Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

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Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the V Olympiad
1912 Athletics men's 800 metre final3.JPG
The finish, with Ted Meredith setting a new world record.
Venue Stockholm Olympic Stadium
DatesJuly 6, 1912 (heats)
July 7, 1912 (semifinals)
July 8, 1912 (final)
Competitors47 from 16 nations
Winning time1:51.9 WR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Ted Meredith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Mel Sheppard US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svg Ira Davenport US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
  1908
1920  

The men's 800 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 from Saturday, July 6, 1912, to Monday, July 8, 1912. [1] Forty-seven runners from 16 nations competed. [2] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. [3] The event was won by Ted Meredith of the United States, the nation's third consecutive victory in the 800 metres. Mel Sheppard became the first man to win two medals in the event, coming in second to miss out on defending his 1908 gold. Ira Davenport completed the United States sweep, the second time the Americans had swept the 800 metres podium (after 1904).

Background

This was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All three medalists from 1908, Olympic champion Mel Sheppard, the silver medalist Emilio Lunghi, and the bronze medalist Hanns Braun, returned. Sheppard was among the favorites with a chance to repeat; other prominent challengers were his teammates John Paul Jones and Ted Meredith as well as Lunghi (who had matched Sheppard's world record) and Braun (the 1911 and 1912 AAA champion). [2]

Chile, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey appeared in the event for the first time. Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, and the United States each made their fourth appearance, tied for the most among all nations.

Competition format

The competition expanded to three rounds for the first time. There were nine first-round heats of between 4 and 8 athletes each; the top two runners in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were two semifinals with 9 athletes each; the top four runners in each semifinal advanced to the eight-man final. [2] [4]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Mel Sheppard  (USA)1:52.8 (u)(*) London, United Kingdom 21 July 1908
Olympic recordUS flag 45 stars.svg  Mel Sheppard  (USA)1:52.8(*) St. Louis, United States 21 July 1908

(*) This track was 536.45 metres=13 mile in circumference.

The world record of 1:52.8, which had seemed fairly safe through the first two rounds of competition, was broken by all three medalists and tied by the fourth-place runner in the final. Mel Sheppard, the previous record-holder, and Ira Davenport beat the old record by .8 seconds at 1:52.0, taking silver and bronze behind Ted Meredith and his new record of 1:51.9. This record became the first official world record for the 800 metres.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Saturday, 6 July 191214:45Round 1
Sunday, 7 July 1912Semifinals
Monday, 8 July 191217:00Final

Results

Heats

All heats were held on Saturday, July 6, 1912.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 David Caldwell US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:58.6Q
2 Emilio Lunghi Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy UnknownQ
3 Walter McClure US flag 48 stars.svg  United States Unknown
4 Eric Lindholm Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:01.5
5 Joseph Caullé Flag of France.svg  France Unknown

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Percy Mann Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:56.0Q
2Herbert PutnamUS flag 48 stars.svg  United States UnknownQ
3 Jacob Pedersen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Unknown
Leopoldo PalmaFlag of Chile.svg  Chile DNF

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 John Paul Jones US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:01.8Q
2 Armando Cortesão Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal UnknownQ
3 Oscar Larsen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Unknown
4 Guido Calvi Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy Unknown

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Clarence Edmundson US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:56.5Q
2 John Tait Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada UnknownQ
3 Charles Poulenard Flag of France.svg  France Unknown
4 Willie Jahn Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany 2:02.0
Robert Burton Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF

Heat 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Ira Davenport US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:59.0Q
2 Frederick Hulford Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain UnknownQ
3 Ödön Bodor Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary Unknown
4 Jacques Person Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany Unknown
5Dmitry NazarovFlag of Russia (1991-1993).svg  Russia Unknown
Zdeněk MěsteckýBohemian Olympic Flag (1912).svg  Bohemia DNF
Philip Baker Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF

Heat 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Harlan Holden US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:58.1Q
2 Evert Björn Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden UnknownQ
3 Richard Yorke Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Unknown
4 Karl Haglund Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:01.2
5-7 Ferenc Forgács Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary Unknown
Aleksandr YelizarovFlag of Russia (1991-1993).svg  Russia Unknown
Federico MuellerFlag of Chile.svg  Chile Unknown
Vahram Papazian Flag of the Ottoman Empire.svg  Turkey DNF

Heat 7

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 James Soutter Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:00.4Q
2 Mel Sheppard US flag 48 stars.svg  United States UnknownQ
3 Erich Lehmann Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany Unknown
János AntalFlag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary DNF
Johannes Leopold Villemson Flag of Russia (1991-1993).svg  Russia DNS

Heat 8

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Mel Brock Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada 1:57.0Q
2 Ted Meredith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States UnknownQ
3 John Victor Red Ensign of South Africa (1912-1951).svg  South Africa Unknown
Alan Patterson Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF

Heat 9

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Ernest Henley Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:57.6Q
2 Hanns Braun Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany UnknownQ
3 Erik Frisell Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1:59.2
4 Thomas Halpin US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:59.2
Lauri Pihkala Flag of Russia.svg  Finland DNF
Károly Radóczy Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary DNF

Semifinals

Both semi-finals were held on Sunday, July 7, 1912. Jones withdrew to focus on the 1500 metres. [2]

The start of the final. 1912 Athletics men's 800 metre final.JPG
The start of the final.
The final under way. 1912 Athletics men's 800 metre final2.JPG
The final under way.

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Ted Meredith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:54.4Q
2 Hanns Braun Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany 1:54.6Q
3 Mel Sheppard US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:54.8Q
4Herbert PutnamUS flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:55.0Q
5 John Tait Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada Unknown
6 Percy Mann Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Unknown
Frederick Hulford Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF
James Soutter Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF
John Paul Jones US flag 48 stars.svg  United States DNS

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Mel Brock Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada 1:55.7Q
2 Clarence Edmundson US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:55.8Q
3 David Caldwell US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:55.9Q
4 Ira Davenport US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:55.9Q
5 Emilio Lunghi Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy Unknown
6-9 Evert Björn Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Unknown
Ernest Henley Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Unknown
Harlan Holden US flag 48 stars.svg  United States Unknown
Armando Cortesão Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal Unknown

Final

The final took place on Monday, July 8, 1912.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Ted Meredith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:51.9 WR
Silver medal icon.svg Mel Sheppard US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:52.0
Bronze medal icon.svg Ira Davenport US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:52.0
4 David Caldwell US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 1:52.8
5 Mel Brock Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada 1:53.0
6 Hanns Braun Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany 1:53.0
7 Clarence Edmundson US flag 48 stars.svg  United States Unknown
8Herbert PutnamUS flag 48 stars.svg  United States Unknown

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. Official report, p. 61.
  4. Official Report, pp. 360–63.