The men's 110 metres hurdles was the shorter of two hurdling events at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. It was dominated by the American runners. The competition was held from Thursday, July 23, 1908, to Saturday, July 25, 1908. 25 hurdlers from ten nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.Official report, p. 32. The event was won by Forrest Smithson of the United States, the fourth of five consecutive victories for the nation in the first five Olympic Games. It was also the third of four consecutive podium sweeps for the Americans in the event.

Background

This was the fourth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the hurdlers from 1904 returned. The Americans were favored, but it was difficult to determine which one. Forrest Smithson was the winner of the 1907 AAU title and Western Olympic trials; Arthur Shaw was the 1908 AAU and IC4A champion; John Garrels was the 1907 IC4A champion and Central Olympic trials winner; and Leonard Howe had won the Eastern Olympic trials.

Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa, and Sweden each made their first appearance in the event, as did the combined Australia/New Zealand team "Australasia" (though Australia had competed in 1904). The United States made its fourth appearance, the only nation to have competed in the 110 metres hurdles in each Games to that point.

Competition format

There were three rounds for the first time. The first round consisted of 14 heats, many of which had only one hurdler and none of which had more than three. The top hurdler in each heat advanced to the semifinals. The 14 semifinalists were divided into four semifinals of 3 or 4 runners each; again, only the top hurdler advanced to the 4-man final.Official Report, pp. 61–62.

Ten sets of hurdles were set on the course. The hurdles were tall and were placed apart beginning from the starting line.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World record 15.0(*) Thaddeus Shideler St. Louis (USA) June 11, 1904 Olympic record 15.4 Alvin Kraenzlein Paris (FRA) July 14, 1900

(*) unofficial 120 yards (= 109.73 m)

Forrest Smithson equalled the Olympic record when he ran 15.4 seconds in his semifinal. In the final he set the first official world record (ratified by the IAAF in 1912) in this event with 15.0 seconds.

Schedule

Date Time Round Thursday, 23 July 1908 15:30 Round 1 Friday, 24 July 1908 11:30 Semifinals Saturday, 25 July 1908 11:30 Final

Results

Round 1

The first round heats were held on July 23, 1908, making the short hurdles one of the last events to begin. The Americans won every race in which they competed. The British team also had a strong showing, winning any time that there was no American in the race.

Heat 1

Healey won by four yards after leading from the start.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Alfred Healey 15.8 2 Henry Murray 16.3 3 Doug Stupart Unknown

Heat 2

Garrels won by seven yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 John Garrels 16.2 2 Arthur Halligan 17.1

Heat 3

Groenings led by five yards at the finish.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Oswald Groenings 16.4 2 Georgios Skoutarides 17.0

Heat 4

Kiely had no competition in the first round.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Laurence Kiely

Heat 5

Rand and Powell were even for most of the race. Powell hit the ninth hurdle, slowing him just enough for Rand to take the lead and win.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 William Rand 15.8 2 Kenneth Powell 16.2 3 Ted Savage Unknown

Heat 6

Lemming fell during the race, allowing Walters to win while easing up.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Wallis Walters 17.8 — Oscar Lemming

Heat 7

The seventh heat was another in which there was no competition.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 William Knyvett

Heat 8

Halbart won without competition.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Fernand Halbart

Heat 9

Ahearne was the fourth runner to win without a contest.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Tim Ahearne

Heat 10

Smithson won by ten yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Forrest Smithson 15.8 2 Nándor Kovács 17.2

Heat 11

Blijstad fell, allowing Hussey to win with a jog.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Eric Hussey 16.8 — Wilhelm Blystad

Heat 12

Kinahan had an easy win by ten yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Cecil Kinahan 16.8 2 Oscar Guttormsen 18.2

Heat 13

Howe and Leader were even over the hurdles, but Howe edged out Leader in the straight.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Leonard Howe 15.8 2 Edward Leader 16.1

Heat 14

Shaw won without a contest.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Arthur Shaw

Semifinals

The semifinal round was held on July 24, 1908. Each of the four heats of the second round were won by American runners.

Semifinal 1

Shaw took the lead at the first set of hurdles, finishing about five metres ahead of Hussey.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Arthur Shaw 15.6 2 Eric Hussey 16.5 3 David Walters 16.9 4 Oswald Groenings Unknown

Semifinal 2

Smithson had no trouble winning this heat, tying the Olympic record as he did so.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Forrest Smithson 15.4 , 2 William Knyvett 15.6 3 Leonard Howe 15.8

Semifinal 3

Healey led for most of the race, with Rand close behind, but Healey was unable to clear the ninth hurdle cleanly, allowing Rand to pass him and win by a foot.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 William Rand 15.8 2 Alfred Healey 15.9 3 Laurence Kiely Unknown 4 Tim Ahearne Unknown

Semifinal 4

Halbert pulled up lame, and Garrels won by 15 yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 John Garrels 15.8 2 Cecil Kinahan 17.5 — Fernand Halbert

Final

Smithson pulled away from his countrymen at every set of hurdles to win by five meters and set a new world record.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes Forrest Smithson 15.0 John Garrels 15.7 Arthur Shaw 15.8 4 William Rand 16.0

References

Notes