Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres
Men's 200 metres at the Games of the X Olympiad | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Eddie Tolan | ||||||||||
Venue | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | |||||||||
Dates | August 2 (heats and quarterfinals) August 3 (semifinals and final) | |||||||||
Competitors | 25 from 13 nations | |||||||||
Winning time | 21.2 OR | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
The men's 200 metres sprint event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 2 and August 3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[1] There were 25 athletes from 13 nations.[2] The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes.[3] After missing the podium entirely in 1928, the United States swept the medals in the event in 1932. It was the second medal sweep in the event by the United States (after 1904), as well as the nation's sixth victory in eight Games. Eddie Tolan won gold by 0.2 seconds, with George Simpson winning silver and Ralph Metcalfe winning bronze.
Afterwards, the film of the race revealed that Metcalfe had run 201.5 meters due to a measurement error: despite being offered a re-run by race officials, Metcalfe graciously declined.[2]
Background
[edit]This was the eighth appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. None of the six finalists from the 1928 Games returned. The Americans were favored coming into the Games, particularly Eddie Tolan and Ralph Metcalfe. Tolan had won the 100 metres over Metcalfe two days before the final of the 200 metres.[2]
The Republic of China made its debut in the event. The United States made its eighth appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.
Competition format
[edit]The competition used the four round format introduced in 1920: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 7 heats of between 2 and 5 runners each, with the top 3 men in each advancing to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals consisted of 4 heats of 5 athletes each; the 3 fastest men in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals, each with 6 runners. Again, the top 3 athletes advanced. The final had 6 runners. The races were run on a now-standard 400 metre track.[2]
Records
[edit]Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
World record | 20.6* | |||
Olympic record | ![]() |
21.6 | St. Louis, United States | 31 August 1904 |
*On a straightaway; no world record existed for running on a curve at the time.[4]
Ralph Metcalfe set a new Olympic record in the first quarterfinal with a time of 21.5 seconds. Eddie Tolan matched the new record in the second quarterfinal. Carlos Bianchi broke it in the third, with 21.4 seconds; Arthur Jonath matched Bianchi's time in the fourth quarterfinal. That record survived the semifinals, but Tolan bettered it with 21.2 seconds in the final.
Schedule
[edit]Date | Time | Round |
---|---|---|
Tuesday, 2 August 1932 | 15:00 17:30 |
Heats Quarterfinals |
Wednesday, 3 August 1932 | 14:30 17:00 |
Semifinals Final |
Results
[edit]Heats
[edit]Seven heats were held; the fastest three runners advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Heat 1
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Erich Borchmeyer | ![]() |
22.1 | Q |
2 | Takayoshi Yoshioka | ![]() |
22.3 | Q |
3 | Stanley Engelhart | ![]() |
Q |
Heat 2
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Willie Walters | ![]() |
21.9 | Q |
2 | Eddie Tolan | ![]() |
22.0 | Q |
3 | Stanley Fuller | ![]() |
22.4 | Q |
4 | Enrique Sánchez | ![]() |
22.8 |
Heat 3
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Harold Wright | ![]() |
22.8 | Q |
2 | Ralph Metcalfe | ![]() |
22.9 | Q |
3 | Stuart Black | ![]() |
23.1 | Q |
4 | Liu Changchun | ![]() |
23.4 |
Heat 4
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Itaro Nakajima | ![]() |
22.2 | Q |
2 | Fritz Hendrix | ![]() |
22.9 | Q |
Heat 5
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Roberto Genta | ![]() |
25.3 | Q |
2 | Chris Berger | ![]() |
26.1 | Q |
3 | George Simpson | ![]() |
29.0 | Q |
Heat 6
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arthur Jonath | ![]() |
21.9 | Q |
2 | Allan Elliot | ![]() |
22.2 | Q |
3 | Carlos Bianchi | ![]() |
22.3 | Q |
4 | Andrej Engel | ![]() |
22.3 | |
5 | Everardo Múzquiz | ![]() |
23.0 |
Heat 7
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bert Pearson | ![]() |
22.3 | Q |
2 | Danie Joubert | ![]() |
22.3 | Q |
3 | Teiichi Nishi | ![]() |
22.4 | Q |
4 | Ronald Vernieux | ![]() |
22.8 |
Quarterfinals
[edit]Four heats were held; the three fastest runners in each heat advanced to the semifinal round.
Quarterfinal 1
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ralph Metcalfe | ![]() |
21.5 | Q, OR |
2 | Willie Walters | ![]() |
21.5 | Q |
3 | Erich Borchmeyer | ![]() |
21.6 | Q |
4 | Itaro Nakajima | ![]() |
21.9 | |
5 | Chris Berger | ![]() |
22.0 |
Quarterfinal 2
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Eddie Tolan | ![]() |
21.5 | Q, =OR |
2 | Bert Pearson | ![]() |
21.7 | Q |
3 | Roberto Genta | ![]() |
21.8 | Q |
4 | Fritz Hendrix | ![]() |
21.9 | |
5 | Stanley Fuller | ![]() |
22.0 |
Quarterfinal 3
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Carlos Bianchi | ![]() |
21.4 | Q, OR |
2 | George Simpson | ![]() |
21.5 | Q |
3 | Danie Joubert | ![]() |
21.7 | Q |
4 | Takayoshi Yoshioka | ![]() |
21.8 | |
5 | Stuart Black | ![]() |
22.0 |
Quarterfinal 4
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arthur Jonath | ![]() |
21.4 | Q, =OR |
2 | Harold Wright | ![]() |
21.7 | Q |
3 | Allan Elliot | ![]() |
21.8 | Q |
4 | Stanley Engelhart | ![]() |
21.9 | |
5 | Teiichi Nishi | ![]() |
22.1 |
Semifinals
[edit]Two heats were held; the fastest three runners advanced to the final round.
Semifinal 1
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ralph Metcalfe | ![]() |
21.5 | Q |
2 | George Simpson | ![]() |
21.5 | Q |
3 | Carlos Bianchi | ![]() |
21.6 | Q |
4 | Danie Joubert | ![]() |
21.7 | |
5 | Erich Borchmeyer | ![]() |
21.8 | |
6 | Bert Pearson | ![]() |
21.9 |
Semifinal 2
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arthur Jonath | ![]() |
21.5 | Q |
2 | Willie Walters | ![]() |
21.7 | Q |
3 | Eddie Tolan | ![]() |
21.7 | Q |
4 | Harold Wright | ![]() |
21.8 | |
5 | Allan Elliot | ![]() |
21.9 | |
6 | Roberto Genta | ![]() |
22.0 |
Final
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Eddie Tolan | ![]() |
21.2 | OR |
![]() |
George Simpson | ![]() |
21.4 | |
![]() |
Ralph Metcalfe | ![]() |
21.5 | |
4 | Arthur Jonath | ![]() |
21.5 | |
5 | Carlos Bianchi | ![]() |
21.6 | |
6 | Willie Walters | ![]() |
21.9 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's 200 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d "200 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ Official Report, p. 377.
- ^ Official Report, p. 386.