The men's marathon race of the 1908 Summer Olympics took place in London on 24 July 1908. Johnny Hayes won after Dorando Pietri was disqualified for having received assistance before the finish line. For the first time in an Olympic marathon, the distance was 26mi 385yd (42.195km), which would become the standard distance in 1921. 75 competitors entered the race, of whom 55 from 16 nations started, with 27 from 11 nations finishing.[1] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[2] Charles Hefferon's silver medal earned South Africa its first Olympic marathon medal.
Background
This was the fourth appearance of the event, which is one of twelve athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Sidney Hatch of the United States was the only runner from 1904 (14th then) to return; Frederick Lorz, who had finished first but was disqualified because he had ridden most of the way, was entered but did not start. The 1908 marathon had "by far the most international field yet assembled for a marathon" with sixteen nations represented. The United States, Canada, and Great Britain each entered full teams of twelve runners, though five Americans and one Briton withdrew before the start.[3]
Australasia, Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Russia each made their first appearance in the event. The United States was the only nation to have runners in each of the first four Olympic marathons.
The British Olympic Council handed responsibility for organising the Marathon to the Amateur Athletic Association, but they had no experience at organising a road race of such a length. In late 1907, an offer was made by Jack Andrew, honorary secretary of the Polytechnic Harriers, to take over the task. This was accepted in February 1908,[5] though already, in November 1907, a route of "about 25 to 26 miles in distance" had been published in the newspapers,[6] starting at Windsor Castle and finishing at the Olympic Stadium, the White City Stadium in Shepherd's Bush in London.[7]
The Polytechnic Harriers were also tasked with organising a Marathon Trial Race, to be run along most of the Olympic Marathon route. By April 1908, a revised map of the course of the Trial Race was published, also showing the intended course of the Olympic Marathon. It had by this time been decided to fix the Olympic Marathon distance at "about 26 miles" to the stadium, plus a lap of the track (1,760ft (536.45m)),[7] using the Royal Entrance as the marathon tunnel, and finishing at the normal stadium finishing-line in front of the Royal Box. The April 1908 map shows the intended finish, though the White City stadium was not yet complete at that time.
For the official Trial Marathon on 25 April 1908, the start was 700 yards (640m) from Queen Victoria's statue in Windsor on ‘The Long Walk’– a magnificent avenue leading up to Windsor Castle in the grounds of Windsor Great Park. The Trial Marathon would finish about four miles short of the full distance, in Wembley.
Since the start of planning it had been hoped that for the Olympic Marathon itself the start would be on the East Lawn near the private East Terrace of Windsor Castle,[8] with the permission of King Edward VII, so that the public would not interfere with the start.[7] This permission was granted.
With the start now securely within the private grounds of Windsor Castle, the Princess of Wales and her children drove from their home at Frogmore on the far side of Windsor Great Park to watch the start of the race.[7][8][9]
Shortly before the Games opened it was realised that the Royal Entrance could not be used as the marathon entrance—it was raised to permit easy descent by the royal party from their carriages, and did not open onto the track—so an alternative entrance was chosen, diagonally opposite the Royal Box. A special path was made from Du Cane Road running due south just east of the Franco British Exhibition ground so that the distance from Windsor to the stadium remained "about 26 miles". The finishing line was left unchanged, but in order that more of the spectators would have a good view of the final yards, the direction of running was changed to "right-hand inside" (i.e. clockwise). This meant the distance in the stadium was shortened from a full lap of the track to 385 yards (352m), and the total distance became officially "about 26 miles plus 385 yards on the track".[7] A modified version of the Polytechnic Harriers' April 1908 map was issued in June 1908 incorporating the changed ending and omitting the "Long Walk" start used for the Trial Marathon. This was published in the newspapers and in the official programme for the games.
This distance (ignoring the word "about" in the phrase "about 26 miles plus 385 yards on the track") eventually became the origin of the modern Marathon distance of "no less than 42.195km".
