Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

The men's 800 metres was middle-distance running event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14 and July 16, 1900. The races were held on a track of 500 metres in circumference. 18 athletes from seven nations competed. The event was won by Alfred Tysoe of Great Britain, the nation's first medal in the event. The United States also won its first medals in the 800 metres, with silver and bronze.

Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the II Olympiad
Finish of the final
VenueBois de Boulogne
DatesJuly 14 (semifinals)
July 16 (final)
Competitors18 from 7 nations
Winning time2:01.2
Medalists
Alfred Tysoe
 Great Britain
John Cregan
 United States
David Hall
 United States

Background

This was the second appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the runners from 1896 returned. Among the favorites were Alexander Grant of the United States (1899 AAU one-mile champion) and Alfred Tysoe of Great Britain (1897 AAA one-mile champion).[1]

Bohemia, Denmark, Italy, and the United States appeared in the event for the first time. France, Great Britain, and Hungary each made their second appearance, having also appeared in 1896.

Competition format

There were two rounds: heats and a final. There were three heats, of between 5 and 7 runners each. The top 2 runners in each heat advanced to the final.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics.

World record Charles Kilpatrick (USA)1:53.4 (y)(u)New York City, United States21 September 1895
Olympic record Edwin Flack (AUS)2:10.0Athens, Greece6 April 1896

In the first heat of the first round David Hall set a new Olympic record with 1:59.0.

Schedule

Date Time Round
Saturday, 14 July 190010:15Round 1
Monday, 16 July 1900Final

Results

Semifinals

In the first round, there were three semifinals. The top two runners in each advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Hall's Olympic record time surprised most of those present, as Tysoe had been the favorite in the heat.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1David Hall United States1:59.0Q, OR
2Alfred Tysoe Great Britain1:59.4Q
3Howard Hayes United States2:00.2
4Maurice Salomez FranceUnknown
5Christian Christensen DenmarkUnknown
6–7Walter Drumheller United StatesUnknown
Alexander Grant United StatesUnknown

Semifinal 2

Deloge finished three yards in front of Spiedl, with the other runners trailing.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Henri Deloge France2:00.6Q
2Zoltán Speidl Hungary2:01.1Q
3Justus Scrafford United States2:01.8
4–6Emilio Banfi ItalyUnknown
Edward Bushnell United StatesUnknown
Harrison Smith United StatesUnknown

Semifinal 3

Cregan won the slowest of the three heats by six yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1John Cregan United States2:03.0Q
2John Bray United States2:03.9Q
3Harvey Lord United States2:04.5
4–5Edward Mechling United StatesUnknown
Ondřej Pukl BohemiaUnknown

Final

Deloge led early, but was passed just before the final straight by Tysoe and Cregan. Hall, who had set an Olympic record in the heats, was just barely able to catch Deloge to finish third, but had no chance of passing the two leaders.

RankAthleteNationTime
Alfred Tysoe Great Britain2:01.2
John Cregan United States2:03.0
David Hall United States2:03.8
4Henri Deloge FranceUnknown
5Zoltán Speidl HungaryUnknown
6John Bray United StatesUnknown

Results summary

RankAthleteNationSemifinalsFinalNotes
Alfred Tysoe Great Britain1:59.42:01.2
John Cregan United States2:03.02:03.0
David Hall United States1:59.02:03.8OR
4Henri Deloge France2:00.6Unknown
5Zoltán Speidl Hungary2:01.1Unknown
6John Bray United States2:03.9Unknown
7Howard Hayes United States2:00.2Did not advance
Justus Scrafford United States2:01.8
Harvey Lord United States2:04.5
10Maurice Salomez FranceUnknown4th in semifinal
11Edward Mechling United StatesUnknown4th–5th in semifinal
Ondřej Pukl BohemiaUnknown4th–5th in semifinal
13Christian Christensen DenmarkUnknown5th in semifinal
14Emilio Banfi ItalyUnknown4th–6th in semifinal
Edward Bushnell United StatesUnknown4th–6th in semifinal
Harrison Smith United StatesUnknown4th–6th in semifinal
17Walter Drumheller United StatesUnknown6th–7th in semifinal
Alexander Grant United StatesUnknown6th–7th in semifinal

References

  1. "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2020.

Sources

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