Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

The 100 metres was the shortest track race in the 1896 Summer Olympics. The event had 3 heats (or rounds) and a final.  The first round of the men's 100 metres race was the first event run at modern Olympics. It was run on 6 April 1896. The final was on 10 April. There were 15 athletes in this event. These 15 athletes were from 8 different nations. The event was won by Thomas Burke of the United States. Fritz Hofmann of Germany was in 2nd place. The Hungarian Alajos Szokolyi and American Francis Lane tied for 3rd place.

Background

Fritz Hofmann was the most famous sprinter at this time. In 1893, he won the Championship of the Continent. Thomas Burke was an American champion in the 400 metres. However, he was not known in the 100 metres. The best sprinters in the world at the timedid not run.

Competition

There were 21 athletes in the first round. These athletes were in 3 heats (or rounds). Each heat had 7 runners. The fastest 2 athletes in each round would run in the final. 6 of the runners quit before the races began.

Records

This was the world record (in seconds) before the 1896 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 (GER) April 13, 1895  Harry Beaton Rotterdam (NED) August 28, 1895

A new Olympic record was made after the competition.

 Date  Event  Athlete  Time  Notes 6 April 1896  Round 1    11.8 s  OR

In the first heat, Francis Lane set the first Olympic Record in 12.2 seconds. This time was tied in Heat 2 by Thomas Curtis. In the 3rd heat, Thomas Burke ran 11.8 seconds. This became the Olympic Record until the 1900 Olympics.

Schedule

The times when the event started were not written down. The races started after King George I of Greece arrived at 3 p.m..Official Report, p. 57. The final was the first competition in the afternoon on Friday.Official Report, p. 84.

 Date Round Gregorian Julian Monday, 6 April 1896  Monday, 25 March 1896  Round 1 Friday, 10 April 1896  Friday, 29 March 1896  Final

Results

Heats

The first round of heats were on 6 April. The first heat of the 100 metres was the first competition in the Olympic Games. Francis Lane won the first heat. This made him the first winner of a modern Olympic race. All of the heats were won by people from the United States.

Heat 1

 Rank  Athlete  Nation  Time  Notes 1  Francis Lane  12.2 ,  2  Alajos Szokolyi  12.75  3  Charles Gmelin  12.9  4  Adolphe Grisel  Unknown  5  Kurt Doerry  Unknown  — Leonidasz Manno    Luis Subercaseaux   

Heat 2

 Rank  Athlete  Nation  Time  Notes 1  Thomas Curtis  12.2,   2  Alexandros Chalkokondylis  12.75  3  Launceston Elliot  12.9  4  Eugen Schmidt  Unknown  5  George Marshall  Unknown  — Alexandre Tuffère    Unknown Unknown (France or Hungary)  

Heat 3

 Rank  Athlete  Nation  Time  Notes 1  Thomas Burke  11.8 ,  2  Fritz Hofmann  12.75  3  Friedrich Traun  13.6  4–5 Georgios Gennimatas  Unknown  Henrik Sjöberg  Unknown  — Alfred Flatow    Konstantinos Mouratis   

Final

 Rank  Athlete  Nation  Time   Thomas Burke  12.0   Fritz Hofmann  12.2   Francis Lane  12.6 Alajos Szokolyi  12.6 5  Alexandros Chalkokondylis  12.6 — Thomas Curtis  

Results summary

 Rank  Athlete  Nation  Semifinals  Final  Notes   Thomas Burke  11.8  12.0     Fritz Hofmann  12.6  12.2     Francis Lane  12.2  12.6   Alajos Szokolyi  12.8  12.6   5  Alexandros Chalkokondylis  12.8  12.6   6 Thomas Curtis  12.2       Launceston Elliot  12.9 Did not advance  Charles Gmelin  12.9  Friedrich Traun  13.5  Eugen Schmidt  Unknown 4th in semifinal Adolphe Grisel  Unknown 4th in semifinal Georgios Gennimatas  Unknown 4th–5th in semifinal Henrik Sjöberg  Unknown 4th–5th in semifinal George Marshall  Unknown 5th in semifinal Kurt Doerry  Unknown 5th in semifinal — Louis Adler    Harald Arbin    Nándor Dáni    Ralph Derr    Alfred Flatow    Leonidasz Manno    Konstantinos Mouratis    Luis Subercaseaux    Jean Tournois    Alexandre Tuffère    Charles Vanoni    István Zachar   

References

  (Digitally available at la84foundation.org )
  (Excerpt available at la84foundation.org )



Men's 0100 metres