Lorz and more Marathon Madness
August 2, 2006 by Sasha Manuel
Filed under Sports Rumors
Real joker, are you, Fred Lorz? Ha.
During the Marathon event in the 1902 St. Louis Games, Lorz was one of the competitors to brave the oppressive August heat that day. He was the first competitor to cross the finish line, breaking the winner’s tape and all. But he wasn’t the real winner, Thomas Hicks was.
Lorz had this brilliant idea of playing a joke on the whole Olympic crowd that even after suffering from cramps early in the game and riding in the official’s car for 11 miles from the 9-mile mark, he decides to run into the stadium and break the winner’s tape as a joke.
He was greeted with cheers by the crowd and was even crowned with a laurel leaf by US President Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice Roosevelt. Only to admit the truth later on. I wouldn’t be surprised if he expected a laugh or two from the officials but was sorely mistaken. He was then suspended from any future amateur competition.
Lorz was later re-instated then went on to win the Boston Marathon in 1905.
Hicks, with a bit of help crossing the finish line, clocked the worst marathon time of 3 hours, 28 minutes, and 53 seconds in Olympic history and was the first Olympian to be found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs.
Darnit. And I just said Marathon was considered the most prestigous. Heh.
