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1920 Athletics Summary in Olympics

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Details: Parent Category: Olympic Games (Athletics); Category: 1920 Olympic Games Antwerpen, Belgium - (Athletics); Last Updated: 19 August 2016; Hits: 957

Info about the Games
*Host City: Antwerpen, Belgium*	Participants: 509 (509 men and 0 women) from 25 countries
*Date Started: August 15, 1920*	Youngest Participant: ESP Diego Ordóñez (16 years, 283 days)
*Date Finished: August 23, 1920*	Oldest Participant: USA Matt McGrath (42 years, 243 days)
*Events: 29*	Most Medals (Athlete): FIN Paavo Nurmi and SWE Eric Backman (4 medals)
	Most Medals (Country): USA United States (29 medals)

Venue	Champs de Beerschot Stadium	389.8m

Info about the Games

Year	Dates	City	Venue	Countries	Athletes	Men	Women	Events	(Men/Women)
1920	Aug 15-23	Antwerp,BEL	Champs de Beerschot Stadium	25	509	509	0	29	29/0

Athletics at the

1920 Olympic Games Antwerpen, Belgium

Men's Cross-Country Individual

Men's Cross-Country Team

Men's 56-pound Weight Throw

Men's Decathlon

Men's Pentathlon

Canada's Earl Thompson competes in the hurdles event at the 1920 Antwerp summer Olympics. He won the gold medal

Overview

Track & field athletics was the most highly awaited sport on the Olympic program. It was contested in the Stadium of the Royal Beerschot Athletic Club, usually known as the Beerschot Stadium. The stadium could hold approximately 29,500 people. The track was slightly under 389.80 metres in length and was wet and soft throughout the Olympics, leading to rather poor times.

The competition in Antwerp was still quite good in track & field. Among Olympic competition, only Stockholm rivalled it and it was now becoming apparent that the Olympics were attracting a truly international field. Track & field had been contested at the 1919 Inter-Allied Championships, and national championships had been held in 1919 and 1920 in both the United States and Great Britain. Still, because of the dearth of recent competition, due to World War I, it was difficult to choose favorites in many of the events.

In general, times were never published in 1920, and possibly not taken, for the non-winners. Later sources have often listed times for the non-winners, but these are almost certainly estimates. We have not used them. Rather, we have listed margins between places, based on contemporary 1920 newspaper reports. We have then derived our own estimates, based on these margins and the average speed of the races.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, 29 athletics events were contested, all for men only. The competitions were held from August 15, 1920 to August 23, 1920.

Medal summary

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
100 metres	Charles Paddock United States	Morris Kirksey United States	Harry Edward Great Britain
200 metres	Allen Woodring United States	Charles Paddock United States	Harry Edward Great Britain
400 metres	Bevil Rudd South Africa	Guy Butler Great Britain	Nils Engdahl Sweden
800 metres	Albert Hill Great Britain	Earl Eby United States	Bevil Rudd South Africa
1500 metres	Albert Hill Great Britain	Philip Noel-Baker Great Britain	Lawrence Shields United States
5000 metres	Joseph Guillemot France	Paavo Nurmi Finland	Eric Backman Sweden
10,000 metres	Paavo Nurmi Finland	Joseph Guillemot France	James Wilson Great Britain
110 metres hurdles	Earl Thomson Canada	Harold Barron United States	Feg Murray United States
400 metres hurdles	Frank Loomis United States	John Norton United States	August Desch United States
3,000 metres steeplechase	Percy Hodge Great Britain	Patrick Flynn United States	Ernesto Ambrosini Italy
4 × 100 metres relay	United States (USA) Charles Paddock Jackson Scholz Loren Murchison Morris Kirksey	France (FRA) René Lorain René Tirard René Mourlon Émile Ali-Khan	Sweden (SWE) Agne Holmström William Petersson Sven Malm Nils Sandström
4 × 400 metres relay	Great Britain (GBR) Cecil Griffiths Robert Lindsay John Ainsworth-Davis Guy Butler	South Africa (RSA) Henry Dafel Clarence Oldfield Jack Oosterlaak Bevil Rudd	France (FRA) Géo André Gaston Féry Maurice Delvart André Devaux
3000 metres team race	United States (USA) Horace Brown Arlie Schardt Ivan Dresser	Great Britain (GBR) Joe Blewitt Albert Hill William Seagrove	Sweden (SWE) Eric Backman Sven Lundgren Edvin Wide
Marathon	Hannes Kolehmainen Finland	Jüri Lossmann Estonia	Valerio Arri Italy
3 kilometres walk	Ugo Frigerio Italy	George Parker Australia	Richard Remer United States
10 kilometres walk	Ugo Frigerio Italy	Joseph Pearman United States	Charles Gunn Great Britain
Long jump	William Petersson Sweden	Carl Johnson United States	Erik Abrahamsson Sweden
Triple jump	Vilho Tuulos Finland	Folke Jansson Sweden	Erik Almlöf Sweden
High jump	Richmond Landon United States	Harold Muller United States	Bo Ekelund Sweden
Pole vault	Frank Foss United States	Henry Petersen Denmark	Edwin Myers United States
Shot put	Ville Pörhölä Finland	Elmer Niklander Finland	Harry Liversedge United States
Discus throw	Elmer Niklander Finland	Armas Taipale Finland	Gus Pope United States
Hammer throw	Patrick Ryan United States	Carl Johan Lind Sweden	Basil Bennett United States
Javelin throw	Jonni Myyrä Finland	Urho Peltonen Finland	Pekka Johansson Finland
56 lb (25 kg) weight throw	Pat McDonald United States	Patrick Ryan United States	Carl Johan Lind Sweden
Pentathlon	Eero Lehtonen Finland	Everett Bradley United States	Hugo Lahtinen Finland
Decathlon	Helge Løvland Norway	Brutus Hamilton United States	Bertil Ohlson Sweden
Individual cross country	Paavo Nurmi Finland	Eric Backman Sweden	Heikki Liimatainen Finland
Team cross country	Finland (FIN) Paavo Nurmi Heikki Liimatainen Teodor Koskenniemi	Great Britain (GBR) James Wilson Anton Hegarty Alfred Nichols	Sweden (SWE) Eric Backman Gustaf Mattsson Hilding Ekman

