1896 Athens
1896 Olympic Games Athina, Greece - Men's 100 m
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- Parent Category: Olympic Games (Athletics)
- Category: 1896 Olympic Games Athina, Greece - (Athletics)
- Last Updated: 24 March 2016
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| Host City: Athina, Greece | Format: Top two in each heat advanced to the final. | ||
| Date Started: April 6, 1896 | |||
| Date Finished: April 10, 1896 | |||
| (Competitors: 16; Countries: 9; Finalists: 5) | |||
| Venue(s): Panathenaic Stadium, Athina |
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| Overview by IAAF |  |
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| In front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingIn front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingon from the hills above, Francis Lane of Princeton won the first heat inIn front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more looking12.2. This was the first competition in the Olympics since their denouementIn front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingin 393 AD. Thomas Curtis (12.2) and Thomas Burke (11.8) wonIn front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingthe other heats.In front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingCurtis, focusing on the 110m hurdles, did not turn out for the final.In front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingBurke and Hofmann were drawn next to each other in lanes 4 and 5,In front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingand were level until 50m, when Burke drew away to win by about oneand-In front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookinga-half metres. Wind and track surface conditions were unhelpful;In front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingnote that Lane later placed fourth in the US Championships 100y inIn front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more looking10.5e, three yards behind the world’s number one Bernie Wefers. AIn front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookinghead-on shot of the finish suggests that Lane may have beaten SzokolyiIn front of 40,000 people in the stadium, and thousands more lookingfor third place. | |||
| Summary by Sports-reference.com | |||
| The first event of the Modern Olympic Games was the first heat of the 100 metre dash, held on 6 April. Five runners toed the mark, with Frank Lane of the United States, and Princeton University, winning the first Modern Olympic )event). Lane was trailed by Hungary's Alajos Szokoly and Britain's Charles Gmelin. In heat two, Tom Curtis (USA) defeated Greece's Alexandros Khalkokondylis. Tom Burke of the United States won heat three quite easily, defeating Germany's Fritz Hofmann. Thus began the Modern Olympic Games. | |||
| The field for the 100 metres, however, was missing many top sprinters. The world's best in 1896 were Bernie Wefers of the United States and Charles Bradley of England. They had matched up in September 1895 at the London Athletic Club versus New York Athletic Club meet, with Wefers winning. Although Tom Burke was the U.S. champion at 400 metres, he had no real reputation in the short sprint. Conversely, the best Continental sprinter was probably Fritz Hofmann, who was present in Athens, and who in 1893 had scored a double victory (100 and 400 metres) at the )Championship of the Continent) in Berlin. | |||
| The finals of the 100 metres were held on 10 April, four days after the heats. Five runners came to the starting line: Tom Burke and Frank Lane of the United States, Fritz Hofmann (GER), Alajos Szokoly (HUN), and Greece's Alexandros Khalkokondylis. The start was even but Burke and Hofmann pulled away at 50 metres. Burke outran Hofmann over the last 50 metres, winning by about two metres in 12.0 seconds. | |||
| Results | |||||||||
| The men's 100 metres race was the first event run at the modern Olympics, on 6 April 1896. It was the shortest race on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. 21 athletes were entered in the first round, divided into three heats of seven runners, but six of them later withdrew. The top two athletes in each heat advanced to the final, which took place on 10 April. | |||||||||
| 100 m | Men | Final | 10 April | ||||||
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The final of the 100 metre race, run on 10 April, involved the six runners who had finished in the top two of their preliminary heats. Thomas Curtis withdrew to save himself for the 110 metre hurdles, which was the next race on the program and which he won. Burke beat his companion from the third heat, Hofmann, by two meters. Lane and Szokolyi dead-heated for third place, with Chalkokondylis six inches behind them. Lane and Szokolyi are both considered to be bronze medallists by the International Olympic Committee |
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| Rank | Mark | Athlete | Country | NOC | Age | Records | Notes | ||
| 1 | 12 | Tom Burke | United States | USA | 21 | OR | |||
| 2 | at 2 m. | Fritz Hofmann | Germany | GER | 24 | ||||
| 3T | at 4 m. | Alajos Szokoly | Hungary | HUN | 24 | ||||
| 3T | at 4 m. | Frank Lane | United States | USA | 21 | ||||
| 5 | at 4 m. | Alexandros Khalkokondylis | Greece | GRE | |||||
Heats |
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| The first round of heats took place on 6 April. The first heat of the 100 metres was the first competition held in the Games. Francis Lane won the first heat, thus becoming the first winner of a modern Olympic race. All heats were won by athletes from the United States. | |||||||||
| 100 m | Men | Round One Heat One | 6 April | ||||||
| Rank | Mark | Athlete | Country | NOC | Age | Records | Notes | ||
| 1 | 12 1/5 | Q | Frank Lane | United States | USA | 21 | OR | ||
| 2 | 12 3/4 | Q | Alajos Szokoly | Hungary | HUN | 24 | |||
| 3 | at 1 m. | Charles Gmelin | Great Britain | GBR | 23 | ||||
| 4 | Alphonse Grisel | France | FRA | ||||||
| AC | Kurt Doerry | Germany | GER | 21 | |||||
| 100 m | Men | Round One Heat Two | 6 April | ||||||
| Rank | Mark | Athlete | Country | NOC | Age | Records | Notes | ||
| 1 | 12 1/5 | Q | Tom Curtis | United States | USA | 23 | (=)OR | ||
| 2 | 12 3/4 | Q | Alexandros Khalkokondylis | Greece | GRE | ||||
| 3 | at 1 m. | Launceston Elliot | Great Britain | GBR | 21 | ||||
| 4 | Eugen Schmidt | Denmark | DEN | 34 | |||||
| 5 | George Marshall | Great Britain | GBR | ||||||
| 100 m | Men | Round One Heat Three | 6 April | ||||||
| Rank | Mark | Athlete | Country | NOC | Age | Records | Notes | ||
| 1 | 11 4/5 | Q | Tom Burke | United States | USA | 21 | |||
| 2 | 12 3/4 | Q | Fritz Hofmann | Germany | GER | 24 | |||
| 3 | at 6 m. | Fritz Traun | Germany | GER | 20 | ||||
| AC | Henrik Sjöberg | Sweden | SWE | 21 | |||||
| AC | Georgios Gennimatas | Greece | GRE | ||||||
Hungary
