and gather from it inspiration for still greater accomplishments!” ( “Open your gates, open your portals wide, come in you sons of Men, learn the lessons taught here and be inspired to even greater achievements! " )

    Francis then sent a radio signal to the White House in Washington, DC , where President Roosevelt started the electrical generators on the exhibition grounds with the push of a button. The sporting events began on May 14 with the Missouri State School Championship, the Olympic competitions on July 1 with the gymnastics all-around. Only the swimming competitions in early September were accompanied by a ceremony: the marching band of the United States Navy played on the lakeshore , conducted by John Philip Sousa .

    When exactly the victorious athletes received their medals and trophies differed from sport to sport. Sometimes this happened at the end of a competition day or after completing a series of certain disciplines. It is known that the gymnasts and golfers had banquets on the evening of the last day of competition .

    Competitions

    basketball

    For an overview of the results, see 1904 Summer Olympics / basketball

    Whether the basketball tournament had Olympic status is controversial. It was advertised as the "Olympic World's Basket Ball Championships", but only American teams competed because basketball was primarily in the USA at the time. The Buffalo Germans dominated their opponents almost at will and clearly won all five games.

    Archery

    For an overview of the results see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Archery

    In archery there were three competitions each for men and women. This is the only sport in these games in which women were also eligible. Only Americans took part, which for a long time left doubts as to whether these competitions were Olympic or just national championships. An argument in favor of the Olympic status is that, in theory, foreigners could also have participated and only amateurs were allowed. The most successful participants were Matilda Howell with three and George Bryant with two gold medals. Howell is also the first three-time Olympic champion in history.

    Boxing

    For an overview of the results, see the 1904 Summer Olympics / Boxing

    Boxing was on the Olympic program for the first time in 1904. In the seven weight classes only Americans were represented, but these fights were considered Olympic: They were not advertised as national championships, and foreigners would have been eligible to participate. Each fight went over three rounds; the first two lasted three minutes each, the third round four minutes. A special feature was that boxers in a lighter weight class were also allowed to compete in higher weight classes. Oliver Kirk , who won the bantam and featherweight division, benefited from this arrangement . He is the only boxer ever to win two gold medals in the same games.

    fencing

    For an overview of the results, see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Fencing

    Participants from three countries were entered in the five fencing competitions . The fighting was done with foil , rapier and saber . There was also a one-time competition in stick fencing and a foil team evaluation. The foil competition for juniors was not counted as an Olympic discipline. The Cuban fencers turned out to be superior. The most successful was Ramón Fonst with three gold medals. Manuel Díaz and Albertson Van Zo Post were victorious in an individual competition and in the team competition .

    Soccer

    For an overview of the results, see the 1904 Summer Olympics / Football

    As at the premiere in 1900, no national teams took part in the Olympic football tournament. Only three teams registered, Galt FC from Canada and two college teams from St. Louis. In Europe, the tournament in St. Louis met with little interest. Although there were plans to send a team in Germany, these were dropped two months before the start of the tournament.

    Galt FC from Cambridge (Ontario) , who had previously been champions of the Western Football Association (forerunner of the Canadian Football Association) four times in a row , prevailed as expected with a total of 11-0 goals in two games. Since the face-to-face meeting between the two teams from St. Louis ended goalless, a playoff was scheduled for second place, which the team from Christian Brothers' College won. A curiosity is that the games only lasted 30 minutes twice.

    Weightlifting

    For an overview of the results, see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Weightlifting

    Perikles Kakousis

    While weightlifting was not part of the program in Paris four years earlier, it was carried out again in St. Louis, parallel to the athletics competitions (the division into athletics and heavy athletics that is customary today did not exist at the time). There were two disciplines that were not divided into weight classes. The all-around competition comprised ten different exercises, each of which could be completed with only one arm and were graded. The second discipline was two-handed weightlifting, with the weight being decisive. The Greek Perikles Kakousis won by more than 27 kg over the American Oscar Osthoff , the winner of the all- around competition.

    golf

    For an overview of the results, see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Golf

    George Lyon

    Golf was an Olympic sport for the second time in 1904. A total of seven golf competitions took place on the grounds of the Glen Echo Country Club within nine days, two of which were advertised as "Olympic". The golf club had sent more than 5,000 invitations to numerous countries, but only three Canadians came from abroad; all of the other 74 participants were Americans. All players had to pay an entry fee of five dollars and promise that they were not professionals.

