1908 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus throw free style (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	Discus throw (free style)
gender	Men
place	White City Stadium
Attendees	42 athletes from 11 countries
Competition phase	July 16, 1908
Medalist
gold	Martin Sheridan ( USA )
silver	Merritt Giffin ( USA )
bronze	Bill Horr ( USA )

The men's free style discus throw at the 1908 London Olympics was decided on July 16, 1908 at the White City Stadium . On the morning of the same day a qualification took place, from which three athletes qualified for the competition.

This is the form of this discipline that is still common today. It was thrown from a circle 2.50 meters in diameter. The throwing technique with up to three turns corresponded to today's common discus throw. At the Games in London, the so-called Greek style discus throw was also on the Olympic program.

There was a triple US success. Martin Sheridan won the gold medal, silver went to Merritt Giffin and bronze to Bill Horr .

Records

The world records were still unofficial back then. With regard to the Olympic record , the question arises whether the Athens interludes should be included or not. Both variants are taken into account in the table below.

World record	42.645 m	United States	Arthur Dearborn	1908
Olympic record - counting without interludes	39.28 m	United States	Martin Sheridan	St. Louis Finale ( USA ), September 3, 1904
		United States	Ralph Rose
Olympic record - counting with interludes	41.46 m	United States	Martin Sheridan	Athens Final ( Greece ), April 25, 1906

Taking into account that the results of the Athens Intermediate Games are not counted, the following records were improved or set in this discipline at the 1908 Olympic Games:

OR	40.70 m	United States	Merritt Giffin	qualification
	40.89 m	United States	Martin Sheridan	final

Results

qualification

The qualification was held in six staggered groups. The results of these groups were combined. Only the best three participants in the qualification - highlighted in green - were able to contest the final competition. However, the performance achieved in the qualification was taken into account in the evaluation of the final result. In both the qualification and the final, the participants had three attempts each.

Group A

athlete	country	Width (m)
Wilbur Burroughs	United States	37.43
Platt Adams	United States	k. A.
Charles Lagarde	France
Ernest May	Great Britain
Henry Leeke	Great Britain
Walter Henderson	Great Britain
Alfred Flaxman	Great Britain
Ferenc Jesina	Hungary

Group B

athlete	country	Width (m)
Arthur Dearborn	United States	38.52
György Luntzer	Hungary	38.34
John Flanagan	United States	37.80
Mór Kóczán	Hungary	k. A.
Lauri Pihkala	Finland
Aarne Salovaara	Finland

Group C

athlete	country	Width (m)
Merritt Giffin	United States	40.70 OR
Michael Collins	Great Britain	k. A.
Lauri Wilskman	Finland
John Garrels	United States
Hugo Wieslander	Sweden
Miroslav Šustera	Bohemia

The above-mentioned Olympic record is only valid if one does not include the victory distance of 41.46 m achieved by Sheridan in the 1906 interludes.

Group D

athlete	country	Width (m)
Bill Horr	United States	39.44
André Tison	France	38.30
John Murray	Great Britain	k. A.
Simon Gillis	United States
Theodor Neijström	Sweden
František Souček	Bohemia
Nikolaos Georgandas	Greece

Group E

athlete	country	Width (m)
Imre Mudin	Hungary	k. A.
Jalmari Sauli	Finland
Elmer Niklander	Finland
Folke Fleetwood	Sweden
Ludwig Uettwiller	Germany

Group F.

athlete	country	Width (m)
Martin Sheridan	United States	40.58
Verner Järvinen	Finland	39.42
Lee Talbott	United States	38.40
Emil Welz	Germany	37.02
Edward Barrett	Great Britain	k. A.
Otto Nilsson	Sweden
Eric Lemming	Sweden
Michalis Dorizas	Greece
Umberto Avattaneo	Italy
John Falchenberg	Norway

Final and final result of the best team

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Martin Sheridan	United States	40.89 OR
2	Merritt Giffin	United States	40.70
3	Bill Horr	United States	39.45
4th	Verner Järvinen	Finland	39.42
5	Arthur Dearborn	United States	38.52
6th	Lee Talbott	United States	38.40
7th	György Luntzer	Hungary	38.34
8th	André Tison	France	38.30
9	John Flanagan	United States	37.80
10	Wilbur Burroughs	United States	37.43
11	Emil Welz	Germany	37.02

After the preliminary battle, Merritt Giffin led the field with his 40.70 m. But in the final, Martin Sheridan, who was thirteen centimeters behind him, outdid him with 40.89 m and thus repeated his Olympic victory in 1904 . Sheridan also won the competition at the Athens Intermediate Games in 1906 . Two days later, he won a third gold medal in the so-called Greek style discus throw, which is a one-time feature on the Olympic program. Bronze went to the fifth shot put by Marquis Bill Horr, who also won silver in the Greek-style discus throw. The Finnish winner of the Greek style throwing from the interludes Verner Järvinen took fourth place and two days later he was third behind Horr in the Greek style throwing. The current American world record holder Arthur Dearborn came in fifth .

