Rat Poison and the 1904 Olympics

Angelina Vita

Strychnine, an ingredient heavily used in rat poison, was once thought to be an early style ‘energy supplement’ and was used repeatedly during the 1904 Olympic Marathon. The participants themselves were just as off the wall as were their supplements. Bricklayers, mailmen, and barefoot Tsuana tribe members ran in the marathon. As the temperatures soared into the upper 90s, each step was agony and most of the runners barely made it to the finish line. Although the Olympics of today have a sense of austere elegance and purpose, the 1904 Marathon of St. Louis was the direct opposite. This poster will provide the detailed and often hilarious history of the 1904 Olympic Marathon, rat poison and all!

• A member of the LU Honors College and the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, Angelina Vita is working on an English major and History minor at Lander University. She is a current editor for New Voices, the current president of the LU English Club, the Treasurer of the LU History Club, and a journalist for the Honor Roll Newsletter. She has had multiple pieces published, has worked as a tutor at the LU Writing Center, and was the 2020 Featured Student in the Blue Granite Review Magazine.