Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1903-03-09
OLYMPIC GAMES At ST. LOUIS.
Chicago Agrees to the Transfer and
the European Authorities Make the

chicago agrees 70 Sue sTaUSSeV anu
the European Authorities Make the
Change.
Worlds Fair. st. Louis. Feb. 49,
The greatest event in the athletic
world on this side of the Atlantic dur
ing the present decade will be the
Olympic games at the Worlds Fair In
this city in 1904.
The holding of these games for the
first time on American soil had been
conceded to Chicago by the manage
ment, but the necessary postponement
of the Worlds Fair led to a recOnsid-
Grafton Of the matter. Chicago taking
the initiative and c~ourteOusly agree
ing to their transfer to st. Louis.
These games are held once In four
years and are q revival of the famous
| Olympic games of Greece. The Olym-
| pic games of Grecian history were con-
tests for men and boys and consisted
Of leaping. wrestling. boxing. throwing
the spear and disc. racing in arm0r,
| chariot racing. horse racing, etc. The
| games were the chief feature OF the
! q~uadrennial festival Of the Olympic
| Zeus. held on the plain of Olympia.
in the province of Ellis near the coast
| southwest of Athens. The festival
was celebrated in q sacred enclosure
called the Altis $40 by $50 feet, full Of
temples and alters: the games In a
stadium or hippodrome on the east
side of the Altis and connected with
it by numerous passages. On the west
side of the Altis was an extensive
gymnasium for the use of athletes In
training.
The games were held every four
years in midsummer and covered a
period of four days. The exact time
of holding was regulated by the
phases of the moon. The date was an
nounced in advance of each festival
by heralds sent through all the prov
inces of Greece proclaiming a cessa-
ton of hostilities and declaring the
territory of Ellis involable during the
festival season. Pilgrims with sa-
cred offerings and great professions
of the people crowded the Olympic
plain by the time of the opening.
On the first day after religious cere-
money of presenting offerings. the
athletic competitors were properly
classed and arranged by the judges,
who then led them in procession
around the stadium and opened the
games with elaborate ceremony. The
contest of the trumpeters was held on
the first day.
On the second day there were con
tests of boys. foot-races. wrestling.
boxing. the pentathlow or five-game
contests of leaping. running, throwing
the spear. the discus and wrestling.
the pankration or combination of box
ing and wrestling. and horse races
with boy jockey.
The third day was devoted to con-
tests of men. foot races. wrestling.
boxing. racing in heavy armOr. pankra-
ton (boxing and wrestling) contests.
On the fourth day there were more
DentathlOw contests. chariot races and
horse races.
On the fifth day the awards of olive
crowns were bestowed with process
ions. sacrifices and banquets to the
tors. The ceremonies ended with the
victOrs appearing at the altar wearing
their crowns and with a final grand
banquet at the public house reserved
for the nations guests.
In 1896 april 6 to ID largely
through the instrumentality of Baron
Pierre de Coubertin, of Paris. and at
his suggestion the Olympic games were
revived at Athens. Greece, with great
success; athletes from all the world
participating and visitors from all the
world swelling the attendance. A
stadium was built after the outlines
of the ancient arena and the program
and proceedings of the games, general
ly. were made to adhere as nearly pos
sible to what was interpreted to be
the ancient regulations and customs.
At these contests, American athletes
were phenominally successful, Amer
leans leading in almost all of the
events and an American being the first
victor of the games. The Marathon
race, however. cross country from
Marathon to Athens, the popular event
of the series. was won by a Greek,
to the poetic satisfaction and loud &C
claim of the world.
In 1900 the games were again held,
at Paris. also with great success,
where they constituted one of the i'm
portant adjuncts of the Paris exposi-
ton.
The international committee (Co-
mite International Olympique) was or
ganized in 1894, in Paris, by Baron de
Coulertin for the purpose of ~"re-estab-
fishing the Olympic games upon the
basis, conformable to the spirit of the
present age" It's membership consists
of twenty-four representatives of diff
ferent nations and remains as original
ly selected.
The worlds fair will have an ideal
place for the games consisting of a
superb athletic field. already graded,
and seats for $4,000 people. Near
at hand are the training quarters for
athletes, soon to be completed.
G0a7 Die Measurements.