Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

Men's 100 metres
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
VenueWhite City Stadium
DatesJuly 20 (quarterfinals)
July 21 (semifinals)
July 22 (final)
Competitors60 from 16 nations
Medalists
 Reggie Walker  South Africa
 James Rector  United States
 Robert Kerr  Canada
Athletics at the
1908 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m   men
200 m men
400 m men
800 m men
1500 m men
5 miles men
110 m hurdles men
400 m hurdles men
3200 m steeplechase men
Medley relay men
3 mile team race men
Road events
Marathon men
3500 m walk men
10 mile walk men
Field events
Long jump men
Triple jump men
High jump men
Pole vault men
Standing long jump men
Standing high jump men
Shot put men
Discus throw men
Hammer throw men
Javelin throw men
Greek discus men
Freestyle javelin men

The men's 100 metres was the shortest of the sprint races at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held over the course of three days. The first round was held on 20 July, the semifinals on 21 July, and the final on 22 July.

Records
Heats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Semifinals
1 2 3 4
Final
References

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World Record 10.6(*) Sweden Knut Lindberg Gothenburg (SWE) August 26, 1906
Olympic Record 10.8 United States Frank Jarvis Paris (FRA) July 14, 1900
10.8 United States Walter Tewksbury Paris (FRA) July 14, 1900

(*) unofficial

James Rector (in the 15th heat and the third semi-final) and Reggie Walker (in the first semi-final and final) both equalized the standing Olympic record. Reggie Walker's actual time in the first semi-final was 10.7, but was rounded up to the nearest fifth in accordance with rules in force at the time, so his time was given as 10 4⁄5.

Results

Heats

Times were kept for the winning runner in each heat only. They were measured to the closest  1⁄5 second. The fastest runner advanced to the second round. The competition began at 3 p.m. on 20 July, the seventh day of the Games. A break was taken after the first nine heats to allow for four heats of the 800 metres to be run at 3:30 p.m., with the final eight heats of the 100 metres commencing at 4 p.m.

  Advance on placement

Heat 1

Duffy won this heat by three yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Edward Duffy South Africa 11.6 seconds
2 Georgios Skoutarides Greece (11.9 seconds)
3 Victor Henny Netherlands Unknown

Heat 2

George was ahead of Guttormsen by three yards when he finished.

Place Name Nation Time
1 John George Great Britain 11.6 seconds
2 Oscar Guttormsen Norway (12.0 seconds)

Heat 3

Cartmell crossed the finish line two yards ahead of Malfait.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Nate Cartmell United States 11.0 seconds
2 Georges Malfait France (11.2 seconds)
3 Arthur Hoffmann Germany (11.4 seconds)
4 Evert Koops Netherlands Unknown

Heat 4

Walker was four yards ahead of the field when he finished. Records do not indicate which of the final two runners took which place.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Reggie Walker South Africa 11.0 seconds
2 Jean Konings Belgium (11.6 seconds)
3 Denis Murray Great Britain Unknown
4 Edgar Kiralfy United States Unknown
5 Ernestus Greven Netherlands Unknown

Heat 5

Harmer pulled up lame. Cloughen won by five yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Robert Cloughen United States 11.0 seconds
2 John Johansen Norway (11.7 seconds)
3 David Beland Canada Unknown
— Henry Harmer Great Britain Did not finish

Heat 6

May won by about three yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 William W. May United States 11.2 seconds
2 Victor Jacquemin Belgium (11.5 seconds)
3 L. Lescat France Unknown
4 Mikhail Paskalides Greece Unknown

Heat 7

Duncan won by a yard.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Robert Duncan Great Britain 11.4 seconds
2 Knut Stenborg Sweden (11.5 seconds)
3 Hans Eicke Germany (11.6 seconds)
4 Umberto Barrozzi Italy Unknown
5 Ragnar Stenberg Finland Unknown

Heat 8

Stevens beat world record holder Lindberg by inches.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Lester Stevens United States 11.2 seconds
2 Knut Lindberg Sweden (11.2 seconds)
3 Heinrich Rehder Germany (11.8 seconds)
4 William Murray Great Britain Unknown

Heat 9

Morton won by about three yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 John W. Morton Great Britain 11.2 seconds
2 Axel Petersen Denmark (11.5 seconds)
3 Jacobus Hoogveld Netherlands Unknown

