Thirteen nations were represented in nine sports. The 13-man American team was unaware that Greece still used the Julian calendar, which differed from its Gregorian alternative by 11 days. They turned up only on the eve of the Games and were obliged
to drink countless toasts which seemed to have an unexpected effect the following day when triple-jumper James B Connolly became the first-ever Olympic champion.
2 PARIS 1900In conjunction with the Paris International Exhibition, various sports were held between 14 May and 28 October. Whether this could be called an Olympiad – or even if some events were proper Olympic events – is debatable. Certainly the 200m swimming obstacle race, which included scrambling over and under rowing boats, has been somewhat neglected of late and we are not likely to see again a tug-of-war in which a Danish-Swedish side beats the US.
3 ST LOUIS 1904Originally given to Chicago but passed on as an adjunct to the St Louis World Fair, the Games saw a procession of American winners. The marathon was won by Fred Lorz, who had his photo taken with the US president's daughter and then owned up to having hitched a ride for 11 miles. "I did run the last five miles," he claimed.
4 LONDON 1908Summer sports were held in July, and so-called autumn sports – boxing, football and skating – later in the year. The Americans refused to compete in the re-run 400m final after their winner was disqualified for impeding Britain's Wyndham Halswelle. Next day, Haswelle ran the final on his own, becoming the only man in Olympic history to embark on a lap of honour before winning gold.
5 STOCKHOLM 1912Breakthrough. Women's swimming events were included for the first time, though women previously competed in archery, tennis and skating. Lt George Patton of the US army displayed blood and guts to finish fifth in the modern pentathlon. Delightfully, his poor shooting cost him the gold.
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