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

The first round of heats took place on 6 April. The first heat of the 100 metres was the first competition held in the Games. Francis Lane won the first heat, thus becoming the first winner of a modern Olympic race. All heats were won by athletes from the United States.

The Official Report states that there were a total of 21 competitors, divided into three groups; there should therefore have been 7 athletes in each heat. The Official Report names only the top two runners, Lane and Szokolyi.[4] Butler writes that the first heat had "two Hungarians, a Chilian, a Frenchman, a German, an Englishman and an American."[5] Mallon & Widlund list Lane, Szokolyi, Gmelin, Grisel, and Doerry. Megede places André Tournois as the French competitor, rather than Grisel (who Megede does not list at all), omits Doerry (who Megede puts in heat 2), and includes Leonidasz Manno and Luis Subercaseaux.[6] Olympedia follows Mallon & Widlund, also including Manno, Tournois, and Subercaseaux in a list of non-starters not attached to particular heats (this list includes 12 athletes, bringing Olympedia's total entrants to 27 rather than 21).[1]

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Francis Lane	United States	12.2	Q
2	Alajos Szokolyi	Hungary	12.8	Q
3	Charles Gmelin	Great Britain	12.9
4	Adolphe Grisel	France	Unknown
5	Kurt Doerry	Germany	Unknown
—	Leonidasz Manno	Hungary	DNS
	Luis Subercaseaux	Chile	DNS

The Official Report states that there were a total of 21 competitors, divided into three groups; there should therefore have been 7 athletes in each heat. The Official Report names only the top two runners, Curtis and Chalkokondylis.[4] Butler writes of the second heat that Curtis beat "a Greek, an Englishman, two Frenchmen, a Dane, and a Hungarian."[5] Mallon & Widlund list Curtis, Chalkokondylis, Elliot, Schmidt, and Marshall. Megede places Alexandre Tuffère as the French competitor, including him at 3rd place above Elliott; Megede also has Kurt Doerry in this heat instead of the first one (indicating he started but did not finish the heat) and omits Marshall entirely.[6] Olympedia follows Mallon & Widlund, also including Tuffère in a list of non-starters not attached to particular heats. Other non-starters listed by Olympedia that could be a second Frenchman or a Hungarian to match Butler's list are André Tournois, Louis Adler, István Zachar, and Nándor Dáni.[1]

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Thomas Curtis	United States	12.2	Q
2	Alexandros Chalkokondylis	Greece	12.8	Q
3	Launceston Elliot	Great Britain	12.9
4	Eugen Schmidt	Denmark	Unknown
5	George Marshall	Great Britain	Unknown
—	Alexandre Tuffère	France	DNS
	Unknown	Unknown (France or Hungary)	DNS

Both Burke and Hofmann were more well known for middle-distance events rather than sprinting. Burke's time of 11.8s became the standing Olympic record. It is not clear which athlete received which place between the fourth and fifth finishers.

The Official Report states that there were a total of 21 competitors, divided into three groups; there should therefore have been 7 athletes in each heat. The Official Report names only the top two runners, "an American (Burke)" and Hofmann.[4] Butler writes of the final heat that Burke beat "a Swede, two Greeks, and three Germans."[5] Mallon & Widlund list Burke, Hofmann, Traun, Gennimatas, and Sjöberg. Megede omits Traun, places Sjöberg 3rd and Gennimatas 5th, and includes Nándor Dáni at 4th.[6] Olympedia follows Mallon & Widlund; non-starters (not attached to particular heats in Olympedia) include Flatow and Mouratis.[1]

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Thomas Burke	United States	11.8	Q
2	Fritz Hofmann	Germany	12.6	Q
3	Friedrich Traun	Germany	13.5
4–5	Georgios Gennimatas	Greece	Unknown
	Henrik Sjöberg	Sweden	Unknown
—	Alfred Flatow	Germany	DNS
	Konstantinos Mouratis	Greece	DNS

The final of the 100 metre race, run on 10 April, involved the six runners who had finished in the top two of their preliminary heats. Thomas Curtis withdrew to save himself for the 110 metre hurdles, which was the next race on the program and which he won. Burke beat his companion from the third heat, Hofmann, by two meters. Lane and Szokolyi dead-heated for third place, with Chalkokondylis six inches behind them. Lane and Szokolyi are both considered to be bronze medallists by the International Olympic Committee.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time
	Thomas Burke	United States	12.0
	Fritz Hofmann	Germany	12.2
	Francis Lane	United States	12.6
	Alajos Szokolyi	Hungary	12.6
5	Alexandros Chalkokondylis	Greece	12.6
—	Thomas Curtis	United States	DNS