> The actual winner, Thomas Hicks, was near collapse and hallucinating when he crossed the finish line, a side effect of being administered brandy, raw eggs, and strychnine by his trainers.

This was, presumably, before they'd really figured out how to do doping.

I mean he won, so maybe they had it figured out.

> When he reached the stadium, his support team carried him over the line, holding him in the air while he shuffled his feet as if still running.[6] Hicks had to be carried off the track on a stretcher, and might have died in the stadium had he not been treated by four doctors. He lost eight pounds during the course of the marathon.

They didn't.

He was still first.

You don't think people gave more of a shit about athlete lives, comfort, and longevity then, than now?

One of those ingredients sound a lot more relevant to his condition than the two others.