Tug of war at the 1908 Summer Olympics

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Men's tug of war
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Venue White City Stadium
DatesJuly 17–18, 1908
Competitors40 from 3 nations
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg City of London Police
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
Silver medal icon.svg Liverpool City Police
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
Bronze medal icon.svg Metropolitan Police "K" Division
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
  1904
1912  

At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a tug of war tournament was contested. Each team consisted of 8 athletes. Nations could enter up to 3 teams. [1] The host Great Britain was the only one to enter more than one (entering the maximum of 3 teams). Germany, Greece, Sweden, and the United States each entered one team apiece, though Germany and Greece withdrew. This left 5 teams (40 athletes) from 3 nations to compete.

Medal table

PositionCountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1113
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 0000
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 0000

Medal summary

GoldSilverBronze
City of London Police
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
Liverpool Police
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
Metropolitan Police "K" Division
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain

Team rosters

Great Britain

City of London Police

Liverpool Police

Metropolitan Police "K" Division

Sweden

United States

Results

Quarterfinals

The German and Greek teams withdrew, narrowing the seven-team field to five. Thus, the Swedish team and two of the British squads had byes in the quarterfinals.

The only match held was between the Liverpool team and the Americans. Liverpool won the first pull easily, after which the United States delegation protested against the footwear worn by the Liverpool police, who competed in their service boots. The protest was dismissed, and the Americans withdrew in disgust. [2] [3]

WinnersScoreLosers
Liverpool Police Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2-0 (forfeit)United States of AmericaUS flag 45 stars.svg  United States
SwedenFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Bye
City of London Police Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Bye
Metropolitan Police "K" DivisionFlag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Bye

Semifinals

Liverpool again faced a foreign opponent, and again prevailed. The two London services squared off in the other semifinal, with the City police beating the Metropolitan men in a lengthy first pull. The second pull was not as tight a contest. [2]

WinnersScoreLosers
Liverpool PoliceFlag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2-0SwedenFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
City of London PoliceFlag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2-0Metropolitan Police "K" DivisionFlag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain

Final

The Londoners defeated Liverpool in the final, winning the first two pulls.

WinnersScoreLosers
City of London PoliceFlag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2-0Liverpool PoliceFlag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain

Bronze medal match

The Swedish team did not appear for the bronze medal match.

WinnersScoreLosers
Metropolitan Police "K" (Stepney) DivisionFlag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain walkoverSwedenFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden

Notes

  1. Official Report, p. 32.
  2. 1 2 Cook, p. 91
  3. City of London Police

Sources

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