The men's 110 metres hurdles competition at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

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was held at the

University Olympic Stadium A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

on October 16–17. Thirty-three athletes from 24 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Willie Davenport of the United States, the nation's eighth of nine consecutive victories and the 14th overall gold medal in the event for the Americans.

Eddy Ottoz Eddy Ottoz (born 3 June 1944) is an Italian former athlete and bronze medalist at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the 110 metre hurdles. Biography Sport career Ottoz competed for Italy in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics, 1964 Summer Olym ...

's bronze was Italy's first medal in the event.

Background

This was the 16th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Three finalists from 1964 returned: fourth-place finisher

of Italy, sixth-place finisher

Marcel Duriez Marcel Duriez (20 June 1940 – 2 February 2023) was a French hurdler. He competed in the 110 metres hurdles at the 1960, 1964 and the 1968 Summer Olympics. Duriez died in Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmo ...

of France, and seventh-place finisher Giovanni Cornacchia, also of Italy. The American team, including Willie Davenport (whose injury in Tokyo had ended a streak of four consecutive podium sweeps),

Ervin Hall Ervin Henry "Erv" Hall (born July 2, 1947) is a retired American sprinter who won a silver medal in the 110 m hurdles at the 1968 Olympics. In the semifinal he set an Olympic record at 13.3 seconds. He was 0.1 s slower in the final, and lost to W ...

, and

Leon Coleman Leonard "Leon" Coleman (born September 1, 1944, in Alabama) is an American hurdler who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ...

, was again favored. The Dominican Republic, Madagascar, and the Virgin Islands each made their first appearance in the event; West Germany made its first appearance as a separate nation. The United States made its 16th appearance, the only nation to have competed in the 110 metres hurdles in each Games to that point.

Competition format

The men's 110m hurdles competition consisted of heats (Round 1), semifinals and a final. The three fastest competitors from each race in the heats qualified for the semifinals along with the fastest overall competitor not already qualified. The four fastest runners from each of the two semifinal races advanced to the final.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1968 Summer Olympics.

matched the Olympic record in the third heat. He did it again in the first semifinal, but came in second in that race—

set a new Olympic record at 13.3 seconds. Willie Davenport matched Hall's new record to win the final; all three men came in under the old record in winning their medals. Ottoz's final time was a national record for Italy.

Schedule

All times are

Central Standard Time The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordinate ...

( UTC-6)

Results

Round 1

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Heat 5

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

References

External links

Official Olympic Report
''la84foundation.org''. Retrieved August 13, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics - Men's 110 metres hurdles Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics Sprint hurdles at the Olympics Men's events at the 1968 Summer Olympics