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Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

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Men's 100 metres
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
VenueOlympisch Stadion
DatesAugust 15 (round 1 & quarterfinals)
August 16 (semifinals & final)
Competitors60 from 22 nations
Winning time10.8
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Charley Paddock  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Morris Kirksey  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Harry Edward  Great Britain
← 1912
1924 →

The men's 100 metres event was part of the athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on August 15 and 16, 1920. The event was won by Charley Paddock of the United States. Great Britain won its first medal in the event, a bronze by Harry Edward.

Sixty sprinters from 22 nations competed, while Estonia's sole athlete in the event, Reinhold Saulmann, was entered but did not start the 100 m.[1] No nation had more than 4 runners, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912.

Background

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This was the sixth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. None of the 1912 medalists returned in 1920. Notable entrants included Charley Paddock of the United States, the 1919 Inter-Allied Championship winner and Olympic favorite; fellow American Loren Murchison, who had defeated Paddock in the U.S. Olympic trials; and Harry Edward of Great Britain, the 1920 AAA Championships winner.[2]

Egypt, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland were represented in the event for the first time. The new nation of Czechoslovakia also appeared for the first time, though Bohemia had previously competed separately. For the first time, Hungary did not compete (a result of not being invited after World War I)—making the United States the only nation to have appeared at each of the first six Olympic men's 100 metres events.

Competition format

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The event expanded from three rounds (in 1908 and 1912) to four rounds: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 12 heats, of 4–6 athletes each, with the top 2 in each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The 24 quarterfinalists were placed into 5 heats of 4 or 5 athletes. Again, the top 2 advanced. There were 2 heats of 5 semifinalists, this time with the top 3 advancing to the 6-man final.[2]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.[3]

World Record 10.6(*)  Donald Lippincott (USA) Stockholm (SWE) July 6, 1912
Olympic Record 10.6  Donald Lippincott (USA) Stockholm (SWE) July 6, 1912

(*) This was the only officially ratified world record in 1920, but there have been at least four runs in 10.5 seconds at that time. (see the records prior the 1912 Summer Olympics.)

Schedule

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Date Time
Sunday, 15 August 1920 15:15
17:00
Round 1
Quarterfinals
Monday, 16 August 1920 9:30
16:00
Semifinals
Final

Results

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Times were generally only published for the winners of each heat. Some of the times listed below are estimates based on contemporary reports of the races.[4]

Round 1

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Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 William Hill  Great Britain 11.0 Q
2 Mario Riccoboni  Italy 11.2 Q
3 Marcel Gustin  Belgium 11.3
4 Jan de Vries  Netherlands
5 Ichiro Kaga  Japan
6 Paul Hammer  Luxembourg

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 René Mourlon  France 11.2 Q
2 August Sørensen  Denmark 11.3 Q
3 Erik Lindvall  Sweden
4 Ahmed Khairy  Egypt
5 Purma Bannerjee  India
František Skokan  Czechoslovakia DNS

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Loren Murchison  United States 10.8 Q
2 Jacobus Bukes  South Africa 11.0 Q
3 Albert Heijnneman  Netherlands 11.0
4 Vojtěch Plzák  Czechoslovakia

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 William Hunt  Australia 11.0 Q
2 Félix Mendizábal  Spain 11.2 Q
3 Francis Irvine  South Africa
4 Bjarne Guldager  Norway
5 Adolf Rysler  Switzerland
6 Nils Sandström  Sweden

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Vittorio Zucca  Italy 11.4 Q
2 Cor Wezepoel  Netherlands 11.5 Q
3 Leonard Dixon  South Africa
4 August Waibel  Switzerland
5 Alex Servais  Luxembourg

Heat 6

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Morris Kirksey  United States 11.0 Q
2 Josef Imbach  Switzerland 11.0 Q
3 René Lorain  France 11.1
4 Johan Johnsen  Norway 11.2
5 Jaime Camps  Spain
6 Giovanni Orlandi  Italy

Heat 7

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Paul Brochart  Belgium 11.4 Q
2 René Tirard  France 11.7 Q
3 Diego Ordóñez  Spain
4 Eduard Hašek  Czechoslovakia
5 Jean Colbach  Luxembourg

