Track and field events took place from August 29th-September 3rd. Everyone considered the track and field events to be the most prestigious. 142 athletes from 10 nations competed in the 26 track and field events. Interestingly, these events included a tug of war and two weightlifting events.
Track & Field - Day 1
On the first day of track and field, the stands were near capacity at more than 9,000 spectators. There were five events on the first day:
George Poage from the University of Wisconsin became the first Black American to participate in the Olympics. He ran in a heat of the 60 m run. In another heat of the 60 m event, a sprinter named Bela de Mezo from Hungary wasn’t familiar with the American starting method and made two false starts. He was going to be disqualified by officials, but the American and Canadian runners wouldn’t allow him to be penalized. A man named Ray Ewry dominated in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. He began his Olympic career in Paris in 1900, was at St. Louis in 1904, and went to the London Olympics in 1908. He won every event he entered throughout his Olympic career, winning eight gold medals in total.
George Poage Ray Ewry
Track & Field - Day 2
The marathon took place on day 2 of the track and field events. To learn more about the marathon, please see the page titled "Marathon" under the "1904 St. Louis Olympics" tab above.
Track & Field - Days 3 & 4
There were some interesting events on days 3 and 4 of the track and field events, including shot put, hammer throw, and tug of war. There were 5 members to a team in tug of war, and the event lasted for 5 minutes. A ton won when the other team was pulled 6 feet over the starting line. If the 5 minutes ran out, the team that was pulled over the starting line as the 5 minutes were up lost. A Greek team was pulled only 2 inches over the starting line and lost to St. Louis.
The 800 m race was intense with several athletes finishing within tenths of seconds of one another. Several runners had to be carried from the field afterwards due to exhaustion.
A man named Harry Hillman won 3 gold medals in the 200 m, 400 m, and 400 m hurdles. He went on to compete in future Olympics and became a member of the Olympic coaching staff.
A man named Frank Kugler won 4 medals in freestyle wrestling, weightlifting, and tug of war. He was the only competitor to medal in 3 different sports at the same Olympics.
Harry Hillman Frank Kugler
Track & Field - Day 5
There were no events on day 5 of track and field.
Track & Field - Day 6
The final day of the track and field portion of the Olympics had 9 events plus an awards ceremony. This was the busiest day of the week in terms of spectators. The last event was the 4 mile team race. Each team had 5 runners. The Chicago Athletic Organization had a slight lead over the New York Athletic Club in terms of points. Whoever won the last event would win the Spalding Victory Cup, the symbol of supremacy in Track & Field. New York ended up winning the race by 1 point, making them the champions.
With the event completed, the spectators erupted in applause. David Francis prepared to present the Spalding Cup to representatives from the New York Athletic Club. However, celebration abruptly ended when it was announced that the Chicago Athletic Organization had filed a protest against New York. Chicago disputed points awarded to New York in the hammer throw and tug of war events. This meant the awards ceremony was cancelled.
These protests were later discarded, and the New York Athletic Club received the Spalding Trophy and were Olympic champions.
60 m race
Francis Olympic Field