The men's 100 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 6 July 1912 and on 7 July 1912. Seventy runners from 22 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.Official report, p. 61. The event was won by

Ralph Craig Ralph Cook Craig (June 21, 1889 – July 21, 1972) was an American track and field athlete. He was the winner of the sprint double at the 1912 Summer Olympics.Erwin Kern,

Emil Ketterer Emil Ketterer (6 August 1883 – 23 December 1959) was a German track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Later in his life, he became an ardent Nazi and SA-Obergruppenführer. As a medical doctor, he was involved in a ...

, and

Richard Rau Richard Rau (26 August 1889 – 6 November 1945) was a German SS officer and track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100 m and finished fourth in the 200 m competition. He w ...

of Germany, who shared the unofficial world record; George Patching of South Africa, the 1910 and 1911

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offici ...

winner; and United States Olympic Trials winners Ira Courtney, Clement Wilson, and

Howard Drew Howard Porter Drew (June 28, 1890 – February 19, 1957) was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. An inspirational African-American athlete, Drew was once considered the "world’s fastest man", known a ...

. Chile (disputed, as

Luis Subercaseaux Luis Subercaseaux Errázuriz (10 May 1882–1973) was a Chilean diplomat and athlete. He is claimed to be the first Chilean and Latin American sportsman to have competed in the Olympic Games, at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Biography Bo ...

may have run in 1896), Iceland, Japan, Portugal, Russia, and Serbia were represented in the event for the first time. "Australasia" also appeared for the first time, though Australia had previously competed. The United States and Hungary were the only two nations to have appeared at each of the first five Olympic men's 100 metres events.

Competition format

The event maintained the three round format from 1908: heats, semifinals, and a final. This time, however, the top two runners in each of the 17 heats advanced to the semifinals. These 34 semifinalists (which became 33, as the first heat had only 1 runner) were divided into 6 semifinal heats; only the top runner in each semifinal advanced to the final.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics. ''(*)'' unofficial ''(**)'' Actual time was 10.7, rounded up to the nearest fifth, in accordance with rules in force at the time. So his time was only given as 10. The Olympic record for the 100 metres coming into 1912 was 10.8 seconds. It was matched by David Jacobs of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

in the 10th heat before being broken by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Donald Lippincott Donald Fithian Lippincott (November 16, 1893 – January 9, 1963) was an American athlete who competed in the sprint events. He competed for the United States in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden where he finished third in the 10 ...

with 10.6 seconds in the 16th heat. This was also the inaugural official world record in the 100 metres. Three semifinalists (including Lippincott) ran the race in 10.7 seconds, but the new record of 10.6 seconds stood for the rest of the event.

Results

Heats

All heats were held on Saturday, July 6, 1912.

Heat 1

Heat 2

Möller and Szalay were close at 70 metres; "Möller was stronger in the finish, however, and won by something more than half a metre."Official Report, p. 350.

Heat 3

There was much separation at the top of this heat; Courtney "won without being extended" and Jankovich "was a very easy second."

Heat 4

With both runners assured of advancement to the semifinals, they "ran the course very quietly" with Rice "breaking the tape easily ahead of" Smedmark.

Heat 5

This was a close race between the top two placers, with d'Arcy "shak ngoff" Povey at the end and winning "by a metre."

Heat 6

Rau started strongly and led throughout.Official Report, p. 351.

Heat 7

In one of the faster heats, Stewart finished "well in front of elter who also ran very well."

Heat 8

Lindberg won the heat "easily."

Heat 9

Meyer "won without any apparent effort," as Giongo "ran well, although he was not the same class as the American."

Heat 10

Jacobs matched the Olympic record in a tight heat, neck-and-neck with Wilson for most of the way before winning by "a hands-breadth."

Heat 11

Belote was "a safe winner, after a very quick finish."

Heat 12

Weinzinger had a good start and led at 25 metres before falling to third. Gerhard "was clearly the best man."

Heat 13

Patching had a false start. The top three men were close, with Patching leading at 85 metres but Howard taking the lead at the end by "the least bit."

Heat 14

McConnell led early but faltered at the end; Thomas passed him for the second qualifying spot "just before reaching the post."

Heat 15

There was a false start. Drew "won easily" with Kern "a pretty good distance behind."Official Report, pp. 351–52.

Heat 16

There were two false starts in this heat before, on the third try, Lippincott set a new Olympic record and the first official world record. He "led from start to finish, and gave the impression that he would be an easy winner, but Applegarth came on very quickly in the last 20 metres, and Lippincott had to do his very best in order to keep the lead."Official Report, p. 352.

Heat 17

Ekberg started well and led through halfway before being passed by Craig and Szobota at around 60 metres. Craig then "won easily" over Szobota.

Semifinals

All semi-finals were held on Saturday, July 6, 1912.

Semifinal 1

Drew "ran magnificently" and used a "powerful, concentrated finish" to become "a safe winner."

Semifinal 2

Patching had another false start in this round. Lindberg fell behind early, dropping to fourth place at the halfway mark, but challenged Patching with a "hard spurt" at the end. The distance between the two was too much for him to make up, however.

Semifinal 3

In an event marred by false starts, this semifinal heat was decided by a legal start that one runner thought false. Smedmark was off first, but came to a stop thinking he had false started. The remaining runners saw a "hard struggle between Meyer and Jacobs" with Meyer "strongest in the last 10 metres" to win.Official Report, pp. 352–53.

Semifinal 4

This semifinal heat featured 9 false starts. Rau led for the first 70 metres before being caught by Craig, who "won by more than a metre."Official Report, p. 353.

Semifinal 5

This heat had a "sharp struggle for the lead during the whole of the race."

Semifinal 6

Belote led throughout.

Final

The final was held on Sunday, July 7, 1912. Drew was forced to scratch from the final after he pulled a tendon at the end of the first semi-final. The final featured eight false starts, one of which saw Craig and Lippincott fail to hear the recall gun and run to the finish line. On the ninth attempt, Patching had the strongest start and led at 40 metres by half a metre. Craig caught Patching at 60 metres. At the 75-metre mark, Craig was "a hand's-breadth" ahead of Patching and Meyer, with Lippincott and Belote another half-metre back. At the end, "Craig ran brilliantly and with enormous power." Meyer separated from Patching, who stayed in the third spot until "the last few strides" before being passed "almost on the very line" by Lippincott.Official Report, pp. 353–54. The official report gives the result as

Ralph Craig Ralph Cook Craig (June 21, 1889 – July 21, 1972) was an American track and field athlete. He was the winner of the sprint double at the 1912 Summer Olympics.Alvah Meyer Alvah T. Meyer (July 18, 1888 – December 19, 1939) was an American sprint runner. He was a Jewish member of the Irish American Athletic Club, which also included Abel Kiviat and Myer Prinstein Myer (or Meyer) Prinstein (born Mejer Prin ...

60 cm behind winner, and

15 cm behind second man.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1912 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 Metres Men's 0100 metres 100 metres at the Olympics