# Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics

At the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London, England, 26 athletics events were contested, all for men only. A total of 79 medals (27 gold, 27 silver, 25 bronze) were awarded.
Each nation was allowed to enter up to 12 competitors in most of the events. In the team races (the medley relay and the 3 mile team race), each nation entered one team. The medley relay was run by four athletes, with four alternates allowed. In the 3 mile team race, five athletes from each nation ran with only three counting.
The competition was restricted to amateurs, and was held under the rules of the British Amateur Athletic Association.

## Medal summary

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres details | Reggie Walker South Africa | 10.8 OR | James Rector United States | (10.9) | Robert Kerr Canada | (11.0) |
| 200 metres details | Robert Kerr Canada | 22.6 | Robert Cloughen United States | 22.6 | Nate Cartmell United States | 22.7 |
| 400 metres details | Wyndham Halswelle Great Britain | 50.0 | none awarded | none awarded | none awarded | none awarded |
| 800 metres details | Mel Sheppard United States | 1:52.8 WR | Emilio Lunghi Italy | 1:54.2 | Hanns Braun Germany | 1:55.2 |
| 1500 metres details | Mel Sheppard United States | 4:03.4 OR | Harold Wilson Great Britain | 4:03.6 | Norman Hallows Great Britain | 4:04.0 |
| 5 miles details | Emil Voigt Great Britain | 25:11.2 OR | Edward Owen Great Britain | 25:24.0 | John Svanberg Sweden | 25:37.2 |
| Marathon details | Johnny Hayes United States | 2:55:18.4 WR | Charles Hefferon South Africa | 2:56:06.0 | Joseph Forshaw United States | 2:57:10.4 |
| 110 metres hurdles details | Forrest Smithson United States | 15.0 WR | John Garrels United States | 15.7 | Arthur Shaw United States | 15.8 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Charles Bacon United States | 55.0 WR | Harry Hillman United States | 55.3 | Jimmy Tremeer Great Britain | 57.0 |
| 3200 metres steeplechase details | Arthur Russell Great Britain | 10:47.8 | Arthur Robertson Great Britain | 10:48.4 | John Eisele United States | 11:00.8 |
| Medley relay details | United States (USA) William Hamilton Nate Cartmell John Taylor Mel Sheppard | 3:29.4 | Germany (GER) Arthur Hoffmann Hans Eicke Otto Trieloff Hanns Braun | 3:32.4 | Hungary (HUN) Pál Simon Frigyes Wiesner József Nagy Ödön Bodor | 3:32.5 |
| 3 miles team race details | Great Britain (GBR) William Coales 14:41.6 Joe Deakin 14:39.6 Arthur Robertson 14:41.0 | 6 pts | United States (USA) George Bonhag 15:05.0 John Eisele 14:41.8 Herbert Trube 15:11.0 | 19 pts | France (FRA) Joseph Dreher 15:40.0 Louis de Fleurac 14:56.0 Paul Lizandier 15:56.6 | 32 pts |
| 3500 metres walk details | George Larner Great Britain | 14:55.0 WR | Ernest Webb Great Britain | 15:07.4 | Harry Kerr Australasia | 15:43.4 |
| 10 miles walk details | George Larner Great Britain | 1:15:57.4 WR | Ernest Webb Great Britain | 1:17:31.0 | Edward Spencer Great Britain | 1:21:20.2 |
| Long jump details | Frank Irons United States | 7.48 m OR | Daniel Kelly United States | 7.09 m | Calvin Bricker Canada | 7.08 m |
| Triple jump details | Tim Ahearne Great Britain | 14.92 m OR | Garfield MacDonald Canada | 14.76 m | Edvard Larsen Norway | 14.39 m |
| High jump details | Harry Porter United States | 1.90 m OR | Géo André France | 1.88 m | none awarded |
| High jump details | Harry Porter United States | 1.90 m OR | Con Leahy Great Britain | 1.88 m | none awarded |
| High jump details | Harry Porter United States | 1.90 m OR | István Somodi Hungary | 1.88 m | none awarded |
| Pole vault details | Edward Cook United States | 3.71 m OR | none awarded | none awarded | Edward Archibald Canada | 3.58 m |
| Pole vault details | Edward Cook United States | 3.71 m OR | none awarded | none awarded | Clare Jacobs United States | 3.58 m |
| Pole vault details | Alfred Gilbert United States | 3.71 m OR | none awarded | none awarded | Clare Jacobs United States | 3.58 m |
| Pole vault details | Alfred Gilbert United States | 3.71 m OR | none awarded | none awarded | Bruno Söderström Sweden | 3.58 m |
| Standing long jump details | Ray Ewry United States | 3.33 m | Konstantinos Tsiklitiras Greece | 3.235 m | Martin Sheridan United States | 3.23 m |
| Standing high jump details | Ray Ewry United States | 1.57 m | John Biller United States | 1.55 m | none awarded | none awarded |
| Standing high jump details | Ray Ewry United States | 1.57 m | Konstantinos Tsiklitiras Greece | 1.55 m | none awarded | none awarded |
| Shot put details | Ralph Rose United States | 14.21 m | Denis Horgan Great Britain | 13.62 m | John Garrels United States | 13.18 m |
| Discus throw details | Martin Sheridan United States | 40.89 m OR | Merritt Giffin United States | 40.70 m | Bill Horr United States | 39.45 m |
| Hammer throw details | John Flanagan United States | 51.92 m OR | Matt McGrath United States | 51.18 m | Con Walsh Canada | 48.51 m |
| Javelin throw details | Eric Lemming Sweden | 54.83 m WR | Arne Halse Norway | 50.57 m | Otto Nilsson Sweden | 47.11 m |
| Greek discus details | Martin Sheridan United States | 37.99 m | Bill Horr United States | 37.32 m | Verner Järvinen Finland | 36.48 m |
| Freestyle javelin details | Eric Lemming Sweden | 54.44 m WR | Michalis Dorizas Greece | 51.36 m | Arne Halse Norway | 49.73 m |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States | 16 | 10 | 8 | 34 |
| 2 | Great Britain | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | Sweden | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | Canada | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 5 | South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Greece | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Norway | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | France | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Germany | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Hungary | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Australasia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Finland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (13 entries) | Totals (13 entries) | 27 | 27 | 25 | 79 |

