1908 Olympics in photos

The 1908 Games passed from Rome to London after the 1906 eruption of Vesuvius forced Italy to switch Olympic funds to rebuilding Naples

Lord Desborough, the British Olympic Association chairman and leader of the Great Britain team, took on the job of organising the Games

A 66,000-capacity stadium was built at White City in west London for £44,000 next to the site of the 1908 Franco-Britannic Exhibition

Early controversy came with the USA team refusing to dip the Stars and Stripes before King Edward VII at the opening ceremony

When their 400m winner JC Carpenter was disqualified, the USA sat out the re-run, leaving GB's Wyndham Halswelle to win unopposed

Attendance levels at White City fluctuated wildly during the Games - no wonder, as they lasted from late April until the end of October

The 100m was won by South Africa's Reggie Walker (right), who only made it to London after a collection back in his home state of Natal

Several sports at the 1908 Games no longer feature in the Olympics, including the tug of war, won by a City of London Police team

Another now long-vanished Olympic sport was powerboating, with Britain taking two races in 1908 and France winning another

Having dominated at two previous Olympics, American Ray Ewry won double gold in the standing high jump and standing long jump

Britain was the only team represented in the women's archery event, thus guaranteeing a clean sweep of medals for the host nation

Disputes over judging in 1908 prompted the establishment of standard rules and neutral officials in later Games

Swimming events were staged in an outdoor pool at the stadium which, thanks to poor weather, soon became a muddy health hazard

Alongside the more conventional sports of polo and water polo, bicycle polo made an appearance as a demonstration event

The most famous event of the 1908 Olympics was the marathon, which started at Windsor Castle at the request of the King

The 1908 marathon has gone down in Olympic history thanks to the exploits and eventual misfortune of Italian runner Dorando Pietri

Staggering through total exhaustion, the plucky Pietri crossed the line first but was disqualified for receiving assistance from officials

The Olympic marathon gold medal went instead to American John Hayes, but Pietri's heartbreak made headlines around the world

Widespread public sympathy for the little Italian led to him being presented with a specially commissioned trophy by Queen Alexandra

Despite several disputes and plenty of rain, the 1908 Olympics were viewed as a success and laid down a blueprint for subsequent Games

The White City Stadium survived into the 1980s, when it was finally demolished to make way for a new BBC building

In 2005, a memorial listing the 1908 medals table was unveiled on the site of the stadium, which is now occupied by the BBC Media Centre

Back

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Next