Italy at the 1908 Summer Olympics Morisetti's second-place finish in the fourth semifinal of the sprint was the best performance by an Italian cyclist. Italy's lone wrestler in 1908 was undefeated in his four bouts, winning each match to win the gold medal in the Greco-Roman lightweight class. 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
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