Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

The men's 200 metre race was held for the third time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held from 21 to 23 July 1908. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[1] 43 sprinters from 15 nations competed. The event was won by Robert Kerr of Canada, the first win by a nation other than the United States. Americans took silver (Robert Cloughen) and bronze (Nathaniel Cartmell), with Cartmell becoming the first person to win multiple 200 metres medals after taking earning silver in 1904.

Men's 200 metres
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Kerr winning the final
VenueWhite City Stadium
Dates21 July (quarterfinals)
22 July (semifinals)
23 July (final)
Competitors43 from 15 nations
Winning time22.6
Medalists
Robert Kerr
 Canada
Robert Cloughen
 United States
Nathaniel Cartmell
 United States
Athletics at the
1908 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 mmen
200 mmen
400 mmen
800 mmen
1500 mmen
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3200 m steeplechasemen
Medley relaymen
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Road events
Marathonmen
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Field events
Long jumpmen
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High jumpmen
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Freestyle javelinmen

Background

This was the third appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. Two of the five runners from the 1904 Games returned: silver medalist Nathaniel Cartmell of the United States and fifth-place finisher Robert Kerr of Canada (the only man not to reach the four-man final in 1904). Kerr had won three Canadian titles and the 1908 AAA title since the previous Games.[2]

Austria, Belgium, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Sweden each made their debut in the event. The United States made its third appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.

Competition format

There were three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. The quarterfinals consisted of 15 heats of between 1 and 5 athletes each; only the fastest man in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were 4 semifinals, most with 4 runners but one with 3. Again, only the top athlete advanced. The final had 4 runners.[2]

The race was run on a ​1⁄3-mile track.[2]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World record Jim Maybury (USA)*21.4Chicago, United States5 June 1897
Olympic record Archie Hahn (USA)**21.6St. Louis, United States31 August 1904

* unofficial 220 yards (= 201.17 m)

** straight course

Schedule
Date Time Round
Tuesday, 21 July 190811:00Quarterfinals
Wednesday, 22 July 190810:15Semifinals
Thursday, 23 July 190816:00Final

Results

Quarterfinals

The winner of each heat advanced, with all others eliminated. Heats were held on 21 July 1908.

Quarterfinal 1

George led by ten yards when he crossed the finish line.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1John George Great Britain23.4Q
2Victor Henny Netherlands24.6

Quarterfinal 2

In a tight race, Huff barely beat Duffy, crossing the line with a lead of less than two yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Harold Huff United States22.8Q
2Edward Duffy South Africa23.2
3Henk van der Wal NetherlandsUnknown
4Knut Stenborg SwedenUnknown

Quarterfinal 3

Roche won by a mere yard.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Patrick Roche Great Britain22.8Q
2Lawson Robertson United States23.0
3Frank Lukeman CanadaUnknown
4Evert Koops NetherlandsUnknown

Quarterfinal 4

Cartmell won by about two yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Nathaniel Cartmell United States23.0Q
2Vilmos Rácz Hungary23.3
3Ragnar Stenberg FinlandUnknown

Quarterfinal 5

Malfait had about a four-yard lead when he finished.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Georges Malfait France22.6Q
2Robert Duncan Great Britain23.1

Quarterfinal 6

Laaftman won by two yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Sven Låftman Sweden23.8Q
2Frigyes Wiesner Hungary24.0
3Ernst Greven NetherlandsUnknown

Quarterfinal 7

There was no competition for Radóczy in the seventh heat.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Károly Radóczy HungarywalkoverQ

Quarterfinal 8

Cloughen had a comfortable six-yard lead when he crossed the finish line.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Cloughen United States23.4Q
2Umberto Barrozzi Italy24.1

Quarterfinal 9

Hurdsfield led by a yard and a half at the finish.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Samuel Hurdsfield Great Britain23.6Q
2Mikhail Paskalides Greece24.0

Quarterfinal 10

Hamilton's margin of victory was three yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1William Hamilton United States22.4Q
2Louis Sebert Canada22.8
3Henry Pankhurst Great BritainUnknown
4Pál Simon HungaryUnknown
5Fernand Halbart BelgiumUnknown

Quarterfinal 11

Kerr's victory was by about three yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Kerr Canada22.2Q
2William W. May United States22.7
3James P. Stark Great BritainUnknown
4Knut Lindberg SwedenUnknown
5Emilio Brambilla ItalyUnknown

Quarterfinal 12

Sherman led by two yards when he finished.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Nathaniel Sherman United States22.8Q
2John W. Morton Great Britain23.1
3Eduard Schönecker AustriaUnknown
4Cornelis den Held NetherlandsUnknown

Quarterfinal 13

Reed won by two and a half yards.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Lionel Reed Great Britain23.2Q
2Arthur Hoffmann Germany23.5

Quarterfinal 14

Guttormsen was the second runner to win without competition.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Oscar Guttormsen NorwaywalkoverQ

Quarterfinal 15

The race was extremely tight until the final straightaway, where Hawkins pulled away to win.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1George Hawkins Great Britain22.8Q
2Henri Meslot France23.2
3Jacobus Hoogveld NetherlandsUnknown

Semifinals

The semifinal round was held on 22 July 1908, a day after the heats. The winners of each semifinal advanced to the final, with the other runners being knocked out of competition.

