The men's 60 metres was the shortest of the track races at the 1900 Summer Olympics in

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, which was the first time the event was held. It was held on 15 July 1900. 10 athletes from 6 nations competed. Five preliminary heats were scheduled, though only two were actually held. The top two athletes from each of the heats advanced to the final, resulting in a final race that featured three

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

runners and an Australian. Hurdle specialist

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 i ...

of the United States won the event, with his countryman

Walter Tewksbury Walter Beardsley Tewksbury (March 21, 1876 – April 24, 1968) was an American track and field athlete. At the 1900 Summer Olympics, he won five medals, including two golds. Biography Born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, Tewksbury studied for a dental ...

in second and Australian

Stan Rowley Stanley Rupert Rowley (11 September 1876 – 1 April 1924) was an Australian sprinter who won four medals at the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was born in Young, New South Wales and died in Manly, New South Wales. Biography In 1900 he ...

earning bronze.

Background

This was the first time the event was held; it would be held again only in 1904 before being discontinued. 110 metres hurdles champion

, 200 metres and 400 metres hurdles champion

, and 100 metres and 200 metres bronze medalist

were among the entrants. Australia, France, Hungary, India, Sweden, and the United States competed in the debut of the event.

Records

World bests were not recognized until 1966. As this was a new event, there was no standing Olympic record:

set the initial record with 7.0 seconds in the first semifinal, then equalled it in the final.

Competition format

The competition consisted of two rounds: semifinals and a final. The top two runners in each of the two semifinals advanced to the final.

Schedule

Results

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Minahan was about half a yard behind Kraenzlein, with Pritchard a yard behind him.

Semifinal 2

Tewksbury beat Rowley by a foot.

Final

The 60 metres final was a close race, with the two top Americans being separated by four inches and Rowley half a yard behind. It was each of the runners' second time running the 60 in less than an hour, as the final was held almost immediately after the preliminary heats.

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 60 metres Men's 0060 metres

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...