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Track and Field Triathlon (discontinued)

A triathlon event was conducted under the athletics discipline in the 1904 Olympics. Unlike the current day Olympic triathlon that consists of swim, bike and run, the three competitions in the 1904 event were: long jump, shot put throw, and a 100 yard run. The event was held only once and was discontinued after that.

There was some ambiguity about what discipline the event fell under. Though the International Olympic Committee listed the event under athletics, the event was contested mostly by gymnasts and the results of the event was used to determine the winner of gymnastics all-round winner, which led many to believe that it was a gymnastic event. There was also a triathlon event definitely held under the sport of gymnastics.



Only athletes from three countries participated in the event. The United States was represented by 110 athletes, seven by Germany, and Adolf Spinnler was the lone athlete representing Switzerland. The United States swept the podium winning all three medals and securing the top six spots.

Max Emmerich won the gold medal with a score of 35.7, John Grieb took silver scoring 34.0 points and William Merz took bronze with 32.9 points. Christian Busch from Germany finished tied at seventh on the standings with 30.0 points and Adolf Spinnler finished 64th with 24.5 points.



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