    The individual tournament began with a qualifying round in Zählspielverfahren ( stroke play ) to zoom out the number of participants on the 32nd In the next four laps in were match play method ( matchplay ), the two finalists determined. In the final, the Canadian George Lyon surprisingly prevailed against the favorite Chandler Egan . Originally six teams had registered for the team competition, but only the representatives of two sub-associations appeared. The individual players who happened to be present formed a third team, which competed for the national association United States Golf Association . After two rounds of stroke play, the Western Golf Association was the winner. After these games, it would be over a century before golf was once again part of the Olympic Games.

    lacrosse

    The Winnipeg Shamrocks

    For an overview of the results, see the 1904 Summer Olympics / Lacrosse

    Lacrosse , a ball sport developed by Northeast American Indians and practiced with net bats, was only Olympic in 1904 and 1908. There were three teams, two from Canada and one from the USA. The Shamrocks from Winnipeg won before the local team of the St. Louis Amateur Athletic Association . Third came the Mohawk Indians of Canada , a team made up of Mohawk Indians from the Brantford , Ontario area.

    athletics

    For an overview of the results, see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Athletics

    A total of 24 athletics competitions were held. These included some disciplines that are no longer held today: 60-meter run , 200-meter hurdles , obstacle course over 2590 meters, 4-mile team run , standing vault , standing long jump , standing triple jump and weight throwing .

    200 meter hurdle race
    Myer Prinstein, Olympic long jump champion

    In addition, two Olympic disciplines differed significantly from their current form: The decathlon took place on a single day and consisted of the following disciplines: running over 100 yards (91.44 m), shot put, high jump, walking over 880 yards (804.67 m) m), hammer throw, pole vault, hurdles over 120 yards (109.73 m), weight throw, long jump and run over 1 mile (1609 m). The 200-meter race was the only time in Olympic history completely on a straight line instead of, rather than in the curve of the track.

    A quarter of the athletes came from abroad, making athletics the “most international” sport at the Olympic Games. Still, almost all of the gold medals went to the host country. The only non-American Olympic champions were the Irishman Tom Kiely , who started for Great Britain , in the decathlon and the Canadian Étienne Desmarteau in the weight throw. The most successful athlete was James Lightbody with three gold medals and one silver medal, followed by Ray Ewry , Archie Hahn and Harry Hillman with three gold medals each.

    Despite the absence of numerous well-known European athletes, the competitions reached a high level in terms of performance. In addition to eleven Olympic records , two new world records were set by James Lightbody in the 1,500 meter run and Ralph Rose in the shot put . Harry Hillman's new world record time in the 400-meter hurdles was not recognized because he had knocked over a hurdle and the hurdles were only 2½ feet (76.2 cm) high instead of the mandatory 3 feet (91.44 cm). Archie Hahn's Olympic record over 200 meters lasted until 1932, benefiting mainly from the fact that he did not have to take turns.

    Marathon run

    The most noticed and most controversial competition was the marathon . Officially, its length was given as 40 km or 24.85 miles, but the run was probably almost two kilometers longer. The racing conditions were extremely tough: the hilly route (seven inclines with a height difference of 30 to 100 m) 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. (The claim that the drinking of water was forbidden, repeatedly made later, is demonstrably wrong.)

    Thomas Hicks with two supervisors

    After about half of the race, Thomas Hicks took the lead and finally reached the finish line after almost three and a half hours with a large margin. Only 14 out of 36 runners made the entire distance. Hicks' victory run gives an insight into the lack of sports medicine knowledge at that time. On the advice of his supervisors, he did not drink water, only rinsed 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 ingested more brandy, his companions repeating the water rub.

    Frederick Lorz had apparently given up after 15 kilometers. He got into an escort vehicle, followed the race from there for a while and then ran with the front again. He was observed by the jury and was sent back into the car. He covered the last eight kilometers again and reached the finish line before winner Hicks. At this point, however, Lorz had already been disqualified.

    The journalist Charles Lucas, who accompanied the race in the car, further adorned the curious events during the marathon. The South African Len Taunyane , who ran barefoot, is said to have been chased through a grain field by a dog. Because of the big detour, he lost about six to seven minutes and finally finished the race in ninth place. The fourth-placed Cuban Félix Carvajal ran the race with heavy street shoes. Since he didn't have gym shorts, he cut off the legs of his normal pants before the start to at least look like a runner. He gave a better ranking because two peaches that had been offered to him on the way gave him stomach cramps . Lucas also wrote that the marathon had proven that "from a medical point of view, drugs are of great benefit to athletes."

