Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games:

This was the only time this event was held at the Olympic Games. It was rarely contested at major meets, but the world record was 28.00 metres, set by America’s Ralph Rose at Oakland just a month before the Olympics (2 June). Rose barely qualified for the final, placing third behind his teammate, Pat McDonald, who led the qualifying, and Finland’s Elmer Niklander. In the final, McDonald improved with both hands and led until Rose’s very last throw with his left hand. Until then, Rose was in third place, still trailing the other two finalists. But his last left-handed mark was an improvement of almost one metre, and vaulted him to the gold medal.