The men's
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...
sprint event at the
1936 Olympic Games in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, were held at
Olympiastadion on 2 and 3 August. The final was won by 0.1 seconds by American
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who made history at the Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Olympic Games by becoming the first person to win four gold meda ...
, and teammate
Ralph Metcalfe
Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. (May 29, 1910 – October 10, 1978) was an American track and field sprinter and politician. He jointly held the world record in the 100-meter dash and placed second in that event in two Olympics, first to Eddie Tola ...
repeated as silver medalist.
Tinus Osendarp
Martinus Bernardus "Tinus" Osendarp (; 21 May 1916 – 20 June 2002) was a Dutch sprint runner.
Sporting career
Osendarp was a football player and started training in sprint for fun. His first international success came at the 1934 European Ch ...
of the Netherlands won that nation's first medal in the men's 100 metres, a bronze.
Background
This was the tenth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. Two finalists from 1932 returned: silver medalist
Ralph Metcalfe
Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. (May 29, 1910 – October 10, 1978) was an American track and field sprinter and politician. He jointly held the world record in the 100-meter dash and placed second in that event in two Olympics, first to Eddie Tola ...
and 6th-place finisher
Takayoshi Yoshioka. The favorite, however, was
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who made history at the Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Olympic Games by becoming the first person to win four gold meda ...
, particularly with compatriot
Eulace Peacock injured and unable to make the team (Owens had come in third to Peacock and Metcalfe at the 1935 AAU meet).
Afghanistan, Colombia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Peru, and Yugoslavia were represented in the event for the first time. The United States was the only nation to have appeared at each of the first ten Olympic men's 100 metres events.
Competition format
The event retained the four round format from 1920–1932: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 12 heats, of 4–6 athletes each, with the top 2 in each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The 24 quarterfinalists were placed into 4 heats of 6 athletes. The top 3 in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 heats of 6 semifinalists, once again with the top 3 advancing to the 6-man final.
[
]
Records
These are the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who made history at the Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Olympic Games by becoming the first person to win four gold meda ...
equalled the standing Olympic record with 10.3 seconds in the final heat of the first round. He matched his own world record of 10.2 seconds, set two months earlier, in the quarterfinals but this result was not counted for records purposes due to wind assistance. His final run, also disqualified from record consideration due to wind, again matched the Olympic record of 10.3 seconds.
Results
Heats
The fastest two runners in each of the twelve heats advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
Heat 5
Heat 6
Heat 7
Heat 8
Heat 9
Heat 10
Heat 11
Heat 12
Quarterfinals
The fastest three runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinal round.
Quarterfinal 1
Quarterfinal 2
The wind assistance in this quarterfinal was too great for Owens's 10.2 seconds to count to match the world record or better the Olympic record.
Quarterfinal 3
Quarterfinal 4
Semifinals
The fastest three runners in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.
Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2
Final
Wind: +2.7 m/s
After 30 metres, Owens "had already decided the race in his favour." Metcalfe broke free for silver at 70 metres. Strandberg strained a ligament at the halfway mark.[Official Report, vol. 1, p. 604.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metres
Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics
100 metres at the Olympics
Men's events at the 1936 Summer Olympics