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Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the II Olympiad
Finish of the final
VenueBois de Boulogne
DatesJuly 14 (semifinals)
July 16 (final)
Competitors18 from 7 nations
Winning time2:01.2
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Alfred Tysoe
 Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) John Cregan
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) David Hall
 United States
← 1896
1904 →

The men's 800 metres was middle-distance running event on the athletics programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14 and July 16, 1900. The races were held on a track of 500 metres in circumference. 18 athletes from seven nations competed. The event was won by Alfred Tysoe of Great Britain, the nation's first medal in the event. The United States also won its first medals in the 800 metres, with silver and bronze.

Background

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This was the second appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the runners from 1896 returned. Among the favorites were Alexander Grant of the United States (1899 AAU one-mile champion) and Alfred Tysoe of Great Britain (1897 AAA one-mile champion).[1]

Bohemia, Denmark, Italy, and the United States appeared in the event for the first time. France, Great Britain, and Hungary each made their second appearance, having also appeared in 1896.

Competition format

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There were two rounds: heats and a final. There were three heats, of between 5 and 7 runners each. The top 2 runners in each heat advanced to the final.

Records

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

World record  Charles Kilpatrick (USA) 1:53.4 (y)(u) New York City, United States 21 September 1895
Olympic record  Edwin Flack (AUS) 2:10.0 Athens, Greece 6 April 1896

In the first heat of the first round David Hall set a new Olympic record with 1:59.0.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Saturday, 14 July 1900 10:15 Round 1
Monday, 16 July 1900 Final

Results

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Semifinals

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

Semifinal 1

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Hall's Olympic record time surprised most of those present, as Tysoe had been the favorite in the heat.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 David Hall  United States 1:59.0 Q, OR
2 Alfred Tysoe  Great Britain 1:59.4 Q
3 Howard Hayes  United States 2:00.2
4 Maurice Salomez  France Unknown
5 Christian Christensen  Denmark Unknown
6–7 Walter Drumheller  United States Unknown
Alexander Grant  United States Unknown

Semifinal 2

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Deloge finished three yards in front of Spiedl, with the other runners trailing.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Henri Deloge  France 2:00.6 Q
2 Zoltán Speidl  Hungary 2:01.1 Q
3 Justus Scrafford  United States 2:01.8
4–6 Emilio Banfi  Italy Unknown
Edward Bushnell  United States Unknown
Harrison Smith  United States Unknown

Semifinal 3

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Cregan won the slowest of the three heats by six yards.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 John Cregan  United States 2:03.0 Q
2 John Bray  United States 2:03.9 Q
3 Harvey Lord  United States 2:04.5
4–5 Edward Mechling  United States Unknown
Ondřej Pukl  Bohemia Unknown

Final

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Deloge led early, but was passed just before the final straight by Tysoe and Cregan. Hall, who had set an Olympic record in the heats, was just barely able to catch Deloge to finish third, but had no chance of passing the two leaders.

Rank Athlete Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Alfred Tysoe  Great Britain 2:01.2
2nd place, silver medalist(s) John Cregan  United States 2:03.0
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) David Hall  United States 2:03.8
4 Henri Deloge  France Unknown
5 Zoltán Speidl  Hungary Unknown
6 John Bray  United States Unknown

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Semifinals Final Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Alfred Tysoe  Great Britain 1:59.4 2:01.2
2nd place, silver medalist(s) John Cregan  United States 2:03.0 2:03.0
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) David Hall  United States 1:59.0 2:03.8 OR
4 Henri Deloge  France 2:00.6 Unknown
5 Zoltán Speidl  Hungary 2:01.1 Unknown
6 John Bray  United States 2:03.9 Unknown
7 Howard Hayes  United States 2:00.2 Did not advance
Justus Scrafford  United States 2:01.8
Harvey Lord  United States 2:04.5
10 Maurice Salomez  France Unknown 4th in semifinal
11 Edward Mechling  United States Unknown 4th–5th in semifinal
Ondřej Pukl  Bohemia Unknown 4th–5th in semifinal
13 Christian Christensen  Denmark Unknown 5th in semifinal
14 Emilio Banfi  Italy Unknown 4th–6th in semifinal
Edward Bushnell  United States Unknown 4th–6th in semifinal
Harrison Smith  United States Unknown 4th–6th in semifinal
17 Walter Drumheller  United States Unknown 6th–7th in semifinal
Alexander Grant  United States Unknown 6th–7th in semifinal

References

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  1. ^ "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2020.

Sources

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