outdoor png pong

[bmetcalf]

Crikey! Mum's the word!

 

[Albervin]

Probably right on performance enhancing drugs, but I believe that one could buy heroin and cocaine at the pharmacy then in the US. According to Wikipedia, cocaine was removed from Coke in 1903, but not much Coke was sold in Britain then, I would guess.

Indeed Bruce. Cocaine was an excellent treatment for lethargy and fatigue. Opium was in a lot of products ranging from diarrhoea remedies to sough mixture. There were even remedies for teething that contained cocaine. It wasn't until the 1930s that it was decided by various health departments to severely restrict these opioids and narcotics. So regarding the early 20th Century Olympics, there were probably more athletes with cocaine, morphine, opium, amphetamine and codeine in their system than before or since.
I knew a chap who competed in the London and Helsinki games. He was in the Hop, Step and Jump (Now called the Triple Jump) and it was a 3 month tour due to ship travel. He was lucky as he was in the Police force but many had to quit their jobs to participate.