WonderHistory fact

The 1904 Olympic marathon in St Louis was run in heat of about 32 °C on dusty roads, with a single well for water. The first man home had ridden 18 km in a car; the real winner, Thomas Hicks, had been dosed with strychnine and brandy by his trainers and was carried over the line.

St Louis, 1904

The story behind the card

Of 32 starters only 14 finished, the lowest share in any Olympic marathon. Fred Lorz dropped out with cramp after about 14 km, rode in a car, rejoined the race when the car broke down, and was being hailed as the winner before officials found out. Hicks's trainers gave him strychnine, a stimulant in tiny doses and a poison in larger ones, mixed with brandy and raw egg white, and he finished barely conscious. Félix Carvajal, a Cuban postman, ran in cut-down street clothes, ate spoiled apples on the way, lay down for a nap and still came fourth. Len Taunyane, one of two South Africans in the race, was chased well off course by a dog and finished ninth.

Türkçe oku

1904 St. Louis Olimpiyatları'nın maratonu, 32 °C'yi bulan sıcakta ve tozlu yollarda koşuldu; parkurda su alınabilecek tek bir kuyu vardı. Bitişe ilk gelen koşucu 18 kilometreyi arabayla gitmişti. Asıl kazanan Thomas Hicks'e ise antrenörleri yolda striknin ve brendi vermişti; Hicks bitiş çizgisini onların kollarında geçti.

St. Louis, 1904

Yarışa başlayan 32 koşucudan yalnızca 14'ü bitirebildi; bu, olimpiyat maratonları arasındaki en düşük orandır. Fred Lorz yaklaşık 14. kilometrede kramp girince yarışı bırakıp bir arabaya bindi, araba bozulunca yeniden koşmaya başladı ve yetkililer durumu öğrenene kadar kazanan diye alkışlandı. Hicks'in antrenörleri ona brendi ve çiğ yumurta akıyla karıştırılmış striknin verdi. Striknin çok küçük dozda uyarıcı, biraz fazlası zehirdir; Hicks yarışı neredeyse kendinden geçmiş hâlde bitirdi. Kübalı postacı Félix Carvajal paçalarını kestiği gündelik kıyafetlerle koştu, yolda çürük elma yedi, bir ara uzanıp kestirdi ve yine de dördüncü oldu. Yarıştaki iki Güney Afrikalıdan Len Taunyane'yi bir köpek parkurdan epey uzağa kovaladı; o da yarışı dokuzuncu bitirdi.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

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The 1904 Olympic marathon in St Louis was run in heat of about 32 °C on dusty roads, with a single well for water. The first man home had ridden 18 km in a car; the real winner, Thomas Hicks, had been dosed with strychnine and brandy by his trainers and was carried over the line.

The story behind the card

Sources and further reading

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