Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres
Men's 800 metres at the Games of the V Olympiad | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The finish, with Ted Meredith setting a new world record. | |||||||||||||
Venue | Stockholm Olympic Stadium | ||||||||||||
Dates | July 6 (heats) July 7 (semifinals) July 8 (final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 47 from 16 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 1:51.9 WR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics | |
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![]() | |
Track events | |
100 m | men |
200 m | men |
400 m | men |
800 m | men |
1500 m | men |
5000 m | men |
10,000 m | men |
110 m hurdles | men |
4 × 100 m relay | men |
4 × 400 m relay | men |
3000 m team race | men |
10 km walk | men |
Road events | |
Marathon | men |
Field events | |
Long jump | men |
Triple jump | men |
High jump | men |
Pole vault | men |
Standing long jump | men |
Standing high jump | men |
Shot put | men |
Discus throw | men |
Hammer throw | men |
Javelin throw | men |
2-hand shot put | men |
2-hand discus | men |
2-hand javelin | men |
Combined events | |
Pentathlon | men |
Decathlon | men |
Cross-country events | |
Individual | men |
Team | men |
The men's 800 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 from Saturday, July 6, 1912, to Monday, July 8, 1912.[1] Forty-seven runners from 16 nations competed.[2] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[3] The event was won by Ted Meredith of the United States, the nation's third consecutive victory in the 800 metres. Mel Sheppard became the first man to win two medals in the event, coming in second to miss out on defending his 1908 gold. Ira Davenport completed the United States sweep, the second time the Americans had swept the 800 metres podium (after 1904).
Background
[edit]This was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All three medalists from 1908, Olympic champion Mel Sheppard, the silver medalist Emilio Lunghi, and the bronze medalist Hanns Braun, returned. Sheppard was among the favorites with a chance to repeat; other prominent challengers were his teammates John Paul Jones and Ted Meredith as well as Lunghi (who had matched Sheppard's world record) and Braun (the 1911 and 1912 AAA champion).[2]
Chile, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey appeared in the event for the first time. Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, and the United States each made their fourth appearance, tied for the most among all nations.
Competition format
[edit]The competition expanded to three rounds for the first time. There were nine first-round heats of between 4 and 8 athletes each; the top two runners in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were two semifinals with 9 athletes each; the top four runners in each semifinal advanced to the eight-man final.[2][4]
Records
[edit]These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
World record | ![]() |
1:52.8 (u)(*) | London, United Kingdom | 21 July 1908 |
Olympic record | ![]() |
1:52.8(*) | St. Louis, United States | 21 July 1908 |
(*) This track was 536.45 metres=1⁄3 mile in circumference.
The world record of 1:52.8, which had seemed fairly safe through the first two rounds of competition, was broken by all three medalists and tied by the fourth-place runner in the final. Mel Sheppard, the previous record-holder, and Ira Davenport beat the old record by .8 seconds at 1:52.0, taking silver and bronze behind Ted Meredith and his new record of 1:51.9. This record became the first official world record for the 800 metres.
Schedule
[edit]Date | Time | Round |
---|---|---|
Saturday, 6 July 1912 | 14:45 | Round 1 |
Sunday, 7 July 1912 | Semifinals | |
Monday, 8 July 1912 | 17:00 | Final |
Results
[edit]Heats
[edit]All heats were held on Saturday, July 6, 1912.
Heat 1
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | David Caldwell | ![]() |
1:58.6 | Q |
2 | Emilio Lunghi | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | Walter McClure | ![]() |
Unknown | |
4 | Eric Lindholm | ![]() |
2:01.5 | |
5 | Joseph Caullé | ![]() |
Unknown |
Heat 2
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Percy Mann | ![]() |
1:56.0 | Q |
2 | Herbert Putnam | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | Jacob Pedersen | ![]() |
Unknown | |
— | Leopoldo Palma | ![]() |
DNF |
Heat 3
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John Paul Jones | ![]() |
2:01.8 | Q |
2 | Armando Cortesão | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | Oscar Larsen | ![]() |
Unknown | |
4 | Guido Calvi | ![]() |
Unknown |
Heat 4
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Clarence Edmundson | ![]() |
1:56.5 | Q |
2 | John Tait | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | Charles Poulenard | ![]() |
Unknown | |
4 | Willie Jahn | ![]() |
2:02.0 | |
— | Robert Burton | ![]() |
DNF |
Heat 5
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ira Davenport | ![]() |
1:59.0 | Q |
2 | Frederick Hulford | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | Ödön Bodor | ![]() |
Unknown | |
4 | Jacques Person | ![]() |
Unknown | |
5 | Dmitry Nazarov | ![]() |
Unknown | |
— | Zdeněk Městecký | ![]() |
DNF | |
Philip Baker | ![]() |
DNF |
Heat 6
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Harlan Holden | ![]() |
1:58.1 | Q |
2 | Evert Björn | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | Richard Yorke | ![]() |
Unknown | |
4 | Karl Haglund | ![]() |
2:01.2 | |
5-7 | Ferenc Forgács | ![]() |
Unknown | |
Aleksandr Yelizarov | ![]() |
Unknown | ||
Federico Mueller | ![]() |
Unknown | ||
— | Vahram Papazian | ![]() |
DNF |
Heat 7
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | James Soutter | ![]() |
2:00.4 | Q |
2 | Mel Sheppard | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | Erich Lehmann | ![]() |
Unknown | |
— | János Antal | ![]() |
DNF | |
Johannes Leopold Villemson | ![]() |
DNS |
Heat 8
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mel Brock | ![]() |
1:57.0 | Q |
2 | Ted Meredith | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | John Victor | ![]() |
Unknown | |
— | Alan Patterson | ![]() |
DNF |
Heat 9
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ernest Henley | ![]() |
1:57.6 | Q |
2 | Hanns Braun | ![]() |
Unknown | Q |
3 | Erik Frisell | ![]() |
1:59.2 | |
4 | Thomas Halpin | ![]() |
1:59.2 | |
— | Lauri Pihkala | ![]() |
DNF | |
Károly Radóczy | ![]() |
DNF |
Semifinals
[edit]Both semi-finals were held on Sunday, July 7, 1912. Jones withdrew to focus on the 1500 metres.[2]
Semifinal 1
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ted Meredith | ![]() |
1:54.4 | Q |
2 | Hanns Braun | ![]() |
1:54.6 | Q |
3 | Mel Sheppard | ![]() |
1:54.8 | Q |
4 | Herbert Putnam | ![]() |
1:55.0 | Q |
5 | John Tait | ![]() |
Unknown | |
6 | Percy Mann | ![]() |
Unknown | |
— | Frederick Hulford | ![]() |
DNF | |
James Soutter | ![]() |
DNF | ||
John Paul Jones | ![]() |
DNS |
Semifinal 2
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mel Brock | ![]() |
1:55.7 | Q |
2 | Clarence Edmundson | ![]() |
1:55.8 | Q |
3 | David Caldwell | ![]() |
1:55.9 | Q |
4 | Ira Davenport | ![]() |
1:55.9 | Q |
5 | Emilio Lunghi | ![]() |
Unknown | |
6-9 | Evert Björn | ![]() |
Unknown | |
Ernest Henley | ![]() |
Unknown | ||
Harlan Holden | ![]() |
Unknown | ||
Armando Cortesão | ![]() |
Unknown |
Final
[edit]The final took place on Monday, July 8, 1912.
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Ted Meredith | ![]() |
1:51.9 | WR |
![]() |
Mel Sheppard | ![]() |
1:52.0 | |
![]() |
Ira Davenport | ![]() |
1:52.0 | |
4 | David Caldwell | ![]() |
1:52.8 | |
5 | Mel Brock | ![]() |
1:53.0 | |
6 | Hanns Braun | ![]() |
1:53.0 | |
7 | Clarence Edmundson | ![]() |
Unknown | |
8 | Herbert Putnam | ![]() |
Unknown |
References
[edit]- ^ "Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ Official report, p. 61.
- ^ Official Report, pp. 360–63.
External links
[edit]- Bergvall, Erik (ed.) (1913). Adams-Ray, Edward (trans.). (ed.). The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand.
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has generic name (help) - Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 27 August 2006.