Tug of war at the 1908 Summer Olympics

At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a tug of war tournament was contested. Each team consisted of 8 athletes. Nations could enter up to 3 teams.[1] The host Great Britain was the only one to enter more than one (entering the maximum of 3 teams). Germany, Greece, Sweden, and the United States each entered one team apiece, though Germany and Greece withdrew. This left 5 teams (40 athletes) from 3 nations to compete.

Men's tug of war
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
VenueWhite City Stadium
DatesJuly 17–18
Competitors40 from 3 nations
Medalists
City of London Police
 Great Britain
Liverpool Police
 Great Britain
Metropolitan Police "K" Division
 Great Britain

Medal table

PositionCountry Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Great Britain1113
 Sweden0000
 United States0000

Medal summary

Gold Silver Bronze
City of London Police
 Great Britain
Liverpool Police
 Great Britain
Metropolitan Police "K" Division
 Great Britain

Team rosters

City of London Police

Liverpool Police

Metropolitan Police "K" Division

Sweden

United States

Results

Quarterfinals

The German and Greek teams withdrew, narrowing the seven-team field to five. Thus, the Swedish team and two of the British squads had byes in the quarterfinals.

The only match held was between the Liverpool team and the Americans. Liverpool won the first pull easily, after which the United States delegation protested against the footwear worn by the Liverpool police, who competed in their service boots. The protest was dismissed, and the Americans withdrew in disgust.[2][3]

WinnersScoreLosers
Liverpool Police Great Britain2-0 (forfeit)United States of America United States
Sweden SwedenBye
City of London Police Great BritainBye
Metropolitan Police "K" Division Great BritainBye

Semifinals

Liverpool again faced a foreign opponent, and again prevailed. The two London services squared off in the other semifinal, with the City police beating the Metropolitan men in a lengthy first pull. The second pull was not as tight a contest.[2]

WinnersScoreLosers
Liverpool Police Great Britain2-0Sweden Sweden
City of London Police Great Britain2-0Metropolitan Police "K" Division Great Britain

Final

The Londoners defeated Liverpool in the final, winning the first two pulls.

WinnersScoreLosers
City of London Police Great Britain2-0Liverpool Police Great Britain

Bronze medal match

The Swedish team did not appear for the bronze medal match.

WinnersScoreLosers
Metropolitan Police "K" (Stepney) Division Great BritainwalkoverSweden Sweden

Notes

  1. Official Report, p. 32.
  2. Cook, p. 91
  3. City of London Police

Sources

  • Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
  • De Wael, Herman (2001). "Tug-of-War 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Archived from the original on 26 February 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2006.
  • Rosters
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.