Despite his disability, he won gold in the vault, an event which then included a jump over a long horse without aid of a springboard.

The family first lived in Denver, Colorado, but George moved to St. Louis, Missouri, sometime around 1902–1903, where he worked as a bookkeeper for a construction company.

The 1904 games generally had a confusing program of events, which were spread out over several months, and the gymnastics competition was no different.

Eyser was 71st in another gymnastic all-around event, which included the same devices but a smaller number of routines.

His main rival was another American, Anton Heida, who also won 6 medals, 5 gold and one silver.

Later, in 2008 Natalie du Toit, a South African swimmer who lost her left leg in a traffic accident, participated in the 10 km swimming marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and finished 16th,[7] and in 2012 Oscar Pistorius, a South African double-leg amputee runner, participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the 400-metre race and the 4x400 relay.