The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands, were held at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, 29 July and Monday, 30 July. Eighty-one runners entered, though ultimately seventy-six runners from 32 nations competed. NOCs were limited to 4 competitors each.Official Report, p. 374. The event was won by Percy Williams of Canada, taking the nation's first men's 100 metres gold medal. Jack London of Great Britain took silver, marking the third consecutive Games that Great Britain had a medalist in the event. Georg Lammers won bronze, Germany's first medal in the event since 1896. For the first time in modern Olympic history, the United States won no medals in the event.
Background
This was the eighth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. None of the 1924 finalists competed (bronze medalist Arthur Porritt entered, but did not start). Notable entrants included Frank Wykoff, winner of the U.S. Olympic trials and one of the favourites in a field that was considered to be wide-open; Great Britain's Jack London, and Germany's Georg Lammers.
Cuba, Lithuania, and Romania were represented in the event for the first time. The United States was the only nation to have appeared at each of the first eight Olympic men's 100 metres events.
Competition format
The event retained the four round format from 1920 and 1924: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 16 heats, of 3–6 athletes each, with the top 2 in each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The 32 quarterfinalists were placed into 6 heats of 5 or 6 athletes. Again, the top 2 advanced. There were 2 heats of 6 semifinalists, this time with the top 3 advancing to the 6-man final.
Records These are the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics. World record 10.4 Charlie Paddock Redlands, California (USA) April 23, 1921 Olympic Record 10.6 Donald Lippincott Stockholm (SWE) July 6, 1912 10.6 Harold Abrahams Paris (FRA) July 6/7 1924
Percy Williams equalized the standing Olympic record with 10.6 seconds in the fourth heat of the second round. In the first semifinal, Williams, Robert McAllister, and Wilfred Legg all equalized the record.
Results
First round Sixteen heats were held, the two fastest of each qualified for the second round.
Heat 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 11.0 3 11.2 4 11.4 5 11.4
Heat 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.2 2 11.3 3 Unknown 4 Unknown —
Heat 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 Unknown 3 Unknown(*) 4 Unknown 5 Unknown 6 Unknown
(*) Some sources credit the third place to Gómez Daza and list Boot in fourth. (The official report did not show the ranking.)
Heat 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 Unknown 3 11.4 4 11.4 5 Unknown 6 Unknown
Heat 5
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown
Heat 6
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown
Heat 7
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 11.0 3 Unknown — Sándor Hajdú —
Heat 8
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 11.0 3 11.3 4 11.4
Heat 9
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown 6 Unknown
Heat 10
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 11.1 3 Unknown 4 Unknown
Heat 11
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 11.1 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown 6 Unknown
Heat 12
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Haris Šveminas Unknown
Heat 13
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 Unknown 3 Unknown -
Heat 14
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 11.1 3 11.2 4 11.3 5 11.5 6 12.2
Heat 15
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 11.0 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown
Heat 16
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 H. Enis
Quarterfinals Six heats were held, the two fastest of each qualified for the semifinals.
Quarterfinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown 6 Unknown
Quarterfinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 11.0 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown 6 Unknown
Quarterfinal 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown
Quarterfinal 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.6 , =OR 2 10.8 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown
Quarterfinal 5
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 11.0
Quarterfinal 6
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.8 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 5 Unknown
Semifinals
Two semifinals were held, the three fastest of each qualified for the final.
Semifinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.6 , =OR 2 10.6 , =OR 3 10.6 . =OR 4 10.7 5 10.8 6 11.0
Semifinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 10.6 , =OR 2 10.7 3 10.7 4 10.8 5 10.8 6 10.9
Final
There were two false starts, by Legg and Wykoff. Once the final successfully started, Williams took the early lead and never relinquished it.
Rank Athlete Nation Time 10.8 10.9 10.9 4 11.0 5 11.0 6 11.0
References
External links Official Report Results De Wael