The men's 100 metres event was part of the athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on August 15 and 16, 1920. The event was won by Charley Paddock of the United States. Great Britain won its first medal in the event, a bronze by Harry Edward.

Sixty sprinters from 22 nations competed, while Estonia's sole athlete in the event, Reinhold Saulmann, was entered but did not start the 100 m.Athletics at the 1920 Summer Games: Men's 100 metres. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-31. No nation had more than 4 runners, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912.

Background

This was the sixth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. None of the 1912 medalists returned in 1920. Notable entrants included Charley Paddock of the United States, the 1919 Inter-Allied Championship winner and Olympic favorite; fellow American Loren Murchison, who had defeated Paddock in the U.S. Olympic trials; and Harry Edward of Great Britain, the 1920 AAA Championships winner.

Egypt, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland were represented in the event for the first time. The new nation of Czechoslovakia also appeared for the first time, though Bohemia had previously competed separately. For the first time, Hungary did not compete (a result of not being invited after World War I)—making the United States the only nation to have appeared at each of the first six Olympic men's 100 metres events.

Competition format

The event expanded from three rounds (in 1908 and 1912) to four rounds: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 12 heats, of 4–6 athletes each, with the top 2 in each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The 24 quarterfinalists were placed into 5 heats of 4 or 5 athletes. Again, the top 2 advanced. There were 2 heats of 5 semifinalists, this time with the top 3 advancing to the 6-man final.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.

World record 10.6(*) Stockholm (SWE) July 6, 1912 Olympic record 10.6 Stockholm (SWE) July 6, 1912

(*) This was the only officially ratified world record in 1920, but there have been at least four runs in 10.5 seconds at that time. (see the records prior the 1912 Summer Olympics.)

Schedule Date TimeSunday, 15 August 1920 15:1517:00Round 1QuarterfinalsMonday, 16 August 1920 9:3016:00SemifinalsFinal

Results Times were generally only published for the winners of each heat. Some of the times listed below are estimates based on contemporary reports of the races.

Round 1

Heat 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 William Hill 11.0 2 Mario Riccoboni 11.2 3 Marcel Gustin 11.3 4 Jan de Vries 5 Ichiro Kaga 6 Paul Hammer

Heat 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 René Mourlon 11.2 2 August Sørensen 11.3 3 Erik Lindvall 4 Ahmed Khairy 5 Purma Bannerjee – František Skokan

Heat 3

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Loren Murchison 10.8 2 Jacobus Bukes 11.0 3 Albert Heijnneman 11.0 4 Vojtěch Plzák

Heat 4

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 William Hunt 11.0 2 Félix Mendizábal 11.2 3 Francis Irvine 4 Bjarne Guldager 5 Adolf Rysler 6 Nils Sandström

Heat 5

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Vittorio Zucca 11.4 2 Cor Wezepoel 11.5 3 Leonard Dixon 4 August Waibel 5 Alex Servais

Heat 6

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Morris Kirksey 11.0 2 Josef Imbach 11.0 3 René Lorain 11.1 4 Johan Johnsen 11.2 5 Jaime Camps 6 Giovanni Orlandi

Heat 7

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Paul Brochart 11.4 2 René Tirard 11.7 3 Diego Ordóñez 4 Eduard Hašek 5 Jean Colbach

Heat 8

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Charley Paddock 10.8 2 Harry Edward 10.9 3 Carlos Botín 11.6 4 Shinichi Yamaoka 11.6 5 Edmond Médécin 11.8

Heat 9

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Émile Ali-Khan 11.0 2 Victor d'Arcy 11.1 3 Rolf Stenersen 4 Dimitrios Karabatis 5 Sven Malm

Heat 10

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harold Abrahams 11.0 2 Alexander Ponton 11.1 3 Giorgio Croci 11.3 4 Harry van Rappard – Reinhold Saulmann

Heat 11

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jack Oosterlaak 11.0 2 George Davidson 11.1 3 Agne Holmström 4 Fritiof Andersen 5 Jean Lefèbvre

Heat 12

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jackson Scholz 10.8 2 Marinus Sørensen 11.2 3 Cyril Coaffee 4 Julien Lehouck 5 Asle Bækkedal

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harry Edward 10.8 2 Loren Murchison 10.9 3 René Mourlon 11.0 4 William Hunt 11.0 5 Mario Riccobono 11.5

Quarterfinal 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 William Hill 11.0 2 Félix Mendizábal 11.1 3 Willie Bukes 4 August Sørensen 5 Vittorio Zucca

Quarterfinal 3

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Charley Paddock 10.8 2 Émile Ali-Khan 10.9 3 George Davidson 10.9 4 Harold Abrahams 11.0 5 Cor Wezepoel

Quarterfinal 4

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jackson Scholz 10.8 2 Jack Oosterlaak 11.0 3 Josef Imbach 11.1 4 René Tirard 11.2 5 Alexander Ponton 11.4

Quarterfinal 5

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Morris Kirksey 10.8 2 Paul Brochart 10.9 3 Victor d'Arcy 4 Marinus Sørensen

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harry Edward 10.8 2 Jackson Scholz 10.9 3 Morris Kirksey 11.0 4 Jack Oosterlaak 11.0 5 Félix Mendizábal

Semifinal 2

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Charley Paddock 11.0 2 Émile Ali-Khan 11.1 3 Loren Murchison 11.2 4 Paul Brochart 11.3 5 William Hill 11.3

Final

Murchison was affected badly by the start. The starter had told Paddock to adjust his position, causing Murchison to stand, thinking the full start sequence would be repeated. When it was not, Murchison was effectively eliminated as he was unprepared to run and could not catch the group.

Scholz was in the lead at the halfway mark before falling back to the back of the group. Paddock won by half a metre over Kirksey, with Edward a "chest behind" the silver medalist. The finish between Scholz and Ali-Khan for 4th and 5th places was close enough that the judges originally ruled Ali-Khan 4th before determining that Scholz was 4th.

A photograph of the race, featuring Paddock's 'flying finish' leaping to the tape, is one of the most famous in the history of sport.

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time 3 Charley Paddock 10.8 1 Morris Kirksey 10.9 6 Harry Edward 10.9 4 5 Jackson Scholz 10.9 5 4 Émile Ali-Khan 11.2 6 2 Loren Murchison 11.2

References

Further reading