2012 Olympic Medal Count

- Gold - Silver - Bronze


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

1904 - St. Louis

The 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, United States
July 1 - November 23, 1904
Mascot - none
13 countries (incl. South Africa), 687 athletes (6 women)
15 sports, 94 events
Opening - President Theodore Roosevelt (USA)
Torch lit by - none
Chicago, IL was chosen 1st but resigned in favor of St. Louis, MO


THE GAMES FALTER ONCE AGAIN The confusion of the Paris Games seriously damaged the Olympic movement, and the 1904 games almost killed it. Chicago was originally selected as the host, but St. Louis officials feared that the Olympics would cut into attendance at the World Fair. They threatened to hold athletic competitions in conjunction with the fair if the Olympic Games weren't moved to St. Louis. Coubertin and the IOC finally decided to let President Theodore Roosevelt arbitrate the question, and he chose St. Louis. The IOC went along. The decision was taken personally by Theodore Roosevelt to mark the centenary of Louisiana's links with the United States.

European tension caused by the Russo-Japanese War and the difficulty of getting to St. Louis kept many of the world's top athletes away. There were only 687 competitors, most of them from the United States, though Canada sent a good-sized contingent. Only 12 countries were represented.
In a number of sports, the U. S. national championship was combined with the Olympic championship, because there were no competitors from other nations.
Boxing was added to the program and wrestling was restored, but all the competitors in both sports were from the United States. Swimming returned, along with weightlifting, and a full gymnastics program was held. Rowing events were held for the first time.
Ray Ewry again won all three standing jumps. Three other U. S. track and field athletes, Archibald Hahn (60m, 100m and 200m), Jim Lightbody, and Harry Hillman, won three gold medals apiece. The top foreign athlete was Emil Rausch of Germany, who won three swimming events. Zoltan Halmay of Hungary and Charles Daniels of the United States each won two swimming gold medals.
But scandal erupted: the winner of the marathon, the American Fred Lorz, was disqualified for accepting a lift in a car during the race. Initially, he was hailed a true hero at the finish. But Alice Roosevelt, the President's daughter, had taken a photograph of his audacious move and he was eventually disqualified. Victory was handed to his compatriot, Thomas Hicks, who was also helped on his way by two shots of strychnine and several glasses of cognac. At that time anti-doping controls were non-existent.
For the very first time winners received gold medals, with the Americans receiving the majority, winning 80 gold and 245 medals in total. But, as in Paris, the Olympic Games did not really come to life. Too many categories, too spread out, too many attractions besides sport. Barely two thousand spectators followed the athletics events.
Unfortunately, St. Louis was hosting the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition (a large fair celebrating the 100th anniversary celebration of the Louisiana Purchase) at the same time as the Olympic Games. Again, having a city hosting a large fair plus the Games hurt the Olympic Games.
There was an uproar about the marathon. After Fred Lorz (United States) was seized with cramps during the marathon, he was picked up by a car, which after chugging along for a little while, broke down about five miles from the stadium. Feeling much better, Lorz walked into the stadium and, to his surprise, was hailed as the winner of the marathon. Lorz was almost crowned with the olive wreath before the truth was discovered.
A major problem for the 1904 Olympics was that it was held far from Europe. The fact that European participants would have to make a trans-Atlantic voyage plus a long train ride to Missouri to get there, not to mention that many Europeans envisioned St. Louis as small town on the wilderness frontier, made international participation very weak.
Though twelve countries were represented, only a little over 100 of the 681 athletes participating were from outside of the U.S. and most of those were from Canada. No athletes represented England, France, or Sweden.
During the 1904 Olympics, boxing was added as an Olympic sport.

