1904 Summer Olympics Facts for Kids

An athlete on the parallel bars at the 1904 games.

The 1904 Summer Olympics were a big sports event. They were officially called the Games of the III Olympiad. These Olympic Games took place in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States.

The games happened at the same time as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which was a huge World's Fair in St. Louis. Because of this, the sports events were not planned very well. Many people did not think these games were a great success.

Which Countries Competed?
More About the Games
Interesting Facts
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

Which Countries Competed?

Athletes from 12 different countries came to St. Louis to compete. Here are the nations that took part:

More About the Games

A map showing the countries that competed in the 1904 Olympics.

The 1904 Olympics were the first time the games were held in North America. Many European athletes found it hard to travel to St. Louis. This meant fewer countries participated compared to other Olympics. Most of the athletes were from the United States.

The games lasted for several months, from July 1 to November 23, 1904. This was much longer than modern Olympic Games. Many events were held as part of the World's Fair. This made it hard for people to know which events were official Olympic competitions.

Interesting Facts

The marathon race was very difficult. It was run in hot weather and on dusty roads. Only 14 of the 32 runners finished the race.
There were some unusual events, like "Anthropology Days." During these days, people from different ethnic groups were asked to compete in sports. This was not a real Olympic event and is seen as unfair today.
The United States won most of the medals because so many of its athletes competed.