Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics - Men's 400 metres

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The men's 400 metres race was the second-shortest of the flat-track events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The competition's preliminary round was the last held on the first day, 6 April. The competitors were split into two groups. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the final, which was held on the second day, 7 April.

7 athletes from 4 nations competed. 5 of those athletes were also in the 100 metres.

1 Medallists
2 Results
- 2.1 Heats
  - 2.1.1 Heat 1
  - 2.1.2 Heat 2
- 2.2 Final
3 References

[edit] Medallists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Tom Burke United States	Herbert Jamison United States	Charles Gmelin Great Britain

[edit] Results

[edit] Heats

The first round heats were held on 6 April. The top two placers in each of the two groups advanced.

[edit] Heat 1

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Herbert Jamison	United States	56.8 seconds
2	Fritz Hoffmann	Germany	58.6 seconds
3-4	Kurt Dörry	Germany	Unknown
3-4	Alphonse Grisel	France	Unknown

Herbert Jamison of the United States won the first heat with a time of 56.8 seconds, with Fritz Hoffmann of Germany coming in second.

Alphonse Grisel of France and Kurt Dörry of Germany also competed in this race, though their final positions are unclear.

Hoffmann and Grisel each had to run 402 metres after being penalized for false starts.

[edit] Heat 2

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Tom Burke	United States	58.4 seconds
2	Charles Gmelin	Great Britain	Unknown
3	Frantz Reichel	France	Unknown

Another American, Tom Burke, won the second heat with a time of 58.4 seconds despite being tired from already having run the 100 metres. Charles Gmelin placed second.

[edit] Final

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	Tom Burke	United States	54.2 seconds
2	Herbert Jamison	United States	55.2 seconds
3	Charles Gmelin	Great Britain	55.6 seconds
4	Fritz Hoffmann	Germany	55.6 seconds

The final resulted in the American pair taking the gold and silver medals. Gmelin placed third, with Hoffman finishing fourth.

[edit] References

Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at AAFLA.org)
Mallon, Bill; & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at AAFLA.org)
Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.