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

Men's 200 metres at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Venue	White City Stadium
Dates	21 July (quarterfinals) 22 July (semifinals) 23 July (final)
Competitors	43 from 15 nations
Medalists
Robert Kerr  Canada Robert Cloughen  United States Nate Cartmell  United States

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. 43 sprinters from 15 nations competed.

Records

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

World Record	21.4(*)	Jim Maybury	Chicago (USA)	5 June 1897
Olympic Record	21.6(**)	Archie Hahn	St. Louis (USA)	31 August 1904

(*) unofficial 220 yards (= 201.17 m)

(**) straight course

Results

Heats

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

Heat 1

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

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	John George	Great Britain	23.4 seconds
2	Victor Henny	Netherlands	(24.6 seconds)

Heat 2

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

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Harold Huff	United States	22.8 seconds
2	Edward Duffy	South Africa	(23.2 seconds)
3	Henk van der Wal	Netherlands	Unknown
4	Knut Stenborg	Sweden	Unknown

Heat 3

Roche won by a mere yard.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Patrick Roche	Great Britain	22.8 seconds
2	Lawson Robertson	United States	(23.0 seconds)
3	Frank Lukeman	Canada	Unknown
4	Evert Koops	Netherlands	Unknown

Heat 4

Cartmell won by about two yards.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Nate Cartmell	United States	23.0 seconds
2	Vilmos Rácz	Hungary	(23.3 seconds)
3	Ragnar Stenberg	Finland	Unknown

Heat 5

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

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Georges Malfait	France	22.6 seconds
2	Robert Duncan	Great Britain	(23.1 seconds)

Heat 6

Laaftman won by two yards.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Sven Låftman	Sweden	23.8 seconds
2	Frigyes Wiesner	Hungary	(24.0 seconds)
3	Ernst Greven	Netherlands	Unknown

Heat 7

There was no competition for Radóczy in the seventh heat.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Károly Radóczy	Hungary	walkover

Heat 8

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

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Robert Cloughen	United States	23.4 seconds
2	Umberto Barrozzi	Italy	(24.1 seconds)

Heat 9

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

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Samuel Hurdsfield	Great Britain	23.6 seconds
2	Mikhail Paskalides	Greece	(24.0 seconds)

Heat 10

Hamilton's margin of victory was three yards.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	William Hamilton	United States	22.4 seconds
2	Louis Sebert	Canada	(22.8 seconds)
3	Henry Pankhurst	Great Britain	Unknown
4	Pál Simon	Hungary	Unknown
5	Fernand Halbart	Belgium	Unknown

Heat 11

Kerr's victory was by about three yards.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Robert Kerr	Canada	22.2 seconds
2	William W. May	United States	(22.7 seconds)
3	James P. Stark	Great Britain	Unknown
4	Knut Lindberg	Sweden	Unknown
5	Emilio Brambilla	Italy	Unknown

Heat 12

Sherman led by two yards when he finished.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Nathaniel Sherman	United States	22.8 seconds
2	John W. Morton	Great Britain	(23.1 seconds)
3	Eduard Schönecker	Austria	Unknown
4	Cornelis den Held	Netherlands	Unknown

Heat 13

Reed won by two and a half yards.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Lionel Reed	Great Britain	23.2 seconds
2	Arthur Hoffmann	Germany	(23.5 seconds)

Heat 14

Guttormsen was the second runner to win without competition.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Oscar Guttormsen	Norway	walkover

Heat 15

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

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	George Hawkins	Great Britain	22.8 seconds
2	Henri Meslot	France	(23.2 seconds)
3	Jacobus Hoogveld	Netherlands	Unknown

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.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Robert Kerr	Canada	22.6 seconds
2	William Hamilton	United States	(22.7 seconds)
3	Károly Radóczy	Hungary	(22.8 seconds)
4	Oscar Guttormsen	Norway	Unknown

Semifinal 2

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

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Nate Cartmell	United States	22.6 seconds
2	Nathaniel Sherman	United States	(22.9 seconds)
3	Harold Huff	United States	(23.0 seconds)

Semifinal 3

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

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Robert Cloughen	United States	22.6 seconds
2	Lionel Reed	Great Britain	(22.8 seconds)
3	John George	Great Britain	Unknown
4	Samuel Hurdsfield	Great Britain	Unknown

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.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	George Hawkins	Great Britain	22.6 seconds
2	Patrick Roche	Great Britain	(22.6 seconds)
3	Georges Malfait	France	Unknown
—	Sven Låftman	Sweden	Did not start

Final

Kerr winning the 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.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time
	Robert Kerr	Canada	22.6 seconds
	Robert Cloughen	United States	(22.6 seconds)
	Nate Cartmell	United States	(22.7 seconds)
4	George Hawkins	Great Britain	(22.9 seconds)

References

• 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.