The men's 200 metre race was held for the third time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held from 21 to 23 July 1908. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.Official report, p. 32. 43 sprinters from 15 nations competed. The event was won by Robert Kerr of Canada, the first win by a nation other than the United States. Americans took silver (Robert Cloughen) and bronze (Nathaniel Cartmell), with Cartmell becoming the first person to win multiple 200 metres medals after taking earning silver in 1904.

Background

This was the third appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. Two of the five runners from the 1904 Games returned: silver medalist Nathaniel Cartmell of the United States and fifth-place finisher Robert Kerr of Canada (the only man not to reach the four-man final in 1904). Kerr had won three Canadian titles and the 1908 AAA title since the previous Games.

Austria, Belgium, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Sweden each made their debut in the event. The United States made its third appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.

Competition format

There were three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. The quarterfinals consisted of 15 heats of between 1 and 5 athletes each; only the fastest man in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were 4 semifinals, most with 4 runners but one with 3. Again, only the top athlete advanced. The final had 4 runners.

The race was run on a -mile track.

Records

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

* unofficial 220 yards (= 201.17 m)

** straight course

Schedule

Date Time Round Tuesday, 21 July 1908 11:00 Quarterfinals Wednesday, 22 July 1908 10:15 Semifinals Thursday, 23 July 1908 16:00 Final

Results

Quarterfinals

The winner of each heat advanced, with all others eliminated. Heats were held on 21 July 1908.

Quarterfinal 1

George led by ten yards when he crossed the finish line.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 John George 23.4 2 Victor Henny 24.6

Quarterfinal 2

In a tight race, Huff beat Duffy by less than two yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harold Huff 22.8 2 Edward Duffy 23.2 3 Henk van der Wal Unknown 4 Knut Stenborg Unknown

Quarterfinal 3

Roche won by a mere yard.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Patrick Roche 22.8 2 Lawson Robertson 23.0 3 Frank Lukeman Unknown 4 Evert Koops Unknown

Quarterfinal 4

Cartmell won by about two yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Nathaniel Cartmell 23.0 2 Vilmos Rácz 23.3 3 Ragnar Stenberg Unknown

Quarterfinal 5

Malfait had about a four-yard lead when he finished.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Georges Malfait 22.6 2 Robert Duncan 23.1

Quarterfinal 6

Laaftman won by two yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Sven Låftman 23.8 2 Frigyes Wiesner 24.0 3 Ernst Greven Unknown

Quarterfinal 7

There was no competition for Radóczy in the seventh heat.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Károly Radóczy walkover

Quarterfinal 8

Cloughen had a comfortable six-yard lead when he crossed the finish line.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Robert Cloughen 23.4 2 Umberto Barrozzi 24.1

Quarterfinal 9

Hurdsfield led by a yard and a half at the finish.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Samuel Hurdsfield 23.6 2 Mikhail Paskalides 24.0

Quarterfinal 10

Hamilton's margin of victory was three yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 William Hamilton 22.4 2 Louis Sebert 22.8 3 Henry Pankhurst Unknown 4 Pál Simon Unknown 5 Fernand Halbart Unknown

Quarterfinal 11

Kerr's victory was by about three yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Robert Kerr 22.2 2 William W. May 22.7 3 James P. Stark Unknown 4 Knut Lindberg Unknown 5 Emilio Brambilla Unknown

Quarterfinal 12

Sherman led by two yards when he finished.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Nathaniel Sherman 22.8 2 John W. Morton 23.1 3 Eduard Schönecker Unknown 4 Cornelis den Held Unknown

Quarterfinal 13

Reed won by two and a half yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Lionel Reed 23.2 2 Arthur Hoffmann 23.5

Quarterfinal 14

Guttormsen was the second runner to win without competition.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Oscar Guttormsen walkover

Quarterfinal 15

The race was extremely tight until the final straightaway, where Hawkins pulled away to win.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 George Hawkins 22.8 2 Henri Meslot 23.2 3 Jacobus Hoogveld Unknown

Semifinals

The semifinal round was held on 22 July 1908, a day after the heats. The winners of each semifinal advanced to the final, with the other runners being knocked out of competition.