    Cycling

    Marcus Hurley

    For an overview of the results, see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Cycling

    As part of the world exhibition, the American Cycling Federation organized a total of 25 races, 15 of which were reserved for amateurs. It could be proven that amateurs and professionals drove on the same day and on the same track, but never against each other in the same race. The IOC considers seven amateur races to be Olympic. Although there were only Americans at the start, foreigners could also take part. Races on cement tracks were already common at the beginning of the 20th century. In St. Louis, however, only the dusty cinder track of the athletics stadium was available, which was criticized by the drivers.

    Marcus Hurley was by far the most successful driver. He won gold medals over a quarter mile, a third mile, a half mile and a mile respectively. He forgave the possible fifth victory in the race over two miles when he slipped in the last corner. The longest race over 25 miles finished only four out of ten drivers who started.

    Wrestling

    For an overview of the results, see the 1904 Summer Olympics / wrestling

    Featherweight finals

    After wrestling was not on the program in Paris in 1900 , it was resumed in St. Louis. This time, however, it was not the classical Greco-Roman style that was considered, but the free style. Only since 1908 have both styles been represented equally. The competitions in the seven weight classes were advertised as a national championship of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the 41 wrestlers competing were all Americans. Nevertheless, these competitions are considered Olympic because the invitation to tender basically allowed amateurs from all countries. According to the rules of the time, the bronze medal automatically went to the person who lost to the eventual winner in the first round; the outcome of any later rounds played no role.

    Roque

    A roque game

    For an overview of the results, see the 1904 Summer Olympics / Roque

    Roque , the American variant of croquet , was only an Olympic sport in 1904. Only four Americans took part in the tournament, which was advertised as the national championship. However, since in theory foreigners could also have participated (provided they were amateurs), this competition is considered Olympic. Tournament winner was Charles Jacobus.

    rowing

    For an overview of the results, see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Rowing

    Five competitions were held in rowing ( single , double scull , double without helmsman , quadruple without helmsman and figure eight ). The races were advertised as American championships, but are still considered Olympic because foreigners were also eligible to participate. Only the eighth from Canada made use of this option. The regatta course was 1.5 miles long. Only the four and eight drove the entire route; the other boat classes had to turn halfway through - a completely unusual procedure today.

    swim

    For an overview of the results, see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Swimming

    Start of the race over 100 meters freestyle

    The swimming was next to the fencing is the only sport in which the Americans were not outstanding, as three European countries had sent their best swimmers. The nine competitions took place under the simplest conditions. The athletes started from a plank raft that protruded only a little from the water, which was otherwise used to moor boats during presentations by the coast guard's lifeguards. The raft could only be reached via a narrow plank. The turning point and destination were marked by taut ropes, there were no separate lanes. The jury sat in a boat or watched the race like the spectators from the lakeshore. In the backstroke, the usual start with pushing off the legs was not possible because of the swaying raft. Instead, the swimmers jumped into the water feet first and then rolled on their backs.

    The most successful swimmer was the American Charles Daniels with three gold medals, followed by the Hungarian Zoltán von Halmay and the German Emil Rausch , who each won twice. One victory each went to the Germans Walter Brack and Georg Zacharias .

    The freestyle relay over 4 x 50 yards was the only competition without foreign participation. After a protest, the jury refused the German swimmers participation because they belonged to different swimming clubs (only pure club teams were allowed). The Austrian Otto Wahle protested successfully, who wanted to give his club, the New York Athletic Club , an advantage.

    The jury made another curious decision in the final over 50 yards freestyle: They declared John Scott Leary the winner, although Zoltán von Halmay had always been clearly in the lead. Allegedly Halmay stopped swimming shortly before the target rope. Leary, in turn, claimed that he was disabled. After long deliberations, the jury set up a stabbing race; after a false start, Halmay finally won. The photo of the finish, which was only available after a considerable delay, proved that the Hungarian would have already won in the actual final.

