这届奥运会于1904年7月1日至11月23日举行，延续了5个多月，是奥运会史上又一次旷日持久的运动会。参赛国家仅13个，是迄今奥运会参赛单位最少的一次。东道主曾提出派船接送欧洲选手，但最后只是空头支票。由于外国选手总共还不到100人，以致某些项目的比赛，如拳击、自由式摔跤、射箭等，参赛的几乎都是清一色的美国人，无怪乎人们把这届奥运会称之为美国运动会。

KEY FACTS

Opening date: 01 July 1904

Closing date: 23 November 1904

The Host City: ST LOUIS (USA)

Sports: 17

ST LOUIS  1904 Games of the III Olympiad

　　The 1904 St. Louis Olympics organizers repeated all of the mistakes of 1900. The Olympic competitions, spread out over four and a half months, were lost in the chaos¹ of a World's Fair. Of the 94 events generally considered to have been part of the Olympic program, only 42 included athletes who were not from the United States. The 1904 Olympics did have a few highlights².

　　They were the first at which gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for first, second and third place. Boxing and freestyle wrestling made their debuts³. Marathon runners Len Tau and Jan Mashiani, Tswana tribesmen who were in St. Louis as part of the Boer War exhibit⁴ at the World's Fair, became the first Africans to compete in the Olympics. One of the most remarkable⁵ athletes was the American gymnast George Eyser, who won six medals even though his left leg was made of wood.

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