Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

The men's 100 metres was a sprinting event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14, 1900. 20 athletes from nine nations competed. The event was won by Frank Jarvis of the United States, the second of three straight gold medals by different Americans in the event. Australia medaled in the event for the first time, a bronze by Stan Rowley.

Background

This was the second time the event was held. None of the 1896 runners competed in 1900. American Arthur Duffey had recently won the AAA Championships (at 100 yards) and was heavily favored. Unofficial world record holder (in an eight-way tie) Isaac Westergren of Sweden also entered the competition.

No athletes from France, the host nation, competed. Australia, Bohemia, India, and Italy were represented for the first time.

The 1900 competition was one of only two Olympic Games (the other being 1904) where the men's 100 metres was not the shortest sprint, as the 60 metres was held in those two Games.

Records These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics.

World Record 10.8 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/Main (GER) April 13, 1895 Harry Beaton Rotterdam (NED) August 28, 1895 Harald Anderson-Arbin Helsingborg (SWE) August 9, 1896 Isaac Westergren Gävle (SWE) September 11, 1898 Isaac Westergren Gävle (SWE) September 10, 1899 Olympic Record 11.8 Thomas Burke Athens (GRE) April 6, 1896 (NS)

Arthur Duffey in the first heat of the first round and Walter Tewksbury in the second heat of the first round set new Olympic records with 11.4 seconds. In the third heat of the first round Frank Jarvis equalled the unofficial world record with 10.8 seconds. In the second semifinal Tewksbury also equalled the world record with 10.8 seconds.

Competition format

The competition consisted of four rounds: heats, semifinals, a repechage, and a final. The top two runners in each of the six heats advanced to the semifinals. Those 12 men were divided into 3 semifinals of 4 runners each. The 1st-place runner in each semifinal advanced directly to the final, the 2nd and 3rd place runners went to the repechage, and the 4th-place finisher was eliminated. In the 6-man repechage, only the winner advanced to the final and everyone else was eliminated.

Schedule

Date Time Round Saturday, 14 July 1900    11:15 First roundSemifinalsRepechageFinal

Results

First round

In the first round, there were six heats. The top two runners in each advanced to the semifinals.

Heat 1

Duffey was a metre ahead of Moloney at the finish.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Arthur Duffey 11.4 , 2 Frederick Moloney 11.5 3 Václav Nový Unknown

Heat 2

Tewksbury beat McClain by six inches, with Koppán far back in third being eliminated.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Walter Tewksbury 11.4 , = 2 Thaddeus McClain 11.4 3 Pál Koppán Unknown

Heat 3

The fastest of the preliminary heats featured two of the eventual medallists; Jarvis won by a metre and equalled the world record.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Frank Jarvis 10.8 , = 2 Stan Rowley 10.9 3 Umberto Colombo Unknown 4 Julius Keyl Unknown

Heat 4

Leiblee beat Doerry by a yard.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Clark Leiblee 11.4 2 Kurt Doerry 11.5 3 Johannes Gandil Unknown

Heat 5

The fifth heat was the only one that was not won by an American, with Pritchard beating Minahan by half a yard.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Norman Pritchard 11.4 2 Edmund Minahan 11.5 3 Ernő Schubert Unknown 4 Isaac Westergren Unknown

Heat 6

In an all-American heat, Burroughs defeated Boardman by a yard; Slack, in third, was the only American to be eliminated in the first round.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Charles Burroughs 11.4 2 Dixon Boardman 11.5 3 Henry Slack Unknown

Semifinals

There were three semifinals, each with four runners. The top runner in each of the semifinals advanced to the final, while the second and third place runners competed in the repechage. The winner of the six-runner repechage advanced to the final as well.

Semifinal 1

Duffey dropped almost half a second from his preliminary heat time to beat Rowley by five feet. Burroughs beat Boardman to stay in contention via the repechage.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Arthur Duffey 11.0 2 Stan Rowley 11.2 3 Charles Burroughs Unknown 4 Dixon Boardman Unknown

Semifinal 2

Tewksbury equalled the world record, the second runner to accomplish that at the Paris Games, to beat Leiblee by six inches, while Doerry pulled up lame.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Walter Tewksbury 10.8 , = 2 Clark Leiblee 10.9 3 Frederick Moloney Unknown — Kurt Doerry

Semifinal 3

Jarvis won by a yard over McClain: McClain and Pritchard were relegated to the repechage, with Minahan being eliminated.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Frank Jarvis 11.2 2 Thaddeus McClain 11.3 3 Norman Pritchard Unknown 4 Edmund Minahan Unknown

Repechage

The repechage was a very close race, with Rowley defeating Pritchard by two inches to advance to the final.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Stan Rowley 11.0 2 Norman Pritchard 11.0 3 Clark Leiblee Unknown 4–6 Charles Burroughs Unknown Thaddeus McClain Unknown Frederick Moloney Unknown

Final

Duffey got away to an early lead, but pulled a tendon at the 50 meter mark. Jarvis beat Tewksbury by two feet, with Rowley half a yard behind.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Frank Jarvis 11.0 Walter Tewksbury 11.1 Stan Rowley 11.2 — Arthur Duffey

Sources

International Olympic Committee. De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically at .