Modern Olympian Ode #38 (1912) The Last of his Kind

Just competing in the Olympics was a distinction,
and winning the gold medal in the 1,500 meters
was another further distinction
(he would be the youngest to win the event
for almost a hundred years),
                                                    but
Arnold Jackson's main distinction
was being the last of his kind

He had been rejected for the national team
by the British Olympic Committee;
1912 was the last year private citizens
were allowed to compete in the Games
without the sanction of a national Olympic committee
Bureaucratic nationalism was triumphant,
and has remained so for over a hundred years