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

The first heat of the men's 100 metres race was the first event run at the modern Olympics, on 6 April 1896. The event consisted of 3 heats and a final, held on 10 April. The 100 metres was the shortest race on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. 15 athletes from 8 nations competed. The event was won by Thomas Burke of the United States. Fritz Hofmann of Germany took second, with Hungarian Alajos Szokolyi and American Francis Lane (who had won the first heat) tying for third. These competitors are recognized as gold, silver, and bronze medalists by the International Olympic Committee, though that award system had not yet been implemented in 1896.[1][2]

Men's 100 metres
at the Games of the I Olympiad
Artist's rendering of the start of the 100 metres final
VenuePanathenaic Stadium
Dates6 April 1896
(first round)
10 April 1896
(final)
Competitors15 from 8 nations
Winning time12.0
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Thomas Burke  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Fritz Hofmann  Germany
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Alajos Szokolyi  Hungary
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Francis Lane  United States
1900 →

Background

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Fritz Hofmann was probably the most prominent sprinter to enter the event; he had won the 1893 Championship of the Continent. Thomas Burke was the American champion in the 400 metres but had not distinguished himself yet in the 100 metres. Absent were top sprinters American Bernie Wefers and Englishman Charles Bradley.[1]

Competition format

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21 athletes were entered in the first round, divided into three heats of seven runners, but six of them later withdrew. The top two athletes in each heat advanced to the final.

Records

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This was the standing world record (in seconds) prior to the 1896 Summer Olympics.

World Record 10.8[a]   Luther Cary Paris (FRA) July 4, 1891
  Cecil Lee Brussels (BEL) September 25, 1892
  Étienne De Re Brussels (BEL) August 4, 1893
  L. Atcherley Frankfurt (GER) April 13, 1895
  Harry Beaton Rotterdam (NED) August 28, 1895
  1. ^ unofficial

The following new Olympic record was set during this 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 inaugural Olympic Record of 12.2 seconds, tied in Heat 2 by Thomas Curtis. Thomas Burke then ran 11.8 seconds, which stood as the Olympic Record until the 1900 Olympics.

Schedule

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The precise times of the events are not recorded. For the first round, the heats began shortly after the arrival of King George I of Greece at 3 p.m. and the brief opening ceremony.[3] The final was the first competition of the afternoon session 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 took place on 6 April. The first heat of the 100 metres was the first competition held in the Games. Francis Lane won the first heat, thus becoming the first winner of a modern Olympic race. All heats were won by athletes from the United States.

Heat 1

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The Official Report states that there were a total of 21 competitors, divided into three groups; there should therefore have been 7 athletes in each heat. The Official Report names only the top two runners, Lane and Szokolyi.[5] Butler writes that the first heat had "two Hungarians, a Chilian, a Frenchman, a German, an Englishman and an American."[6] Mallon & Widlund list Lane, Szokolyi, Gmelin, Grisel, and Doerry. Megede places André Tournois as the French competitor, rather than Grisel (who Megede does not list at all), omits Doerry (who Megede puts in heat 2), and includes Leonidasz Manno and Luis Subercaseaux.[7] Olympedia follows Mallon & Widlund, also including Manno, Tournois, and Subercaseaux in a list of non-starters not attached to particular heats (this list includes 12 athletes, bringing Olympedia's total entrants to 27 rather than 21).[1]

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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The Official Report states that there were a total of 21 competitors, divided into three groups; there should therefore have been 7 athletes in each heat. The Official Report names only the top two runners, Curtis and Chalkokondylis.[5] Butler writes of the second heat that Curtis beat "a Greek, an Englishman, two Frenchmen, a Dane, and a Hungarian."[6] Mallon & Widlund list Curtis, Chalkokondylis, Elliot, Schmidt, and Marshall. Megede places Alexandre Tuffère as the French competitor, including him at 3rd place above Elliott; Megede also has Kurt Doerry in this heat instead of the first one (indicating he started but did not finish the heat) and omits Marshall entirely.[7] Olympedia follows Mallon & Widlund, also including Tuffère in a list of non-starters not attached to particular heats. Other non-starters listed by Olympedia that could be a second Frenchman or a Hungarian to match Butler's list are André Tournois, Louis Adler, István Zachar, and Nándor Dáni.[1]

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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Both Burke and Hofmann were more well known for middle-distance events rather than sprinting. Burke's time of 11.8s became the standing Olympic record. It is not clear which athlete received which place between the fourth and fifth finishers.

The Official Report states that there were a total of 21 competitors, divided into three groups; there should therefore have been 7 athletes in each heat. The Official Report names only the top two runners, "an American (Burke)" and Hofmann.[5] Butler writes of the final heat that Burke beat "a Swede, two Greeks, and three Germans."[6] Mallon & Widlund list Burke, Hofmann, Traun, Gennimatas, and Sjöberg. Megede omits Traun, places Sjöberg 3rd and Gennimatas 5th, and includes Nándor Dáni at 4th.[7] Olympedia follows Mallon & Widlund; non-starters (not attached to particular heats in Olympedia) include Flatow and Mouratis.[1]

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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The final of the 100 metre race, run on 10 April, involved the six runners who had finished in the top two of their preliminary heats. Curtis scratched from the final as he had also qualified for the final of the 110 metre hurdles, which was the next race on the program (Curtis won that race).

Burke beat his companion from the third heat, Hofmann, by two meters. In a thrilling contest for third place, Lane and Szokolyi dead-heated, both men beating Chalkokondylis by six inches. Lane and Szokolyi are both considered to be bronze medallists by the International Olympic Committee.

Rank Athlete Nation Time
  Thomas Burke   United States 12.0
  Fritz Hofmann   Germany 12.2
  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
  Thomas Burke   United States 11.8 12.0 OR
  Fritz Hofmann   Germany 12.6 12.2
  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. ^ a b c d e "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.
  5. ^ a b c Official Report, pp. 61–62.
  6. ^ a b c Butler, Maynard. The Olympic Games. In Mallon & Widlund, pp. 37–41.
  7. ^ a b c Ekkehard zur Megede : The history of Olympic athletics. Volume 1: 1896-1936. Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 2nd edition 1970.