Team races at the Olympics

Team races at the Summer Olympics were track running competitions contested at the multi-sport event from 1900 to 1924.

Team race
at the Olympic Games
The 1912 team race final
Overview
SportAthletics
GenderMen
Years heldMen: 19001924

The first such event was over 5000 metres at the 1900 Summer Olympics. This became a 4-mile race for the 1904 Summer Olympics, then a 3-mile race for the 1908 Summer Olympics. The most consistent format was over 3000 metres: this distance was contested on three consecutive occasions from 1912 to 1924, at which point track team races were removed from the Olympic athletics programme.

The races typically permitted up to five athletes per nation, with a minimum of three required to form a team. Each team score was the sum of the finishing positions of that nation's top three athletes. For example, first, second and third places would create a team score of six.

For 1900 and 1904 only two teams were entered: the point scoring format incorporated all five of each team's runners. On both occasions these were races between two major athletic clubs. In 1900 Racing Club de France competed against the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) of Great Britain. In 1904 the New York Athletic Club took on the Chicago Athletic Association. Since the International Olympic Committee recognises only nations for medal table purposes, the AAA and Chicago teams are now designated as Mixed Olympic Teams as the presence of Australian Stan Rowley and French immigrant to the United States Albert Corey, respectively, meant that the teams fielded were not entirely British or American.[1][2]

Medal summary

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris (5000 m)
 Mixed team (ZZX)
 Charles Bennett (GBR)
 John Rimmer (GBR)
 Sidney Robinson (GBR)
 Alfred Tysoe (GBR)
 Stan Rowley (AUS)
 France (FRA)
Henri Deloge
Gaston Ragueneau
Jacques Chastanié
André Castanet
Michel Champoudry
none awarded
1904 St. Louis (4 miles)
 United States (USA)
Arthur Newton
George Underwood
Paul Pilgrim
Howard Valentine
David Munson
 Mixed team (ZZX)
 James Lightbody (USA)
 Frank Verner (USA)
 Lacey Hearn (USA)
 Albert Corey (FRA)
 Sidney Hatch (USA)
none awarded
1908 London (3 miles)
 Great Britain (GBR)
Joe Deakin
Archie Robertson
William Coales
 United States (USA)
John Eisele
George Bonhag
Herbert Trube
 France (FRA)
Louis de Fleurac
Joseph Dreher
Paul Lizandier
1912 Stockholm (3000 m)
 United States (USA)
Tell Berna
George Bonhag
Abel Kiviat
Louis Scott
Norman Taber
 Sweden (SWE)
Bror Fock
Nils Frykberg
Thorild Olsson
Ernst Wide
John Zander
 Great Britain (GBR)
Joe Cottrill
George Hutson
William Moore
Edward Owen
Cyril Porter
1920 Antwerp (3000 m)
 United States (USA)
Horace Brown
Ivan Dresser
Arlie Schardt
 Great Britain (GBR)
Joe Blewitt
Albert Hill
William Seagrove
 Sweden (SWE)
Eric Backman
Sven Lundgren
Edvin Wide
1924 Paris (3000 m)
 Finland (FIN)
Elias Katz
Paavo Nurmi
Ville Ritola
 Great Britain (GBR)
Herbert Johnston
Bertram Macdonald
George Webber
 United States (USA)
William Cox
Edward Kirby
Willard Tibbetts

Multiple medalists

Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1George Bonhag United States (USA)1908–19121102
  • Note: William Seagrove was a 1920 silver medallist and was part of the British team in 1924, but as he was not in the top three British runners he did form part of their silver medal-winning team.[3]

Medals by country

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States (USA)3115
2 Great Britain (GBR)1214
3 Mixed team (ZZX)1102
4 Finland (FIN)1001
5= France (FRA)0112
5= Sweden (SWE)0112

Non-canonical Olympic events

In addition to the main 1904 4-mile team race, a handicap competition was also staged. This race, contested over one mile, saw Missouri Athletic Club take on fellow American sports club St. Louis Southwest Turnverein. Missouri won the race in a time of 3:52.2, with the St. Louis team finishing some 80 yards off the winners.[4]

This handicap race, along with numerous other handicap athletics events, is no longer considered part of the official Olympic history of the team race or the athletics programme in general. Consequently, medals from these competitions have not been assigned to nations on the all-time medal tables.[4]

References

Specific
  1. Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 5,000 metres, Team. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  2. Athletics at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Games: Men's 4 mile, Team. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  3. Athletics at the 1924 Paris Summer Games: Men's 3,000 metres, Team. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  4. Handicap Olympic Athletics Events. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
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