Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

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Contents

Men's 200 metres
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Mel Patton 1948.jpg
Mel Patton (left)
VenueEmpire Stadium
Dates2 August (heats and quarterfinals)
3 August (semifinals and final)
Competitors51 from 28 nations
Winning time21.1
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Mel Patton
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Barney Ewell
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svg Lloyd La Beach
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
  1936
1952  

The men's 200 metres sprint event at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place between 2 August and 3 August. There were 51 competitors from 28 nations. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Mel Patton. [2] His countryman Barney Ewell earned silver, making this the third consecutive Games the United States took the top two spots in the event. Lloyd La Beach's bronze gave Panama a medal in its debut in the event.

Background

This was the 10th appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. None of the six finalists from the pre-war 1936 Games returned. The Americans were favored. Barney Ewell was the 1946 and 1947 AAU champion. Mel Patton was a short sprint specialist who had been disappointed by a fifth-place finish in the 100 metres earlier in the Games; he had never won an American title at the longer sprint distance. European champion Nikolay Karakulov did not compete because the Soviet Union did not yet participate in the Olympics. [1]

Bermuda, Burma, Ceylon, Cuba, Iceland, Iraq, Jamaica, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 10th appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.

Competition format

The competition used the four round format introduced in 1920: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 12 heats of between 3 and 6 runners each, with the top 2 men in each advancing to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals consisted of 4 heats of 6 athletes each; the 3 fastest men in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals, each with 6 runners. Again, the top 3 athletes advanced. The final had 6 runners. The races were run on a now-standard 400 metre track. [1]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Jesse Owens  (USA)20.3 Michigan, United States 1935
Olympic recordUS flag 48 stars.svg  Jesse Owens  (USA)20.7 Berlin, Germany 5 August 1936

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

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Monday, 2 August 194814:30
16:15
Heats
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, 3 August 194815:30
17:15
Semifinals
Final

Results

Heats

The fastest two runners in each of the twelve heats advanced to the quarterfinals.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Herb McKenley Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 21.3Q
2 Ted Haggis Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 22.2Q
3 Haukur Clausen Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 22.2
4 Stanley Lines Flag of Bermuda (1910-1999).svg  Bermuda Unknown

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Paul Vallé Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 22.3Q
2 John De Saram Flag of Ceylon (1948-1951).svg  Ceylon 23.1Q
3 Bernabe Lovina Flag of the Philippines (1936-1985, 1986-1998).svg  Philippines 23.2
4 Stefanos Petrakis Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece Unknown

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Rafael Fortún Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba 21.9Q
2 Dennis Shore Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 22.1Q
3 António Morais Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 22.6

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Barney Ewell US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.6Q
2 Abram van Heerden Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 21.8Q
3 Angel García Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba 22.2
4 Fernand Linssen Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Unknown
5 Hazzard Dill Flag of Bermuda (1910-1999).svg  Bermuda Unknown
6 Ali Salman Flag of Iraq (1921-1959).svg  Iraq Unknown

Heat 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Julien Lebas Flag of France.svg  France 22.0Q
2 Rosalvo Ramos Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil 22.2Q
3 Basil McKenzie Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 22.4

Heat 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Mel Patton US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.6Q
2 Leslie Laing Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 21.8Q
3 Guillermo Geary Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 23.0
4 Duncan White Flag of Ceylon (1948-1951).svg  Ceylon Unknown

Heat 7

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Gerardo Bönnhoff Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 0.69Q
2 John Fairgrieve Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 22.2Q
3 Raúl Mazorra Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba 23.0
4 Kemal Aksur Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Unknown
5 Gonzalo Rodríguez Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico Unknown

Heat 8

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Cliff Bourland US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.3Q
2 Haroldo da Silva Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil 21.9Q
3 Georgie Lewis Flag of Trinidad and Tobago (1889-1958).svg  Trinidad and Tobago 22.4
4 Walter Pérez Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay Unknown
5 Peter Bloch Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Unknown

Heat 9

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 John Treloar Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 21.7Q
2 Muhammad Sharif Butt Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 22.8Q
3 Raşit Öztaş Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 23.0
4 Perry Johnson Flag of Bermuda (1910-1999).svg  Bermuda Unknown

Heat 10

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Alastair McCorquodale Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 22.3Q
2 Santiago Ferrando Flag of Peru (1825-1950).svg  Peru 22.5Q
3 Fernand Bourgaux Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 22.9
4 Étienne Bally Flag of France.svg  France Unknown

Heat 11

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Juan López Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 22.1Q
2 Ivan Hausen Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil 22.2Q
3 Gabe Scholten Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 22.2
4 Maung Sein Pe Flag of Burma (1948-1974).svg  Burma Unknown

Heat 12

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Peter Heredia Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2Q
2 Jan Lammers Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 22.0Q
3 Don Pettie Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 22.0
4 Mario Fayos Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay Unknown
5 Joseph Stéphan Flag of France.svg  France Unknown

Peter heredia 1s

Quarterfinals

The fastest three runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Herb McKenley Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 21.3Q
2 Barney Ewell US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.8Q
3 Paul Vallé Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 22.1Q
4 Jan Lammers Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Unknown
5 Julien Lebas Flag of France.svg  France Unknown
6 Rosalvo Ramos Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil Unknown

Quarterfinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Cliff Bourland US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.3Q
2 John Treloar Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 21.5Q
3 Haroldo da Silva Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil 22.0Q
4 Gerardo Bönnhoff Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina Unknown
5 Dennis Shore Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa Unknown
6 John De Saram Flag of Ceylon (1948-1951).svg  Ceylon Unknown

Quarterfinal 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Lloyd La Beach Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 21.7Q
2 Leslie Laing Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 21.8Q
3 Abram van Heerden Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 22.9Q
4 John Fairgrieve Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Unknown
5 Santiago Ferrando Flag of Peru (1825-1950).svg  Peru Unknown
Juan López Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay DNS

Quarterfinal 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Mel Patton US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.4Q
2 Alastair McCorquodale Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 21.8Q
3 Rafael Fortún Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba 22.0Q
4 Ivan Hausen Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil 22.3
5 Ted Haggis Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada Unknown
6 Muhammad Sharif Butt Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Unknown

Semifinals

The fastest three runners in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTime (hand)Notes
1 Herb McKenley Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 21.4Q
2 Mel Patton US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.6Q
3 Barney Ewell US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.8Q
4 Haroldo da Silva Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil Unknown
5 Abram van Heerden Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa Unknown
6 Paul Vallé Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Unknown

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteNationTime (hand)Notes
1 Cliff Bourland US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.5Q
2 Lloyd La Beach Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 21.6Q
3 Leslie Laing Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 21.6Q
4 John Treloar Flag of Australia.svg  Australia Unknown
5 Alastair McCorquodale Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Unknown
6 Rafael Fortún Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba Unknown

Final

RankAthleteNationTime (hand)Notes
Gold medal icon.svg Mel Patton US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.1
Silver medal icon.svg Barney Ewell US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.1
Bronze medal icon.svg Lloyd La Beach Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 21.2
4 Herb McKenley Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 21.3*
5 Cliff Bourland US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 21.3*
6 Leslie Laing Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica 21.8*

Key: * = Time is an estimate

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "200 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  2. "Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's 200 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2017.