The event was won by Étienne Desmarteau of Canada, one of only two gold medals (out of 25 events) in athletics won by an athlete not from the United States.

The favorites were John Flanagan of the United States and Étienne Desmarteau of Canada (making this one of the few athletics events with serious international competition).

Flanagan was best known as a hammer thrower, having won the event at the 1900 Summer Olympics and, three days before this competition, repeated that victory in St. Louis.

Desmarteau had won the only head-to-head competition between the two men, however, at the 1902 AAU championship.

That throw went 10.46 metres and was the winning mark and Olympic record at the end of the competition.