On August 30, 1904 32 runners set off to compete in the Olympic Marathon in St. Louis. Only 13 would finish. This poorly planned event would be one of the worst sporting events of all time. Cramps, dehydration, wild dogs, hallucinatios, stomach hemorrrages, car wrekcs and scandal all took place that afternoon.
In fact, it was just one of several sporting events in 1904 marked by scandal and trechary. And in this three part serires we’ll explore three of those events.
In this episode Dr. Peter Kastor, Author and Professor of History and American Cultural Studies discusses how the legacy 1904 World’s Fair, how white supremecy influenced the event and the legacy it’s left. David Gunn shares his epxerience running in marathons juxtaposed with the 1904 race.
Sources:
Sports-Reference
Jon Bois Video Essay
Abott Kahler (Karen Abbot) Smithsonian Article
The 1904 Anthropology Days and Olympic Games
edited by Susan Brownnell
