Participating Nations
28 nations competed in Stockholm. Japan appeared for the first time, marking the first appearance of an Asian country at an Olympic Games. Egypt also made their first appearance, as did Iceland, Portugal and Serbia. Chile made its first appearance as a national team with fourteen athletes attending the Games, although it also had one individual entered at the 1896 Games. The first athletes from Armenia also competed, as part of the team from the Ottoman Empire (referred to as Turkey). Serbia's appearance was the only time it appeared at a Games as an independent nation until the 2008 Summer Olympics.
This was the last Olympics where "private entries" were allowed (i.e. not part of a country's officially selected team). Arnold Jackson was one such, winning the 1500 metres by 0.1 second, ahead of an American trio, who were strong favourites, in what was acclaimed at the time as "the greatest race ever run".
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Read more about this topic: 1912 Summer Olympics
Famous quotes containing the word nations:
“When shall we see poets born? After a time of disasters and great misfortunes, when harrowed nations begin to breathe again. And then, shaken by the terror of such spectacles, imaginations will paint things entirely strange to those who have not witnessed them.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)