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	9	12	8	29
2	Finland (FIN)	9	4	3	16
3	Great Britain (GBR)	4	4	4	12
4	Italy (ITA)	2	0	2	4
5	Sweden (SWE)	1	3	10	14
6	France (FRA)	1	2	1	4
7	South Africa (RSA)	1	1	1	3
8	Canada (CAN)	1	0	0	1
8	Norway (NOR)	1	0	0	1
10	Australia (AUS)	0	1	0	1
	Denmark (DEN)	0	1	0	1
	Estonia (EST)	0	1	0	1

Participating nations

509 athletes from 25 nations competed. Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Estonia, Monaco, New Zealand, and Spain competed for the first time.

Australia (4)
Belgium (42)
Canada (14)
Chile (2)
Czechoslovakia (16)
Denmark (18)
Egypt (2)
Estonia (7)
Finland (26)

France (59)
Great Britain (41)
Greece (9)
India (3)
Italy (24)
Japan (11)
Luxembourg (7)
Monaco (2)
Netherlands (11)

New Zealand (2)
Norway (16)
South Africa (13)
Spain (14)
Sweden (63)
Switzerland (13)
United States (90)

PLACING TABLES
Antwerp 1920
	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	Medals	Points
USA	9	12	8	10	8	7	7	6	29	327
SWE	1	3	10	5	7	4	3+1=	3	14	164.5
FIN	9	4	3	2	1	3	2	2	16	147
GBR	4	4	4	3	5	4	1	2	12	135
FRA	1	2	1	2	2	2	1=	2	4	55.5
ITA	2	-	2	1	1	-	2	-	4	41
RSA	1	1	1	2	-	2	-	-	3	37
DEN	-	1	-	-	1	2	2	1	1	22
NOR	1	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	1	17
BEL	-	-	-	1	-	2	2	1	0	16
EST	-	1	-	-	1	1	-	1	1	15
CAN	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1	13
NZL	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	0	9
AUS	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	7
TCH	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	0	5
LUX	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	0	3
NED	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	0	2
Totals	29	29	29	29	29	28	20+2=	19	87	1016
1. Breakdown of combined Great Britain & Ireland team placings:
GBR	4	4	4	3	5	5	1	2	12	138
IRL	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	0	4
Totals	4	4	4	3	6	5	1	2	12	142

August 15	11h30	Men's 400 m hurdles round 1, heat 1
		Men's 400 m hurdles round 1, heat 2
		Men's 400 m hurdles round 1, heat 3
		Men's 400 m hurdles round 1, heat 4
		Men's 400 m hurdles round 1, heat 5
	11h30	Men's Javelin throw qualifying
	14h30	Men's 400 m hurdles Semifinal, heat 1
	14h30	Men's 400 m hurdles Semifinal, heat 2
	14h45	Men's Javelin throw Final
	15h15	Men's 100 m round 1, heat 1
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 2
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 3
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 4
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 5
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 6
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 7
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 8
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 9
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 10
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 11
		Men's 100 m round 1, heat 12
	16h00	Men's 800 m round 1, heat 1
		Men's 800 m round 1, heat 2
		Men's 800 m round 1, heat 3
		Men's 800 m round 1, heat 4
		Men's 800 m round 1, heat 5
	16h30	Men's High jump qualifying
	17h00	Men's 100 m Quaterfinal, heat 1
		Men's 100 m Quaterfinal, heat 2
		Men's 100 m Quaterfinal, heat 3
		Men's 100 m Quaterfinal, heat 4
		Men's 100 m Quaterfinal, heat 5

