Conditions were bad, the course being a dirt track, with large clouds of dust produced by the accompanying vehicles. Hicks was not the first to cross the finish line, trailing Fred Lorz. However, Lorz had abandoned the race after 9 miles. After covering much of the course by car, he re-entered the race 5 miles before the finish. This was discovered by the officials, who disqualified Lorz, who claimed it had been a joke.
Had the race been run under current rules, Hicks would also have been disqualified for using strychnine: his assistants had given him a dose of 1/60 of a grain (roughly 1 mg) of strychnine[3] and some brandy because he was flagging badly during the race; the first dose of strychnine did not revive him for long, so he was given another. As a result, he collapsed after crossing the finishing line. Another dose might have been fatal. Strychnine has been forbidden for athletes since the late 1960s when the International Olympic Committee started testing them for drugs,[4] and the last known use of strychnine occurred at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[5]
Hicks finished in sixth place at the Boston Marathon in both 1901 and 1902. In the Fall of the latter year he relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota for work, and while there became captain of the Minneapolis YMCA cross-country team that won the state championship.[6] Hicks returned to Boston in the spring of 1904 and finished second in the Boston Marathon that year. He dropped out during the following year's race;[7] the year after, he began walking at Wellesley, and walked all the way to the finish.[8] The 1905 Boston Marathon was legitimately won by Lorz. However, on June 30, 1906, Hicks finished three minutes ahead of Alexander Thibeau to win a marathon at an Amateur Athletic Union meet in Chicago (3:02).[9] The next year he finished thirteenth at the Boston Marathon and sixth at the Chicago Marathon conducted by the Illinois Athletic Club. He finished sixteenth at the same race in the following year, by which time he had returned to Minneapolis.[10] On January 16, 1909 he was leading a marathon at Chicago under terrible weather conditions for more than eight miles before being forced to retire with a stitch; the race was won by Sidney Hatch.[11]
In later years, he worked on mining claims at Ingolf, Ontario,[12] and lived at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where his two brothers had settled. He became a naturalized Canadian,[13] and died at Winnipeg in 1952 at the age of seventy-six.
Referencesedit
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
^"Thomas Hicks". Olympedia. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
^"The Deafening Roar of the Shrug". The New York Times. July 29, 2007.
^"1967: Creation of the IOC Medical Commission". olympics.com. from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
^Shine, Ossian (18 August 2016). "Weightlifter stripped of medal for doping with rat poison". Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
^"Hicks Victorious in Chicago Run: Cambridge Boy Leads Field of 30 in Marathon, His Time Being 3h 2m." Boston Daily Globe, July 1, 1906, p. 12.
^"A New Marathon Champion: Frederick Lorz of the Mohawk Athletic Club of New York Captured the Great Run in an Exciting Contest". Boston Evening Transcript. Boston. April 20, 1905. p. 4. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
^Derderian, Tom (1994). Boston Marathon – The History of the World's Premier Running Event. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers. pp. 37. ISBN0-87322-491-4.
^"Chicago Marathon and Meet". American Gymnasia and Athletic Record. Boston: American Gymnasia Co. 2 (11): 249. July 1906. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
^Martin, David E.; Gynn, Roger W.H. (2000). The Olympic Marathon. Champaign IL: Human Kinetics. pp. 53. ISBN0-88011-969-1.
^"MARATHON TO SIDNEY HATCH - I.A.C. Runner Takes Amateur Event in 3:16:15. C. HEATH A GOOD SECOND. Thibeau, of First Regiment, Victim of Pain in Side." The Chicago Daily Tribune, January 17, 1909, p. 1.
^U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Registration State: Minnesota; Registration County: Hennepin; Roll: 1675619; Draft Board: 08
^Voter's List, Winnipeg South Centre Polling division No. 8, 1945 and 1949.
