The men's 200 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which has appeared at every edition of the Summer Olympics since the 1900 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 10, 1912, and on July 11, 1912. 61 runners from 19 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.Official report, p. 61. The event was won by Ralph Craig of the United States, the nation's third victory in four Games. Another American, Donald Lippincott, took silver. Great Britain earned its first medal in the 200 metres with Willie Applegarth's bronze.
Background
This was the fourth appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. None of the finalists from the 1908 Games returned. There was no clear favorite. None of the four different AAU champions since 1908 competed. Willie Applegarth of Great Britain was the 1912 AAA champion and closest thing to a favorite before the Games. American Ralph Craig had set the world record for 220 yards in 1910, won the eastern U.S. trials, and started out in Stockholm by winning the 100 metres.
Australasia, Bohemia, Chile, Japan, Portugal, and Russia each made their debut in the event. The United States made its fourth appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.
Competition format
There were three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. The quarterfinals consisted of 18 heats of between 2 and 5 athletes each; the two fastest men in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were 6 semifinals, each with 6 runners. In that round, only the top athlete advanced. The final had 6 runners.
The race was run on a 383-metre track.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
* unofficial 220 yards (= 201.17 m)
** straight course
Ralph Craig's 21.7 second performance in the final was of a second off the Olympic record of 21.6 seconds, set in 1904.
Schedule
Date Time Round Wednesday, 10 July 1912 10:3016:00 QuarterfinalsSemifinals Thursday, 11 July 1912 15:00 Final
Results
Quarterfinals
All quarterfinal heats were held on Wednesday, July 10, 1912.
Quarterfinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Charles Reidpath 22.6 2 Georges Rolot 22.7 3 Knut Stenborg Unknown 4 Václav Labík Unknown
Quarterfinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Ralph Craig 22.8 2 Richard Rice 23.0 3 Charles Poulenard Unknown 4 Karl Lindblom Unknown
Quarterfinal 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Ira Courtney 22.7 2 Duncan Macmillan Unknown 3 Léon Aelter Unknown 4 Haralds Hāns Unknown — Herberts Baumanis
Quarterfinal 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Charles Luther 23.6 2 Jan Grijseels Unknown
Quarterfinal 5
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Willie Applegarth 24.7 2 Harold Heiland 24.7
Quarterfinal 6
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Richard Rau 22.5 2 Arthur Anderson Unknown 3 Rudolf Rauch Unknown
Quarterfinal 7
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Carl Cooke 22.5 2 Reuben Povey Unknown 3 Joseph Wells Unknown 4 Harry Beasley Unknown 5 Georges Malfait Unknown
Quarterfinal 8
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 John Howard 25.0 2 Franco Giongo 25.0
Quarterfinal 9
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Knut Lindberg 23.1 2 Frigyes Wiesner Unknown 3 Charles Lelong Unknown
Quarterfinal 10
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Peter Gerhardt 22.9 2 Victor d'Arcy 22.9 3 Gustav Möller Unknown
Quarterfinal 11
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Donald Lippincott 22.8 2 Ivan Möller Unknown 3 Pierre Failliot Unknown 4 Ernest Haley Unknown 5 Pablo Eitel Unknown
Quarterfinal 12
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Alvah Meyer 24.1 2 Robert Duncan Unknown
Quarterfinal 13
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Donnell Young 22.8 2 Cyril Seedhouse Unknown 3 Fritz Fleischer Unknown 4 Heinrich Wenseler Unknown 5 Yahiko Mishima Unknown
Quarterfinal 14
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 George Patching 22.3 2 Clement Wilson Unknown 3 Frank McConnell Unknown 4 Ervin Szerelemhegyi Unknown 5 Emil Grandell Unknown
Quarterfinal 15
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Max Herrmann 22.9 2 István Déván Unknown 3 Herman Sotaaen Unknown 4 Wladyslaw Ponurski Unknown
Quarterfinal 16
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 William Stewart 26.0 2 Henry Macintosh Unknown
Quarterfinal 17
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 David Jacobs 23.2 2 Skotte Jacobsson 23.2
Quarterfinal 18
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Ture Person 23.2 2 Robert Schurrer Unknown 3 António Stromp Unknown
Semifinals
All semi-finals were held on Wednesday, July 10, 1912.
Semifinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Ralph Craig 21.9 2 David Jacobs Unknown 3 Ira Courtney Unknown 4 Ture Person Unknown 5 Frigyes Wiesner Unknown — Arthur Anderson
Semifinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Willie Applegarth 21.9 2 Clement Wilson Unknown 3 Cyril Seedhouse Unknown 4 Harold Heiland Unknown 5 Skotte Jacobsson Unknown — William Stewart
Semifinal 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Donnell Young 21.9 2 Carl Cooke Unknown 3 Georges Rolot Unknown 4 Max Herrmann Unknown — Henry Macintosh George Patching
Semifinal 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Donald Lippincott 21.8 2 Alvah Meyer Unknown 3 John Howard Unknown 4 Ivan Möller 22.4 5 Duncan Macmillan Unknown 6 Jan Grijseels Unknown
Semifinal 5
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Richard Rau 22.1 2 Peter Gerhardt Unknown 3 Charles Luther 22.3 4 Franco Giongo Unknown 5 Reuben Povey Unknown — Richard Rice
Semifinal 6
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Charles Reidpath 22.1 2 Victor d'Arcy Unknown 3 Knut Lindberg 22.5 4 István Déván Unknown 5 Robert Schurrer Unknown — Robert Duncan
Final
The final was held on Thursday, July 11, 1912.
Rank Athlete Nation Time Ralph Craig 21.7 Donald Lippincott 21.8 Willie Applegarth 22.04 Richard Rau 22.25 Charles Reidpath 22.36 Donnell Young 22.3
References
Notes