Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

Men's 100 metres
at the Games of the II Olympiad
File:JarvisFrank 1900.jpg
Frank Jarvis
VenueBois de Boulogne
DateJuly 14
Competitors20 from 9 nations
Winning time11.0
Medalists
Gold medal 
Silver medal 
Bronze medal 
«18961904»

The men's 100 metres was a sprinting event in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was on July 14, 1900. There were 20 athletes. These athletes were from 9 different nations. Frank Jarvis won the event. He was from the United States. Walter Tewksbury was in 2nd place. He was also from the United States. Australia won their first medal in the 100 metres. Stan Rowley won a bronze medal in this event.

Background

This was the second time this event happened. None of the runners also ran in the 1896 Olympics. The American Arthur Duffey had just won the AAA Championships for 100 yards. He was the favorite for the competition.[1] 7 people had ran the unofficial world record of 10.8 for this event. One of these people was Isaac Westergren of Sweden. He was also in this competition.

There were no athletes from France. Australia, Bohemia, India, and Italy were in this event for the first time.

The 100 metres was not the shortest sprint. The 60 meters was the shortest sprint. This has only happened in 1900 and 1904.

Records

These were the world records and Olympic records before the 1900 Olympics. The times are all in seconds.

World Record 10.8[a] United States Luther Cary Paris (FRA) July 4, 1891
United Kingdom Cecil Lee Brussels (BEL) September 25, 1892
Belgium Étienne De Re Brussels (BEL) August 4, 1893
United Kingdom L. Atcherley Frankfurt/Main (GER) April 13, 1895
United Kingdom Harry Beaton Rotterdam (NED) August 28, 1895
Sweden Harald Anderson-Arbin Helsingborg (SWE) August 9, 1896
Sweden Isaac Westergren Gävle (SWE) September 11, 1898
Sweden Isaac Westergren Gävle (SWE) September 10, 1899
Olympic Record 11.8 United States Thomas Burke Athens (GRE) April 6, 1896 (NS)
  1. ↑ unofficial

In the first heat of the first round, Arthur Duffey ran 11.4 seconds. This beat the Olympic record. In the second heat of the first round, Walter Tewksbury ran 11.4 seconds. This tied the Olympic record. In the third heat of the first round, Frank Jarvis ran 10.8 seconds. This tied the unofficial world record. In the second semifinal, Tewksbury also ran 10.8 seconds. This would tie the unofficial world record.

Competition

The competition had 4 rounds. There was the heats, the semifinals, the repechage, and the final. The fastest 2 runners in the heats would run in the semifinals. In the semifinals, 12 men were put into each 3 semifinals. Each semifinals had 4 runners. In the semifinal, the 1st-place runner ran in the finals. The 2nd and 3rd place runners ran in the repechage. In the repechage, there were 6 runners. Only the runner of the repechage would run in the final.

Schedule

Date Time Round
Saturday, 14 July 1900 
 
 
11:15
First round
Semifinals
Repechage
Final

Results

First round

In the first round, there were six heats. The fastest 2 runners in each heat could run in the semifinal round.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Arthur Duffey United States11.4Q, OR
2Frederick Moloney United States11.5Q
3Václav Nový BohemiaUnknown

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Walter Tewksbury United States11.4Q, =OR
2Thaddeus McClain United States11.4Q
3Pál Koppán HungaryUnknown

Heat 3

This heat was the fastest heat. It would have 2 medallists. Jarvis tied the world record.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Frank Jarvis United States10.8Q, =WR
2Stan Rowley Australia10.9Q
3Umberto Colombo ItalyUnknown
4Julius Keyl GermanyUnknown

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Clark Leiblee United States11.4Q
2Kurt Doerry Germany11.5Q
3Johannes Gandil DenmarkUnknown

Heat 5

The fifth heat was the only heat that was not won by an American.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Norman Pritchard India11.4Q
2Edmund Minahan United States11.5Q
3Ernő Schubert HungaryUnknown
4Isaac Westergren SwedenUnknown

Heat 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Charles Burroughs United States11.4Q
2Dixon Boardman United States11.5Q
3Henry Slack United StatesUnknown

Semifinals

There were three semifinals. Each semifinal had 4 runners. The fastest runner in each semifinals went to the final. The 2nd and 3rd place runners ran in the repechage. The winner of the repechage would also go to the finals.

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Arthur Duffey United States11.0Q
2Stan Rowley Australia11.2R
3Charles Burroughs United StatesUnknownR
4Dixon Boardman United StatesUnknown

Semifinal 2

Tewksbury tied the world record.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Walter Tewksbury United States10.8Q, =WR
2Clark Leiblee United States10.9R
3Frederick Moloney United StatesUnknownR
—Kurt Doerry GermanyDNF

Semifinal 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Frank Jarvis United States11.2Q
2Thaddeus McClain United States11.3R
3Norman Pritchard IndiaUnknownR
4Edmund Minahan United StatesUnknown

Repechage

The repechage was a very close race. Rowley only beat Pritchard by 1 inches. He would be allowed to run in the final round.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Stan Rowley Australia11.0Q
2Norman Pritchard India11.0
3Clark Leiblee United StatesUnknown
4–6Charles Burroughs United StatesUnknown
Thaddeus McClain United StatesUnknown
Frederick Moloney United StatesUnknown

Final

Duffey was faster than everybody else at first. However, he pulled a tendon halfway in the race. Jarvis beat Tewksbury by two feet. Rowley was half of a yard behind.

RankAthleteNationTime
1Frank Jarvis United States11.0
2 Walter Tewksbury United States11.1
3 Stan Rowley Australia11.2
—Arthur Duffey United StatesDNF

Sources

References

  1. ↑ "100 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 July 2020.

Citations