External linksedit
Media related to Thomas Hicks (athlete) at Wikimedia Commons
thomas, hicks, athlete, thomas, john, hicks, january, 1876, january, 1952, american, track, field, athlete, marathon, olympic, games, 1904, thomas, hickshicks, 1904, summer, olympicspersonal, informationbirth, namethomas, john, hicksnationalityamericanborn, 18. Thomas John Hicks January 11 1876 January 28 1952 1 was an American track and field athlete He won the marathon at the Olympic Games in 1904 2 Thomas HicksHicks at the 1904 Summer OlympicsPersonal informationBirth nameThomas John HicksNationalityAmericanBorn 1876 01 11 January 11 1876Birmingham Great BritainDiedJanuary 28 1952 1952 01 28 aged 76 Winnipeg Manitoba CanadaSportSportLong distance runningEventMarathonThomas Hicks Medal recordMen s athleticsRepresenting the United StatesOlympic Games1904 St Louis MarathonHicks and supporters at the 1904 Summer OlympicsBiography editHicks a brass worker from Cambridge Massachusetts was born in England He was the winner of a remarkable marathon race at the 1904 Summer Olympics held as part of the World Fair in St Louis Missouri Conditions were bad the course being a dirt track with large clouds of dust produced by the accompanying vehicles Hicks was not the first to cross the finish line trailing Fred Lorz However Lorz had abandoned the race after 9 miles After covering much of the course by car he re entered the race 5 miles before the finish This was discovered by the officials who disqualified Lorz who claimed it had been a joke Had the race been run under current rules Hicks would also have been disqualified for using strychnine his assistants had given him a dose of 1 60 of a grain roughly 1 mg of strychnine 3 and some brandy because he was flagging badly during the race the first dose of strychnine did not revive him for long so he was given another As a result he collapsed after crossing the finishing line Another dose might have been fatal Strychnine has been forbidden for athletes since the late 1960s when the International Olympic Committee started testing them for drugs 4 and the last known use of strychnine occurred at the 2016 Summer Olympics 5 Hicks finished in sixth place at the Boston Marathon in both 1901 and 1902 In the Fall of the latter year he relocated to Minneapolis Minnesota for work and while there became captain of the Minneapolis YMCA cross country team that won the state championship 6 Hicks returned to Boston in the spring of 1904 and finished second in the Boston Marathon that year He dropped out during the following year s race 7 the year after he began walking at Wellesley and walked all the way to the finish 8 The 1905 Boston Marathon was legitimately won by Lorz However on June 30 1906 Hicks finished three minutes ahead of Alexander Thibeau to win a marathon at an Amateur Athletic Union meet in Chicago 3 02 9 The next year he finished thirteenth at the Boston Marathon and sixth at the Chicago Marathon conducted by the Illinois Athletic Club He finished sixteenth at the same race in the following year by which time he had returned to Minneapolis 10 On January 16 1909 he was leading a marathon at Chicago under terrible weather conditions for more than eight miles before being forced to retire with a stitch the race was won by Sidney Hatch 11 In later years he worked on mining claims at Ingolf Ontario 12 and lived at Winnipeg Manitoba Canada where his two brothers had settled He became a naturalized Canadian 13 and died at Winnipeg in 1952 at the age of seventy six References edit Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Tom Hicks Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on 2020 04 17 Thomas Hicks Olympedia Retrieved January 17 2021 The Deafening Roar of the Shrug The New York Times July 29 2007 1967 Creation of the IOC Medical Commission olympics com Archived from the original on February 24 2023 Retrieved February 24 2023 Shine Ossian 18 August 2016 Weightlifter stripped of medal for doping with rat poison Reuters Retrieved 21 December 2020 Hicks Victorious in Chicago Run Cambridge Boy Leads Field of 30 in Marathon His Time Being 3h 2m Boston Daily Globe July 1 1906 p 12 A New Marathon Champion Frederick Lorz of the Mohawk Athletic Club of New York Captured the Great Run in an Exciting Contest Boston Evening Transcript Boston April 20 1905 p 4 Retrieved February 9 2011 Derderian Tom 1994 Boston Marathon The History of the World s Premier Running Event Champaign IL Human Kinetics Publishers pp 37 ISBN 0 87322 491 4 Chicago Marathon and Meet American Gymnasia and Athletic Record Boston American Gymnasia Co 2 11 249 July 1906 Retrieved April 27 2012 Martin David E Gynn Roger W H 2000 The Olympic Marathon Champaign IL Human Kinetics pp 53 ISBN 0 88011 969 1 MARATHON TO SIDNEY HATCH I A C Runner Takes Amateur Event in 3 16 15 C HEATH A GOOD SECOND Thibeau of First Regiment Victim of Pain in Side The Chicago Daily Tribune January 17 1909 p 1 U S World War I Draft Registration Cards 1917 1918 Registration State Minnesota Registration County Hennepin Roll 1675619 Draft Board 08 Voter s List Winnipeg South Centre Polling division No 8 1945 and 1949 External links edit nbsp Media related to Thomas Hicks athlete at Wikimedia Commons databaseOlympics profile at the Wayback Machine archived February 8 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Hicks athlete amp oldid 1182909665, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
