July 24, 1908 –
Sometimes, it’s good to be the king … you get to decide the length of the Olympic marathon.
When the modern Olympics began in Athens in 1896, a race of 40 kilometers, or 24.85 miles, was held to commemorate the legend of Pheidippides. He is the guy who ran from Marathon to Athens, cried, ‘Nike!‘, realized that he forgot to sign the endorsement contract, then promptly died. For the London 1908 Olympics race, on this date, the marathon was extended to 26 miles so that The Princess of Wales (the future Queen Mary, grandmother of Queen Elizabeth) and her children (King Edward VII’s grandchildren) could watch the start of the marathon and Queen Alexandria could see the finish from the royal box. The organizers decided on a course of 26 miles and 385 yards from the start at Windsor Castle to the royal entrance to the White City Stadium, followed by a lap of the track, finishing in front of the Royal Box.
The race had a thrilling conclusion – Entering the stadium first was Italian Dorando Pietri. But he was exhausted, delirious. He turned the wrong way on the track, reversed course and stumbled, according to news accounts, five times in the final quarter-mile. By assisting Pietri to his feet, race officials assisted Pietri to his feet, jeopardizing his gold medal. But as the official Olympic report said, “It was impossible to leave him there, for it looked as if he might die in the very presence of the Queen.”
Pietri reached the tape first, collapsed and was placed on a stretcher. Arriving second was John Hayes of the United States. The Americans protested the aid given to Pietri, and Hayes was declared the winner. Though he was disqualified, Pietri became a hero. Queen Alexandra presented him with a silver cup. He spurred an international marathon craze. Irving Berlin wrote a song about him. And finally in 1921, the official marathon distance became 26 miles 385 yards.
So now you know
The Haus of Dcaligari 