## Events

The 1908 Games were the first to feature race walking, with two different events held. Two different forms of javelin throwing also appeared, introducing the new throwing apparatus to the programme. The 60 metre short sprint was dropped from the programme, as was the middle hurdle distance. Steeplechasing was done at 3200 metres instead of the 2500 metres that had been included at the previous two editions; the team race also had its distance shortened. A short track relay event was added. The multi-discipline triathlon and decathlon events that had been held at the 1904 Games were both absent. An event featuring the discus, which had become a staple of Olympic athletics, was held in which throwers had to follow a very specific throwing style. Overall there was one more event on the 1908 programme than there had been in 1904.

## Calendar

| ● | Event competitions | ● | Event finals |
| July | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th |
| 100 metres | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | | | |
| 200 metres | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | | |
| 400 metres | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | | ● |
| 800 metres | | | | | | | | ● | ● | | | | |
| 1500 metres | ● | ● | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 110 metres hurdles | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● |
| 400 metres hurdles | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | | | |
| 3200 metres steeplechase | | | | | ● | ● | | | | | | | |
| Medley relay | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● |
| 3 miles team race | | ● | ● | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 miles | | | ● | | | ● | | | | | | | |
| marathon | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | |
| 3500 metres walk | | ● ● | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 miles walk | | | | ● | ● | | | | | | | | |
| Long jump | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | |
| Triple jump | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● |
| High jump | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | |
| Pole vault | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | |
| Standing long jump | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | |
| Standing high jump | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | |
| Shot put | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | |
| Discus throw | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | |
| Hammer throw | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Javelin throw | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | |
| Greek discus | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | |
| Freestyle javelin | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | |
| July | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th |

## Participating nations

446 athletes from 20 nations competed. Argentina and Turkey were the only two nations not to compete in athletics.
| Australasia (9)  Austria (3)  Belgium (6)  Bohemia (3)  Canada (27)  Denmark (8)  Finland (15)  France (19)  Germany (21)  Great Britain (126) | Greece (12)  Hungary (20)  Italy (13)  Netherlands (20)  Norway (11)  Russian Empire (1)  South Africa (9)  Sweden (33)  Switzerland (1)  United States (89) |