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Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

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Men's 100 metres
at the Games of the I Olympiad
100m sprint 1896 Olympics.jpg
The start of the 100 metres final, according to an artist.
VenuePanathenaic Stadium
Dates6 April 1896
(first round)
10 April 1896
(final)
Competitors15 from 8 nations
Winning time12.0
Medalists
Gold medal Thomas Burke  United States
Silver medal Fritz Hofmann  Germany
Bronze medal Alajos Szokolyi  Hungary
Bronze medal Francis Lane  United States
 1900»
Athletics at the
1896 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 mmen
400 mmen
800 mmen
1500 mmen
110 m hurdlesmen
Road events
Marathonmen
Field events
Long jumpmen
Triple jumpmen
High jumpmen
Pole vaultmen
Shot putmen
Discus throwmen

The 100 metres was the shortest track race in the 1896 Summer Olympics. The event had 3 heats (or rounds) and a final. The first round of the men's 100 metres race was the first event run at modern Olympics. It was run on 6 April 1896. The final was on 10 April. There were 15 athletes in this event. These 15 athletes were from 8 different nations. The event was won by Thomas Burke of the United States. Fritz Hofmann of Germany was in 2nd place. The Hungarian Alajos Szokolyi and American Francis Lane tied for 3rd place.[1][2]

Background

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Fritz Hofmann was the most famous sprinter at this time. In 1893, he won the Championship of the Continent. Thomas Burke was an American champion in the 400 metres. However, he was not known in the 100 metres. The best sprinters in the world at the timedid not run.[1]

Competition

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There were 21 athletes in the first round. These athletes were in 3 heats (or rounds). Each heat had 7 runners. The fastest 2 athletes in each round would run in the final. 6 of the runners quit before the races began.

Records

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This was the world record (in seconds) before the 1896 olympics.

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 (GER) April 13, 1895
United Kingdom Harry Beaton Rotterdam (NED) August 28, 1895
  1. ↑ unofficial

A new Olympic record was made after the competition.

Date Event Athlete Time Notes
6 April 1896 Round 1  Thomas Burke (USA) 11.8 s OR

In the first heat, Francis Lane set the first Olympic Record in 12.2 seconds. This time was tied in Heat 2 by Thomas Curtis. In the 3rd heat, Thomas Burke ran 11.8 seconds. This became the Olympic Record until the 1900 Olympics.

Schedule

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The times when the event started were not written down. The races started after King George I of Greece arrived at 3 p.m..[3] The final was the first competition in the afternoon on Friday.[4]

Date Round
Gregorian Julian
Monday, 6 April 1896 Monday, 25 March 1896 Round 1
Friday, 10 April 1896 Friday, 29 March 1896 Final

Results

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Heats

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The first round of heats were on 6 April. The first heat of the 100 metres was the first competition in the Olympic Games. Francis Lane won the first heat. This made him the first winner of a modern Olympic race. All of the heats were won by people from the United States.

Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Francis Lane  United States 12.2 Q, OR
2 Alajos Szokolyi  Hungary 12.75 Q
3 Charles Gmelin  Great Britain 12.9
4 Adolphe Grisel  France Unknown
5 Kurt Doerry  Germany Unknown
— Leonidasz Manno  Hungary DNS
Luis Subercaseaux  Chile DNS

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Thomas Curtis  United States 12.2, =OR Q
2 Alexandros Chalkokondylis  Greece 12.75 Q
3 Launceston Elliot  Great Britain 12.9
4 Eugen Schmidt  Denmark Unknown
5 George Marshall  Great Britain Unknown
— Alexandre Tuffère  France DNS
Unknown Unknown (France or Hungary) DNS

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Thomas Burke  United States 11.8 Q, OR
2 Fritz Hofmann  Germany 12.75 Q
3 Friedrich Traun  Germany 13.6
4–5 Georgios Gennimatas  Greece Unknown
Henrik Sjöberg  Sweden Unknown
— Alfred Flatow  Germany DNS
Konstantinos Mouratis  Greece DNS

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time
1 Thomas Burke  United States 12.0
2 Fritz Hofmann  Germany 12.2
3 Francis Lane  United States 12.6
Alajos Szokolyi  Hungary 12.6
5 Alexandros Chalkokondylis  Greece 12.6
— Thomas Curtis  United States DNS

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Semifinals Final Notes
1 Thomas Burke  United States 11.8 12.0 OR
2 Fritz Hofmann  Germany 12.6 12.2
3 Francis Lane  United States 12.2 12.6
Alajos Szokolyi  Hungary 12.8 12.6
5 Alexandros Chalkokondylis  Greece 12.8 12.6
6 Thomas Curtis  United States 12.2 DNS
AC Launceston Elliot  Great Britain 12.9 Did not advance
Charles Gmelin  Great Britain 12.9
Friedrich Traun  Germany 13.5
Eugen Schmidt  Denmark Unknown 4th in semifinal
Adolphe Grisel  France Unknown 4th in semifinal
Georgios Gennimatas  Greece Unknown 4th–5th in semifinal
Henrik Sjöberg  Sweden Unknown 4th–5th in semifinal
George Marshall  Great Britain Unknown 5th in semifinal
Kurt Doerry  Germany Unknown 5th in semifinal
— Louis Adler  France DNS
Harald Arbin  Sweden DNS
Nándor Dáni  Hungary DNS
Ralph Derr  United States DNS
Alfred Flatow  Germany DNS
Leonidasz Manno  Hungary DNS
Konstantinos Mouratis  Greece DNS
Luis Subercaseaux  Chile DNS
Jean Tournois  France DNS
Alexandre Tuffère  France DNS
Charles Vanoni  United States DNS
István Zachar  Hungary DNS

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "100 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "Athens 1896 Athletics 100M Men Results". Olympics.com. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Official Report, p. 57.
  4. ↑ Official Report, p. 84.
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