July 24, 1908: In the first Olympic marathon run at the modern 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) distance, Italian Dorando Pietri enters the stadium for the final 352 meters with a big lead. He collapses several times and is helped across the finish line by Olympic officials. He is later disqualified.
The marathon originated in 490 B.C. when a Greek messenger ran from Marathon to Athens to bring news of victory over the Persians. Running the entire way without stopping, he burst into the assembly hall, shouted "We have won!", and died.
While the Ancient Greeks did have foot races at their Olympics, they didn't have a long-course race like a marathon; it was invented as a way to honor the Ancient Greeks at the first modern Olympics in 1896. The first Olympic marathon was run in 1896 from Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometers (25 miles), and was won by, appropriately enough, a Greek named Spyridon Louis.
At the second Olympics, the marathon course was through the streets of Paris and was a length of 40.26 kilometers. The third Olympics was a distance of 40 kilometers in St. Louis.
Preparing for the fourth Olympics, organizers agreed on a route of 40 kilometers again. That's about how far Windsor Castle is from White City Stadium in London, and a course was laid out along that route. But it turned out to be slightly longer... 26 miles and 385 yards, or the modern 26.2 miles / 42.195 kilometers. This later became the agreed-upon standard for marathons.
Those extra 2.195 kilometers made a big difference. At first, British runner Thomas Jack was in the lead, then he fell behind his countryman, Frederick Lord. at around the 15-mile mark, South African Charles Hefferon took over and led until he had about two miles to go. Hefferon later said he made a mistake by accepting an offer of champagne from a fan along the the route. The champagne gave him cramps, slowing his pace enough that Dorando Pietri, a 22-year-old baker's apprentice from Italy, was able to pass him at about the 39 kilometer mark.
At around the 40 kilometer mark -- where the race would have ended it had been held at the original distance -- Pietri began to feel the effects of fatigue and dehydration. He entered the stadium for the final 350 meters and became confused about what to do next. Olympic officials redirected him and he collapsed. They helped him to his feet and he staggered along the track inside the stadium, but collapsed four more times. Each time, the Olympic officials helped him to his feet. It took Pietri 10 minutes to run those final 350 meters, and when he finally crossed the finish line at 2 hours 54 minutes and 46 seconds, it was with Olympic officials on either side of him, one supporting him by his right arm.
Crossing just 32 seconds after him was an American, Johnny Hayes. After Hayes crossed the finish line, the Americans immediately filed a protest that Pietri had been assisted. With 75,000 witnesses, it was hard to deny it. Pietri was disqualified and Hayes made the winner, with Hefferon getting the silver and American Joseph Forshaw the bronze.
The British public was solidly behind the Italian. (Or maybe they were solidly against the Americans... the American flag-bearer had refused to dip the American flag to King Edward VII at the opening ceremonies, as U.S. flag code states the flag is not to be dipped to any person or thing. Martin Sheridan, an Irish-born track-and-field star on the U.S. team, allegedly declared: "This flag dips to no earthly king.")
Queen Alexandra gave him an ornate cup that was said to contain more gold than the first-place medal, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, covering the Olympics for the Daily Mail, led a campaign to raise money for Pietri.
After the Olympics, he ran in exhibitions, including two races against Hayes in the United States. (Pietri won both.) He used his winnings to open a hotel with his brother, though it went bankrupt.
Pietri became a big fan of Mussolini. He died of a heart attack in 1942 at the age of 56 and was buried wearing a black shirt as a symbol of fascism.