ST LOUIS 1904 GOLD MEDAL WINNERS
92 Men, 2 Women (Archery) Events

Archery
M/Ind. Double American: George Phillip Bryant, USA
M/Ind. Double York: George Phillip Bryant, USA
M/Team Double American: United States
W/Ind. Double Columbia: Lida Howell, USA
W/Ind. Double National: Lida Howell, USA

Athletics, Men
60m: Archie Hahn, USA
100m: Archie Hahn, USA
200m: Archie Hahn, USA
400m: Harry Hillman, USA
800m: James Lightbody, USA
1500m: James Lightbody, USA
110m Hurdles: Frederick Schule, USA
200m Hurdles: Harry Hillman, USA
400m Hurdles: Harry Hillman, USA
2500m Steeplechase: James Lightbody, USA
Decathlon: Tom Kiely, GBR/IRL
Marathon: Thomas Hicks, USA
4mi Team Race: United States
Discus: Martin Sheridan, USA
Hammer: John Flanagan, USA
High Jump: Samuel Jones, USA
Long Jump: Meyer Prinstein, USA
Pole Vault: Charles Dvorak, USA
Shot Put: Ralph Rose, USA
Standing High Jump: Ray Ewry, USA
Standing Long Jump: Ray Ewry, USA
Standing Triple Jump: Ray Ewry, USA
Triathlon: Max Emmerich, USA
Triple Jump: Meyer Prinstein, USA
Weight Throw: Etienne Desmarteau, Canada
Tug-of-War: United States

Boxing, Men
Flyweight: George Finnegan, USA
Bantamweight: Oliver Kirk, USA
Featherweight: Oliver Kirk, USA
Lightweight: Harry Spanger, USA
Welterweight: Albert Young, USA
Middleweight: Charles Mayer, USA
Heavyweight: Samuel Berger, USA

Cycling, Men
1/4mi Track Race: Marcus Hurley, USA
1/3mi Track Race: Marcus Hurley, USA
1/2mi Track Race: Marcus Hurley, USA
1mi Track Race: Marcus Hurley, USA
2mi Track Race: Burton Downing, USA
5mi Track Race: Charles Schlee, USA
25mi Track Race: Burton Downing, USA

Fencing, Men
Ind. Epee: Ramon Fonst, Cuba
Ind. Foil: Ramon Fonst, Cuba
Ind. Sabre: Manuel Diaz, Cuba
Single Sticks: Albertson van Zo Post, USA
Team Foil: Cuba & United States

Football
Team, men: Canada

Golf, Men
Individual: George Lyon, Canada
Team: United States

Gymnastics, Men
Club Swinging: Edward Hennig, USA
Horiz. Bar: Anton Heida & Edward Hennig, USA
Parallel Bars: George Eyser, USA
Pommel Horse: Anton Heida, USA
Rings: Hermann Glass, USA
Rope Climbing: George Eyser, USA
Vault: George Eyser & Anton Heida, USA
Combined (3 events): Adolf Spinnler, SUI
Combined (4 events): Anton Heida, USA
Ind. All-Around: Julius Lenhart, AUT
Team: United States

Lacrosse
Team, men: Canada

Roque
Singles Team, men: Charles Jacobus, USA

Rowing, Men
Single Sculls: Frank Greer, USA
Double Sculls: John Mulcahy & William Varley, USA
Coxless Pairs: Robert Farnam & Joseph Ryan, USA
Coxless Fours: United States
Eights: United States

Swimming, Men
50yds Freestyle: Zoltan Halmay, Hungary
100yds Freestyle: Zoltan Halmay, Hungary
220yds Freestyle: Charles Daniels, USA
440yds Freestyle: Charles Daniels, USA
880yds Freestyle: Emil Rausch, Germany
1mi Freestyle: Emil Rausch, Germany
100yds Backstroke: Walter Brack, Germany
440yds Breaststroke: Georg Zacharias, Germany
4x50yds FS Relay: United States
Plunge for Distance: William Dickey, USA
10m Platform: George Sheldon, USA
Water Polo: United States

Tennis, Men
Singles: Beals Wright, USA
Doubles: Edgar Leonard & Beals Wright, USA

Weightlifting, Men
One-arm Lifts: Oscar Paul Osthoff, USA
Two-arm Lifts: Perikles Kakousis, Greece

Wrestling, Freestyle
47.6kg: Robert Curry, USA
52.1kg: George Nicholas Mehnert, USA
56.7kg: Isidor Niflot, USA
61.2kg: Benjamin Joseph Bradshaw, USA
65.2kg: Otto F. Roehm, USA
71.6kg: Charles F. Ericksen, USA
+71.6kg: Bernhuff Hansen, USA

0 comments: