Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

The men's 800 metres at the 1912 Summer Olympics was the event’s fifth appearance, remaining one of 12 athletics disciplines contested at every games. The competition was held from Saturday, July 6, 1912, to Monday, July 8, 1912. Forty-seven runners from 16 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.Official report, p. 61. The event was won by Ted Meredith of the United States, the nation's third consecutive victory in the 800 metres. Mel Sheppard became the first man to win two medals in the event, coming in second to miss out on defending his 1908 gold. Ira Davenport completed the United States sweep, the second time the Americans had swept the 800 metres podium (after 1904).

Background

This was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All three medalists from 1908, Olympic champion Mel Sheppard, the silver medalist Emilio Lunghi, and the bronze medalist Hanns Braun, returned. Sheppard was among the favorites with a chance to repeat; other prominent challengers were his teammates John Paul Jones and Ted Meredith as well as Lunghi (who had matched Sheppard's world record) and Braun (the 1911 and 1912 AAA champion).

Chile, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey appeared in the event for the first time. Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, and the United States each made their fourth appearance, tied for the most among all nations.

Competition format

The competition expanded to three rounds for the first time. There were nine first-round heats of between 4 and 8 athletes each; the top two runners in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were two semifinals with 9 athletes each; the top four runners in each semifinal advanced to the eight-man final.Official Report, pp. 360–63.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

(*) This track was 536.45 metres= mile in circumference.

The world record of 1:52.8, which had seemed fairly safe through the first two rounds of competition, was broken by all three medalists and tied by the fourth-place runner in the final. David Caldwell tied the old record, while Mel Sheppard, the previous record-holder, and Ira Davenport beat the old record by .8 seconds at 1:52.0, taking silver and bronze behind Ted Meredith and his new record of 1:51.9. This record became the first official world record for the 800 metres.

Schedule

Date Time Round Saturday, 6 July 1912 14:45 Round 1 Sunday, 7 July 1912 Semifinals Monday, 8 July 1912 17:00 Final

Results

Heats

All heats were held on Saturday, July 6, 1912.

Heat 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 David Caldwell 1:58.6 2 Emilio Lunghi Unknown 3 Walter McClure Unknown 4 Eric Lindholm 2:01.5 5 Joseph Caullé Unknown

Heat 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Percy Mann 1:56.0 2 Herbert Putnam Unknown 3 Jacob Pedersen Unknown — Leopoldo Palma

Heat 3

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 John Paul Jones 2:01.8 2 Armando Cortesão Unknown 3 Oscar Larsen Unknown 4 Guido Calvi Unknown

Heat 4

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Clarence Edmundson 1:56.5 2 John Tait Unknown 3 Charles Poulenard Unknown 4 Willie Jahn 2:02.0 — Robert Burton

Heat 5

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Ira Davenport 1:59.0 2 Frederick Hulford Unknown 3 Ödön Bodor Unknown 4 Jacques Person Unknown 5 Dmitry Nazarov Unknown — Zdeněk Městecký Philip Baker

Heat 6

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Harlan Holden 1:58.1 2 Evert Björn Unknown 3 Richard Yorke Unknown 4 Karl Haglund 2:01.2 5-7 Ferenc Forgács Unknown Aleksandr Yelizarov Unknown Federico Mueller Unknown — Vahram Papazian

Heat 7

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 James Soutter 2:00.4 2 Mel Sheppard Unknown 3 Erich Lehmann Unknown — János Antal Johannes Leopold Villemson

Heat 8

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Mel Brock 1:57.0 2 Ted Meredith Unknown 3 John Victor Unknown — Alan Patterson

Heat 9

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Ernest Henley 1:57.6 2 Hanns Braun Unknown 3 Erik Frisell 1:59.2 4 Thomas Halpin 1:59.2 — Lauri Pihkala Károly Radóczy

Semifinals

Both semi-finals were held on Sunday, July 7, 1912. Jones withdrew to focus on the 1500 metres.

Semifinal 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Ted Meredith 1:54.4 2 Hanns Braun 1:54.6 3 Mel Sheppard 1:54.8 4 Herbert Putnam 1:55.0 5 John Tait Unknown 6 Percy Mann Unknown — Frederick Hulford James Soutter John Paul Jones

Semifinal 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Mel Brock 1:55.7 2 Clarence Edmundson 1:55.8 3 David Caldwell 1:55.9 4 Ira Davenport 1:55.9 5 Emilio Lunghi Unknown 6-9 Evert Björn Unknown Ernest Henley Unknown Harlan Holden Unknown Armando Cortesão Unknown

Final

The final took place on Monday, July 8, 1912.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes Ted Meredith 1:51.9 Mel Sheppard 1:52.0 Ira Davenport 1:52.0 4 David Caldwell 1:52.8 5 Mel Brock 1:53.0 6 Hanns Braun 1:53.0 7 Clarence Edmundson Unknown 8 Herbert Putnam Unknown

References

External links