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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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White City
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Stadium in northwest London which was demolished during the 1980s. It was completed in 1908 as part of a 57ha/140ac complex laid out for a Franco-British exhibition. That same summer it staged the fourth *Olympic Games, famous now on two counts in relation to the *marathon. It was here that the modern length of the race was fixed at 26 miles 385 yards (42.195km); it was intended to be 26 miles, until it was realized that a further 385 yards were required to bring the finishing line in front of the royal box. And it was over that finishing line that the leading runner, Dorando Pietri of Italy, was helped by a race official after he had collapsed just short of it, causing him to be disqualified. *Greyhound racing in the stadium began in 1927 and it remained till its final years the site of the Greyhound Derby.
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