Heat 10

Fischer pulled up lame. Kerr won by three yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Robert Kerr Canada 11.0 seconds
2 Meyrick Chapman Great Britain (11.3 seconds)
— Paul Fischer Germany Did not finish

Heat 11

Phillips pulled up lame, allowing Hamilton to win by about three yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 William Hamilton United States 11.2 seconds
2 Pál Simon Hungary (11.5 seconds)
3 G. Lamotte France Unknown
— Herbert Phillips South Africa Did not finish

Heat 12

Huff was only about a yard ahead of Pankhurst when he finished.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Harold Huff United States 11.4 seconds
2 Henry Pankhurst Great Britain (11.5 seconds)
3 Karl Fryksdal Sweden Unknown

Heat 13

Robertson won by about three yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Lawson Robertson United States 11.4 seconds
2 Frank Lukeman Canada (11.7 seconds)
3 Henri Meslot France Unknown
4 Eduard Schönecker Austria Unknown

Heat 14

Sherman's lead of four yards at the finish was one of the larger leads in the first round.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Nathaniel Sherman United States 11.2 seconds
2 Louis Sebert Canada (11.7 seconds)
3 Harold Watson Great Britain Unknown
4 Frigyes Wiesner Hungary Unknown
5 Hermann von Bönninghausen Germany (12.0 seconds)

Heat 15

Rector's Olympic record-tying time gave him a relatively easy victory in the first round.

Place Name Nation Time
1 James Rector United States 10.8 seconds EOR
2 Vilmos Rácz Hungary (11.4 seconds)
3 Willy Kohlmey Germany (12.0 seconds)

Heat 16

In one of the slowest of the first round heads, Stark won by about two yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 James P. Stark Great Britain 11.8 seconds
2 Gaspare Torretta Italy (12.0 seconds)

Heat 17

Roche won by about two yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Patrick Roche Great Britain 11.4 seconds
2 Carl Bechler Germany (11.4 seconds)

Semifinals

The fastest runner in each semifinal advanced to the final. The semifinals were begun at 3:35 p.m. on 21 July.

Semifinal 1

Cloughen withdrew to prepare for the 200m heats. Walker took the lead after about 50 metres and crossed the line about a yard in front of May to become the second sprinter to tie the Olympic record at the London Games. His actual time was 10.7, rounded up to the nearest fifth, in accordance with rules in force at the time; therefore, his time was given as 10 4⁄5.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Reggie Walker South Africa 10.8 seconds EOR
2 William W. May United States (11.0 seconds)
3 Patrick Roche Great Britain Unknown
4 Lester Stevens United States Unknown
— Robert Cloughen United States Did not start

Semifinal 2

Hamilton withdrew to prepare for the 200m heats. Kerr had little difficulty winning this heat, leading by three yards at the finish.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Robert Kerr Canada 11.0 seconds
2 Nathaniel Sherman United States (11.3 seconds)
3 John W. Morton Great Britain Unknown
— William Hamilton United States Did not start

Semifinal 3

Rector again won easily, tying the Olympic record for the second time.

Place Name Nation Time
1 James Rector United States 10.8 seconds EOR
2 Harold Huff United States (11.1 seconds)
3 Edward Duffy South Africa Unknown
4 Robert Duncan Great Britain Unknown

Semifinal 4

Cartmell and Robertson ran a tight race, with Cartmell winning by about a foot.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Nate Cartmell United States 11.2 seconds
2 Lawson Robertson United States (11.2 seconds)
3 James P. Stark Great Britain Unknown
4 John George Great Britain Unknown

Final

The final race of the 100 metres began at 4:15 p.m. on 22 July. With Walker and Rector having already tied the Olympic record before the final, it was widely expected that the final race of the 100 metres would be an exciting match between those two runners. Walker got off to a quick lead, but Rector caught him about midway through the race and passed him. Walker responded with a great effort, pulling level with Rector. The two ran side-by-side for about six yards before Walker finally pulled ahead to win by half a yard. Rector finished six inches ahead of Kerr, who finished two yards ahead of Cartmell for third place.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Reggie Walker South Africa 10.8 seconds EOR
2 James Rector United States (10.9 seconds)
3 Robert Kerr Canada (11.0 seconds)
4 Nate Cartmell United States (11.2 seconds)

References

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