Dorando Pietri

person · earth

The Italian runner who entered the White City Stadium first in the 1908 Olympic marathon, turned the wrong way, and was helped to his feet by officials after collapsing repeatedly on the track. He crossed the line ahead of the American Johnny Hayes, who finished about 32 seconds later, and was disqualified for having received assistance. The disqualification is the origin of one of the sport's hardest rules and the reason the 1908 race is remembered at all outside record books — which matters here, because the same race is the one that set the distance every marathon has used since. The distance survived on the strength of a race that is famous for a disqualification.

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