Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's triple jump

The men's triple jump was one of six jumping events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on 25 July 1908. Twenty athletes from eight nations competed.[1] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[2] The event was won by Tim Ahearne of Great Britain, breaking a streak of three American victories in the triple jump. All three medal-winning nations were on the podium for the first time.

Men's triple jump
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Athletics pictogram
VenueWhite City Stadium
Date25 July
Competitors20 from 8 nations
Winning distance14.92 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Tim Ahearne
 Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Garfield MacDonald
 Canada
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Edvard Larsen
 Norway
← 1904
1912 →

Background

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This was the fourth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. No athletes from the 1904 Games returned. The triple jump was still "rarely contested at national meets in this era" and once again there was no favorite in the Olympic event.[3]

Canada, Finland, Norway, and South Africa each made their first appearance in the event. The United States competed for the fourth time, having competed at each of the Games so far.

Competition format

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The competition was described as two rounds at the time, but was more similar to the modern divided final. All athletes received three jumps initially. The top three after that received an additional three jumps to improve their distance, but the initial jumps would still count if no improvement was made. The jump format was codified: "The competitor shall first land upon the same foot with which he shall have taken off. The reverse foot shall be used for the second landing, and both feet shall be used for the third landing."[3][4]

Records

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

World record   John Breshnihan (GBR) 15.35(*) Bandon, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 26 August 1906
Olympic record   Myer Prinstein (USA) 14.47 Paris, France 16 July 1900

(*) unofficial

At first Tim Ahearne set a new Olympic record with 14.72 metres. Then Garfield MacDonald improved the record to 14.76 metres and finally Ahearne took the new Olympic record with 14.92 metres.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Saturday, 25 July 1908 10:00 Qualifying
Final

Results

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All jumpers performed three jumps. The best three made another three attempts to improve their marks. Best marks are known for the top seventeen jumpers, but no information about marks or placement for the bottom three.

Rank Athlete Nation Qualifying Final Notes
  Tim Ahearne   Great Britain 14.72 14.92 OR
  Garfield MacDonald   Canada 14.12 14.76
  Edvard Larsen   Norway 14.37 14.39
4 Calvin Bricker   Canada 14.10 Did not advance
5 Platt Adams   United States 14.07 Did not advance
6 Frank Mount Pleasant   United States 13.97 Did not advance
7 Karl Fryksdal   Sweden 13.65 Did not advance
8 John Brennan   United States 13.59 Did not advance
9 Martin Sheridan   United States 13.42 Did not advance
10 Doug Stupart   South Africa 13.40 Did not advance
11 Cyril Dugmore   Great Britain 13.31 Did not advance
12 Michael Dineen   Great Britain 13.23 Did not advance
13 Henry Olsen   Norway 13.17 Did not advance
14 Oscar Guttormsen   Norway 13.16 Did not advance
15 Dimitrios Muller   Greece 13.09 Did not advance
16 Frank Irons   United States 12.67 Did not advance
17 Sam Bellah   United States 12.55 Did not advance
18–20 Nathaniel Sherman   United States Unknown Did not advance
George Mayberry   Great Britain Unknown Did not advance
Juho Halme   Finland Unknown Did not advance
21 nonstarters Various DNS Did not advance

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's Triple Jump". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  2. ^ Official report, p. 32.
  3. ^ a b "Triple Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. ^ Official Report, p. 87.

Sources

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  • Official Report of the Games of the IV Olympiad (1908).
  • De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1908". Accessed 7 April 2006. Available electronically at [1] Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.