In 1906, 10 years after the holding of the first Olympic Games in Athens, an extraordinary Olympiad, not stipulated by the rules, took place. Greece's decision to host it initially drew strong criticism from some Olympic committees. However, their opinion gradually changed for the better due to the fact that many countries could not send serious teams to St. Louis or did not take part in the 1904 Games at all due to the high cost of the road to the States.
The Olympic Games, overshadowed by international fairs, experienced a protracted crisis. Against the background of the current situation, the Greeks, as the custodians of the ancient culture of the Hellenes, were allowed to hold the Interolympiad. Despite the fact that the 1906 Athenian Olympics was the first and only event of this kind and its results were not recognized as official, the organizers coped with the task: to breathe life into a faded project.
The Greek Forum, unlike its two official predecessors, was not very extended in time and managed to become a global event, gathering a record audience for those times - 884 athletes representing 20 countries.
For the first time in the history of the Games, all participants went through the registration procedure with the National Olympic Committees. Also, for the first time, spectators watched the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, the parade of the Olympians and the rise above the stands of national banners in honor of the winners.
The facts concerning the participants of the 1906 Olympics are also curious. Ray Yuri - 8-time Olympic champion track and field athlete at the Interolympiad won the long jump from the spot (3 m 30 cm) and the high jump from the spot (1 m 56 cm). If these results were taken into account, he would have overtaken Paavo Nurmi and Carl Lewis in gold (9 gold medals each). To participate in the Olympics in Stockholm, held in 1912, Ray Yuri was no longer allowed because of his age, he was 39 years old.
Paul Pilgrim, a US runner, has won two distances of 400 and 800 meters. This result was repeated only 70 years later by the athlete Alberto Juantorena at the Montreal Olympics.
Canadian runner Billy Shering arrived in Greece 2 months before the games to adapt to local conditions. His efforts were not in vain, he unexpectedly won the marathon for everyone. The crown prince of Greece Georg, together with Schering, ran the final round of the stadium.
At the 1906 Interolympiad Games, Finnish athletes competed for the first time and immediately won gold. Werner Järvinen received a medal for the antique style discus throw.
The largest number of awards at the Olympics was won by the American of Irish descent Martin Sheridan. He received gold for the shot put and discus throw in the classical style. For the long and high jump from the spot he got silver. The King of Greece presented Sheridan with the winner's spear, which is still kept in the athlete's homeland in Ireland.
