The men's

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...

was the first of the

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

events on the

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

programme at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. It was held on July 14, 1900. Nine athletes from three nations competed in the shortest of the

hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

events. The event was won by

Alvin Kraenzlein Alvin Christian "Al" Kraenzlein (December 12, 1876 – January 6, 1928) was an American track-and-field athlete known as "the father of the modern hurdling technique". He was the first sportsman in the history of the Olympic games to win four ...

of the United States, the second of five consecutive victories for the nation in the first five Olympic Games. It was also the first of four consecutive podium sweeps for the Americans in the event.

Background

This was the second appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the hurdlers from 1896 returned.

was the dominant hurdler of the time and an overwhelming favorite. India made its first appearance in the event. France and the United States each made their second appearances, the only two nations to compete in the 110 metres hurdles in both the first two Games.

Competition format

There were three rounds: semifinals, repechages, and a final. The top runners in each of the 3 semifinal heats advanced to the final, while all other finishers in the heats moved to the repechages. Two repechage heats were held, with the winner of each advancing to the final.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics. No world record was recognized until 1912, when the IAAF recognized a 1908 performance as the first world record.

's 15.2 seconds in the 120 yards (slightly shorter) was the closest equivalent. At first

set a new Olympic record in the first heat of the first round with 15.6 seconds. In the final he improved this to 15.4 seconds.

Schedule

Results

Semifinals

In the first round, there were three heats. The top runners in each advanced to the finals, with the other runners competing in

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

heats.

Semifinal 1

Kraenzlein set a new world record and won by three yards, though he was slower than his previous mark of 15.2 seconds in the slightly shorter 120 yard hurdles.

Semifinal 2

Klingelhoefer pulled up lame, leaving Pritchard to win by a yard and a half.

Semifinal 3

There was no competition in this heat, with the only hurdler advancing automatically.

Repechage

The two repechage heats consisted of all the hurdlers that had not qualified in the first round, except for the injured Adolphe Klingelhoefer, who withdrew. The winner of each heat joined the three top finishers of the first round in the final.

Repechage heat 1

Repechage heat 2

McLean won the second repechage heat easily to become the third person from the first preliminary heat to qualify for the final.

Final

McLean had a lead early, due in part to the error of the starter; even so, Kraenzlein was able to catch and pass him to win the first athletics competition of the 1900 Games, and Moloney, a better hurdler than McLean, nearly caught him as well. All three of the American hurdlers had come from the first preliminary heat. Pritchard, the winner of the second heat, pulled up lame.

Results summary

References

Sources

International Olympic Committee
* De Wael, Herman. ''Herman's Full Olympians'': "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically a

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1900 Summer Olympics - Men's 110 Metre Hurdles Men's hurdles 110 metres Sprint hurdles at the Olympics