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

The men's 100 metres was a sprinting event in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was on July 14, 1900. There were 20 athletes. These athletes were from 9 different nations. Frank Jarvis won the event. He was from the United States. Walter Tewksbury was in 2nd place. He was also from the United States. Australia won their first medal in the 100 metres. Stan Rowley won a bronze medal in this event.

Background

This was the second time this event happened. None of the runners also ran in the 1896 Olympics. The American Arthur Duffey had just won the AAA Championships for 100 yards. He was the favorite for the competition. 7 people had ran the unofficial world record of 10.8 for this event. One of these people was Isaac Westergren of Sweden. He was also in this competition. 

There were no athletes from France. Australia, Bohemia, India, and Italy were in this event for the first time.

The 100 metres was not the shortest sprint. The 60 meters was the shortest sprint. This has only happened in 1900 and 1904.

Records
These were the world records and Olympic records before the 1900 Olympics. The times are all in seconds.

 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)

In the first heat of the first round, Arthur Duffey ran 11.4 seconds. This beat the Olympic record. In the second heat of the first round, Walter Tewksbury ran 11.4 seconds. This tied the Olympic record. In the third heat of the first round, Frank Jarvis ran 10.8 seconds. This tied the unofficial world record. In the second semifinal, Tewksbury also ran 10.8 seconds. This would tie the unofficial world record.

Competition

The competition had 4 rounds. There was the heats, the semifinals, the repechage, and the final. The fastest 2 runners in the heats would run in the semifinals. In the semifinals, 12 men were put into each 3 semifinals. Each semifinals had 4 runners. In the semifinal, the 1st-place runner ran in the finals. The 2nd and 3rd place runners ran in the repechage. In the repechage, there were 6 runners. Only the runner of the repechage would run in the final.

Schedule

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

Results

First round

In the first round, there were six heats. The fastest 2 runners in each heat could run in the semifinal round.

Heat 1

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

Heat 2

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

Heat 3

This heat was the fastest heat. It would have 2 medallists. Jarvis tied 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

 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 heat that was not won by an American.

 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

 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 semifinal had 4 runners. The fastest runner in each semifinals went to the final. The 2nd and 3rd place runners ran in the repechage. The winner of the repechage would also go to the finals.

Semifinal 1

 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 tied the world record.

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

Semifinal 3

 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. Rowley only beat Pritchard by 1 inches. He would be allowed to run in the final round.

 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 was faster than everybody else at first. However, he pulled a tendon halfway in the race. Jarvis beat Tewksbury by two feet. Rowley  was half of a yard behind.

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

Sources
References

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


Men's 0100 metres