At the 1904 Summer Olympics, nine swimming events were contested. The 1904 swimming competition was the only time in Olympic history that racing distances were measured in yards. The competition was held September 4–6, 1904. There was a total of 32 participants from 5 countries competing. The 10 events at the swimming competitions were held at a man-made lake that was used for life-saving exhibitions by the coast guard.
| Swimming at the Games of the III Olympiad | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Forest Park |
| Dates | 4–6 September 1904 |
| No. of events | 9 |
| Competitors | 32 from 5 nations |
The short sprint, at 50 yards (46 m), made its first Olympic appearance in 1904. The 100 returned after not being contested in 1900. The 1000 metres and 4000 metres were replaced with the much shorter 440 yards (400 m) and 1-mile (1,600 m) events, making the 200 the only freestyle event to be held for the second time in a row.
The 200 metre backstroke was shortened to 100 yards (91 m) and the team swimming event was replaced with a 4 × 50 yard freestyle relay. The obstacle course and underwater swimming events were eliminated, while breaststroke made its Olympic debut.
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | United States | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | Hungary | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Australia | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | |
Medal summary
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 yard freestyle | Zoltán Halmay Hungary | Scott Leary United States | Charles Daniels United States |
| 100 yard freestyle | Zoltán Halmay Hungary | Charles Daniels United States | Scott Leary United States |
| 220 yard freestyle | Charles Daniels United States | Francis Gailey Australia | Emil Rausch Germany |
| 440 yard freestyle | Charles Daniels United States | Francis Gailey Australia | Otto Wahle Austria |
| 880 yard freestyle | Emil Rausch Germany | Francis Gailey Australia | Géza Kiss Hungary |
| 1 mile freestyle | Emil Rausch Germany | Géza Kiss Hungary | Francis Gailey Australia |
| 100 yard backstroke | Walter Brack Germany | Georg Hoffmann Germany | Georg Zacharias Germany |
| 440 yard breaststroke | Georg Zacharias Germany | Walter Brack Germany | Jam Handy United States |
| 4 × 50 yard freestyle relay | United States New York Athletic Club Joe Ruddy Leo Goodwin Louis Handley Charles Daniels | United States Chicago Athletic Association David Hammond Bill Tuttle Hugo Goetz Raymond Thorne | United States Missouri Athletic Club Amedee Reyburn Gwynne Evans Marquard Schwarz Bill Orthwein |
- Gailey was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, but later emigrated to the United States and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1906: at the 1904 Olympics, he was sponsored by the Olympic Club of San Francisco. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had previously counted Gailey's four medals for the United States, but these are now counted as medals for Australia.
Participating nations
32 swimmers from 5 nations competed.
- Austria (1)
- Australia (1)
- Germany (4)
- Hungary (2)
- United States (24)
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