1904 summer games

the 1904 summer games were in St. Louis. they were originally awarded to Chicago, but with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, they didn't want another event elsewhere. the games were held from July 1st to November 23rd. the games, just like in 1900 in Paris, were treated like a sideshow. European tension of the Russo-Japanese war and the difficulty getting to St. Louis diminished the participation. key highlights had American George Eyser win six medals in gymnastics despite his left leg being wooded. Martin Sheridan and Ralph Rose threw the same distance in discus (39.28m), so judges decided to have a throw off, to which Sheridan won. one of the more bizarre moments happened in the marathon. it happened in hot weather and on dirt roads to which when the cars moved out of the way, they created dust which proved difficult. Frederick Lorz was the first to cross the finish line, after dropping out after nine miles, got a ride to the finish line to pick up his clothes. the car ended up breaking down at the 19th mile. so he decided to re-enter the race. officials thought he had won, so he played along with his "practical joke" until he was found out not long after the medal ceremony and was banned for a year. wild. Canada won six medals that year. (4g, 1s, 1b). below is the poster for the 1904 games. tomorrow, the 1908 games in London.