Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-07-30
FIRST REVIVAL Of
OLYMPIC GAMES
How Americans Got Into the
Athletic Contest.
TOOK A FLIER AT ATHENS.

to Eight Victories In the Events
of fsee-Games of 1906 Most Pic.
turesoue-
Since the first revival of the Olympic
games which was held In Athens in
1896 the Americans have been in the
front rank of the worlds athletic CON
test. In the first revival no American
team as such was entered in the
events. That the United States had
representatives at all was due to the
fact that party of athletes, composed
mostly of college men on vacation,
were in Europe that summer and went
over to Athens on their own RESPONSE
bility.
They We're not regularly chosen by
an American committee appointed for
that purpose, and they did not have
their expenses paid. In spite of that
fact, however, they made a remarkable
showing in the first revival of the old
Greek games, says the New York
Evening Sun. They took eight out of
the comparatively few events which
made up the Olympic programme at
that time.
Burke won the 100 and 400 meter
runs, Curtis the 10 meter hurdle.
Clark the running high and broad
jumps, Connoly the running triple
jump, Hoyt the pole vault and Gar
rett the shot put and discus throw.
The win by Garrett, a Princeton stu
dent, in the discus throw was one of
the features of the first contest. He
had been shot putter and weight
man, but had never thrown the discus
and had never even seen the event
before he arrived at Athens. The day
before the contests he went out to the
stadium and watched the Greeks and
the representatives of the other ma
tions practicing the old Greek sport.
1t looked easy to him, and he got a
discus and practiced that afternoon.
On the day of the contest he outdls-
tanced all the other contestants with
n throw OF 95 feet ~ inches. In the
light of subsequent records this throw
was not remarkable, for in 1905 Mar
tin Sheridan threw the discus more
than 1876 feet, but 1t was good enough
to win, and the victory, in view Of
Garrett's absolute lack of experience,
was very remarkable.
The Americans in the first Olympiad
showed that their greatest proficiency
lay in the short distance runs and the
field events. This has been true in all
the Olympics since the first 1t was
because of their superiority in these
events that the Americans won the
track and field events in 1900 at Paris,
in 1904 at st. Louis and in 1906 at
Athens again.
The first revival was so successful
in arousing interest that it was de
cided to hold Olympic games for the
championship of the world once every
four years. The next scene of the
contests was at Paris. where the In
ternational exposition was being held |
In 1900. Again the Americans showed !
their superiority in the track and field !
events. They took all the short dis |
tance and field events except the dis |
Gus throw, which went to Hungary. |
The three long distance runs, the 500 |
meter, the 800 meter and the 1000 |
meter steeplechase, went to England. |
the Americans took seven |
teen events.
The next running of the Olympic |
games was In the United States. when
they We're held in connection with the
St Louis exposition. On American
soil the Americans had things all their
own way again. All the track and
feld events but two went to the credit |
If the athletes who were contestiug
hat time on home ground. Only two
'ut of all the track and field events
vent TO the men from other countries
who invaded. DeSmarteau. n French
canadian, won the throwing of the
ifty-six pound weight, and kakousis,
| Greek, who saved his fatherland. the
originator of the sports. from being
hut out without scoring, won the
weight lifting.
The third revival of the Olympic CON
ests and probably the greatest from
reasons if from no other
vas held in Athens again In 1906 1t
vas one of the greatest national af-
airs of the modern Greeks. for 1t eel
brated the opening of the reproduc-
lon of the ancient stadium which
.ySurgus had built and Herodes of
.tticus had rebuilt in the second cen
1ry after Christ
The new stadium, built where the
ncient one had been, was as near as
ossible reproduction of the early
ireek structure. In fact, its builders
ere enabled to gather some of the
arvings that had been on the arches
the ancient structure and to incor-
crate them in the new. The money
} build 1t was raised by popular sub
criptions. 1t would not have been
ossible, however. had it not been for ,
lie generosity of George Averoff, q
reek merchant, who spent 100000 4
'ancs that the ancient home of his
games might be rebuilt
The opening of the new Olympic
lmes stirred up Greece in much the
ime way as the old games when Greece
as the pivot of the world. From all
7er the peninsula athletes and spec
tors fiocked to Athens to attend the
lines. All over Greece every young
an who had any athletic ability
arted to train for the national con-
SITS. When the day of the opening
anne the big gates had to be thrown
Tide open to let in the crowd that held
ckets, and very soon every seat in