Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Olympian George Eyser

Episode Date: November 25, 2020

Although you probably never heard of him before, American George Eyser is one of the most decorated Olympians in history. At the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, he put on one of the greatest single-day performances of the modern Olympics. Yet, his real claim to fame is not what he accomplished, but how. Learn more about the incredible Geroge Eyser on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although you probably never heard of him before, American George Iser is one of the most decorated Olympians in history. At the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, he put on one of the greatest single-day performances in the modern Olympics. Yet his real claim to fame is not what he accomplished, but how? Learn more about the incredible George Iser on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Fear is the virus is trending on TikTok. Vaccines are poison. Then your yoga teacher says that sex-trafficed children are being sacrificed by satanic liberals, but it's all okay. The Great Awakening is coming. What is happening?

Every week on Conspiratuality Podcast, we explore the fever dreams that suck friends, family, and wellness gurus down the right-wing cult spiral in a search for salvation. This episode is brought to you by CuriosityStream. This podcast gives you a wide array of subjects and things to learn about every day. However, sometimes you might want to go more in depth on a subject than what you might get on a daily podcast. CuriosityStream has over 2,500 documentaries about a wide variety of subjects, including shows like The Olympic Games, a mirror to society. Prices start as low as $2.99 per month or $1999 per year, one of the cheapest streaming services online. If you love to learn, and let's face it, you do if you're listening to this show.

Then you can subscribe by visiting everything-everywhere.com or by clicking on the link in the show notes. The 1904 Olympics have come up before on this podcast. It was a unique event to say the least. The event was stolen from Chicago, and much of the world didn't even bother to attend. And it was horribly run. Please check out my episode on the 1904 Olympic Marathon,

which was the worst event in Olympic history. The way events were held back in 1904 was different. than how we do it today. Rather than cramming everything into a single two-week competition, in St. Louis, everything was spread out over a five-month period from July through November. George Iser was born in Keel, Germany in 1870, and migrated to the United States with his family when he was 14 years old. They moved to Denver, where in 1894, at the age of 24, he received his American citizenship. He left the house and moved to St. Louis, where he got a job at a construction company as a bookkeeper. While in St. Louis, he joined a

the local gymnastics club called Concordia Turnverine St. Louis. Turnverines were German gymnastic clubs which were located all over the United States in the 19th and early 20th century. Members of Turnverine clubs were called Turner's. In addition to being an early form of a gym membership, they also served as an ethnic and social club for Germans in the United States. At the Concordia Club, George excelled. He won several local and regional competitions, and he soon began eyeing the upcoming Olympic Games, which would be held in his home's city of St. Louis. Gymnastics in 1904 was held at two different events. The International Turner's Championship was held on July 1st and 2nd at the start of the Olympics. Here, George

did poorly. He placed 10th in the All-Around competition, and George's Club took fourth place in what were the team gymnastic medals. The second competition took place on October 29th, and this is the one which went down in the books as the official gymnastics competition for individual events. Everything was done in a single day, something which would never happen now, but back then things were different and everyone was a true amateur. They all had regular jobs they had to return to. He competed in five events on that day. Horizontal bar, pommel horse, parallel bars, vault, and the rope climb. All of the events but the rope climb were used to determine the medals in the all-around category.

Overall, he won six medals that day. Three golds in rope climbing, the vault and parallel bars. two silvers in pommel horse and the overall competition, and a bronze in the parallel bar. Six medals in a single day is a record that still stands, and it's likely never to be broken because modern Olympics simply don't do that many events in a single day anymore. However, he didn't put on the best men's gymnastic performance at the 1904 Olympics. Anton Haida also won six medals on the same day, and five of his were gold. So why am I doing a podcast about George Iser and Notary?

not Anton Haida. Because there's something about George Iser that I didn't tell you that changes this entire story. George Iser only had one leg. As a young man, he lost his left leg in a train accident, and he had used a wooden prosthetic leg. Most of the events which George competed in focused on his upper body, and the loss of a leg didn't impact him that much. However, he also won a gold medal in the vault, which absolutely involves using your legs because you both have to run and land. It would take another 104 years before another athlete competed in the Olympics with a prosthetic limb. In 2008, South African swimmer Natalie Dutoy competed in the 10,000-meter swimming marathon at the Beijing Olympics and finished 10th. George continued to compete in gymnastics

after the Olympics. His team won the 1908 World Championships in Frankfurt, Germany, and then won the 1909 national championships in Cincinnati, Ohio. George passed away at the age of 48 in 1919 near his family in Denver. Even though the 1904 Olympics were not the greatest Olympics in history, the performance of George Iser was a highlight of an otherwise forgettable competition. His accomplishments have not been forgotten. In 2008, the London Times listed Iser's feet as one of the top 50 moments in the history of the Olympic Games.

The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is James McAlla. Associate producer is Thor Thompson. The latest five-star review comes from Max Hartshorn, who writes over on Apple Podcasts, One of my faves. I'm a big podcast fan, and these short little bites are perfect for my daily walks. I enjoy Gary's knowledge and the research, and I love the randomness of the topics. Nearly everyone is something I want to know more about. Keep it coming, Gary.

Thank you, Max, and thanks to all of you who listen and subscribe. Remember, if you leave a five-star review, you two can have your review read on the show.