Italy at the 1908 Summer Olympics Italy at the 1908 Summer Olympics Italy competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England. It was the third appearance of the European nation, which had not competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was originally going to host the Games, but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius meant the UK hosted them. Italy's best athletics result was Emilio Lunghi's silver medal in the 800 metres. Dorando Pietri's first-place finish in the marathon was erased by disqualification as a pair of race officials had helped him across the finish line. No Italian cyclist advanced to the finals in any event.
Water motorsports at the 1908 Summer Olympics Water motorsports at the 1908 Summer Olympics At the 1908 Summer Olympics, three motorboat racing events were contested. Various sources refer to the sport as "water motorsports", "motor boats", and "power boating". These Games were the only one to feature motorized sports; although it was featured in 1900, those events were deemed by the IOC in later years to be non-Olympic. All three events used the same distance, five laps around an 8 nautical mile course for a total of . In each of the events, multiple boats started but only one finished, due primarily to the gale that was