As in the shot put, numerous athletes who were successful in discus or other disciplines did not make it into the top eight. Among them were the American Olympic champion in the standing vault of 1912 Platt Adams, the Greek Olympic third in the discus throw of 1904 Nikolaos Georgandas, the Swedish Olympic champion in the javelin throw of 1908 and 1912 Eric Lemming, the Swedish Olympic champion in the decathlon of 1912 Hugo Wieslander, the Finnish Olympic runner-up in the two-armed discus throw from 1912 Elmer Niklander and other athletes.

The above-mentioned Olympic record is only valid if one does not include the victory distance of 41.46 m achieved by Sheridan in the 1906 interludes.

In the sources there are some minor and two major deviations from the names and numbers listed above.

• Lee Talbot - In contrast to the information provided by Sports-Reference and Kluge , this is to be found at zur Megede among the throwers without a range specification, which means that all those placed behind are positioned one rank better at zur Megede .
• John Flanagan - as Talbot is listed in zur Megede under the throwers without indication of the distance, that means all those placed behind would be placed one position better with this author than with Sports-Reference and Kluge
• Marquis Bill Horr - Width indicated by Kluge by one centimeter less than the value mentioned above in Sports-Reference and for Megede
• Verner Järvinen - width indicated in zur Megede by one centimeter better than the value mentioned above in Sports-Reference and Kluge
• Emil Welz - width indicated in zur Megede by one centimeter less than the value mentioned above in Sports-Reference and Kluge

• 

  Double Olympic champion from 1908 Martin Sheridan, USA, also gold medalist in the discus throw from 1904 and from the interludes in 1906

• 

  Silver medalist Merritt Griffin, USA

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  The Olympic third Marquis Bill Horr, also Olympic runner-up in the discus throw, Greek style, and fifth in the shot put - here in 1907

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  The Finnish Olympic champion Verner Järvinen, also bronze medalist in the discus throw, Greek style, and winner of 1906 in the latter discipline

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  World record holder Arthur Dearborn - here as a shot putter - had to be content with fifth place

• 

  The American Lee Talbot - here at the hammer throw - was Olympic champion

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  The Hungarian Olympic seventh György Luntzer was active as a track and field athlete and wrestler

• 

  The Frenchman André Tison - here in 1912 as a shot putter - came in eighth

• 

  John Flanagan, USA - here in his special discipline hammer throw , in which he was three-time Olympic champion from 1900 to 1908 - came in ninth

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  The US Olympic tenth Wilbur Burroughs

• 

  The Swede Eric Lemming, clearly more successful as a javelin thrower , was eliminated in the qualification

• 

  The Hungarian Imre Mudin - here at the javelin throw, free grip - did not reach the final

• 

  The Finn Elmer Niklander, much more successful in upcoming games, failed to qualify

• 

  The US-American Simon Gillis, Olympic seventh in hammer throw, did not get beyond the preliminary fight

• 

  The Greek Nikolaos Georgandas, Olympic Knight from 1904, did not reach the final this time

• 

  Even for the American John Garrels, Olympic knight in the shot put, it was over after qualification

• 

  There was also no final for the Swedish decathlon Olympic champion from 1912 Hugo Wieslander

• 

  The American Olympic champion in the standing vault of 1912 Platt Adams, also in 1908 with top positions in the standing vaults, was eliminated in the preliminary fight

literature

• Volker Kluge , Olympic Summer Games - The Chronicle I, Berlin 1997 ( ISBN 3-328-00715-6 )
• Ekkehard zur Megede , The history of Olympic athletics, Volume 1: 1896–1936, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 2nd edition 1970

Web links

• Sports-Reference, Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's Discus Throw , accessed August 31, 2018
• Olympic Games London 1908, Athletics , IOC page on athletics at the 1908 Olympic Games at olympic.org, English, accessed 31 August 2018