1904 Olympic Marathon

<p>The <strong>men's marathon</strong> at the <a title="1904 Summer Olympics" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_Summer_Olympics">1904 Summer Olympics</a> in <a class="mw-redirect" title= "St. Louis, Missouri" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis,_Missouri">St. Louis</a> took place on August 30 of that year, over a distance of 24.85 miles (39.99 km).<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1904_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_marathon#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> Thirty-two athletes representing four nations competed, but only 14 managed to finish the race,<sup id="cite_ref-SR_3-0" class= "reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1904_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_marathon#cite_note-SR-3">[3]</a></sup> which proved to be a bizarre affair due to poor organization and officiating.<sup id="cite_ref-CBOTO_4-0" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1904_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_marathon#cite_note-CBOTO-4">[4]</a></sup></p>