Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

Men's 100 metres at the Games of the II Olympiad
Venue	Bois de Boulogne
Date	July 14
Competitors	20 from 9 nations
Medalists
Frank Jarvis United States   Walter Tewksbury United States   Stan Rowley Australia

Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Track events
60 m		men
100 m		men
200 m		men
400 m		men
800 m		men
1500 m		men
110 m hurdles		men
200 m hurdles		men
400 m hurdles		men
2500 m steeplechase		men
4000 m steeplechase		men
5000 m team race		men
Road events
Marathon	men
Field events
Long jump	men
Triple jump	men
High jump	men
Pole vault	men
Standing long jump	men
Standing triple jump	men
Standing high jump	men
Shot put	men
Discus throw	men
Hammer throw	men

The men's 100 metres was a sprinting event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14, 1900. 20 athletes from nine nations competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics.

World Record	10.8(*)	Luther Cary	Paris (FRA)	July 4, 1891
	10.8(*)	Cecil Lee	Brussels (BEL)	September 25, 1892
	10.8(*)	Étienne De Re	Brussels (BEL)	August 4, 1893
	10.8(*)	L. Atcherley	Frankfurt/Main (GER)	April 13, 1895
	10.8(*)	Harry Beaton	Rotterdam (NED)	August 28, 1895
	10.8(*)	Harald Anderson-Arbin	Helsingborg (SWE)	August 9, 1896
	10.8(*)	Isaac Westergren	Gävle (SWE)	September 11, 1898
	10.8(*)	Isaac Westergren	Gävle (SWE)	September 10, 1899
Olympic Record	11.8	Thomas Burke	Athens (GRE)	April 6, 1896 (NS)

(*) unofficial

Arthur Duffey in the first heat of the first round and Walter Tewksbury in the second heat of the first round set new Olympic records with 11.4 seconds. In the third heat of the first round Frank Jarvis equalled the unofficial world record with 10.8 seconds. In the second semifinal Tewksbury also equalled the world record with 10.8 seconds.

Results

First round

In the first round, there were six heats. The top two runners in each advanced to the semifinals.

First round, heat 1

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Arthur Duffey (USA)	11.4 s OR
2	Frederick Moloney (USA)	(11.5)
3	Václav Nový (BOH)	Unknown

Duffey was a metre ahead of Moloney at the finish.

First round, heat 2

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Walter Tewksbury (USA)	11.4 s EOR
2	Thaddeus McClain (USA)	(11.4)
3	Pál Koppán (HUN)	Unknown

Tewksbury won this heat by six inches.

First round, heat 3

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Frank Jarvis (USA)	10.8 s EWR
2	Stan Rowley (AUS)	(10.9)
3	Umberto Colombo (ITA)	Unknown
4	Julius Keyl (GER)	Unknown

The fastest of the preliminary heats featured two of the eventual medallists; Jarvis won by a metre and equalled the world record.

First round, heat 4

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Clark Leiblee (USA)	11.4 s
2	Kurt Dörry (GER)	(11.5)
3	Johannes Gandil (DEN)	Unknown

Leiblee won this heat by half a yard.

First round, heat 5

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Norman Pritchard (IND)	11.4 s
2	Edmund Minahan (USA)	(11.5)
3	Ernő Schubert (HUN)	Unknown
4	Isaac Westergren (SWE)	Unknown

The fifth heat was the only one that was not won by an American runner; Pritchard beat Minahan by half a yard.

First round, heat 6

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Charles Burroughs (USA)	11.4 s
2	Dixon Boardman (USA)	(11.5)
3	Henry Slack (USA)	Unknown

In an all-American heat, Burroughs defeated Boardman by about a metre, with Slack in third to become the only American runner to be eliminated in the first round.

Semifinals

There were three semifinals, each with four runners. The top runner in each of the semifinals advanced to the final, while the second and third place runners competed in the repechage. The winner of the six-runner repechage advanced to the final as well.

Semifinal 1

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Arthur Duffey (USA)	11.0 s
2	Stan Rowley (AUS)	(11.2)
3	Charles Burroughs (USA)	Unknown
4	Dixon Boardman (USA)	Unknown

Duffey dropped almost half a second from his preliminary heat time to beat Rowley by five feet. Burroughs again defeated Boardman, eliminating Boardman from competition while remaining in contention in the repechage.

Semifinal 2

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Walter Tewksbury (USA)	10.8 s EWR
2	Clark Leiblee (USA)	(10.9)
3	Frederick Moloney (USA)	Unknown
—	Kurt Dörry (GER)	DNF

Tewksbury equalled the world record, the second runner to accomplish that at the Paris Games, with Leiblee six inches behind him. There is some question as to whether Dörry started the race, but he did not finish it.

Semifinal 3

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Frank Jarvis (USA)	11.2 s
2	Thaddeus McClain (USA)	(11.3)
3	Norman Pritchard (IND)	Unknown
4	Edmund Minahan (USA)	Unknown

Jarvis won by a yard, McClain and Pritchard were relegated to the repechage, and Minahan was eliminated.

Repechage

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Stan Rowley (AUS)	11.0 s
2	Norman Pritchard (IND)	(11.0)
3	Clark Leiblee (USA)	Unknown
4-6	Charles Burroughs (USA)	Unknown
	Thaddeus McClain (USA)	Unknown
	Frederick Moloney (USA)	Unknown

The repechage was a very close race, with Rowley defeating Pritchard by two inches. Rowley advanced to the final while Pritchard and the four Americans were eliminated.

Final

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Frank Jarvis (USA)	11.0 s
2	Walter Tewksbury (USA)	(11.1)
3	Stan Rowley (AUS)	(11.2)
—	Arthur Duffey (USA)	DNF

Duffey got away to an early lead, but pulled a tendon at the 50 meter mark. Jarvis beat Tewksbury by two feet, with Rowley half a yard behind.

Sources

• International Olympic Committee.
• De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically at .
• Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.