According to the book The Marathon Makers by John Bryant, the first mile of the 1908 Olympic Marathon course was remeasured by John Disley in the late 1990s and was found to be 174 yards (159 m) short.[10] The “short” yards claim seems to be linked to John Disley confusing the start location, putting it forward from where the marathon race actually started.
On the 24 July 2024, the 116th anniversary of the race, The Guardian newspaper reported the re-measuring of the opening 700 yards of the reconstructed marathon course [11] by Hugh Jones, assisted by Joe Neanor.
The results of this exercise, along with contemporary photographic evidence, and information in the official report [12] strongly indicated that the marathon course had been accurately measured in 1908, the full distance run, with the race starting on the path beside the East Lawn, within the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The official report lists the leaders at each mile from the fourth to the twenty-fourth: Thomas Jack (miles 4–5); Frederick Lord (miles 6–14); Charles Hefferon (miles 15–24). Dorando Pietri of Italy caught Hefferon and sped up between Old Oak Common Lane and Wormwood Scrubs.
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 32km (20mi) mark, 4 minutes behind South AfricanCharles Hefferon. Hefferon, by his own account, made a "mistake" with less than two miles to go: he accepted a drink of champagne, which he said gave him a cramp.[3] When he knew that Hefferon was in crisis, Pietri further increased his pace, overtaking him at the 39km (24mi) mark.
The effort took its toll and with only two kilometres to go, Pietri began to feel the effects of extreme fatigue and dehydration. 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 350 metres. Second was American Johnny Hayes, with a time of 2h 55min 18s. 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 Pietri was not responsible for his disqualification, Queen Alexandra awarded him the gilded silver cup the next day in recognition of his heroics.
Hefferon, though he had been passed by Pietri and then by Hayes "on nearing the Stadium," was able to cross the line third ahead of two more Americans (Joseph Forshaw and Alton Welton), with Pietri's disqualification giving Hefferon silver and Forshaw bronze.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in hours) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.
The dramatic finish of the 1908 Olympic marathon led to worldwide marathon fever. In a postcard sent at the time, an American spectator said he had "just seen the greatest race of the century."[14] Since Pietri himself had not been responsible for his disqualification, Queen Alexandra the next day awarded him a gold- (or perhaps silver-) gilt cup in recognition of his achievement.
Pietri and Hayes both turned professional and there were several re-matches over the distance of 26 miles 385 yards. Many other marathons adopted that distance, including the important Polytechnic Marathon. The IAAF minutes are reportedly silent as to the reason the 26 miles 385 yards (42.195km) was chosen in 1921,[15] so any conclusion must be speculative, but regardless of any possible emotional attachment to the distance of the "race of the century", the London 1908 distance had established itself worldwide by that time. Marathons became an annual event in London following the 1908 Olympics. The Polytechnic Marathon was held each year until 1996.
All of the finishers, including Pietri, were awarded Diplomas of Merit.[16]
The 1908 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome, but were relocated on financial grounds following the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, which claimed over 100 lives; Rome eventually hosted the Games in 1960.
John Joseph Hayes was an American athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and winner of the marathon race at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Hayes' Olympic victory contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States. He was also the first man to win a marathon at the now official standard distance of 26 miles 385 yards when Olympic officials lengthened the distance to put the finish line in front of the Royal Box.
Italy competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England. It was the third appearance of the European nation, which had not competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was originally going to host the Games, but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius meant the UK hosted them.
Charles Archer Hefferon was an athlete representing South Africa who competed mainly in the marathon. Hefferon was born in Newbury, Berkshire, England, to an Irish father and an English mother but moved with his family to Canada and was raised on a farm near Brandon, Manitoba. He settled in South Africa after fighting in the Boer War, where he worked as a prison officer in Bloemfontein.
Dorando Pietri was an Italian long-distance runner. He finished first in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London but was subsequently disqualified.
The men's marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, United States, took place on August 30 of that year, over a distance of 24 miles 1500 yards.