Semifinal 1

The first semifinal featured both of the runners who had won via walkover in the heats. There was very little room separating the lead three runners, with Kerr about nine inches in front of Hamilton and twelve ahead of Radoczy.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Robert Kerr 22.6 2 William Hamilton 22.7 3 Károly Radóczy 22.8 4 Oscar Guttormsen Unknown

Semifinal 2

This all-American heat was also close, but not as close as the first. Cartmell won by about five feet.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Nathaniel Cartmell 22.6 2 Nathaniel Sherman 22.9 3 Harold Huff 23.0

Semifinal 3

Cloughen finally pulled ahead of Reed three-quarters of the way into the race, holding onto the lead until the finish.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Robert Cloughen 22.6 2 Lionel Reed 22.8 3 John George Unknown 4 Samuel Hurdsfield Unknown

Semifinal 4

Låftman was forced to scratch due to an injury. The three runners broke apart in the last ten metres, with Hawkins winning by a foot.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 George Hawkins 22.6 2 Patrick Roche 22.6 3 Georges Malfait Unknown — Sven Låftman

Final

The final was held on 23 July 1908. The top three were within two feet of each other, as Kerr's early lead evaporated in the straight. He was able to hang onto nine inches, however, and defeated Cloughen by that small margin.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Robert Kerr 22.6 Robert Cloughen 22.6 Nathaniel Cartmell 22.7 4 George Hawkins 22.9

Results summary

Rank Athlete Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Notes Robert Kerr 22.2 22.6 22.6 Robert Cloughen 23.4 22.6 22.6 Nathaniel Cartmell 23.0 22.6 22.7 4 George Hawkins 22.8 22.6 22.9 5 Patrick Roche 22.8 22.6 Did not advance 6 William Hamilton 22.4 22.7 7 Lionel Reed 23.2 22.8 Károly Radóczy Walkover 22.8 9 Nathaniel Sherman 22.8 22.9 10 Harold Huff 22.8 23.0 11 Georges Malfait 22.6 Unknown 3rd in semifinal John George 23.4 Unknown 3rd in semifinal 13 Samuel Hurdsfield 23.6 Unknown 4th in semifinal Oscar Guttormsen Walkover Unknown 4th in semifinal 15 Sven Låftman 23.8 16 William W. May 22.7 Did not advance 17 Louis Sebert 22.8 18 Lawson Robertson 23.0 19 Robert Duncan 23.1 John W. Morton 23.1 21 Edward Duffy 23.2 Henri Meslot 23.2 23 Vilmos Rácz 23.3 24 Arthur Hoffmann 23.5 25 Mikhail Paskalides 24.0 Frigyes Wiesner 24.0 27 Umberto Barrozzi 24.1 28 Victor Henny 24.6 29 Ernst Greven Unknown 3rd in quarterfinal Jacobus Hoogveld Unknown 3rd in quarterfinal Frank Lukeman Unknown 3rd in quarterfinal Henry Pankhurst Unknown 3rd in quarterfinal Eduard Schönecker Unknown 3rd in quarterfinal James P. Stark Unknown 3rd in quarterfinal Ragnar Stenberg Unknown 3rd in quarterfinal Henk van der Wal Unknown 3rd in quarterfinal 37 Cornelis den Held Unknown 4th in quarterfinal Evert Koops Unknown 4th in quarterfinal Knut Lindberg Unknown 4th in quarterfinal Pál Simon Unknown 4th in quarterfinal Knut Stenborg Unknown 4th in quarterfinal 42 Emilio Brambilla Unknown 5th in quarterfinal Fernand Halbart Unknown 5th in quarterfinal

References