Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay
The men's 4 × 100 meters relay was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics program. It was the debut of the event, which along with the 4 × 400-meter relays marked the first relays of equal legs in the athletics program (a medley relay had been held in 1908). The competition was held on Monday, July 8, 1912, and on Tuesday, July 9, 1912.[1] NOCs could enter 1 team of 4 athletes, with up to 2 reserves.[2]
| Men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the Games of the V Olympiad | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The winning British relay team. | |||||||||
| Venue | Stockholm Olympic Stadium | ||||||||
| Dates | July 8, 1912 (heats, semifinals) July 9, 1912 (final) | ||||||||
| Competitors | 33 from 8 nations | ||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Track events | |
| 100 m | men |
| 200 m | men |
| 400 m | men |
| 800 m | men |
| 1500 m | men |
| 5000 m | men |
| 10,000 m | men |
| 110 m hurdles | men |
| 4×100 m relay | men |
| 4×400 m relay | men |
| 3000 m team race | men |
| 10 km walk | men |
| Road events | |
| Marathon | men |
| Field events | |
| Long jump | men |
| Triple jump | men |
| High jump | men |
| Pole vault | men |
| Standing long jump | men |
| Standing high jump | men |
| Shot put | men |
| Discus throw | men |
| Hammer throw | men |
| Javelin throw | men |
| 2-hand shot put | men |
| 2-hand discus | men |
| 2-hand javelin | men |
| Combined events | |
| Pentathlon | men |
| Decathlon | men |
| Cross-country events | |
| Individual | men |
| Team | men |
Thirty-three runners from 8 nations competed. Only Germany replaced one runner.
Records
The record for the new event progressed quickly, with the Canadians winning the first heat. The Americans and then the Swedes then took the record, with the Germans tying the Swedes. The British took the record in the first semifinal, only to lose it quickly to the Swedes in the second. This time, the Germans running in the third semifinal bested the Swedish team's time to take the record for themselves after replacing Karl Halt with Otto Röhr as their lead-off runner.
The German team held the record at the finish, despite finishing in second (and then being disqualified for a baton-passing fault) in the final. Their disqualification left the event without a bronze medalist, making it the only athletics event to award only two medals.
The record of the German team with 42.3 became the first official world record for the 4 × 100 meters relay.
Results
Heats
All heats were held on Monday, July 8, 1912.
Only two teams were eliminated after the first round.
Heat 1
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Frank McConnell, Frank Lukeman, Harry Beasley, John Howard (CAN) | 46.2 OR | QS |
Heat 2
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ira Courtney, Frank Belote, Clement Wilson, Carl Cooke (USA) | 43.7 OR | QS |
Heat 3
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  David Jacobs, Henry Macintosh, Willie Applegarth, Victor d'Arcy (GBR) | 45.0 | QS |
Heat 4
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ivan Möller, Charles Luther, Ture Person, Knut Lindberg (SWE) | 43.6 OR | QS |
Heat 5
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Karl Halt, Max Herrmann, Erwin Kern, Richard Rau (GER) | 43.6 =OR | QS |
| 2 |  Gustav Kröjer, Rudolf Rauch, Fritz Weinzinger, Fritz Fleischer (AUT) | 44.8 |
Heat 6
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ferenc Szobota, Vilmos Rácz, Pál Szalay, István Jankovich (HUN) | 43.7 | QS |
| 2 |  Pierre Failliot, Georges Rolot, Charles Lelong, René Mourlon (FRA) | 43.8 |
Semifinals
All semifinals were held on Monday, July 8, 1912.
Semifinal 1
The United States team was disqualified after a baton-passing fault on the first transfer.
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Jacobs, Henry Macintosh, Willie Applegarth, Victor d'Arcy (GBR) | 43.0 OR | QF |
| — | Ira Courtney, Frank Belote, Clement Wilson, Carl Cooke (USA) | Disqualified |
Semifinal 2
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Möller, Charles Luther, Ture Person, Knut Lindberg (SWE) | 42.5 OR | QF |
| 2 | Ferenc Szobota, Vilmos Rácz, Pál Szalay, István Jankovich (HUN) | 42.9 |
Semifinal 3
| Place | Athletes | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Otto Röhr, Max Herrmann, Erwin Kern, Richard Rau (GER) | 42.3 OR | QF |
| 2 | Frank McConnell, Frank Lukeman, Harry Beasley, John Howard (CAN) | 43.5 |
Final
The final was held on Tuesday, July 9, 1912.
Rau, erasing a deficit held since the first runners in the order, finished barely behind d'Arcy but the German team had committed a fault with its second baton passing as Kern passed the 20 metre line before receiving the baton. The Germans were disqualified, leaving no bronze medalist in the event as the British team finished with the gold and the Swedes moved up to second place.
| Place | Athletes | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Jacobs, Henry Macintosh, Willie Applegarth, Victor d'Arcy (GBR) | 42.4 |
| 2 | Ivan Möller, Charles Luther, Ture Person, Knut Lindberg (SWE) | 42.6 |
| — | Otto Röhr, Max Herrmann, Erwin Kern, Richard Rau (GER) | Disqualified |
Gallery
Semifinal 2: Team Sweden on the left and the Hungarian team on the right.
The final: Team Germany passing the baton.
The finish of the final: Victor d'Arcy on the left[3][4] winning the race for Great Britain. On the right finishing second but later disqualified, Richard Rau for Germany.
References
- "Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's 4 × 100 metres Relay". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- Official report, p. 61.
- Vic d'Arcy. sports-reference.com
- Olympia 1912 Stockholm. gettyimages.co.uk
Sources
- Bergvall, Erik (ed.) (1913). Adams-Ray, Edward (trans.). (ed.). The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 1 January 2007.