Graeme Kent - Londons Olympic Follies: The Madness and Mayhem of the 1908 London Games: A Cautionary Tale

The 1908 Olympic Games were a watershed in the history of modern athletics. Previous Olympiads were open to everyone who could make the journey. They were held on rough tracks or in fields. The swimming events were held in rivers or even the open sea. The Games of 1908 changed all that.

A superb stadium was specially built at the White City site for the events, which took place between 27 April and 31 October. For the first time all contestants appeared as members of their national teams. Some 2,035 athletes were reckoned to have taken part. Britain furnished over 700 competitors and France more than 200. The USA, concentrating on track and field events, provided 122 handpicked athletes. At the other end of the scale, Argentina and Switzerland each had a solitary representative. Irish-born athletes won gold medals for Great Britain, the USA and Canada.

There were other innovations. Qualifying heats were introduced . The Winter Olympics, added in 1924, were heralded in London with the staging of ice-skating on the programme. The marathon distance was extended to 26 miles, 385 yards, which eventually became the official distance for the race. The relay race was introduced and in the winning US team was John Taylor, the first black athlete to secure an Olympic gold medal.

Other experiments were short-lived, with powerboat racing taking place for the first and last time. Field hockey, diving and ice-skating lasted longer. It was the end of an era at the London Games for the standing high jump and standing long jump events effectively putting an end to the international career of the multi-medal winning Raymond Ewry, variously known as the human frog and the rubber man.

Families were represented at the highest levels. The first brother and sister to win Olympic medals were the British archers William and Charlotte Dod. The Swedish father and son team of Oscar and Alfred Swahn won medals in shooting events. Husband and wife team Edgar and Martha Syers took bronze medals in the pairs skating.

World and Olympic records were broken in the track and field events, although not in the sense that modern competitors would understand. This was a period in which records and record-keeping were hazy affairs and there was no central validating body. Nevertheless, runner Melvin Sheppard set new Olympic records in the 800 metres and 1500 metres and broke the world best time at the shorter distance. He also secured a gold in the relay. As far as can be ascertained, world records were also established in the 110 metres hurdles, the 400 metres hurdles and the classical discus throw.

The London Games also had their share of characters. The Cork-born English policeman Con OKelly was tough and determined enough to win a gold medal in the heavyweight freestyle wrestling event, but probably was not as fierce as he seemed, because he received a reprimand from his superiors for allowing street urchins to steal his helmet while he was on his beat in Hull.

Some competitors were more fortunate than others. There were only two entrants in the seven metres class yachting competition and one of those withdrew, so Charles Rivett-Carnac and his wife won gold without even getting their feet wet.

The London Olympics were full of charm and drama. Yet today they are remembered, if at all, for the quarrels, scandals and international disputes which threatened to rend the tournament apart. The intrigue may have been deplorable but it kept a huge Edwardian audience engrossed for months. For the athletic achievements , human stories and plain bloody-mindedness displayed at all levels, the 1908 Olympic Games deserve to be remembered as a fascinating footnote in sporting history.