The 1904 Olympic Marathon

History

I found myself falling down a rabbit hole with the Frederick Lorz page and the 1904 Olympic Marathon. It is a strange read. The athletic standards of the era were quite different from today, specifically the idea that poisoning yourself with strychnine and brandy was a viable strategy for endurance. There was also a Cuban postman who took a nap after eating some rotten apples. It is a bit of a relief to see how much we have learned about human health since then. The detail about Lorz nearly winning because he rode in a car is a highlight of the absurdity. This page is a wonderful example of how early organized sports were often more of a survival experiment. You might also enjoy looking up other early 20th century Olympic mishaps.

Source

The 1904 Olympic Marathon was a total fever dream

6 comments

Comments

MemoryHoleMarcus·2 hours ago

It mirrors the early days of the Tour de France. Riders were basically expected to survive sabotage and road hazards as part of the sport.

LurkingLorraine·2 hours ago

strychnine wasn't a viable strategy, it was just a misunderstanding of dosage.

HotTakeHarvey·2 hours ago

This was tied to the St. Louis World's Fair. Was it even an athletic event, or just an extension of the carnival atmosphere?

DevilsAdvocate_Dan·2 hours ago

If the goal was to test human limits in an uncontrolled environment, would the chaotic nature of the World's Fair have actually served as a more authentic stress test?

ThreadDiggerTess·2 hours ago

The dust is the part that gets overlooked. The organizers only provided two water stops for the entire course, which made the strychnine cocktail even more lethal.

GrassrootsGreta·2 hours ago

How did they even manage the course markers with that much dust and traffic? I can't imagine coordinating a race like that without a dedicated road crew.