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Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

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Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the X Olympiad
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
DatesAugust 1 and August 2
Competitors21 from 11 nations
Winning time1:49.7 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Tommy Hampson
 Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Alex Wilson
 Canada
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Phil Edwards
 Canada
← 1928
1936 →

The men's 800 metres middle distance event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 1 and August 2 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[1] Twenty-one athletes from 11 nations competed.[2] The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes.[3] The event was won by Tommy Hampson, the fourth consecutive British victory (it would be the last in the streak) and fifth overall British title in the 800 metres. Canada won its first two 800 metres medals with silver (Alex Wilson) and bronze (Phil Edwards).

Background

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This was the ninth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the medalists from 1928 returned, but three finalists did: fourth-place finisher Phil Edwards of Canada, sixth-place finisher Séra Martin of France, and eighth-place finisher Jean Keller of France. American Ben Eastman would have been favored in the event, but he ran only in the 400 metres in Los Angeles. The field was otherwise "considered open."[2]

New Zealand appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain and the United States each made their eighth appearance, tied for the most among all nations.

Competition format

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With only 21 athletes, the three-round format introduced in 1912 was impractical. Only two rounds were held, still with the nine-man final introduced in 1920. There were three semifinals with 7 athletes each; the top three runners in each semifinal advanced to the nine-man final.[2][4]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics.

World record  Séra Martin (FRA) 1:50.6 Paris, France 14 July 1928
Olympic record  Douglas Lowe (GBR) 1:51.8 Amsterdam, Netherlands 31 July 1928

Tommy Hampson broke the world record in the final, setting the new record at 1:49.7.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Monday, 1 August 1932 16:30 Semifinals
Tuesday, 2 August 1932 15:45 Final

Results

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Semifinals

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Three heats were held; the fastest three runners in each advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Edwin Genung  United States 1:54.8 Q
2 Phil Edwards  Canada 1:55.1 Q
3 Jack Powell  Great Britain 1:55.6 Q
4 Cyril Evans  New Zealand 1:56.6
5 Paul Martin  Switzerland 1:58.4
6 Nestor Gomes  Brazil 2:00.5
Jean Keller  France DNF

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Chuck Hornbostel  United States 1:52.4 Q
2 Alex Wilson  Canada 1:52.5 Q
3 Otto Peltzer  Germany 1:53.6 Q
4 Hjalle Johannesen  Norway 1:54.3
5 Hermenegildo del Rosso  Argentina 1:54.9
6 René Morel  France 1:55.2
7 José Lucílo Iturbe  Mexico 1:55.6

Semifinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Tommy Hampson  Great Britain 1:53.0 Q
2 Séra Martin  France 1:53.2 Q
3 Edwin Turner  United States 1:54.0 Q
4 Eddie King  Canada 1:54.4
5 Max Danz  Germany 1:58.9
6 Domingos Puglisi  Brazil 1:59.4
7 Miguel Vasconcelos  Mexico 2:00.0

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Tommy Hampson  Great Britain 1:49.7 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Alex Wilson  Canada 1:49.9
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Phil Edwards  Canada 1:51.5
4 Edwin Genung  United States 1:51.7
5 Edwin Turner  United States 1:52.5
6 Chuck Hornbostel  United States 1:52.7
7 Jack Powell  Great Britain 1:53.0
8 Séra Martin  France 1:53.6
9 Otto Peltzer  Germany 1:55.0

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 377.
  4. ^ Official Report, pp. 414–15.