The Fight for the First U.S. Olympics | A Tale of Two Cities | 1

American History Tellers

Wondery

History, Education For Kids, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2021

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the late 1800s, European fascination with the culture of ancient Greece, and a growing interest in physical education and fitness, led to the idea of resurrecting the Olympic Games of antiquity. A French nobleman named Pierre de Coubertin took up the cause, and under his leadership, the first international Olympiad took place in Athens in 1896.

Coubertin loved America, and wanted to bring his modern Games there. But finding an American city to host his sporting spectacle proved to be a competition in itself. Before the Games began, civic grudges and political backstabbing ignited a war between two rival cities, St. Louis and Chicago, over who would garner the glory of hosting the first U.S. Olympics.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:09.0	Imagine it's August 1904 around 6 in the evening.
0:21.8	The sun is still high in the western sky over St. Louis Olympic Stadium.
0:25.9	You're the finishing line judge for the marathon of the first Olympic Games ever held in the
0:30.4	United States.
0:31.8	And right now, you're on pins and needles waiting for the race's final moments.
0:36.1	In the stands around you, 10,000 spectators are waiting too.
0:39.4	It's the biggest crowd you've seen yet for these Olympic Games.
0:43.0	This 25-mile race is the Olympic Signature event, a triumph of physical endurance made all
0:48.5	the more remarkable by today's sweltering heat.
0:51.5	Even now in the early evening, it's still close to 90 degrees.
0:55.6	Just to you, the assistant line judge checks his pocket watch.
0:58.7	Oh no, well, it should be any time now.
1:01.2	The record is just under 3 hours.
1:03.1	Yeah, 2 hours 59 minutes 48 seconds.
1:06.8	But this heat has to have slowed them down.
1:08.7	It's a miracle if any of those men crossed the finish line.
1:12.5	The assistant judge isn't wrong.
1:14.4	The course selected for the marathon over steep hills, long dusty country backroads would
1:18.7	be tough in any conditions.
1:20.5	It wouldn't surprise you if it takes another hour for the first runner to cross the finish
	...

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