Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

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Men's marathon
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
Hannes Kolehmainen 1920 crop.jpg
Hannes Kolehmainen
Venue Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp
Dates22 August
Competitors48 from 17 nations
Winning time2:32:35.8 WR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Hannes Kolehmainen
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Silver medal icon.svg Jüri Lossmann
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Bronze medal icon.svg Valerio Arri
Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy
  1912
1924  

The men's marathon event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The distance of this race was 42.75 kilometres. The competition was held on Sunday, 22 August 1920. [1] 48 runners from 17 nations competed. 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 Hannes Kolehmainen of Finland, the nation's first Olympic marathon medal and victory; Kolehmainen received his fourth gold medal, having won the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres, and individual cross country in 1912. Estonia (Jüri Lossmann's silver) and Italy (Valerio Arri's bronze) also won their first marathon medals.

Background

This was the sixth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The field included significant competitors, including the original Flying Finn, Hannes Kolehmainen (who had not run the marathon in 1912, but took gold in three other distance events) and his brother Tatu Kolehmainen (who had competed in the 1912 marathon); South Africa's Christian Gitsham (silver medal in the 1912 marathon); and American Boston Marathon winners Arthur Roth (1916) and Carl Linder (1919), as well as future winner Charles Mellor (1925). Shizo Kanakuri of Japan, still considered a missing person in Sweden after disappearing during the 1912 Olympic marathon, competed. [2]

Chile, Estonia, and India each made their first appearance in Olympic marathons. The United States made its sixth appearance, the only nation to have competed in each Olympic marathon to that point.

Competition format

As all marathons, the competition was a single race. The course for the race was listed as 42.75 kilometres long, making it the longest Olympic marathon ever. [3] [2] However, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians estimated the course to be only 40 km, which would make it among the shorter courses in the pre-standardized era. [4] The course included 1.5 laps of the stadium at both the start and finish. [2]

Records

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

World recordFlag of Sweden.svg  Alexis Ahlgren  (SWE)2:36:07 London, United Kingdom 31 May 1913
Olympic recordRed Ensign of South Africa (1912-1951).svg  Ken McArthur  (RSA)2:36:54.8(*) Stockholm, Sweden 14 July 1912

(*) Distance was 40.2 kilometres

Hannes Kolehmainen is recognized as having set a new world best with a time of 2:32:35.8 hours. [5]

Schedule

The weather during the race has been described as "cool". [6] An Associated Press report described the weather as "cold and showery", but "fine running weather for the marathoners". [7]

DateTimeRound
Sunday, 22 August 192016:12Final

Results

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Hannes Kolehmainen Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:32:35.8 WR , OR
Silver medal icon.svg Jüri Lossmann Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 2:32:48.6
Bronze medal icon.svg Valerio Arri Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 2:36:32.8
4 Auguste Broos Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2:39:25.8
5 Juho Tuomikoski Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:40:18.8
6 Sofus Rose Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:41:18.0
7 Joseph Organ US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:41:30.0
8 Rudolf Hansen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:41:39.4
9 Urho Tallgren Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:42:40.0
10 Tatu Kolehmainen Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:44:02.3
11 Carl Linder US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:44:21.2
12 Charles Mellor US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:45:30.0
13 James Dellow Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada 2:46:47.0
14 Bobby Mills Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:48:05.0
15 Arthur Scholes Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada 2:48:30.0
16 Shizo Kanakuri Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:48:45.4
17 Gustav Kinn Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:49:10.4
18 Albert Moché Flag of France.svg  France 2:50:00.2
19 Phadeppa Chaugle British Raj Red Ensign.svg  India 2:50:45.4
20 Zensaku Motegi Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:51:09.4
21 Kenzo Yashima Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:57:02.0
22 Norman General Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada 2:58:01.0
23 Rudolf Wåhlin Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:59:23.0
24 Yahei Miura Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:59:37.0
25 Henri Teyssedou Flag of France.svg  France 3:00:04.0
26 Hendricus Wessel Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 3:00:17.0
27 Charles Melis Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 3:00:51.0
28 William Grüner Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 3:01:48.0
29 George Piper Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 3:02:10.0
30 Sinton Hewitt Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 3:03:27.0
31 Leslie Housden Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 3:14:25.0
32 Iraklis Sakellaropoulos Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 3:14:25.0
33 Juan Bascuñán Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 3:17:47.0
34 Oscar Blansaer Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 3:20:00.0
35 Eric Robertson Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 3:55:00.0
Ettore Blasi Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy DNF
Louis Ichard Flag of France.svg  France DNF
Antonio Persico Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy DNF
Albert Smoke Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada DNF
Axel Jensen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark DNF
Panagiotis Trivoulidas Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece DNF
Christiaan Huijgens Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands DNF
Desiré Van Remortel Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium DNF
Hans Schuster Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden DNF
Amédée Trichard Flag of France.svg  France DNF
Sadashiv Datar British Raj Red Ensign.svg  India DNF
Christian Gitsham Red Ensign of South Africa (1912-1951).svg  South Africa DNF
Arthur Roth US flag 48 stars.svg  United States DNF

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References

Specific
  1. "Athletics at the 1920 Antwerpen Summer Games: Men's Marathon". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Marathon, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  3. "Olympic Games Official Report 1920" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  4. "Olympics Marathon". www.arrs.run.
  5. "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. 546, 563, 565, 651, and 653. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  6. USA Track & Field (2004). "2004 USA Olympic Team Trials: Men's Marathon Media Guide Supplement" (PDF). Santa Barbara, California: USA Track & Field. p. 11. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  7. "Kolehmainen, Finn Marvel, Winner of Marathon Race: Olympic Star of 1912 Established New Record for 26 Mile Course – Esthonian Runner Presses Finn Hard – Joe Organ, First American to Finish, Comes in Seventh – American Relay Team Hangs Up New Record". The Lewiston Daily Sun. Associated Press. 23 August 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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