    Tug of war

    The decision for second place

    For an overview of the results, see the 1904 Summer Olympics / Tug of War

    At the beginning of the 20th century, unlike today , the tug of war was not considered an independent sport, but part of athletics. In addition to four American club teams, a Greek and a South African team took part in the tournament. The Greek team included Perikles Kakousis , Olympic champion in weightlifting, and Nikolaos Georgandas , third in the discus throw. The tournament was won by the Milwaukee Athletic Club in front of two teams from the Southwest Gymnastics Club of St. Louis .

    tennis

    For an overview of the results, see 1904 Summer Olympics / Tennis

    There were two tennis competitions, one each in singles and doubles. Unlike the Paris Games four years earlier, no women were involved. Olympic champion in singles was Beals Wright . The German Hugo Hardy was the only foreigner among the 36 registered participants. The most famous player was Dwight Filley Davis , who was eliminated in the second round: he had donated the Davis Cup and was Secretary of War of the United States from 1925 to 1929. Beals Wright also remained undefeated in doubles and won a second gold medal together with his partner Edgar Leonard , who placed third in the singles tournament.

    do gymnastics

    For an overview of the results, see Olympic Summer Games 1904 / Gymnastics

    The gymnastics program was divided into two parts: the all-around competition was held at the beginning of July, followed by the individual apparatus disciplines at the end of October. The sports department of the world exhibition described the first event (in German) as "International Gymnastics". It had largely adopted the rules of the German Gymnastics Federation and dispensed with a translation into English.

    Exercise on the parallel bars in front of the almost empty grandstand

    In addition to the gymnastics disciplines parallel bars , high bar and horse jump , the all-around competition also included three athletics disciplines ( long jump , shot put and run over 100 yards). From the performance of the individual competition, three further ratings were calculated: The individual gymnasts from four countries were able to win additional medals for the gymnastics and track and field part of the all-around event, and there was also a team rating for all disciplines together. The latter was not a comparison between individual countries, but between American club teams that only had German names such as Turngemeinde Philadelphia or Turnverein Vorwärts Chicago and whose members were predominantly German immigrants.

    If the all-around competition was international, the Americans stayed among themselves at the second event. This was advertised as the championship of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). However, since foreigners would also have been entitled to participate, the “AAU Gymnastics Championships” are also considered Olympic. Numerous immigrants also took part, of whom it is not known whether they had already been naturalized at the time. By far the most successful gymnast was the American Anton Heida with five gold medals and one silver medal.

    Diving

    For an overview of the results, see the 1904 Summer Olympics / Diving

    For the first time ever, diving was an Olympic sport in St. Louis. The few Germans who had traveled were considered favorites for jumping, but the competition could not be held at first. The exhibition management had failed to provide a springboard. The Germans then procured their own material and built a two and a half meter long board. They attached this about three and a half meters above the surface of the water.

    From the audience's point of view, the German participants had offered the best jumps, but the jury surprisingly put the American George Sheldon at the top because he had displaced the least amount of water when immersed. The German team lodged a protest, which the jury rejected. The head of the delegation, Theodor Lewald , then withdrew the trophy he had donated as a special prize.

    Instead of high diving , which has been customary since 1908, the now barely widespread discipline head long jump was also on the program. After a pike jump, the participants had to stay under water for as long as possible without swimming with their arms. The distance was measured where the athletes reappeared (or when a minute had passed). It was won by the American William Dickey in front of four compatriots.

    Non-Olympic competitions

    Water polo

    For an overview of the results, see the 1904 Summer Olympics / Water polo

    Scene from a water polo game

    Three American teams competed in the water polo tournament, although it is unclear whether water polo was an Olympic sport at all at the time. This is supported by the fact that the tournament was advertised for amateurs and that foreigners could have participated if they belonged to the same club. However, they also renounced it because the American water polo game at the beginning of the 20th century deviated from European rules and was more like a kind of volleyball . It was won by the New York Athletic Club team .

    The water polo players were particularly hard hit by the precarious hygienic conditions in the artificial lake on the exhibition grounds, as they stayed in the heavily polluted water for the longest. Four players died within a few months of a typhoid fever caused by Escherichia bacteria .

    "Anthropological Days"

    Pygmies at archery

    However, is to be seen from today's perspective as racist an event that perfectly matched the spirit of the times, formed the "Anthropological Days" ( Anthropology Days ). William J. McGee, director of the Department of Anthropology , had made the proposal at sporting director James E. Sullivan, members of "primitive tribes" whose way of life for the peoples look to have been provided to the World's Fair showcased compete in sports competitions against each other. The intention was to show the sports experts and scientists present that “civilized man” is not only mentally but also physically superior. The allegedly widespread claim that the “savages” are fundamentally more athletic due to their life in natural surroundings should also be refuted.

