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1908 London Summer Games
2035 Athletes, 22 Countries, 110 Events

Originally scheduled to take place in Rome, the Italian government gave up the right to host the 1908 Games when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 1906. The IOC proceeded to let London hold the Games a very good decision. With no WorldÆs Fair to distract from the competitions, the London Games were starkly different from the poorly organized 1900 Paris and 1904 St. Louis Games.

Marching with the United States was John Baxter Taylor (Penn '08). Little did he know at the time, Taylor would become the first AfricanAmerican to win a gold medal. His Olympic experience started with what has been one of the most controversial events in Olympic history the 1908 400meter race.

The 400meter final included four men: Wyndham Halswelle of Great Britain, and Americans William Robbins, John C. Carpenter (Cornell '07), and Taylor. In the homestretch, the race came down to Halswelle and Carpenter. Officials contended that Carpenter obstructed HalswelleÆs pursuit to take the lead, and ripped the finish line tape before the race finished. The race was to be rerun without Carpenter two days later. In a show of solidarity, John Baxter Taylor and William Robbins refused to participate û leaving Halswelle to walk around the track to earn the gold medal.

Taylor would later win his gold medal in the sprint medley relay, the first relay race in Olympic history. The team, which also included Taylor's Penn teammate and twotime Olympian Nathaniel J. Cartmell, won the race by three seconds, making Taylor the first AfricanAmerican to win a gold medal.

Taylor tragically passed away in December 1908, at the age of 26, from typhoid.

The London Games also featured the Olympic debut of Mike 'Big Greek' Dorizas (Penn '15) somewhat of a mythical figure in University City as a threesport (football, wrestling, track and field) athlete who was once dubbed the strongest athlete in the world. Dorizas competed in the javelin throw for his native Greece. At Penn, he was known for his 29inch thighs, the size of an average freshmanÆs waist, and for pinning wrestling opponents in remarkable time.

Penn athletes were not the only successful Leaguers in London. Dartmouth had its firstever Olympians at the 1908 Games: Arthur B. Shaw '08 and D.R. Sherman. Shaw won the bronze medal in the 110meter hurdles. Six Cornell track and field athletes were at the Games Edward Cook '10 won the pole vault gold medal and Harry Porter '05 won the high jump gold medal.

George Dole (Yale '06) won the Ancient Eight's first wrestling medal in the featherweight (63 kg) division. Dole was merely a few inches over 5feet tall.