The men's marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany was held on Sunday September 10, 1972. The race started at 15:00h local time. There were 74 competitors from 39 countries. Twelve of them did not finish. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Frank Shorter of the United States, the nation's first Olympic marathon victory since 1908 and third overall. Karel Lismont won Belgium's second medal in the marathon with his silver. Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia became only the second man, after his countryman Abebe Bikila, to win two medals in the marathon. Ethiopia's four-Games medal streak was matched only by Finland (1920–1932).
The men's marathon at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, was held on Sunday August 9, 1992. The race started at 18:30h local time. One hundred and ten athletes from 72 nations started; 87 athletes completed the race, with Pyambuugiin Tuul from Mongolia finishing in last position in 4:00:44. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Hwang Young-Cho of South Korea, the nation's first Olympic men's marathon medal. Koichi Morishita's silver was Japan's first medal in the event since 1968. Stephan Freigang of Germany took bronze, the first medal for Germany in the event though East Germany had won two golds during partition.
The Polytechnic Marathon, often called the Poly, was a marathon held annually between 1909 and 1996, over various courses in or near London. It was the first marathon to be run regularly over the distance of 26 miles, 385 yards which is now the global standard. A total of eight world marathon bests were set in the Poly, including the first authenticated time under 2 hours, 20 minutes which had been regarded as the marathon equivalent of the four-minute mile. At the time of its demise in 1996, the Poly was Europe's oldest regular marathon. It had seen more world records and had been run over 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi) more often than any other marathon.
The 2012 Olympic Marathon Course is that of both the men's and women's marathon races at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.
The Polytechnic Harriers is an athletic club with long ties to what is now the London Marathon. In 1908 they oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1908 Olympics, the Game's marathon, and played a large part in the development of the Polytechnic Marathon, which ran from 1909- 1996. The Polytechnic Harriers were based at the Chiswick track and their history with racing events predated "the Poly" since they oversaw walking races from London to Brighton as far back as 1897.
The men's marathon event at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games took place August 9. Fifty-six athletes from 27 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The race was won by Sohn Kee-chung, a Korean athlete competing for Japan as the country was under Japanese occupation; Sohn refused to acknowledge the Japanese anthem at the victory ceremony. Sohn was the first Korean athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, though the medal remains credited as Japan's first victory in the Olympic marathon. Finland (barely) missed the marathon podium for the first time since World War I, with its top two runners placing 4th and 5th.
The men's marathon event at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games took place on August 7. Forty-one athletes from 21 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The race was won by Delfo Cabrera of Argentina, the nation's second victory in three Games. Tom Richards's silver medal put Great Britain on the podium for the third time in a row, while Étienne Gailly earned Belgium's first marathon medal with his bronze.
The men's marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on the Olympic marathon street course on 12 August, the final day of the Games. One hundred and five athletes from 67 nations competed. The event was won by Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, the nation's first Olympic men's marathon victory and the nation's only medal in 2012. Kenya earned its fourth and fifth medals in five Games, with Abel Kirui's silver and Wilson Kipsang's bronze.
Umberto Blasi was an Italian long-distance runner who was a three-time national champion in the marathon and competed in the men's marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Il sogno del maratoneta is an Italian TV movie produced by RAI television. It is directed by Leone Pompucci and stars Luigi Lo Cascio and Laura Chiatti. It was aired on television as a two-parter. It is an adaptation of the homonym book by Giuseppe Pederiali.
Michael Joseph Bulger was an Irish rugby player, athlete and medical doctor. Along with his brothers, Daniel and Lawrence, he was prominent in the Irish sporting world in the late 19th century. Bulger achieved lasting fame for his role as one of the umpires involved in the disqualification of Dorando Pietri at the finish of the marathon at the 1908 London Olympics.
The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first modern Olympics in 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the programme at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Thomas Patrick Morrissey was an American long-distance runner who won the Boston Marathon in 1908.
Pericle Pagliani was an Italian long-distance runner who competed in the men's 5 miles and men's 3 miles team race at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
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