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The 1904 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the III Olympiad, were held in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States from July 1 to November 23, 1904. Chicago, Illinois won the original bid to host the games, but the organisation of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition would not accept another international event in the same time-frame. They started to organise their own sports activities, informing the Chicago OCOG they intended to eclipse the Olympic Games unless the games would be moved to St. Louis. De Coubertin gave in.

Considered the lesser of two evils by De Coubertin, St. Louis did repeat the mistakes made at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Competitions were reduced to a side-show of the World's Fair and were lost in the chaos of other, more popular cultural exhibits. The games lasted for months; in fact, James Edward Sullivan tried to hold an event every day, for the duration of the fair. The Olympic events were again mixed with other sporting events, but where Paris hardly ever mentioned the Olympics, Sullivan called all his sports events "Olympic". From all such events, the IOC is taken to have have declared 94 events Olympic. In these event participated 689 athletes, of which 681 were men and 8 were women, from 13 countries. However only 42 events actually included athletes who were not from the United States.

1 Highlights

• First games at which gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for first, second and third place.
• European tension caused by the Russo-Japanese War and the difficulty of getting to St. Louis kept many of the world's top athletes away.
• In a number of sports, the U.S. national championship was combined with the Olympic championship, because there were no competitors from other nations.
• Boxing, dumbbells , freestyle wrestling, and decathlon made their debuts.
• Marathon runners Len Tau and Jan Mashiani , Tswana tribesmen who were in St. Louis as part of the Boer WarThere were two Boer wars one in 1880- 81 and the second from October 11, 1899- 1902 both between the British and the settlers of Dutch origin (called Boere, Afrikaners or Voortrekkers) in South Africa that put an end to the two independent republics that exhibit at the World's Fair, became the first Africans to compete in the Olympics.
• One of the most remarkable athletes was the American gymnast George Eyser , who won six medals even though his left leg was made of wood.
• Chicago runner Jim LightbodyJames Davies "Jim" Lightbody ( March 15, 1882 March 2, 1953) was an American middle distance runner, winner of six Olympic medals in the early 20th century. Lightbody, from Pittsburgh, had great success at the 1904 Summer Olympics, held in St. He wasn't f won the steeplechase and the 800 m and then set a world record in the 1500 m.
• Harry HillmanHarry Livingston Hillman Jr. September 8, 1881 August 9, 1945) was an American athlete, winner of three gold medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Harry Hillman was a member of three Olympic teams at the turn of the century, he a won 200 m and 400 m hurdles and also 400 m dash.
• SprinterSprints are races where the runner tries to go as fast as humanly possible. Biological factors that go primarily into a sprint are: exclusive use of fast twitch muscle, adrenaline, and anaerobic respiration. Notice: in the context of these articles, a min Archie HahnCharles Archibald "Archie" Hahn ( September 14, 1880- January 21, 1955) was an American athlete, and one of the best sprinters in the early 20th century. Having won sprint events at the 1903 American and Canadian championships, Hahn born in Dodgeville, Wi was champion in the 60 m, 100 m and 200 m. In this last race, he set a new Olympic record in 21.6, a record broken only 28 years later.
• In the discusAlternate meaning: Discus fish The discus throw is an athletics ( track and field) throwing event. The discus the object to be thrown, is a lens-shaped heavy disc with a diameter of 22cm and a weight of two kilograms for the men's event, and one kg for th, after American Martin Sheridan had thrown exactly the same distance as his compatriot, Ralph RoseRalph Waldo Rose (born March 17, 1885 in Healdsburg, California, deceased October 16, 1913) was an American athlete. A giant of a man at 6' 5 1/2" and 250 pounds, Ralph Rose was the first shot putter to break 50 feet. His world record of 51' 0", set in 19 (39.28 m), the judges gave them both an extra throw to decide the winner. Sheridan won the decider and claimed the gold medal.
• Ray Ewry1900 Summer Olympics Raymond Clarence "Ray" Ewry ( October 14, 1873 September 29, 1937) was an American track and field athlete. Having won 8 Olympic gold medals, and 2 gold medals he won at the " Intercalated Games" ( 1906 in Athens), so he is among the again won all three standing jumps.
• The marathon was the most bizarre event of the Games. It was run in brutally hot weather, over dusty roads, with horses and automobiles clearing the way and creating dust clouds.
  • The first to arrive was Fred Lorz , who actually was just trotting back to the finish line to retrieve his clothes, after dropping out after nine miles. When the officials thought he had won the race, Lorz played along until he was found out shortly after the medal ceremony. Banned for life by the AAU , Lorz was reinstated a year later and won the 1905 Boston Marathon.
  • The Brit Thomas Hicks running for the United States was the next to cross the finish-line, after having received several doses of strychnine sulfate, and of brandy, from his trainers. He was even "supported by his trainers" when he crossed the finish, but is still considered the winner. Hicks had to be carried off the track, and possibly would have died in the stadium, had he not been treated by several doctors.
  • Len Tau finished in ninth place. This unfortunately included running more than a kilometer off track while being chased by a dog. Presumably, a higher ranking would have been possible otherwise.
• The top foreign athlete was Emil Rausch of Germany, who won three swimming events.
• Zoltan Halmay of Hungary and Charles Daniels of the United States each won two swimming gold medals.