Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 5000 metres team race
The men's 5000 metres team race was the final track and field event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was the first time that a team race was held at the Olympics. It was held on July 22, 1900. Two teams competed: Racing Club de France from France and Amateur Athletic Association of England from multiple nations (Stan Rowley of Australia completed an otherwise British team). Each team had five athletes. The AAA team won the competition, despite Rowley being injured and unable to finish.
| Men's 5000 metres team race at the Games of the II Olympiad | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Charles Bennett, who finished first to lead the AAA team to victory | |||||||
| Venue | Bois de Boulogne | ||||||
| Date | July 22 | ||||||
| Competitors | 10 from 3 nations | ||||||
| Winning score | 26 | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
| Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Track events | |
| 60 m | men |
| 100 m | men |
| 200 m | men |
| 400 m | men |
| 800 m | men |
| 1500 m | men |
| 110 m hurdles | men |
| 200 m hurdles | men |
| 400 m hurdles | men |
| 2500 m steeplechase | men |
| 4000 m steeplechase | men |
| 5000 m team race | men |
| Road events | |
| Marathon | men |
| Field events | |
| Long jump | men |
| Triple jump | men |
| High jump | men |
| Pole vault | men |
| Standing long jump | men |
| Standing triple jump | men |
| Standing high jump | men |
| Shot put | men |
| Discus throw | men |
| Hammer throw | men |
Background
This was the first Olympic team race and the only time the event was held at a distance of 5000 metres. The distance would vary in the next few Games, with a 4 miles version in 1904 and a 3 miles version in 1908. Some consistency was reached beginning in 1912, with the 3000 metres distance used that year as well as 1920 and 1924. The team race was then removed from the programme entirely and never featured again.
Competition format
The event consisted of a single heat in which each of the ten runners completed ten laps of the 500 metre track. Runners scored points for their team equal to their place in the race, with the team with the lowest number of points winning.
Records
None, this was the first and only time the event was held.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 22 July 1900 | Final |
Results
Rimmer and Bennett led the entire way, followed by the first three Frenchmen not far behind. Tysoe and Robinson kept pace with Castanet and Champoudry in the third bunch of runners, while Rowley had been injured and began walking after completing the first lap.
Bennett pulled away from Rimmer in the final sprint, followed by three Frenchmen. Champoudry crossed the finish line in ninth, leaving the injured Rowley as the only athlete still running, though he was clearly in pain and had been lapped thrice.
While the rules of the event stated all team five members had to finish for the team to score, race officials agreed it would be pointless for Rowley to walk the final 1500 metres and allowed him to retire at the end of his seventh lap.
Individual standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Nation | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Bennett | Amateur Athletic Association of England |  Mixed team | 15:29.2 | 1 |
| 2 | John Rimmer | Amateur Athletic Association of England | Mixed team | Unknown | 2 |
| 3 | Henri Deloge | Racing Club de France |  France | Unknown | 3 |
| 4 | Gaston Ragueneau | Racing Club de France | France | Unknown | 4 |
| 5 | Jacques Chastanié | Racing Club de France | France | Unknown | 5 |
| 6 | Sidney Robinson | Amateur Athletic Association of England | Mixed team | Unknown | 6 |
| 7 | Alfred Tysoe | Amateur Athletic Association of England | Mixed team | Unknown | 7 |
| 8 | André Castanet | Racing Club de France | France | Unknown | 8 |
| 9 | Michel Champoudry | Racing Club de France | France | Unknown | 9 |
| — | Stan Rowley | Amateur Athletic Association of England | Mixed team | DNF | 10 |
Team standings
| Rank | Team | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Amateur Athletic Association of England | Mixed team | 26 |
 | Racing Club de France | France | 29 |
References
- International Olympic Committee.
- De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically at .
- Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.