Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put

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Men's shot put
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Ralph Rose.jpg
The winner Ralph Rose
Venue White City Stadium
DateJuly 16
Competitors25 from 8 nations
Winning distance14.21
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Ralph Rose
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Denis Horgan
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
Bronze medal icon.svg John Garrels
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
  1904
1912  

The men's shot put was one of six throwing events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on July 16, 1908. 25 shot putters from eight nations competed. [1] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. [2] The event was won by Ralph Rose, successfully defending his title from 1904 and making it four consecutive Games that the event was won by an American. The two-Games streak of sweeps in 1900 and 1904 ended, however, as Denis Horgan of Great Britain took silver. Johnny Garrels of the United States took bronze. Rose was the second man to win two medals in the shot put (and the first to win two golds); Wesley Coe nearly was the third as he ended up in 4th place, only 11 centimetres behind Garrels.

Background

This was the fourth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Three Americans returned from the 1904 Games: gold medalist Ralph Rose, silver medalist Wesley Coe, and fourth-place finisher Martin Sheridan. Sheridan was best at the discus, but had won the shot put at the 1906 Intercalated Games (and was also an accomplished standing jumper). Irishman Denis Horgan, one of the best shot putters in the world over the past decade and a half, finally competed in the Olympics after not participating in prior Games. Horgan was 37 years old; still a strong contender (he would continue winning AAA championships until 1912), but unable to compete with Rose in his 23-year-old prime. [3]

Finland, France, Great Britain, and Norway made their debut in the men's shot put. Greece and the United States each appeared for the fourth time, having competed in all Olympic shot put competitions to date.

Competition format

The competition returned to the two-round format of 1900, with results carrying over between rounds. Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. The top three men advanced to the final, where they received an additional three throws. The best result, qualifying or final, counted. The throw itself was largely under modern rules (16 pound weight, 7 foot circle), but no toe board was used. [3] [4] [5]

Records

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

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Ralph Rose  (USA)*15.12 Montreal, Canada 21 September 1907
Olympic recordUS flag 45 stars.svg  Ralph Rose  (USA)14.81 St. Louis, United States 31 August 1904

* unofficial

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Wednesday, 22 July 190814:30Qualifying
Final

Results

Distances and placement are known only for the top eight. Sequences are not known.

RankAthleteNationDistance
QualifierFinalBest
Gold medal icon.svg Ralph Rose US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 14.0814.2114.21
Silver medal icon.svg Denis Horgan Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 13.3313.6213.62
Bronze medal icon.svg John Garrels US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 13.18Unknown13.18
4 Wesley Coe US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 13.07Did not advance13.07
5 Edward Barrett Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 12.89Did not advance12.89
6 Bill Horr US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 12.83Did not advance12.83
7 Jalmari Sauli Flag of Russia.svg  Finland 12.58Did not advance12.58
8 Lee Talbott US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 11.63Did not advance11.63
9–25 James Barrett Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Wilbur Burroughs US flag 45 stars.svg  United States UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Michalis Dorizas Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Nikolaos Georgantas Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Juho Halme Flag of Russia.svg  Finland UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Arne Halse Flag of Norway.svg  Norway UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
István Mudin Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Verner Järvinen Flag of Russia.svg  Finland UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Charles Lagarde Flag of France.svg  France UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Henry Alan Leeke Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Mór Kóczán Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Tom Nicolson Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Elmer Niklander Flag of Russia.svg  Finland UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Martin Sheridan US flag 45 stars.svg  United States UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
André Tison Flag of France.svg  France UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Hugo Wieslander Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden UnknownDid not advanceUnknown
Bruno Zilliacus Flag of Russia.svg  Finland UnknownDid not advanceUnknown

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References

  1. "Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's Shot Put". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. Official report, p. 32.
  3. 1 2 "Shot Put, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. Official Report, p. 90.
  5. Official Report, p. 407.

Sources