Em 1912 Portugal participou pela primeira vez nas Olimpíadas. Em 1912 morreu pela primeira vez um atleta nas Olimpíadas.Em 1912 morria Francisco Lázaro, aos 21 anos, debaixo de um sol abrasador.
Por isto, o dia 12 de Julho fica assim tristemente marcado no modelo desportivo imaginado pelo barão Pierre de Coubertain.
José Luís Peixoto, no seu livro Cemitério de Pianos, deixa algumas referências sobre o assunto mas a melhor que encontrei foi esta, no que toca aos dias de hoje:
As might have been feared, the Marathon Race of the Fifth Olympiad was not to be run with impunity beneath the rays of an almost tropical sun, and several of the 68 competitors suffered very greatly from the heat. One poor fellow, indeed, who had started in the best of health, was struck down by the sun and never recovered. This was the Portuguese, Lazaro, who, after having covered the great part of the distance in the best condition, suddenly staggered and fell, and, after being attended to by the medical men who were immediately called to the spot, was taken to the Seraphim Hospital. There the doctors did their utmost for the unfortunate man, no means for his restoration being left untried. (…)
in The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912, Official Report
Nota do Redactor: Felizmente que o Seraphim Hospital não ficava em Portugal.
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