Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Lore & Background

All six swimming events at the 1908 Olympics became staples of the programme, contested at every Games since. Changes from the previous edition included dropping the 50 m, 200 m, and 800 m freestyle events (though these later returned), lengthening the relay from 4 × 50 yards to 4 × 200 m, and shortening the 400 m breaststroke to 200 metres. Fourteen nations competed, with 100 swimmers entering the events. Canada and Finland made their first appearances in Olympic swimming, while Austria, Hungary, and the United States continued their streaks of appearing each time.

Reader's Guide

The 1908 London Olympics were a pivotal moment for swimming as a sport, establishing the first purpose-built 100-metre pool inside a stadium. This innovation ended the era of open-water competitions seen in 1896 (Mediterranean Sea), 1900 (Seine River), and 1904 (artificial lake). The six events contested—all men's—set the foundation for the modern Olympic swimming programme, as every one has been held at every subsequent Games. The changes in event distances and relay format reflected an evolving standardization. The participation of 100 swimmers from 14 nations, including first-timers Canada and Finland, demonstrated growing international interest. The host nation Great Britain topped the medal table, though the source does not specify medal counts.

Did You Know?

• The 1908 Games were the first to use a specially constructed 100-metre pool inside the main stadium's track and field oval.
• Previous Olympic swimming events were held in open water: the Mediterranean Sea (1896), the Seine River (1900), and an artificial lake (1904).
• Only men participated in the swimming events at the 1908 Olympics.
• Canada and Finland made their first appearances in Olympic swimming at these Games.

The Unprecedented Dual-Award Bidding

What began as a five-city race for the 2024 Summer Olympics collapsed into a two-way contest after Budapest, Hamburg, and Rome all pulled out of the process. The International Olympic Committee, facing a situation eerily similar to the 2022 Winter Games bidding where four cities withdrew, proposed something never done before: awarding both the 2024 and 2028 host cities in a single decision. An Extraordinary IOC Session in Lausanne on July 11, 2017, green-lit the plan. Paris, whose 2024 Games would mark the centennial of the 1924 Olympics, was the natural choice for the earlier slot. Los Angeles, declared the sole candidate for 2028 on July 31, received an additional $1.8 billion in IOC funding as part of the arrangement. The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in August, the IOC evaluation commission gave its stamp in early September, and on September 13, 2017, a unanimous vote at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, formally awarded the Games. IOC president Thomas Bach singled out the bid's reliance on existing and temporary venues and its entirely private funding model as record-setting achievements.

A City's Olympic Legacy

Los Angeles 2028 will represent the fifth Summer Olympics and the ninth Olympic Games of any kind held on American soil. For the city itself, it completes a remarkable triad: after hosting the Summer Games in 1932 and again in 1984, LA will become only the third city in history to stage the Summer Olympics three times. London achieved that milestone with its 1908, 1948, and 2012 editions, and Paris joined the exclusive club with 1900, 1924, and 2024. What sets Los Angeles apart is that it will be the first non-European city to reach that three-time threshold. The Games, scheduled for July 14 through 30, 2028, will also carry the distinction of being the first Summer Olympics presided over by IOC president Kirsty Coventry. While Los Angeles serves as the primary host, the event footprint extends across the Greater Los Angeles area, with two additional subsites located in Oklahoma City. California's state government formally endorsed the bid on October 16, 2017, and by 2018, polls from LMU and the LA Times showed more than 88 percent of residents supported hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Building the Games: Transportation Ambitions Meet Reality

Los Angeles civic leaders initially pledged to deliver a car-free Olympics, a bold vision meant to cut congestion, shorten travel times, and simplify security around venues. The Twenty-eight by '28 initiative, championed by former Mayor Eric Garcetti, was designed to accelerate 28 infrastructure projects before the Games, drawing funding from countywide sales tax measures known as Measure R and Measure M. Mayor Karen Bass later added strategies like encouraging remote work during the event to ease pressure on transit networks. However, by March 2024, the original list had been substantially overhauled: eleven projects, including five rail line expansions, were swapped for smaller, more achievable ones. By late 2024, observers flagged that only 5.2 percent of LA Metro's $3.3 billion Olympic-related project list had been funded, with several initiatives running behind schedule. Staffing gaps at government agencies, coordination challenges between departments, and the late finalization of the venue list compounded the difficulties. Faced with these obstacles, civic leaders quietly shifted their public messaging from a fully car-free Games to a more pragmatic transit-first approach.

A Shifting Olympic Program

The 2028 Games will feature a notably expanded and evolving sports program that reflects the IOC's ongoing effort to modernize the Olympic roster. Three sports that debuted as optional events at the 2020 Tokyo Games—skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing—have now been elevated to the core program, meaning they are guaranteed a permanent place in future Summer Olympics. Beyond those promotions, LA 2028 will introduce flag football and squash as new optional sports, adding fresh dimensions to the competition. The program also welcomes back several disciplines with deep Olympic histories. Baseball and softball return to the lineup, cricket makes its reappearance for the first time since the 1900 Paris Games, and lacrosse re-enters as a medal event for the first time since 1908. That 1908 reference is particularly resonant for Los Angeles, which itself hosted the Summer Olympics that year, creating a full century of connection between the city's first Olympic hosting and the return of lacrosse to the medal program. Together, these additions and returns signal an IOC determined to keep the Games culturally relevant while honoring their heritage.