August 16	09h30	Men's 100 m Semifinal, heat 1
	09h30	Men's 100 m Semifinal, heat 2
	10h00	Men's 5,000 m round 1, heat 1
		Men's 5,000 m round 1, heat 2
		Men's 5,000 m round 1, heat 3
		Men's 5,000 m round 1, heat 4
		Men's Pentathlon long jump
	10h40	Men's Pentathlon javelin throw
	14h30	Men's 400 m hurdles Final
	14h45	Men's Pentathlon 200 m
	15h15	Men's Pentathlon discus throw
	16h00	Men's 100 m Final
	16h30	Men's Pentathlon 1,500 m

August 17	09h00	Men's Long jump qualifying
	09h30	Men's 10 km walk round 1, heat 1
	09h45	Men's 10 km walk round 1, heat 2
	10h15	Men's Shot put qualifying
	14h00	Men's 110 m hurdles round 1, heat 1
		Men's 110 m hurdles round 1, heat 2
		Men's 110 m hurdles round 1, heat 3
		Men's 110 m hurdles round 1, heat 4
		Men's 110 m hurdles round 1, heat 5
		Men's 110 m hurdles round 1, heat 6
	14h30	Men's High jump Final
	15h15	Men's 5,000 m Final
	16h15	Men's 800 m Semifinal, heat 1
		Men's 800 m Semifinal, heat 2
		Men's 800 m Semifinal, heat 3
	16h30	Men's 110 m hurdles Semifinal, heat 1
	16h30	Men's 110 m hurdles Semifinal, heat 2
	16h45	Men's 800 m Final

August 18	10h00	Men's 3,000 m steeplechase round 1, heat 1
		Men's 3,000 m steeplechase round 1, heat 2
		Men's 3,000 m steeplechase round 1, heat 3
		Men's Pole Vault qualifying
	10h45	Men's Hammer throw qualifying
	11h00	Men's 10 km walk Final
	14h30	Men's 110 m hurdles Final
	14h45	Men's Shot put Final
	15h15	Men's 1,500 m round 1, heat 1
		Men's 1,500 m round 1, heat 2
		Men's 1,500 m round 1, heat 3
		Men's 1,500 m round 1, heat 4
	15h30	Men's Hammer throw Final
	15h45	Men's Long jump Final

August 19	09h30	Men's 400 m round 1, heat 1
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 2
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 3
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 4
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 5
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 6
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 7
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 8
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 9
		Men's 400 m round 1, heat 10
	10h30	Men's 10,000 m round 1, heat 1
	11h15	Men's 10,000 m round 1, heat 2
	14h00	Men's 200 m round 1, heat 1
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 2
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 3
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 4
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 5
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 6
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 7
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 8
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 9
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 10
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 11
		Men's 200 m round 1, heat 12
	14h30	Men's Triple jump qualifying
	15h15	Men's 400 m Quaterfinal, heat 1
		Men's 400 m Quaterfinal, heat 2
		Men's 400 m Quaterfinal, heat 3
		Men's 400 m Quaterfinal, heat 4
	16h00	Men's 200 m Quaterfinal, heat 1
		Men's 200 m Quaterfinal, heat 2
		Men's 200 m Quaterfinal, heat 3
		Men's 200 m Quaterfinal, heat 4
		Men's 200 m Quaterfinal, heat 5
	16h15	Men's 10,000 m round 1, heat 3
	17h15	Men's 1,500 m Final

August 20	09h00	Men's 3,000 m steeplechase Final
	09h00	Men's Decathlon 100 m
	09h15	Men's 56-lb (25.4 kg) weight throw qualifying
	10h00	Men's 3,000 m walk round 1, heat 1
	10h00	Men's 3,000 m walk round 1, heat 2
	10h30	Men's Decathlon long jump
	14h00	Men's 400 m Semifinal, heat 1
	14h00	Men's 400 m Semifinal, heat 2
	14h15	Men's 10,000 m Final
	14h15	Men's Decathlon shot put
	14h45	Men's 200 m Semifinal, heat 1
	14h45	Men's 200 m Semifinal, heat 2
	15h00	Men's Decathlon high jump
	15h30	Men's Pole Vault Final
	16h00	Men's 200 m Final
	16h00	Men's Decathlon 400 m
	16h15	Men's 400 m Final

August 21	09h00	Men's Decathlon 110 m hurdles
	10h00	Men's Decathlon discus throw
	10h45	Men's Decathlon pole vault
	11h30	Men's Triple jump Final
	14h00	Men's 56-lb (25.4 kg) weight throw Final
	14h30	Men's 4 x 100 m relay round 1, heat 1
		Men's 4 x 100 m relay round 1, heat 2
		Men's 4 x 100 m relay round 1, heat 3
	14h45	Men's Discus throw qualifying
	15h00	Men's Decathlon javelin throw
	15h15	Men's 3,000 m team round 1, heat 1
	15h15	Men's 3,000 m team round 1, heat 2
	16h00	Men's 3,000 m walk Final
	16h00	Men's Decathlon 1,500 m

August 22	10h00	Men's Discus throw Final
	10h50	Men's 4 x 400 m relay round 1, heat 1
	10h50	Men's 4 x 400 m relay round 1, heat 2
	14h45	Men's 4 x 100 m relay Final
	14h50	Men's 3,000 m team Final
	16h15	Men's Marathon