    Representatives of the following peoples, among others, were forced to participate: Moroz and Samal from the Philippines , Patagonians from Argentina , Cherokee , Chippewa , Cocopa , Crow , Pawnee and Sioux from the United States, Pygmies from Central Africa and Ainu from Japan . They practiced various disciplines of athletics, mostly separated by ethnic group. In addition, there were individual autochthonous sports such as archery, tree trunk climbing and wrestling. The participants had never had the opportunity to train before, so their performance was mediocre. This enabled the anthropological department to provide the scientific “proof” it was striving for. In his report, sporting director Sullivan ridiculed some of the performances. For example, he wrote:

    “It can probably be said, without fear of contradiction, that never before in the history of sport in the world were such poor performances recorded for weight throwing.” ( “It can probably be said without risk of contradiction that never before in the History of world sport such poor performance in weight throwing were recorded. " )

    IOC President Pierre de Coubertin expressed only cautious criticism: “Such an event will of course lose its appeal when the black men, red men and yellow men learn to run, jump and throw and leave the white men behind. “He only protested against the participation of Turks in the anthropological days, since in his opinion they are“ civilized enough ”to take part in the“ real ”competitions.

    Outstanding athletes and achievements

    Ray Ewry
    The most successful participants
    space athlete country sport gold gold silver silver bronze bronze total
    1 Anton Heida United States 45United States United States do gymnastics 5 1 - 6th
    2 Marcus Hurley United States 45United States United States Cycling 4th - 1 5
    3 George Eyser United States 45United States United States do gymnastics 3 2 1 6th
    4th James Lightbody United States 45United States United States athletics 3 1 - 4th
    5 Charles Daniels United States 45United States United States swim 3 - - 3
    Ray Ewry United States 45United States United States athletics 3 - - 3
    Ramón Fonst CubaCuba CUB fencing 3 - - 3
    Archie Hahn United States 45United States United States athletics 3 - - 3
    Harry Hillman United States 45United States United States athletics 3 - - 3
    Matilda Howell United States 45United States United States Archery 3 - - 3

    Ray Ewry dominated the standing jump competitions and became Olympic champion in standing high jump, standing long jump and standing triple jump. At the Games in 1900, 1904 and 1908 he won a total of eight gold medals; He is one of the ten most successful Olympians of all time. If you add his two victories in the unofficial interludes in 1906 , he is even the most successful athlete of all time.

    George Eyser was the third most successful athlete at these games with three gold, two silver and three bronze medals, although he had a severe disability: The gymnast competed with a wooden leg after losing a leg in a train accident a few years earlier.

    The 64-year-old archer Galen Spencer is still the oldest American Olympic champion of all time. Four years his senior, Samuel Duvall , also an archer, is the oldest American Olympian and medalist. They were only surpassed internationally by the Swedish rifle shooter Oscar Swahn , who was 72 years old when he last won a medal in 1920.

    Aftermath

    As in 1900 in Paris, the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis became an insignificant appendage to a world exhibition. The sporting competitions dragged on for more than four and a half months and were hardly noticed by the public because of the many other attractions. Only a small fraction of the 19.7 million visitors to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition were interested in what happened at the Olympics, and the media reported only sporadically about it.

    Pierre de Coubertin was generally considered to be very adept at building networks of relationships. His numerous acquaintances with heads of state and heads of government testify to this, which was quite useful for the consolidation and acceptance of the Olympic movement. However, the IOC president had again proven to be a poor organizer. Coubertin had also refused to attend the event in St. Louis or at least to use his influence to steer the sometimes chaotic organization in the right direction.

