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


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. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes, The event was won by Reggie Walker of South Africa, the first time the gold medal went to a nation other than the United States. The Americans did stay on the podium with James Rector's silver medal. Canada won its first medal in the event, a bronze by Robert Kerr.

Background

This was the fourth time the event was held. Nathaniel Cartmell, the 1904 silver medalist, competed again in 1908, but gold medalist Archie Hahn did not. Other notable entrants included John W. Morton of Great Britain, the four-time AAA Championships winner; Reggie Walker, the 1907 South African champion; and Knut Lindberg of Sweden, the unofficial world record holder.
Austria, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and South Africa were represented in the event for the first time. The United States and Hungary were the only two nations to have appeared at each of the first four Olympic men's 100 metres events.

Competition format

With a larger field than in 1904, the event expanded from two rounds to three: heats, semifinals, and a final. Only the top runner in each heat, of which there were 17, advanced to the semifinals. These 17 semifinalists were divided into 4 semifinal heats; again, only the top runner advanced to the final.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.
World Record10.6' Knut LindbergGothenburg August 26, 1906
Olympic Record10.8 Frank JarvisParis July 14, 1900
Olympic Record10.8 Walter TewksburyParis July 14, 1900

' unofficial
James Rector and Reggie Walker 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.

Results

Heats

Times were kept for the winning runner in each heat only. They were measured to the closest 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.

Heat 1

Duffy won this heat by three yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Edward Duffy11.6
2Georgios Skoutarides
3Victor HennyUnknown

Heat 2

George was ahead of Guttormsen by three yards when he finished.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1John George11.6
2Oscar Guttormsen

Heat 3

Cartmell crossed the finish line two yards ahead of Malfait.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Nate Cartmell11.0
2Georges Malfait
3Arthur Hoffmann
4Evert KoopsUnknown

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.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Reggie Walker11.0
2Jean Konings
3Denis MurrayUnknown
4–5Edgar KiralfyUnknown
4–5Ernestus GrevenUnknown

Heat 5

Harmer pulled up lame. Cloughen won by five yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Cloughen11.0
2John Johansen
3David BelandUnknown
—Henry Harmer

Heat 6

May won by about three yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1William W. May11.2
2Victor Jacquemin
3L. LescatUnknown
4Mikhail PaskalidesUnknown

Heat 7

Duncan won by a yard.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Duncan11.4
2Knut Stenborg
3Hans Eicke
4Umberto BarrozziUnknown
5Ragnar StenbergUnknown

Heat 8

Stevens beat world record holder Lindberg by inches.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Lester Stevens11.2
2Knut Lindberg
3Heinrich Rehder
4William MurrayUnknown

Heat 9

Morton won by about three yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1John W. Morton11.2
2Axel Petersen
3Jacobus HoogveldUnknown

Heat 10

Fischer pulled up lame. Kerr won by three yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Kerr11.0
2Meyrick Chapman
—Paul Fischer

Heat 11

Phillips pulled up lame, allowing Hamilton to win by about three yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1William Hamilton11.2
2Pál Simon
3G. LamotteUnknown
—Herbert Phillips

Heat 12

Huff was only about a yard ahead of Pankhurst when he finished.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Harold Huff11.4
2Henry Pankhurst
3Karl FryksdalUnknown

Heat 13

Robertson won by about three yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Lawson Robertson11.4
2Frank Lukeman
3Henri MeslotUnknown
4Eduard SchöneckerUnknown

Heat 14

Sherman's lead of four yards at the finish was one of the larger leads in the first round.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Nathaniel Sherman11.2
2Louis Sebert
3Harold WatsonUnknown
4Frigyes WiesnerUnknown
5Hermann von Bönninghausen

Heat 15

Rector's Olympic record-tying time gave him a relatively easy victory in the first round.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1James Rector10.8, =
2Vilmos Rácz
3Willy Kohlmey

Heat 16

In one of the slowest of the first round heads, Stark won by about two yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1James P. Stark11.8
2Gaspare Torretta

Heat 17

Roche won by about two yards.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Patrick Roche11.4
2Carl Bechler

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.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Reggie Walker10.8, =
2William W. May
3Patrick RocheUnknown
4Lester StevensUnknown
—Robert Cloughen

Semifinal 2

Hamilton withdrew to prepare for the 200m heats. Kerr had little difficulty winning this heat, leading by three yards at the finish.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Kerr11.0
2Nathaniel Sherman
3John W. MortonUnknown
—William Hamilton

Semifinal 3

Rector again won easily, tying the Olympic record for the second time.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1James Rector10.8, =
2Harold Huff
3Edward DuffyUnknown
4Robert DuncanUnknown

Semifinal 4

Cartmell and Robertson ran a tight race, with Cartmell winning by about a foot.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Nate Cartmell11.2
2Lawson Robertson
3James P. StarkUnknown
4John GeorgeUnknown

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.
RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Reggie Walker10.8=
James Rector
Robert Kerr
4Nate Cartmell