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Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

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Men's 200 metres
at the Games of the X Olympiad
Eddie Tolan
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
DatesAugust 2 (heats and quarterfinals)
August 3 (semifinals and final)
Competitors25 from 13 nations
Winning time21.2 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Eddie Tolan
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) George Simpson
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ralph Metcalfe
 United States
← 1928
1936 →

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

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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

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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

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Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:

World record 20.6*
Olympic record  Archie Hahn (USA) 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

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Date Time Round
Tuesday, 2 August 1932 15:00
17:30
Heats
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, 3 August 1932 14:30
17:00
Semifinals
Final

Results

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Heats

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Seven heats were held; the fastest three runners advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Erich Borchmeyer  Germany 22.1 Q
2 Takayoshi Yoshioka  Japan 22.3 Q
3 Stanley Engelhart  Great Britain Q

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Willie Walters  South Africa 21.9 Q
2 Eddie Tolan  United States 22.0 Q
3 Stanley Fuller  Great Britain 22.4 Q
4 Enrique Sánchez  Mexico 22.8

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harold Wright  Canada 22.8 Q
2 Ralph Metcalfe  United States 22.9 Q
3 Stuart Black  New Zealand 23.1 Q
4 Liu Changchun Taiwan China 23.4

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Itaro Nakajima  Japan 22.2 Q
2 Fritz Hendrix  Germany 22.9 Q

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Roberto Genta  Argentina 25.3 Q
2 Chris Berger  Netherlands 26.1 Q
3 George Simpson  United States 29.0 Q

Heat 6

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Arthur Jonath  Germany 21.9 Q
2 Allan Elliot  New Zealand 22.2 Q
3 Carlos Bianchi  Argentina 22.3 Q
4 Andrej Engel  Czechoslovakia 22.3
5 Everardo Múzquiz  Mexico 23.0

Heat 7

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Bert Pearson  Canada 22.3 Q
2 Danie Joubert  South Africa 22.3 Q
3 Teiichi Nishi  Japan 22.4 Q
4 Ronald Vernieux  India 22.8

Quarterfinals

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Four heats were held; the three fastest runners in each heat advanced to the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ralph Metcalfe  United States 21.5 Q, OR
2 Willie Walters  South Africa 21.5 Q
3 Erich Borchmeyer  Germany 21.6 Q
4 Itaro Nakajima  Japan 21.9
5 Chris Berger  Netherlands 22.0

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Eddie Tolan  United States 21.5 Q, =OR
2 Bert Pearson  Canada 21.7 Q
3 Roberto Genta  Argentina 21.8 Q
4 Fritz Hendrix  Germany 21.9
5 Stanley Fuller  Great Britain 22.0

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Carlos Bianchi  Argentina 21.4 Q, OR
2 George Simpson  United States 21.5 Q
3 Danie Joubert  South Africa 21.7 Q
4 Takayoshi Yoshioka  Japan 21.8
5 Stuart Black  New Zealand 22.0

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Arthur Jonath  Germany 21.4 Q, =OR
2 Harold Wright  Canada 21.7 Q
3 Allan Elliot  New Zealand 21.8 Q
4 Stanley Engelhart  Great Britain 21.9
5 Teiichi Nishi  Japan 22.1

Semifinals

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Two heats were held; the fastest three runners advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ralph Metcalfe  United States 21.5 Q
2 George Simpson  United States 21.5 Q
3 Carlos Bianchi  Argentina 21.6 Q
4 Danie Joubert  South Africa 21.7
5 Erich Borchmeyer  Germany 21.8
6 Bert Pearson  Canada 21.9

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Arthur Jonath  Germany 21.5 Q
2 Willie Walters  South Africa 21.7 Q
3 Eddie Tolan  United States 21.7 Q
4 Harold Wright  Canada 21.8
5 Allan Elliot  New Zealand 21.9
6 Roberto Genta  Argentina 22.0

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Eddie Tolan  United States 21.2 OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) George Simpson  United States 21.4
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ralph Metcalfe  United States 21.5
4 Arthur Jonath  Germany 21.5
5 Carlos Bianchi  Argentina 21.6
6 Willie Walters  South Africa 21.9

References

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  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ a b c d "200 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 377.
  4. ^ Official Report, p. 386.