The men's 100 metres was the shortest of the sprint races at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held over the course of three days. The first round was held on 20 July, the semifinals on 21 July, and the final on 22 July. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes, The event was won by Reggie Walker of South Africa, the first time the gold medal went to a nation other than the United States. The Americans did stay on the podium with James Rector's silver medal. Canada won its first medal in the event, a bronze by Robert Kerr.
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. 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 and bronze, with Cartmell becoming the first person to win multiple 200 metres medals after taking earning silver in 1904.
The men's 800 metres made its fourth Olympic appearance at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 20, 1908, and on July 21, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres=1⁄3 mile in circumference. It was run in two rounds, with the winners of the eight heats of the first round competing in the final.
The men's 400 metres hurdles was the longer of two hurdling events at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. It was the third time the event had been featured at the Olympics. The Olympic record was beat three times in the course of the Games. The competition was held from Monday, July 20, 1908, to Wednesday, July 22, 1908. 15 runners from six nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The event was won by Charles Bacon of the United States, defeating teammate and defending champion Harry Hillman by 0.3 seconds in the final. It was the third gold medal in three Games for the American team in the event. Hillman was the first man to earn multiple medals in the 400 metres hurdles. Jimmy Tremeer of Great Britain earned bronze, the first medal for the nation in the men's 400 metres hurdles.
The men's 60 metres was the shortest of the track races at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, which was the first time the event was held. It was held on 15 July 1900. 10 athletes from 6 nations competed. Five preliminary heats were scheduled, though only two were actually held. The top two athletes from each of the heats advanced to the final, resulting in a final race that featured three United States runners and an Australian. Hurdle specialist Alvin Kraenzlein of the United States won the event, with his countryman Walter Tewksbury in second and Australian Stan Rowley earning bronze.
The men's 100 metres was a sprinting event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14, 1900. 20 athletes from nine nations competed. The event was won by Frank Jarvis of the United States, the second of three straight gold medals by different Americans in the event. Australia medaled in the event for the first time, a bronze by Stan Rowley.
The men's 200 metres was a sprinting event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 22, 1900, well after most of the rest of the athletics events. The 1900 Games were the first time the 200 metres was contested. The races were held on a track of 500 metres in circumference. Eight athletes from seven nations competed. The event was won by Walter Tewksbury of the United States. Norman Pritchard of India took silver while Australian Stan Rowley earned bronze.
The men's 800 metres was middle-distance running event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14 and July 16, 1900. The races were held on a track of 500 metres in circumference. 18 athletes from seven nations competed. The event was won by Alfred Tysoe of Great Britain, the nation's first medal in the event. The United States also won its first medals in the 800 metres, with silver and bronze.
The men's 200 metres hurdles was a hurdling event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 16, 1900. 11 athletes from five nations competed in the middle of the three hurdling events. The event was won by Alvin Kraenzlein of the United States, earning his fourth individual gold in athletics in one Games—a record that still stands as of the 2016 Games. The silver medal went to Norman Pritchard of India, while another American earned bronze.
The first heat of the men's 100 metres race was the first event run at the modern Olympics, on 6 April 1896. The event consisted of 3 heats and a final, held on 10 April. The 100 metres was the shortest race on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. 15 athletes from 8 nations competed. The event was won by Thomas Burke of the United States. Fritz Hofmann of Germany took second, with Hungarian Alajos Szokolyi and American Francis Lane tying for third. These competitors are recognized as gold, silver, and bronze medalists by the International Olympic Committee, though that award system had not yet been implemented in 1896.
The men's 100 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 on 6 July 1912 and on 7 July 1912. Seventy runners from 22 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The event was won by Ralph Craig of the United States, as the Americans swept the medals for a second time.
The men's 200 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which has appeared at every edition of the Summer Olympics since the 1900 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 10, 1912, and on July 11, 1912. 61 runners from 19 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The event was won by Ralph Craig of the United States, the nation's third victory in four Games. Another American, Donald Lippincott, took silver. Great Britain earned its first medal in the 200 metres with Willie Applegarth's bronze.
The men's 60 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second and last time the event was held at the Olympics. 12 athletes from 3 nations participated. The competition was held on August 29, 1904. The event was won by Archie Hahn of the United States, with William Hogenson second and Clyde Blair third as the host nation swept the medals. It was the first of three gold medals in the sprints won by Hahn in 1904.
The men's 200 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second time the 200 metres was contested. All races of this competition was held on a straight course. 5 athletes from 2 nations participated. The competition was held on August 31, 1904. The United States swept the medals, with Archie Hahn earning the second of his three sprint medals in St. Louis. Nathaniel Cartmell took silver and William Hogenson earned bronze. It was the second consecutive American victory in the event.
The men's 110 metres hurdles was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third time the event was held. 6 hurdlers from 2 nations participated. The competition was held on September 3, 1904. The event was won by Fred Schule of the United States, the third of five consecutive victories for the nation in the first five Olympic Games. It was also the second of four consecutive podium sweeps for the Americans in the event.
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 and 24 November. Sixty-five athletes from 31 nations competed; each nation was limited to three athletes. The final was won by American Bobby Morrow, marking the fifth consecutive victory by a different American. Hec Hogan of Australia won that country's first medal in the event since 1900. The competition took place in strong winds, with the final run into a 2.5 m/s (5.6 mph) headwind.
The men's 400 metres sprint event at the 1936 Olympic Games took place in early August. Forty-two athletes from 25 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Archie Williams, the third consecutive and seventh overall title in the event for the United States. Godfrey Brown's silver was Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1924.
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, England, we held at Wembley Stadium on 30 and 31 July. Sixty-three athletes from 33 nations competed; each nation was limited to 3 runners by rules set at the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Harrison Dillard, in a photo finish. Lloyd LaBeach of Panama won his nation's first medal in the men's 100 metres, a bronze. This was the first time a photo finish camera was used at an Olympic Games. The photo finish equipment consisted of a photoelectric cell, called the Magic Eye, produced by Swiss watchmaker Omega and a slit photography camera produced by the British Race Finish Recording Company.
The men's 1500 metres event at the 1952 Olympics took place between July 24 and July 26. Fifty-two athletes from 26 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Josy Barthel of Luxemburg; to date, this is the only Olympic gold medal won by a Luxembourger, though Luxembourg-born Michel Théato is credited for winning the 1900 Marathon for France. Germany won its first medal in the 1500 metres with Werner Lueg's bronze.
The 60 metres at the Summer Olympics was contested at the multi-sport event in 1900 and 1904. Part of the Olympic athletics programme, it is the shortest sprinting event to have featured at the Olympics. The shortest sprinting event on the current programme is the 100 metres. Only men competed in the two years that the event was held.
