Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres
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]
| 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. | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Panathenaic Stadium | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 6 April 1896 (first round) 10 April 1896 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 15 from 8 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 12.0 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| 1900» | |||||||||||||
Background
changeFritz 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
changeThere 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
changeThis was the world record (in seconds) before the 1896 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 |
- ↑ 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
changeThe 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
changeHeats
changeThe 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
change| 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
change| 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
change| 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
change| 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
changeReferences
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "100 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ↑ "Athens 1896 Athletics 100M Men Results". Olympics.com. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ↑ Official Report, p. 57.
- ↑ Official Report, p. 84.
- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at la84foundation.org Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine)
- Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at la84foundation.org Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine)
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.
- Wallechinsky, David (1984). The Complete Book of the Olympics. Crawfordsville, Indiana: R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company. ISBN 0-14-006632-2.