It was one of the most exciting events of the time – the second marathon of the 21st century. Thirty-two athletes from seven different nations came to the United States to compete in the men’s Summer Olympic marathon. Competition was tense; the best athletes were competing in it after all. All breaths were held – yet it was the worst organized event in modern history.
Everything went wrong from the very start, as the organizing team had the idea to begin the race at 3 pm, a very unpopular practice at the time, given the scorching heat of the summer. Any athlete who was seriously competing would have a difficult time in the face of the heat, but the organizational errors did not stop there. The marathon was held on poorly maintained country roads, and the organizers were ahead of and behind the racers in vehicles. Due to this, the roads were incredibly dusty, and the athletes had difficulty seeing. The dust left many of the athletes unable to continue, such as John Lordan, who was the winner of the 1903 Boston Marathon, and Sam Mellor, the winner of the 1902 Olympic marathon. Another one of the athletes, William Garcia, was found lying face down on the side of the road, nearly dead, and inhaling the dust clouds kicked up by the organizers. Fredric Lorz, the first to arrive at the finish line, was swiftly disqualified from the race after admitting to pitching a ride until the 19th mile, where he continued on foot because the car broke down. Jan Mashiani, a contestant from Southern Africa, finished twelfth, as he was unfortunately chased off course by a dog.
A Cuban postman, Andarin Carvajal, joined the marathon at the last minute, where he hitchhiked to the race area after losing all his money gambling in New Orleans. He had no race clothes, so he ran in street clothes, wearing cut-off pants as shorts. He had not eaten for around 40 hours, and when he saw a spectator eating peaches, he asked if he could have some. Carvajal was declined, so he stole the peaches instead, running into a nearby orchard and eating the apples there. Unfortunately, the apples were rotten, and he had to lie down with severe stomach cramps. He came in fourth.
The cherry on top of this entire organization was the winner, Thomas Hicks. The earliest known use of performance-enhancement drugs was administered to him in the form of a magical concoction of brandy, egg whites, and the rat poison strychnine, which stimulates the nervous system in small doses. He continued to run, barely able to stay upright, and was hallucinating for the last moments of the marathon. After he reached the finish line, his support team carried him on a stretcher, and while he was in the air, his legs were still kicking as if still running. He lost 3.6 kilos during the course of the marathon, and would die if the marathon carried on for a tad longer.
That is the story of the 1904 men’s Olympic marathon; a tale of how NOT to organize an event, especially an event as prestigious as the Olympics.