Semifinal 1

The first semifinal featured both of the runners who had won via walkover in the heats. There was very little room separating the lead three runners, with Kerr about nine inches in front of Hamilton and twelve ahead of Radoczy.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Kerr Canada22.6Q
2William Hamilton United States22.7
3Károly Radóczy Hungary22.8
4Oscar Guttormsen NorwayUnknown

Semifinal 2

This all-American heat was also close, but not as close as the first. Cartmell won by about five feet.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Nathaniel Cartmell United States22.6Q
2Nathaniel Sherman United States22.9
3Harold Huff United States23.0

Semifinal 3

Cloughen finally pulled ahead of Reed three-quarters of the way into the race, holding onto the lead until the finish.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Cloughen United States22.6Q
2Lionel Reed Great Britain22.8
3John George Great BritainUnknown
4Samuel Hurdsfield Great BritainUnknown

Semifinal 4

Låftman was forced to scratch due to an injury. The three runners broke apart in the last ten metres, with Hawkins winning by a foot.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1George Hawkins Great Britain22.6Q
2Patrick Roche Great Britain22.6
3Georges Malfait FranceUnknown
—Sven Låftman SwedenDNS

Final

The final was held on 23 July 1908. The top three were within two feet of each other, as Kerr's early lead evaporated in the straight. He was able to hang onto nine inches, however, and defeated Cloughen by that small margin.

RankAthleteNationTime
Robert Kerr Canada22.6
Robert Cloughen United States22.6
Nathaniel Cartmell United States22.7
4George Hawkins Great Britain22.9

Results summary
RankAthleteNationQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalNotes
Robert Kerr Canada22.222.622.6
Robert Cloughen United States23.422.622.6
Nathaniel Cartmell United States23.022.622.7
4George Hawkins Great Britain22.822.622.9
5Patrick Roche Great Britain22.822.6Did not advance
6William Hamilton United States22.422.7
7Lionel Reed Great Britain23.222.8
Károly Radóczy HungaryWalkover22.8
9Nathaniel Sherman United States22.822.9
10Harold Huff United States22.823.0
11Georges Malfait France22.6Unknown3rd in semifinal
John George Great Britain23.4Unknown3rd in semifinal
13Samuel Hurdsfield Great Britain23.6Unknown4th in semifinal
Oscar Guttormsen NorwayWalkoverUnknown4th in semifinal
15Sven Låftman Sweden23.8DNS
16William W. May United States22.7Did not advance
17Louis Sebert Canada22.8
18Lawson Robertson United States23.0
19Robert Duncan Great Britain23.1
John W. Morton Great Britain23.1
21Edward Duffy South Africa23.2
Henri Meslot France23.2
23Vilmos Rácz Hungary23.3
24Arthur Hoffmann Germany23.5
25Mikhail Paskalides Greece24.0
Frigyes Wiesner Hungary24.0
27Umberto Barrozzi Italy24.1
28Victor Henny Netherlands24.6
29Ernst Greven NetherlandsUnknown3rd in quarterfinal
Jacobus Hoogveld NetherlandsUnknown3rd in quarterfinal
Frank Lukeman CanadaUnknown3rd in quarterfinal
Henry Pankhurst Great BritainUnknown3rd in quarterfinal
Eduard Schönecker AustriaUnknown3rd in quarterfinal
James P. Stark Great BritainUnknown3rd in quarterfinal
Ragnar Stenberg FinlandUnknown3rd in quarterfinal
Henk van der Wal NetherlandsUnknown3rd in quarterfinal
37Cornelis den Held NetherlandsUnknown4th in quarterfinal
Evert Koops NetherlandsUnknown4th in quarterfinal
Knut Lindberg SwedenUnknown4th in quarterfinal
Pál Simon HungaryUnknown4th in quarterfinal
Knut Stenborg SwedenUnknown4th in quarterfinal
42Emilio Brambilla ItalyUnknown5th in quarterfinal
Fernand Halbart BelgiumUnknown5th in quarterfinal

References
  1. Official report, p. 32.
  2. "200 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  • Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
  • De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
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