There were controversies at the games. On the opening day, following the practice introduced at the
Intercalated Games of 1906, teams paraded behind
national flags. However, the arrangement caused complications: • Since
Finland was part of the
Russian Empire, members of the Finnish team were expected to march under the
Russian rather than
Finnish flag, so many chose to march without a flag at all. • The
Swedish flag had not been displayed above the stadium, so the members of the Swedish team decided not to take part in the ceremony. • The United States' flag bearer,
Ralph Rose, refused to
dip the flag to
King-Emperor Edward VII in the royal box. His fellow athlete
Martin Sheridan allegedly declared that "this flag dips to no earthly King." The quote is held as an example of Irish and American defiance of the British monarchy, though its
historicity is disputed.
Events The 1908 Olympics also prompted establishment of standard rules for sports, and selection of judges from different countries rather than just the host. One reason was the 400 metre race, in which a US runner,
John Carpenter, was accused by the British officials of interfering with a British runner. Part of the problem was the different definition of interference under British and international rules (the events were held under British rules by the decision of the Organising Committee). The officials decided to disqualify Carpenter and ordered a second final race without him. British
Halswelle was to face the other two finalists. These athletes,
William Robbins and
John Taylor, were both Americans and decided not to participate in the repeat of the final to protest against the judges' decision. Halswelle was thus the only medallist in the 400 metres. The most famous incident of the games came at the end of the marathon.
Dorando Pietri, Italy, began his race at a rather slow pace, but in the second half of the course began a powerful surge moving him into second position by the mark, 4 minutes behind
South African
Charles Hefferon. When he knew that Hefferon was in crisis, Pietri further increased his pace, overtaking him at the mark. The effort took its toll and with only two kilometres to go, Pietri began to feel the effects of extreme fatigue and
dehydration. When he entered the stadium, he took the wrong path and when umpires redirected him, he fell down for the first time. He got up with their help, in front of 75,000 spectators. He fell four more times, and each time the umpires helped him up. In the end, though totally exhausted, he managed to finish the race in first place. Of his total time of 2h 54min 46s, ten minutes were needed for that last 340 metres. Second was American
Johnny Hayes. The American team immediately lodged a complaint against the help Pietri received from the umpires. The complaint was accepted and Pietri was disqualified and removed from the final standings of the race. Since he had not been responsible for his disqualification,
Queen Alexandra awarded him a gilded silver cup the next day. These Games were the first to include winter events, as had originally been proposed for the Games. There were four
figure skating events, although held on 28 and 29 October, months after most of the other events.
Oscar Swahn from
Sweden, who won the gold medal for
running deer shooting, became the oldest Olympic champion of all time, and set another age record by being 72 years and 279 days old during his triumph at the
1920 Summer Olympics in
Antwerp,
Belgium. One of the more unusual
shooting events in 1908 was
Olympic dueling. The discipline, which was an associate event (that is, not official), was performed by facing opponents wearing protective clothing and masks and firing wax bullets. American
John Taylor was a member of the winning medley relay team, making him the first African-American athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. Times for the winning team were United States (3:29.4): William Hamilton, 200 metres (22.0); Nathaniel Cartmell, 200 metres (22.2); John Taylor, 400 metres (49.8); and
Melvin Sheppard, 800 metres (1:55.4). Less than five months after returning from the Olympic Games in London, Taylor died of
typhoid fever on 2 December 1908 at the age of 26. The budget of the organising committee showed a cost of
£15,000; over one-third was labelled "entertainment expense". Donations were the major source of revenue; only 28% of income derived from ticket sales. Total receipts of £21,378 resulted in organisers claiming a profit. Construction of the White City Stadium, which cost the government about £60,000, was not counted. == Sports==