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 Looking Back One Hundred Years - The 1908 Olympics
A lot has changed in the last 100 years. Who were the Olympic heroes in 1908 when our ancestors read the news of the summer games being hosted in London, England? Even if you haven’t been watching the 2008 games, you know at least some of the accomplishments of U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps? But what of Johnny Hayes, Dorando Pietri, and Erik Lemming? Has time forgotten their achievements?
Pietri was representing Italy in the 1908 Olympic marathon. After entering London's White City Stadium in first place after more than 26 miles, Pietri collapsed several times. Nearing the finish line, officials helped the disoriented Italian runner across the line ahead of American-born Irishman Johnny Hayes. After protests, the Italian runner was disqualified and the gold was awarded to Hayes. The next day, Queen Alexandra awarded Pietri a gold cup.
Facts about the 1908 Olympics:
* Athletes from 22 countries competed in the 1908 games (Argentina, Australasia, Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States).
* More than 300 medals were awarded. The host country, Great Britain, captured 146 medals, the most of any nation, well ahead of the second-place United States with just 47 medals. Sweden had a strong showing with 25 medals; France captured 19, and Canada 16.
* On 13 Aug 1908, the S.S. Oceanic left Queenstown bound for New York Harbor. Among the passengers was 22-year old Olympian, John J. "Johnny" Hayes.
* The Olympic Games of 1908 were originally scheduled to be in Rome, but Mount Vesuvius erupted (April 7, 1906) and Naples and surrounding areas were devastated by the volcano.
* 2059 athletes participated in 110 events.
* The main Olympic venue, White City Stadium, had a capacity of 100,000.
* The London games were first Olympic games for which three different awards were given to first, second, and third place finishers - gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.
Did you know that the WorldVitalRecords.com World Collection has records from 12 of the 22 countries that participated in the 1908 games? Try a search. (WorldVitalRecords.com's World Collection).
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