Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metres

The men's 100 metres was the shortest of the sprint races at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held over the course of three days. The first round was held on 20 July, the semifinals on 21 July, and the final on 22 July.

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"(*)" unofficial

James Rector in heat 15 and again in semi-final 3 equalized the standing Olympic record as well as Reggie Walker in the semi-final 1 and again in the final. Reggie Walker's actual time in the first semi-final was 10.7, rounded up to the nearest fifth, in accordance with rules in force at the time. So his time was given as 10frac|4|5.

Results

Heats

Times were kept for the winning runner in each heat only. They were measured to the closest fraction|1|5 second. The fastest runner advanced to the second round. The competition began at 3 p.m. on 20 July, the seventh day of the Games. A break was taken after the first nine heats to allow for four heats of the 800 metres to be run at 3:30 p.m., with the final eight heats of the 100 metres commencing at 4 p.m.

Heat 1

Duffy won this heat easily.

Heat 4

Walker had about a four yard lead when he finished. Records do not indicate which of the final two runners took which place.

Heat 7

In one of the closer heats of the first round, Duncan was only about a yard ahead of Stenborg when he finished.

Heat 10

Kerr led by three yards when he crossed the finish line.

Heat 13

Robertson won by about three yards.

Heat 16

In one of the slowest of the first round heads, Stark won by about two yards.

emifinal 2

Kerr had little difficulty winning this heat, leading by three yards at the finish.

Final

The final race of the 100 metres began at 4:15 p.m. on 22 July. With Walker and Rector having already tied the Olympic record before the final, it was widely expected that the final race of the 100 metres would be an exciting match between those two runners. Walker got off to a quick lead, but Rector caught him about midway through the race and passed him. Walker responded with a great effort, pulling level with Rector. The two ran side-by-side for about six yards before Walker finally pulled ahead to win by a tenth of a second. Kerr and Cartmell also ran a good race, with Kerr just edging out Cartmell for the third place.

References

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