Thomas Hicks was the recognized winner of the men’s marathon at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, after his handlers gave him strychnine mixed with egg whites and later brandy. Fred Lorz crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified after officials learned he had ridden in an automobile for part of the race.
What happened in the 1904 Olympic marathon?
The marathon unfolded in St. Louis in 1904. Hicks had a two-man support crew. According to Smithsonian Magazine’s account, about seven miles from the finish his handlers gave him strychnine mixed with egg whites. After Lorz was disqualified, they gave Hicks another dose with brandy.
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Strychnine was used in small doses as a stimulant at the time. It is also a strong poison used primarily as a pesticide, particularly to kill rats, according to the CDC description cited by Smithsonian. “Rat poison” is therefore a vivid shorthand for the story; the substance reported in Hicks’s case was strychnine.
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Why was Fred Lorz disqualified?
Lorz rode in an automobile for part of the course, then returned to running and crossed the finish line first. After the deception came to light, officials disqualified him. Hicks was recognized as the winner: Lorz was the first across the line, but he did not keep the victory.
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How impaired was Hicks near the finish?
Race official Charles Lucas described Hicks’s condition over the final miles. Smithsonian reproduces Lucas’s account:
“Over the last two miles of the road, Hicks was running mechanically—like a well-oiled piece of machinery. His eyes were dull, lusterless; the ashen color of his face and skin had deepened; his arms appeared as weights well tied down; he could scarcely lift his legs, while his knees were almost stiff.”
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St. Louis Olympics, 1904 (MO) (Images of America)
- Reference Book
The passage conveys how visibly impaired Hicks appeared as he approached the finish; it does not establish a precise medical diagnosis.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsWas Hicks’s strychnine use a violation of Olympic doping rules?
Smithsonian notes that the Olympic rules of the period had no performance-enhancing-drug rule. The episode should not be described as a modern anti-doping violation: the historical account establishes that Hicks was given strychnine, but the cited rules context does not support applying today’s standards retroactively.
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Where can you read more about the race?
For the marathon itself, the LA84 Foundation hosts The 1904 Olympic Marathon. For the wider St. Louis Games, Smithsonian cites George R. Matthews’s America’s First Olympics: The St. Louis Games of 1904. These are different in scope; current book editions and retail availability are not established here.
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