This sounds fake.
That 1904 Olympic marathon: a car ride, strychnine doses, and a runner chased off course by a dog.
This was, somehow, the Olympic marathon.
The part that checks out ↘
It really happened.
At the 1904 St. Louis Olympic marathon, one runner dropped out, hitched a ride in a car, and was disqualified. The eventual winner, Thomas Hicks, was fed small doses of strychnine with egg whites and brandy to keep him going. Only 14 of 31 starters finished. South African runner Len Tau was chased nearly a mile off course by a dog and still placed ninth.
It shows the Olympic marathon before modern rules and medicine settled in—when a winner could be propped up with stimulants now banned, and a car ride could briefly pass for victory. It reframes a storied event as a very human work-in-progress.
No folklore. Actual sources.
- 1 The Olympic Games, 1904
Primary, detailed narrative of the race: Lorz’s car ride and disqualification (pp. 71–75, 128); Hicks’s doses of strychnine, egg whites and brandy (pp. 60–62); finishers listed as fourteen (p. 79); starters noted as 31 answering the call (p. 70–71); Len Tau chased off course by a dog (pp. 66–67).
bandbhac.org.uk
- 2 The 1904 Olympic Marathon
Summarizes the event: confirms Lorz’s automobile ride and disqualification; Hicks given strychnine and brandy; dog chase of South Africans; states that only 14 of the 31 starters finished.
digital.la84.org
- 3 Tom Hicks (athlete)
Corroborates that Hicks finished only with help of brandy, egg white and strychnine; notes Lorz’s car ride and disqualification.
olympedia.org
- 4 How the 1904 Marathon Became One of the Weirdest Olympic Events of All Time
Corroborates Lorz’s car ride and disqualification; Hicks’s strychnine/egg white/brandy dosing; reports Len Tau being chased off course; describes the field size and conditions.
smithsonianmag.com