Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

Men's 100 metres at the Games of the II Olympiad
Venue	Bois de Boulogne
Date	July 14
Competitors	20 from 9 nations
Medalists
Frank Jarvis  United States Walter Tewksbury  United States Stan Rowley  Australia

The men's 100 metres was a sprinting event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14, 1900. 20 athletes from nine nations competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics.

World Record	10.8	Luther Cary	Paris (FRA)	July 4, 1891
		Cecil Lee	Brussels (BEL)	September 25, 1892
		Étienne De Re	Brussels (BEL)	August 4, 1893
		L. Atcherley	Frankfurt/Main (GER)	April 13, 1895
		Harry Beaton	Rotterdam (NED)	August 28, 1895
		Harald Anderson-Arbin	Helsingborg (SWE)	August 9, 1896
		Isaac Westergren	Gävle (SWE)	September 11, 1898
		Isaac Westergren	Gävle (SWE)	September 10, 1899
Olympic Record	11.8	Thomas Burke	Athens (GRE)	April 6, 1896 (NS)

Arthur Duffey in the first heat of the first round and Walter Tewksbury in the second heat of the first round set new Olympic records with 11.4 seconds. In the third heat of the first round Frank Jarvis equalled the unofficial world record with 10.8 seconds. In the second semifinal Tewksbury also equalled the world record with 10.8 seconds.

Competition format

The competition consisted of four rounds: heats, semifinals, a repechage, and a final. The top two runners in each of the six heats advanced to the semifinals. Those 12 men were divided into 3 semifinals of 4 runners each. The 1st-place runner in each semifinal advanced directly to the final, the 2nd and 3rd place runners went to the repechage, and the 4th place finisher was eliminated. In the 6-man repechage, only the winner advanced to the final and everyone else was eliminated.

Results

First round

In the first round, there were six heats. The top two runners in each advanced to the semifinals.

Heat 1

Duffey was a metre ahead of Moloney at the finish.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Arthur Duffey	United States	11.4	Q, OR
2	Frederick Moloney	United States	(11.5)	Q
3	Václav Nový	Bohemia	Unknown

Heat 2

Tewksbury won this heat by six inches.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Walter Tewksbury	United States	11.4	Q, =OR
2	Thaddeus McClain	United States	(11.4)	Q
3	Pál Koppán	Hungary	Unknown

Heat 3

The fastest of the preliminary heats featured two of the eventual medallists; Jarvis won by a metre and equalled the world record.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Frank Jarvis	United States	10.8	Q, =WR
2	Stan Rowley	Australia	(10.9)	Q
3	Umberto Colombo	Italy	Unknown
4	Julius Keyl	Germany	Unknown

Heat 4

Leiblee won this heat by half a yard.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Clark Leiblee	United States	11.4	Q
2	Kurt Doerry	Germany	(11.5)	Q
3	Johannes Gandil	Denmark	Unknown

Heat 5

The fifth heat was the only one that was not won by an American runner; Pritchard beat Minahan by half a yard.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Norman Pritchard	India	11.4	Q
2	Edmund Minahan	United States	(11.5)	Q
3	Ernő Schubert	Hungary	Unknown
4	Isaac Westergren	Sweden	Unknown

Heat 6

In an all-American heat, Burroughs defeated Boardman by about a metre, with Slack in third to become the only American runner to be eliminated in the first round.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Charles Burroughs	United States	11.4	Q
2	Dixon Boardman	United States	(11.5)	Q
3	Henry Slack	United States	Unknown

Semifinals

There were three semifinals, each with four runners. The top runner in each of the semifinals advanced to the final, while the second and third place runners competed in the repechage. The winner of the six-runner repechage advanced to the final as well.

Semifinal 1

Duffey dropped almost half a second from his preliminary heat time to beat Rowley by five feet. Burroughs again defeated Boardman, eliminating Boardman from competition while remaining in contention in the repechage.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Arthur Duffey	United States	11.0	Q
2	Stan Rowley	Australia	(11.2)	R
3	Charles Burroughs	United States	Unknown	R
4	Dixon Boardman	United States	Unknown

Semifinal 2

Tewksbury equalled the world record, the second runner to accomplish that at the Paris Games, with Leiblee six inches behind him. There is some question as to whether Dörry started the race, but he did not finish it.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Walter Tewksbury	United States	10.8	Q, =WR
2	Clark Leiblee	United States	(10.9)	R
3	Frederick Moloney	United States	Unknown	R
–	Kurt Doerry	Germany	DNF

Semifinal 3

Jarvis won by a yard, McClain and Pritchard were relegated to the repechage, and Minahan was eliminated.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Frank Jarvis	United States	11.2	Q
2	Thaddeus McClain	United States	(11.3)	R
3	Norman Pritchard	India	Unknown	R
4	Edmund Minahan	United States	Unknown

Repechage

The repechage was a very close race, with Rowley defeating Pritchard by two inches. Rowley advanced to the final while Pritchard and the four Americans were eliminated.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Stan Rowley	Australia	11.0	Q
2	Norman Pritchard	India	(11.0)
3	Clark Leiblee	United States	Unknown
4-6	Charles Burroughs	United States	Unknown
4-6	Thaddeus McClain	United States	Unknown
4-6	Frederick Moloney	United States	Unknown

Final

Duffey got away to an early lead, but pulled a tendon at the 50 meter mark. Jarvis beat Tewksbury by two feet, with Rowley half a yard behind.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time
	Frank Jarvis	United States	11.0
	Walter Tewksbury	United States	(11.1)
	Stan Rowley	Australia	(11.2)
–	Arthur Duffey	United States	DNF

Sources

• International Olympic Committee.
• De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically at [1].
• Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.