Water_motorsports_at_the_1908_Summer_Olympics
Water motorsports at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Water motorsports at the Olympics
At the 1908 Summer Olympics, three motorboat racing events were contested. Various sources refer to the sport as "water motorsports",[1] "motor boats",[2] and "power boating".[3] The 1900 and 1908 Summer Games were the only ones to feature motorised sports (motor racing was featured in 1900). The IOC has never decided which events were "Olympic" and which were not.[4]
All three events used the same distance: five laps around an 8-nautical-mile course for a total of 40 nautical miles (74 km). In each of the events, multiple boats started; however, only one finished due primarily to the gale that was blowing during the course of the competition. Events were held on 28 August and 29 August 1908.