Water motorsports at the 1908 Summer Olympics — Water motorsports at the Olympics
Motorboat racing at the 1908 London Olympics was one of only two instances of motorised sports in Olympic history, with severe weather leaving just one finisher per event.
Key Facts
- Number of events
- 3 motorboat racing events
- Course distance per event
- 40 nautical miles (74 km)
- Laps per event
- 5 laps around an 8-nautical-mile course
- Competition dates
- 28–29 August 1908
- Finishers per event
- Only 1 boat finished each event
- Olympic motorised sports appearances
- 1900 and 1908 only
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1908 London Summer Olympics included motorboat racing as part of a broader early-era experimentation with motorised sports in the Games. The International Olympic Committee had not established firm criteria distinguishing official from unofficial events, and motorised sports had previously appeared at the 1900 Paris Games.
Three motorboat racing events were held on 28 and 29 August 1908, each contested over five laps of an 8-nautical-mile course totalling 40 nautical miles. Multiple boats entered each event, but severe gale conditions during competition meant that in each case only a single boat managed to complete the course.
Motorboat racing was never again included in the Olympic programme, making 1908 the last Games to feature the sport. The IOC has never formally ruled on which motorised events from 1900 and 1908 carry official Olympic status, leaving the historical classification of these results unresolved.
Result
at Southampton Water, London, United Kingdom