Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics Four figure skating events were contested at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, but they were held in October 1908, six months after most of the other Olympic events. The figure skating competition took place at the Prince's Skating Club, in the district of Knightsbridge. It was the first time that a winter sport had ever been included in the Olympic Games, sixteen years before the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix. The number of competitors was very low, with two events having only three entrants, guaranteeing a medal for participation. 21 figure skaters
Summer Olympic Games distance was chosen to ensure that the race finished in front of the box occupied by the British royal family. Thus the marathon had been for the first games in 1896, but was subsequently varied by up to due to local conditions such as street and stadium layout. At the six Olympic games between 1900 and 1920, the marathon was raced over six distances. At the end of the 1908 marathon the Italian runner Dorando Pietri was first to enter the stadium, but he was clearly in distress, and collapsed of exhaustion before he could complete the event. He was