这届奥运会于1904年7月1日至11月23日举行，延续了5个多月，是奥运会史上又一次旷日持久的运动会。参赛国家仅13个，是迄今奥运会参赛单位最少的一次。东道主曾提出派船接送欧洲选手，但最后只是空头支票。由于外国选手总共还不到100人，以致某些项目的比赛，如拳击、自由式摔跤、射箭等，参赛的几乎都是清一色的美国人，无怪乎人们把这届奥运会称之为美国运动会。

KEY FACTS

Opening date: 01 July 1904

Closing date: 23 November 1904

The Host City: ST LOUIS (USA)

Sports: 17

ST LOUIS  1904 Games of the III Olympiad

The 1904 St. Louis Olympics organizers repeated all of the mistakes of 1900. The Olympic competitions, spread out over four and a half months, were lost in the chaos of a World's Fair. Of the 94 events generally considered to have been part of the Olympic program, only 42 included athletes who were not from the United States. The 1904 Olympics did have a few highlights.

They were the first at which gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for first, second and third place. Boxing and freestyle wrestling made their debuts. Marathon runners Len Tau and Jan Mashiani, Tswana tribesmen who were in St. Louis as part of the Boer War exhibit at the World's Fair, became the first Africans to compete in the Olympics. One of the most remarkable athletes was the American gymnast George Eyser, who won six medals even though his left leg was made of wood.