The 1904 Summer Olympics rowing competitions were held here at Creve Coeur Lake, west of St. Louis, on July 29 and 30.
This was only the second time that rowing was an Olympic event. All competitors were from the U.S. except for a men's eight team from Canada. A total of 44 rowers competed in several events, the youngest being 16 and the oldest 40. All medals were given to the U.S. competitors except a silver to the Canadian Men's Eight team.
The five events were as follows:
Four without coxswain (4-) Men
Eight with coxswain (8+) Men
Single sculls (1x) Men
Coxless pair (2-) Men
Double sculls (2x) Men
Opening date of the 1904 Olympics was July 1, ending on November 23rd. There has been criticism of the lengthy time-frame since it conflicted with the 1904 World's Fair celebrating the extremely important anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase.
651 Athletes competed in this Olympics at 91 events! The opening ceremony was performed by Mr. David Francis, President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. There were four new sports introduced this time: boxing and wrestling (freestyle discipline), plus a dumbbells and decathlon.
Some interesting facts about the 1904 Olympics:
*This was the first time that gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded for first, second, and third places.
*Thomas Hicks won the marathon after the disqualification of his fellow countryman Fred Lorz, who had covered a large part of the event in a car, getting out just before the finish line.
*Archie Hahn, known as the Milwaukee Meteor, won several track events and set a record time that stood for 28 years!
*American gymnast George Eyser won 6 medals even though he competed with a wooden leg.
Current standard race lengths for Olympic rowing events are 2,000 m long, 1,500-2,000 m for US high school races and 1,000 m for masters.
Currently a US Olympic Training Site for Canoes, Kayaks, and Rowing is being build on the OK River in downtown OKC. Current OKC regatta races include 2.5 mile head races, 2,000 m sprints, and 500 m sprints. OKC is the only location in the U.S. conducting officially-sanctioned night sprints under lights. It is an amazing sight to see (I've been there).
Sources of information on 1904 Olympic events/facts:
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