The men's 110 metres hurdles was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Thursday, July 11, 1912, and on Friday, July 12, 1912. 22 hurdlers from 10 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.Official report, p. 61. The event was won by Fred Kelly of the United States, the fifth of five consecutive victories for the nation in the first five Olympic Games. It was also the fourth of four consecutive podium sweeps for the Americans in the event.

Background

This was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the finalists from 1908 returned. The American hurdles were favored, with Fred Kelly, John Case, and Vaughn Blanchard the Olympic trial winners.

Chile, Finland, and Italy each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its fifth appearance, the only nation to have competed in the 110 metres hurdles in each Games to that point.

Competition format

As in 1908, there were three rounds. The first round consisted of 11 heats, many of which had only one or two hurdlers and none of which had more than three. The top two hurdlers in each heat advanced to the semifinals, resulting in only two men being eliminated in the first round. The 22 semifinalists were divided into six semifinals of 3 or 4 runners each; only the top hurdler in each advanced to the 6-man final.Official Report, pp. 371–73.

Records

The records for the 110 metre hurdles coming into 1912 were 15.0 seconds, which were not matched during the 1912 Games.

Schedule

Date Time Round Thursday, 11 July 1912 9:3016:15 Round 1Semifinals Friday, 12 July 1912 15:00 Final

Results

Heats

All heats were held on Thursday, July 11, 1912.

Only two hurdlers were eliminated after the heats.

Heat 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 George Chisholm 15.4 2 Károly Solymár 15.8

Heat 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 John Eller 16.0 2 Gerard Anderson 18.6

Heat 3

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Martin Hawkins 16.1 2 Géo André 16.8

Heat 4

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Ferdinand Bie 16.2 2 Valdemar Wickholm 16.6

Heat 5

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Pablo Eitel 17.2

Heat 6

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Marius Delaby 16.0 2 Vaughn Blanchard 16.0 3 Alfredo Pagani Unknown

Heat 7

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Edwin Pritchard 16.4 2 Henry Blakeney 17.4

Heat 8

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 John Nicholson 15.5 2 Daciano Colbacchini 16.1

Heat 9

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Fred Kelly 16.4

Heat 10

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 John Case 16.3 2 Hermann von Bönninghausen 17.0

Heat 11

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Kenneth Powell 15.6 2 James Wendell 15.7 3 Frank Lukeman Unknown

Semifinals

All semifinals were held on Thursday, July 11, 1912.

Semifinal 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Kenneth Powell 15.6 2 John Eller 15.7 3 Ferdinand Bie 15.8 4 Pablo Eitel Unknown

Semifinal 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Martin Hawkins 15.7 2 Daciano Colbacchini 16.0 3 Marius Delaby 16.2 — Károly Solymár

Semifinal 3

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 John Nicholson 15.4 2 Vaughn Blanchard 15.7 3 Hermann von Bönninghausen 16.0

Semifinal 4

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 James Wendell 15.5 2 George Chisholm 15.7 — Gerard Anderson

Semifinal 5

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Fred Kelly 15.6 2 Valdemar Wickholm 16.6 3 Henry Blakeney Unknown

Semifinal 6

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 John Case 15.6 2 Edwin Pritchard 15.6 3 Géo André Unknown

Final

The final was held on Friday, July 12, 1912. Nicholson fell at the eighth hurdle, leaving Kelly to hold on and win by a narrow margin over Wendell.

Rank Athlete Nation Time1 Fred Kelly 15.12 James Wendell 15.23 Martin Hawkins 15.34 John Case 15.35 Kenneth Powell 15.5 — John Nicholson

References

Notes