After two heats of the 1908 Olympic 100km event, the 43 competitors were reduced to 17 finalists with the favorite being Leon Meredith, the winner of the second heat and the reigning world champion at the distance. The final began with the track under water and heavy rain still falling and although the weather cleared after 30 minutes, the track remained in poor condition. There were many falls and punctures, one of which forced Meredith to withdraw. The 23-year-old Charles Bartlett, youngest of the finalists, also suffered his share of mishaps but his courageous riding eventually earned him the goal medal. With some 30 kilometres remaining Bartlett fell and damaged his machine, he ran for a replacement and remounted but was stopped and ordered back to the point of his fall. Bartlett, was, by now, almost a lap behind but he caught the field with one mile to go and somehow found the reserves to mount a sprint finish which brought him a memorable victory by two lengths. Bartlett took up cycling in 1902 at the age of 16 with the Prince Alfred CC and won several club championships before moving to the Polytechnic CC. He won the NCU 50 miles tandem-paced title in 1908 and 1909 and broke several tandem-paced and motor-paced records. After his retirement, Bartlett built up a successful packing business but he maintained his interest in the sport and served as President of the Pickwick BC, England’s premier bicycling club.
Great Britain