The event was won by Alberto Braglia of Italy, the nation's first medal in the men's individual all-around.

[3] One of the top 10 gymnasts from the 1904 Games returned: silver medalist Wilhelm Weber of Germany.

Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Turkey each made their debut in the event.

[4] Other than for rope climbing, each gymnast performed one "voluntary" exercise on each apparatus, with a maximum score of 24 points from each of the 3 judges.

A full list of results was printed in a French journal in August 1908,[7] but was not discovered until March 2020.