Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles

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Men's 110 metres hurdles
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
Anvers 110 m haies (Jeux olympiques) Agence Rol btv1b530536254 1.jpg
110 metres hurdles at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Venue Olympisch Stadion
DatesAugust 17–18
Competitors24 from 15 nations
Winning time14.8 WR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Earl Thomson
Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada
Silver medal icon.svg Harold Barron
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svg Feg Murray
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
  1912
1924  
Official Video TV-icon-2.svg
Official Video

The men's 110 metres hurdles event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, August 17, 1920, and on Wednesday, August 18, 1920. 24 runners from 15 nations competed. [1] No nation had more than 4 runners, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by Earl Thomson of Canada in world record time, the first victory by any nation other than the United States in the men's 110 metres hurdles and the first time that any non-U.S. nation had even been on the podium since 1896. Thomson, who had lived in the United States since age 8, had wanted to run for the U.S. team but was ineligible due to his Canadian citizenship. [2] A British flag was displayed at the medal ceremony rather than a Canadian one because the organizing officials did not have the appropriate flag. [3]

Contents

Background

This was the sixth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the finalists from the pre-war 1912 Games returned. Earl Thomson of Canada was a heavy favorite; he had won the 1920 AAU championship, IC4A championship (120 yards, in a world record 14.4 seconds), and Canadian Olympic trials. [3]

Czechoslovakia, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its sixth appearance, the only nation to have competed in the 110 metres hurdles in each Games to that point.

Competition format

The competition used the three-round basic format introduced in 1908, though the effectiveness of the first round in narrowing the field was dramatically increased compared to 1908 and 1912. The first round consisted of six heats, with between 3 and 5 hurdlers each. The top two hurdlers in each heat advanced to the semifinals. The 12 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals of 6 runners each; the top three hurdlers in each advanced to the 6-man final. [3] [4]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of the United States (1896-1908).svg  Forrest Smithson  (USA)15.0 London, United Kingdom 25 July 1908
Olympic recordUS flag 45 stars.svg  Forrest Smithson  (USA)15.0 London, United Kingdom 25 July 1908

In the semifinals, Harold Barron and Earl Thomson equalled the world record with 15.0 seconds. In the final, Earl Thomson set a new world record with 14.8 seconds.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Tuesday, 17 August 192014:00
16:30
Round 1
Semifinals
Wednesday, 18 August 192014:30Final

Results

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Daciano Colbacchini Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 15.6Q
2 Harry Wilson Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 15.8Q
3 Georg Lindström Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 15.9
4 Wilfred Kent-Hughes Flag of Australia.svg  Australia Unknown

Quarterfinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Harold Barron US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.2Q
2 Earl Thomson Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada 15.4Q
3 Gösta Holmér Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Unknown
4 František Marek Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia Unknown

Quarterfinal 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Feg Murray US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.8Q
2 George Gray Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain UnknownQ
3 Henri Bernard Flag of France.svg  France Unknown
4 René Joannes-Powell Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Unknown
5 Dimitrios Andromedas Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece Unknown

Quarterfinal 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Henri Thorsen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 16.8Q
2 William Hunter Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain UnknownQ
Willi Moser Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland DNF

Quarterfinal 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 William Yount US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.6Q
2 Göran Hultin Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden UnknownQ
3 Harold Jeppe Red Ensign of South Africa (1912-1928).svg  South Africa Unknown
4 Adolf Reich Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia Unknown

Quarterfinal 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Walker Smith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.8Q
2 Carl-Axel Christiernsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden UnknownQ
3 Oscar van Rappard Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Unknown
4 Eric Dunbar Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Unknown

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Harold Barron US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.0Q, =WR
2 Walker Smith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.2Q
3 Harry Wilson Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 15.3Q
4 Henri Thorsen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Unknown
5 William Hunter Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Unknown
6 Göran Hultin Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Unknown

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Earl Thomson Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada 15.0Q, =WR
2 Feg Murray US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.2Q
3 Carl-Axel Christiernsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 15.2Q
4 George Gray Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Unknown
5 William Yount US flag 48 stars.svg  United States Unknown
6 Daciano Colbacchini Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy Unknown

Final

The final was held on Wednesday, August 18, 1920.

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Earl Thomson Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada 14.8 WR
2 Harold Barron US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.1
3 Feg Murray US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.1
4 Harry Wilson Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 15.2
5 Walker Smith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.3
6 Carl-Axel Christiernsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 15.3

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References

  1. "Athletics at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games: Men's 110 metres Hurdles". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  2. "Canada will have Earl Thomson as entry for hurdles". Regina Morning Leader. 1920-04-21. p. 11. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  3. 1 2 3 "110 metres Hurdles, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  4. Official Report, p. 102.

Notes