Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles
| Men's 110 metres hurdles at the Games of the II Olympiad | |||||||
| Venue | Bois de Boulogne | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | July 14 | ||||||
| Competitors | 9 from 3 nations | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
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| 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 110 metres hurdles was the first of the track and field events on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14, 1900. Nine athletes from three nations competed in the shortest of the hurdling events.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 15.2(*) |  Alvin Kraenzlein |
Chicago (USA) | June 18, 1898 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 17.6 | Thomas Curtis |
Athens (GRE) | April 10, 1896 (NS) |
(*) unofficial 120 yards (= 109.73 m)
At first Alvin Kraenzlein set a new unofficial world record in the first heat of the first round with 15.6 seconds. In the final he improved this to 15.4 seconds.
Results
First round
In the first round, there were three heats. The top runners in each advanced to the finals, with the other runners competing in repechage heats.
First round, heat 1
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alvin Kraenzlein (USA) | 15.6 s |
| 2 | Frederick Moloney (USA) | (16.0) |
| 3 | John McLean (USA) | (16.3) |
| — |  Eugène Choisel (FRA) | DNF |
Kraenzlein set a new world record and won by three yards, though he was slower than his previous mark of 15.2 seconds in the slightly shorter 120 yard hurdles.
First round, heat 2
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Norman Pritchard (IND) | 16.6 s |
| 2 | William Remington (USA) | (16.8) |
| 3 | William Lewis (USA) | Unknown |
| — | Adolphe Klingelhoefer (FRA) | DNF |
Klingelhoefer pulled up lame, leaving Pritchard to win by a yard and a half.
First round, heat 3
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Lécuyer (FRA) | walkover |
There was no competition in this heat, with the only hurdler advancing automatically.
Repechage
The two repechage heats consisted of all the hurdlers that had not qualified in the first round, except for the injured Adolphe Klingelhoefer, who withdrew. The winner of each heat joined the three top finishers of the first round in the final.
Repechage heat 1
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frederick Moloney (USA) | 17.0 s |
| 2 | William Lewis (USA) | (17.8) |
| 3 | Eugène Choisel (FRA) | Unknown |
Repechage heat 2
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John McLean (USA) | 17.0 s |
| 2 | William Remington (USA) | Unknown |
McLean won the second repechage heat easily to become the third person from the first preliminary heat to qualify for the final.
Final
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alvin Kraenzlein (USA) | 15.4 s WR |
| 2 | John McLean (USA) | (15.5) |
| 3 | Frederick Moloney (USA) | (15.6) |
| 4 | Jean Lécuyer (FRA) | Unknown |
| — | Norman Pritchard (IND) | DNF |
McLean had a lead early, due in part to the error of the starter; even so, Kraenzlein was able to catch and pass him to win the first athletics competition of the 1900 Games, and Moloney, a better hurdler than McLean, nearly caught him as well. All three of the American hurdlers had come from the first preliminary heat. Pritchard, the winner of the second heat, pulled up lame.
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.
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