1908 Summer Olympics 1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, United Kingdom from 27 April to 31 October 1908. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome, but were re-located on financial grounds following a disastrous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906. They were the fourth chronological modern Olympic Games in keeping with the now-accepted four-year cycle as opposed to the alternate four-year cycle of the proposed Intercalated Games. The IOC president for these Games was Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Lasting a
Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle 1908. Thirty-four swimmers from twelve nations competed. These were the first Olympic Games in which a 100-metre pool had been especially constructed (inside the main stadium's track and field oval). Previous Olympic events were swum in open water (1896: The Mediterranean Sea, 1900: The Seine River, 1904: an artificial lake). These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics. "(*)" Intercalated Games "(**)" 100 yards (91.44 m) In the first heat Zoltán Halmay set a new Olympic record with 1:08.2. In the fifth heat Charles Daniels and in the seventh heat Wilfred Edwards