London Olympic Games 1908

The 1908 London Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the Fourth Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in London, United Kingdom, between 27 April and October 31, 1908. 2,008 athletes (1,971 men and 37 women) from 22 countries participated, competing in 110 events from 22 Olympic sports and 110 specialties.

Rome had been the city chosen by the International Olympic Committee, however, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on April 7, 1907, implied that the efforts of the Italian government were destined to the reconstruction of the city of Naples, totally devastated. London, site of the Franco-British Exhibition, was chosen as a replacement.

For the Games, the White City Stadium was created, with a capacity of 68,000 spectators, who witnessed the first parade of the participating nations, originating from the 1906 Intercalated Games. This event had various drawbacks, due to the refusal of the Irish and Finnish athletes to parade under the British and Russian flags respectively, the absence of the Swedish flag and the refusal of the American standard bearer to revere King Edward VII.

With a total duration of 187 days (6 months and 4 days) these were the longest in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

Great moments

• 60-year-old Oscar Swahn is the oldest competitor who won a gold medal (by shooting).
• Showing the greatest sporting spirit, the end of Greek-Roman midweight struggle between the Swedish Frithiof Martensson and Mauritz Andersson postponed so that Martensson could recover from a wound. In the end it was Martensson who won.
• Ray Ewry won the high jump for the third time becoming the only athlete in the history of the Olympic Games to have won eight individual gold medals back then.
• The marathon caused the spectators' sensation by its dramatic final: after 42 kilometers, Dorando Pietri de Italia enters the stadium, disoriented takes the wrong direction, then falls. Not getting to the goal without help is disqualified, but Queen Alejandra gives her a golden cup for her effort.

Sports

The Olympic program included 24 sports (diving and water polo are included with swimming, as water sports), with 110 events.

Participating countries

Participating countries.
Debutant countries.

These were the participating countries in this Olympics:

Argentina, Australasia, Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

Some sources mention that Turkey was also a participating country in this Olympics, but that is not confirmed by a reliable reference.

Medals

No.	Country				Total
1	United Kingdom(GBR)	56	51	39	146
2	United States(USA)	23	12	12	47
3	Sweden(SWE)	8	6	11	25
4	France(FRA)	5	5	9	19
5	Germany(GER)	3	5	5	13
6	Hungary(HUN)	3	4	2	9
7	Canada(CAN)	3	3	10	16
8	Norway(NOR)	2	3	3	8
9	Italy(ITA)	2	2	0	4
10	Belgium(BEL)	1	5	2	8