Thread: the olympics

yeah - who cares- and with the C-virus maybe the winners will be those that live (or don't get on the team!).

I saw this on the interweb - about the 1904 olympic marathon - sounds far more interesting - as someone else commented "like an episode of wacky races

1904 Olympic Marathon in St. Louis.

The #1 finisher drove most of the race. He started the race, got tired and heat exhausted and wanted to drop out. He got in a car to DQ himself and head back to the stadium but along the way realized he was near the finish line and got out to claim the glory.

The #2 finisher was carried across the finish line by his trainers. On a bogus pseudoscience theory, the trainers had been giving him a mixture of brandy, egg whites, and rat poison instead of water. When it came out that the #1 finisher had driven most of the course, this guy was given the gold despite the help from his trainers to finish.

For some reason, the #3 finisher was just a regular guy who did nothing unusual. In this case, ordinary was extraordinary.

The #4 finisher was a Cuban Mailman, who had raised the money to attend the Olympics by running around his entire country and asking for donations. When he landed in New Orleans, he lost all the money gambling. He managed to scrounge enough to get to St. Louis and attend the Olympics. However, he had no money for athletic gear, so he ran in dress shoes and pants hacked off at the knee by a fellow racer who happened to have a knife. He probably would have come in first had it not been for the hour-long nap he took on the side of the road after eating rotten apples he found at an orchard near the course.

The #9 and #12 finishers were from South Africa, and ran barefoot. South Africa didn't actually send a delegation - these were students who just happened to be in town and thought it sounded fun. #9was chased a mile off course by angry dogs.
Half the participants had never raced competitively before. Some died. St. Louis only had one water stop on the entire run. This, coupled with the dusty road, and exacerbated by the cars kicking up dust, lead to several fatalities.

The Russian delegation arrived a week late because they were still using the Julian calendar until 1918, while effectively the rest of the world had switched to the Gregorian calendar.




I've always thought a better olympics would be if each country sent a team of random citizens - fatties, smokers, trannies, geriatrics, housewifes, retail managers - whatever - and they drew each event competitors out of a hat.
I reckon it would change the medal tally - the average US lardy-chonks, pot-bellied Ozzie sheilas and pasty water-shy poms would have no chance against the lithe africans and asians.

Originally Posted by Ukan Kizmiaz

I've always thought a better olympics would be if each country sent a team of random citizens - fatties, smokers, trannies, geriatrics, housewifes, retail managers - whatever

Imagine what the TD crew would consist of ... and the events they'd participate in

Originally Posted by David48atTD

and the events they'd participate in

Pole Vault: Butterfly ?

Originally Posted by Ukan Kizmiaz

The Russian delegation arrived a week late because they were still using the Julian calendar until 1918, while effectively the rest of the world had switched to the Gregorian calendar.

12 days late in 1908, London

Hmm,myth ?

Jack Meoff: Fencing

Originally Posted by helge

12 days late in 1908, London

Hmm,myth ?

Was Russia really late for the Olympics in 1908? (It won medals anyway!) - Russia Beyond