London's First Olympics

After Mount Vesuvius erupted - and original hosts Rome pulled out - the British Olympic council sent a letter, dated 19th November, 1906, agreeing to host the fourth modern Olympic games.

With just two years to go, the event was put together hastily, and on a paltry budget; a stadium erected at the White City home of the Franco-British exhibition, and the chosen events ones that British athletes excelled at, including polo, lacrosse, tug of war, deer-shooting, and duelling.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what a ‘flip-flap’ was; consider the calculation done to establish the length of the modern-day marathon; and establish how a small swig of champagne contributed to one of the Games' greatest ever controversies...

Further Reading:

• ‘The 08 Olympics... 1908, that is’ (BBC News Magazine, 2008): http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7544392.stm

• ‘Why Is a Marathon 26.2 Miles?’ (HISTORY, 2014): https://www.history.com/news/why-is-a-marathon-26-2-miles

• ‘The 1908 London Olympics - extracts from surviving footage of Track & Field and Marathon events’ (BFI, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IqE2KEqZJI

This episode first aired in 2021

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

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