WEIRD FACTS ABOUT
TUG-OF-WAR
According to international rules, the rope in a tug-of-war contest must be between 100mm and 125mm in circumference.
Tug-of-War featured as an Olympic sport between 1900 and 1920 and resulted in one of the most notable disputes of the 1908 Games in London.
The medal table for the event tells a tale of British dominance with gold, silver and bronze all going to teams from British police forces: the London City Police won, Liverpool Police came second, and K Division Metropolitan Police were third.
The real battle, however, came in the first round when the Liverpool Police scored a quick win over the US team. The Americans immediately lodged a protest against the footwear of their opponents. According to them the boots were equipped with illegal steel spikes, cleats and heels. The British insisted that they were standard-issue police boots and the protest was disallowed. The Americans then stormed out of the competition.
Later the winning City Police team challenged the Americans to a contest in stockinged feet, but the challenge was not taken up.
Three members of the winning team, James Shepherd, Edwin Mills and Frederick Humphries, went on to represent Britain in two later Olympics, winning silver at Stockholm in 1912 and gold again at Antwerp in 1920.
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