Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's triple jump

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Men's triple jump
at the Games of the I Olympiad
BASA-3K-7-422-18-1896 Summer Olympics.jpg
James B. Connolly won the triple jump and became the first Olympic Champion since the 4th century AD
Venue Panathinaiko Stadium
Dates6 April 1896
Competitors7 from 5 nations
Winning distance13.71 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg James Brendan Connolly
US flag 44 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Alexandre Tuffèri
Flag of France.svg  France
Bronze medal icon.svg Ioannis Persakis
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece
1900  

The men's triple jump was one of four jumping events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. There were 7 competitors from 5 nations in the triple jump, then known as the "hop, skip, and jump" despite the wide range of techniques used by the competitors. The event was held on 6 April, immediately after the first heats of the 100 metre race. Since there was only one round of the triple jump, the winner was crowned as the first modern Olympic champion. [1]

The winning margin was 1.01 metres which as of 2023 remains the only time the men's triple jump was won by more than 60 cm at the Olympics.

Background

This was the first appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. There were 11 entrants, but only 7 men actually started. [2] [3]

Competition format

There was a single round of jumping. There were no rules on the jumps allowed. "The styles of the medalists were described in The Field as follows: Connolly took two hops on his right foot and then a jump; Tuffèri performed a hop, step and a jump in the standard English method; and Persakis used two steps and a jump." [2] [3]

Records

There were no standing Olympic records (as this was the first Games) before the event.

World recordFlag of Ireland.svg Matthew Roseingreue (IRL)*15.26 m (50 ft 34 in) Gort 15 August 1895 [4]
Olympic recordN/AN/AN/AN/A

* unofficial

The following record was established during the competition:

DateEventAthleteNationDistance (m)Record
April 6Final James Brendan Connolly US flag 44 stars.svg  United States 13.71 OR

Schedule

The exact time of the contest is not known; it was the second event of the Games. The first day began with the arrival of the King and a brief opening ceremony at 3 p.m., followed by the first round of the 100 metres before the triple jump began.

DateTimeRound
GregorianJulian
Monday, 6 April 1896Monday, 25 March 1896Final

Results

RankAthleteNationDistanceNotes
Gold medal icon.svg James Brendan Connolly US flag 44 stars.svg  United States 13.71 OR
Silver medal icon.svg Alexandre Tuffèri Flag of France.svg  France 12.70
Bronze medal icon.svg Ioannis Persakis Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 12.52
4 Alajos Szokolyi Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary 11.26
5 Carl Schuhmann Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany Unknown
6–7 Fritz Hofmann Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany Unknown
Khristos Zoumis Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece Unknown
Alfred Flatow Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany DNS
Adolphe Grisel Flag of France.svg  France DNS
Pál PéthyFlag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary DNS
Friedrich Traun Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany DNS

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1896 Athens Summer Games: Men's Triple Jump". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Triple Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 Official Report, pp. 62–63.
  4. "Track and Field Statistics" . trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.

Sources