✉news SportOlympics first seen 15 h ago, last 7 min ago, peak #4
The 1904 Olympic marathoner who took rat poison for gold
Original: At the 1904 Olympics, a marathoner took rat poison to win gold
American runner Thomas Hicks won the 1904 St. Louis Olympic marathon after his trainers gave him strychnine sulfate, then a common rat poison, mixed with brandy, along the course. He crossed the line exhausted and had to be carried off the track. The story is being revisited as one of the strangest and most dangerous episodes in Olympic history, and an early case of doping in sport.
Why now: A widely shared historical anecdote resurfacing during Olympic-related discussion of doping and the Games' bizarre early history.
Thomas Hicks1904 St. Louis OlympicsPopular Sciencestruggling with strychnine
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Evidence
- At the 1904 Olympics, a marathoner took rat poison to win gold · Popular Science
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