    Through his passive behavior he increasingly provoked criticism within the IOC. His position was weakened and, against his will, the IOC supported the idea of ​​hosting additional games in Athens every four years, alternating with Olympic Games in different cities around the world . The 1906 Olympic Intermediate Games proved to be a popular success with their tight organization. They were a model for subsequent events and prevented the Olympic movement from sliding into insignificance. Under pressure from Coubertin, the IOC later revoked the official status of the interludes.

    literature

    • Jürgen Buschmann, Karl Lennartz: The Olympic Football Tournaments - Volume 1: First shot attempts 1896-1908. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-89784-159-2 , pp. 83-109.
    • Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle I. Athens 1896 - Berlin 1936. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00715-6 .
    • Karl Lennartz : The games of the III. 1904 Olympics in St. Louis . AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 1998, ISBN 3-89784-259-9 .
    • Charles JP Lucas: The Olympic Games 1904. Woodward & Tiernan, St. Louis 1905. ( PDF; 3.07 MB )
    • Bill Mallon: The 1904 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. McFarland & Company, Jefferson 1999, ISBN 0-7864-0550-3 .
    • James E. Sullivan (Ed.) Spalding's Athletic Almanac for 1905. Olympic Games Number. American Sports Publishing, New York, January 1905 ( PDF; 12.17 MB )
    • Klaus Zeyringer : Olympic Games. A cultural history from 1896 until today . Vol. 1: Summer . S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2016, ISBN 978-3-10-002248-6 ; therein the chapter "Close to disaster": St. Louis 1904 , pp. 93-101.

    Web links

    Commons : 1904 Summer Olympics  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

    References and comments

    1. ↑ a b page of the IOC on the 1904 Summer Olympics (English), accessed on September 27, 2012
    2. ↑ 1904 London Summer Games. Retrieved August 21, 2012 .
    3. ↑ due to Frank Kugler's mostly incorrect nationality assignment , the medal table is mostly incorrectly reproduced for the USA, for the German Reich and for mixed teams; a medal table that may correct other disputed nationality assignments beyond the Kugler case can be found at Sports-reference.com
    4. ↑ Lennartz, pp. 14-20
    5. ↑ John A. Lucas: Early Olympic Antagonists: Pierre de Coubertin Versus James E. Sullivan. Stadium 3 (1977), 258-272
    6. ^ Arnd Krüger : Neo-Olympism between nationalism and internationalism. Horst Ueberhorst (Ed.): History of physical exercises , Vol. 3/1, Berlin: Bartels & Wernitz 1980, 522-568.
    7. ↑ Lennartz, p. 79
    8. ^ History of the Glen Echo Country Club ( Memento of March 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
    9. ↑ a b Lennartz, pp. 206-207
    10. ↑ Lennartz, p. 299 (individual sources also give 651 participants)
    11. ↑ Lennartz, p. 226
    12. ↑ Lennartz, p. 156
    13. ↑ Jim Greensfelder, Oleg Vorontsov, Jim Lally: Olympic Medals - Reference Guide. GVL Enterprises, Cincinnati, 1998. pp. 11-14.
    14. ↑ Lennartz, p. 92
    15. ↑ Mallon, pp. 14-16
    16. ↑ Lennartz, pp. 251-253
    17. ↑ Lennartz, p. 67
    18. ↑ Lennartz, p. 206
    19. ↑ Lennartz, p. 85
    20. ^ Kluge, p. 161
    21. ↑ Mallon, p. 213
    22. ↑ Lennartz, p. 100
    23. ^ Van Zo Post was - contrary to the information provided by the IOC - not a Cuban, but - as it turned out several years later - an American.
    24. ^ Ontario Soccer Association
    25. ↑ Lennartz, p. 131
    26. ↑ Mallon, p. 56
    27. ↑ Eileen P. Duggan: The Marathon From Hell - Marathon and beyond, 2004.
    28. ↑ Lucas, pp. 52-54
    29. ↑ Lucas, pp. 46-47
    30. ↑ Lucas, pp. 57-58
    31. ↑ Lennartz, p. 162
    32. ↑ Lucas, p. 51
    33. ↑ Mallon, p. 114
    34. ↑ Mallon, p. 202
    35. ↑ Lennartz, p. 45
    36. ↑ Mallon, p. 149
    37. ↑ Lennartz, pp. 219-220
    38. ↑ Kluge, p. 164
    39. ^ Kluge, p. 223
    40. ↑ Kluge, p. 207
    41. ^ Klaus Zeyringer: Olympic Games. A cultural history from 1896 until today . Vol. 1: Summer . S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2016; therein the chapter Racism as an exhibited anthropology , pp. 101-106, here p. 102.
    42. ↑ a b Lennartz, p. 254
    43. ^ Sullivan, p. 253
    44. ^ Olympic Follies - historyhouse.com
    45. ↑ Lennartz, p. 247
    46. ↑ Lennartz, p. 104
    This article was added to the list of excellent articles on April 26, 2008 in this version .