SportsOlympics
The winner of the 1904 Olympic marathon was carried over the line, having been given strychnine and brandy by his handlers.
The man who finished first had ridden eleven miles in a car.
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- A gymnast won Olympic gold with a wooden leg.
- One Olympic runner took 54 years to finish his marathon.
- One Olympic Games shot live pigeons for medals.
- Athletes caught cheating at the ancient Olympics were fined, and the money paid for bronze statues of Zeus inscribed with their names.
- The 1900 Olympics were spread over five months inside a Paris trade fair, with no opening ceremony and events listed as sideshows.
- Olympic medals were awarded for painting, sculpture, literature, architecture and music from 1912 to 1948.