Patton Attended Olympic
The first fact in the list of facts about George Patton is that he was a Olympic athlete. Patton was chosen as the Army's entry for the inaugural modern pentathlon at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, due to his prowess in sprinting and fencing. Patton was the lone American among the 42 pentathletes, all of whom were officers in the armed forces. Patton finished fifth overall and first among non-Swedish athletes after placing twenty-first in the pistol range, seventh in swimming, fourth in fencing, sixth in the equestrian competition, and third in the footrace.
He came in fifth out of 42 competitors, but if it weren't for a controversy during the pistol shooting competition, he might have medaled. Patton said that he was such a skilled marksman that one of his bullets actually passed through a bullet hole he had already made, despite the fact that the judges thought he missed the target with one of his rounds. Patton was also chosen for the 1916 Olympic team, but World War I caused the competition to be postponed.
His achievement in the pistol shooting competition caused considerable controversy because he utilized a U.S. Army-issued.38 caliber pistol whereas the majority of the other competitors used.22 caliber weapons. He claimed that the early bullet holes in the paper were so large that a later bullet was able to pass through them, but the judges determined that one of his rounds totally missed the target. A changing backdrop is regularly used in contemporary events at this level in order to monitor several shots into the same hole. Patton would have most certainly taken home an Olympic medal in the competition if his claim was accurate. The court's decision was affirmed.