Heat 8

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Charley Paddock  United States 10.8 Q
2 Harry Edward  Great Britain 10.9 Q
3 Carlos Botín  Spain 11.6
4 Shinichi Yamaoka  Japan 11.6
5 Edmond Médécin  Monaco 11.8

Heat 9

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Émile Ali-Khan  France 11.0 Q
2 Victor d'Arcy  Great Britain 11.1 Q
3 Rolf Stenersen  Norway
4 Dimitrios Karabatis  Greece
5 Sven Malm  Sweden

Heat 10

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harold Abrahams  Great Britain 11.0 Q
2 Alexander Ponton  Canada 11.1 Q
3 Giorgio Croci  Italy 11.3
4 Harry van Rappard  Netherlands
Reinhold Saulmann  Estonia DNS

Heat 11

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Jack Oosterlaak  South Africa 11.0 Q
2 George Davidson  New Zealand 11.1 Q
3 Agne Holmström  Sweden
4 Fritiof Andersen  Denmark
5 Jean Lefèbvre  Belgium

Heat 12

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Jackson Scholz  United States 10.8 Q
2 Marinus Sørensen  Denmark 11.2 Q
3 Cyril Coaffee  Canada
4 Julien Lehouck  Belgium
5 Asle Bækkedal  Norway

Quarterfinals

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Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harry Edward  Great Britain 10.8 Q
2 Loren Murchison  United States 10.9 Q
3 René Mourlon  France 11.0
4 William Hunt  Australia 11.0
5 Mario Riccobono  Italy 11.5

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 William Hill  Great Britain 11.0 Q
2 Félix Mendizábal  Spain 11.1 Q
3 Willie Bukes  South Africa
4 August Sørensen  Denmark
5 Vittorio Zucca  Italy

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Charley Paddock  United States 10.8 Q
2 Émile Ali-Khan  France 10.9 Q
3 George Davidson  New Zealand 10.9
4 Harold Abrahams  Great Britain 11.0
5 Cor Wezepoel  Netherlands

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Jackson Scholz  United States 10.8 Q
2 Jack Oosterlaak  South Africa 11.0 Q
3 Josef Imbach  Switzerland 11.1
4 René Tirard  France 11.2
5 Alexander Ponton  Canada 11.4

Quarterfinal 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Morris Kirksey  United States 10.8 Q
2 Paul Brochart  Belgium 10.9 Q
3 Victor d'Arcy  Great Britain
4 Marinus Sørensen  Denmark

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harry Edward  Great Britain 10.8 Q
2 Jackson Scholz  United States 10.9 Q
3 Morris Kirksey  United States 11.0 Q
4 Jack Oosterlaak  South Africa 11.0
5 Félix Mendizábal  Spain

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Charley Paddock  United States 11.0 Q
2 Émile Ali-Khan  France 11.1 Q
3 Loren Murchison  United States 11.2 Q
4 Paul Brochart  Belgium 11.3
5 William Hill  Great Britain 11.3

Final

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Murchison was affected badly by the start. The starter had told Paddock to adjust his position, causing Murchison to stand, thinking the full start sequence would be repeated. When it was not, Murchison was effectively eliminated as he was unprepared to run and could not catch the group.[2]

Scholz was in the lead at the halfway mark before falling back to the back of the group. Paddock won by half a metre over Kirksey, with Edward a "chest behind" the silver medalist. The finish between Scholz and Ali-Khan for 4th and 5th places was close enough that the judges originally ruled Ali-Khan 4th before determining that Scholz was 4th.[2]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) 3 Charley Paddock  United States 10.8
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1 Morris Kirksey  United States 10.9
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 Harry Edward  Great Britain 10.9
4 5 Jackson Scholz  United States 10.9
5 4 Émile Ali-Khan  France 11.2
6 2 Loren Murchison  United States 11.2

References

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  1. ^ Athletics at the 1920 Summer Games: Men's 100 metres. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-31.
  2. ^ a b c d "100 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  3. ^ "World Record Progression of 100 Metres". World Athletics. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  4. ^ "Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

Further reading

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  • Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 11 August 2007.