The Grand Duchy of Finland was an autonomous part of the Russian Empire at the time, which allowed it to send a separate team to the Games.

However, Finns were qualified to take part independently as a sporting nation, which was a category recently devised by Pierre de Coubertin, in an International Olympic Committee meeting in May 1907.

[8] Polaris arrived in Hull on 13 July, the day of the opening ceremony, late due to a machine breakdown.

However, none of them was allowed, and the flag bearer Bruno Zilliacus carried a mere cardboard text plaque "Finland" that was borrowed from their dressing room door.

[9] Finnish sports leaders judged the Olympic participation to have been merely an expensive excursion, and pointed out two principal problems.

First was an undisciplined and immoral tourist mindset among the team, which manifested as partying, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.

Second was a poor organization for the Games, which included a belated preparation only months in advance; minimal equipment for the team, such as bringing only one javelin; and having no professional coaching.

[38] Valborg Florström performed a diving exhibition with Ebba Gisico of Sweden, which was the first appearance of women in the Olympic pool.

[54] Modern sportswriters Arto Teronen and Jouko Vuolle consider that there is plenty of circumstantial evidence in favour.