Page 42 - Summer2016Gazette

40 Feature Feature
Continued The Intercalated Games

He continued racing and last of these was held in
professionally in his native Mention having been made of 1906 and was subsequently
country and abroad for two an unofficial Olympic Games renamed the ‘Intercalated’
more years and earned over held in 1906 it is worth Games.
200, 000 lira, a considerable mentioning what this was. The 1906 games would in
sum in those days. He ran The Olympic Games are held hindsight be considered to be
his final marathon in Buenos every four years in a leap year far better than the 1900, 1904
Aires, on 24 May 1910, where but in the early years of the and 1908 Games that were all
he achieved his personal modern era it was envisaged spread over several months
best of 2 hours 38minute that they should take place and linked to an International
48:2seconds. His final race every two years. Baron Pierre Exhibition. By contrast the
was in Sweden and he then De Coubertin, the founder of format in 1906 was crisp and
retired from Running in 1911 the modern games, apparently took just 10 days. For the
at the age of 26 wanted the first Olympics first time teams paraded at an
The anti climax to be in Paris but as is well Opening Ceremony and also,
Pietri embarked upon a new known, they were first held in for the first time, flags were
flown at medal presentations.
career as an entrepreneur Athens in 1896. Other firsts were the Olympic
and invested his earnings Village and march past during
in a hotel which he opened That city wanted to be the parade. Although the
in collaboration with his the permanent host of status of the intermediate
brother. He was not as the Olympics, and having games was eventually
successful an entrepreneur as successfully staged the games downgraded it has been
he was athlete, and the hotel in 1896 they considered accepted that because of the
went bankrupt. He moved to that, after the disappointing success of those games, the
Sanremo, where he directed a hosting of the second Olympic movement was kept
car workshop. Pietri lived in Olympiad by Paris in 1900, going at a time when it could
Sanremo until his death, of a they should retain the have easily been abandoned
heart attack, at the age of 56 honour. As a compromise it and discontinued. Many of
It was a ignominious end to was agreed in 1901 that in the innovations introduced in
a life of significant athletic the intervening years Athens Athens in 1906 were adopted
achievement. Fortunately should host an intermediate into the official games.
for those who love stories Olympics Games and so in Unfortunately the
of unlikely heroes, such 1906 an Olympiad was staged intermediate Olympics had a
achievements have not been there. short lifespan. There was no
forgotten. At the time, the 1906 Games event in 1910 due to problems
were approved by the IOC but in the Balkans and when the
Hugh Stanbury they are not now considered outbreak of the First World
to be part of ‘official’ War intervened the concept
Olympic history. They had went into abeyance.
200 more competitors than
St Louis in 1904 from 8 more Hugh Stanbury
competing Nations. The first