1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics

Athletics at the 1912 Olympics
information
venue	Olympic Stadium
Competition venue	Stockholm
Athletes	534
date	July 6 to July 15, 1912
decisions	30th
← London 1908 Antwerp 1920 →

Olympic Games 1912 (athletics medal table)
space	team				Total
1	United States	16	14th	11	31
2	Finland	6th	4th	3	13
3	Sweden	4th	5	6th	15th
4th	Great Britain	2	1	5	8th
5	Canada	1	2	2	5
6th	South African Union	1	1	-	2
7th	Greece	1	-	1	2
8th	Norway	1	-	-	1
9	Germany	-	2	-	2
	France	-	2	-	2
11	Hungary	-	-	1	1
	Italy	-	-	1	1

At the V Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912 , thirty competitions were held in athletics .

Games of breakthrough

After the previous Olympic Games in London had significantly advanced the Olympic movement in terms of audience interest , athlete participation, sports facilities, etc., the Games here in Stockholm represented a real breakthrough. Even before that, international attention, especially in the host country Sweden, was intense on the upcoming Event directed. The importance of the competitions had a lasting effect. For the first time, athletes from all five continents took part.

Stadion

The stadium for the athletics competitions was not oversized with space for 30,000 spectators. That had a very positive effect on the mood and tension at the competitions. The track was not as standardized as it is today, there was a cinder track 383 meters long with a very performance-enhancing quality.

Attendees

The exact number of participants is stated differently in different sources. The numbers vary between 534 and 556. They are made up of 26 nations. However, this posed a certain problem. Ireland z. B. was then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and officially started for Great Britain. It was different for Bohemia , which belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire , and also for Finland , which was part of the Russian Empire. Bohemia's and Finland's athletes could start for their own smaller nations, but had to march into the stadium together with Austria-Hungary and Russia when the invasion, which took place for the first time as a nation invasion.
Women were still not eligible. In athletics, female athletes were not admitted until the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam .

Competition program

As with all previous games, the competition offer brought some changes with it.

• The obstacle course , last held over a distance of 3200 meters, and the 400-meter hurdles course were temporarily canceled in the program . The Olympic relay , the 3500 meter walking and the two throwing disciplines discus throwing , antique style and javelin throwing were finally removed from the offer . free style.
• The following were replaced: the 5-mile run (8047 m) - by the 10,000-meter run , the 3-mile team run (4828 m) - by the 3000-meter team run and the 10-mile run (16.093 m ) - by walking 10,000 meters .
• New to the program were: the 5000-meter run , a cross-country run , the two relays over 4 x 100 meters and 4 x 400 meters , the three two-armed thrusting / throwing disciplines in the shot put , discus throw and javelin throw . The distances achieved with the better and the weaker push / throwing arm were added to the end result. These two-armed competitions were unique only here in Stockholm as part of the Olympic program. In addition, the all-around competition came up again, once as a pentathlon and the second as a decathlon .

The athletics offer slowly took on the framework that we know today. The two previously missing long-distance rail routes over 5000 and 10,000 meters were now included, as were the two seasons of today's events. In the running area, the intermittent disciplines of 400 meter hurdles and the obstacle course were missing. At that time there was also the cross-country run - which today would be called cross-country run, but has long since ceased to be Olympic. The disciplines in jumping, pushing and throwing were completely available as they are today. In addition, there were standing jumping competitions and two-armed pushing / throwing. The decathlon was also back in the program. The second all-around event was the pentathlon, which is no longer Olympic today.
What was still completely missing were offers for women's athletics.

Sporting successes

As in all previous games, the USA turned out to be by far the best nation . The Americans dominated with 16 gold medals and 42 total medals. Behind was little Finland with six Olympic victories, which was actually not yet independent and belonged to Russia . The host country Sweden followed with four gold medals, followed by Great Britain with two gold medals.
The most successful athlete was the Finnish long distance runner Hannes Kolehmainen . He was a three-time Olympic champion - 5000 meter run , 10,000 meter run , cross country run - and also won the silver medal in the 3000 meter team run with his Finnish compatriots.
The following athletes were two-time Olympic champions:

• Ralph Craig , USA - 100-meter run , 200-meter run
• Armas Taipale , Finland - discus throw with one arm, discus throw with both arms
• Jim Thorpe , USA - pentathlon , decathlon . The gold medals were subsequently withdrawn from him in 1913, but were then awarded again in 1982.
• Charles Reidpath , USA - 400-meter run , 4-by-400-meter relay
• Ted Meredith , USA - 800-meter run , 4-by-400-meter relay .

Results

100 m

Final run over 100 meters

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Ralph Craig	United States	10.8
2	Alvah Meyer	United States	10.9
3	Donald Lippincott	United States	10.9
4th	George Patching	RSA	10.9
5	Frank Belote	United States	10.9
DNS	Howard Drew	United States

Finale: July 7th

Donald Lippincott had set an Olympic record with 10.6 s in the run- up. Favorite Howard Drew qualified for the final, but tore his muscle in the semifinals and did not start. Ralph Craig, who never won a US title, became Olympic Sprint Champion .

200 m

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 200 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Ralph Craig	United States	21.7
2	Donald Lippincott	United States	21.8
3	Willie Applegarth	GBR	22.0
4th	Richard Rau	GER	22.2
5	Charles Reidpath	United States	22.2
6th	Donnell Young	United States	22.3

Finale: July 11th

Eighty meters from the finish, the 100-meter Olympic champion Ralph Craig stormed powerfully to the top and also retained the upper hand against the attack of his compatriot Donald Lippincott. It was also very close behind that. William Applegarth was third ahead of Richard Rau from Berlin .

400 m

Charles Reidpath at the finish just ahead of Hanns Braun

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Charles Reidpath	United States	48.2 OR
2	Hanns Braun	GER	48.3
3	Edward Lindberg	United States	48.4
4th	Ted Meredith	United States	49.2
5	Carroll Haff	United States	49.5

Finale: July 13th

In contrast to the preliminary and intermediate runs, in which, as four years earlier, in 1908 in London there was a hard fight and a disqualification, the final was held on marked lanes. This benefited the German Hanns Braun, who had to assert himself here against four Americans. In the interim run, Braun was so unfairly harassed by the one USA runner that he - Donnell Young - was disqualified. In the final there was equal opportunities and in a close race Charles Reidpath won ahead of Hanns Braun and Edward Lindberg.

800 m

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 800 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Ted Meredith	United States	1: 51.9 WR
2	Mel Sheppard	United States	1: 52.0
3	Ira Davenport	United States	1: 52.0
4th	Mel Brock	CAN	1: 52.7
5	David Caldwell	United States	1: 52.8
6th	Hanns Braun	GER	1: 53.1
7th	Clarence Edmundson	United States	1: 53.8
8th	Herbert Putnam	United States	k. A.

Finale: July 8th

Six Americans competed in this final against a Canadian and a German. The US runners worked together skillfully tactically, but there were no unfair actions at any point. In the end there was a triple victory for her and a world record for the winner, whose correct name was actually James Edwin Meredith. When he won the Olympic Games, he was not yet 20 years old.

1500 m

Arnold Jackson won the 1500 meter run ahead of Abel Kiviat

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 1500 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Arnold Jackson	GBR	3: 56.8 OR
2	Abel Kiviat	United States	3: 56.9
3	Norman Taber	United States	3: 56.9
4th	John Paul Jones	United States	3: 57.2
5	Ernst Wide	SWE	3: 57.6
6th	Philip Baker	GBR	4: 01.0
7th	John Zander	SWE	4: 02.0
8th	Henri Arnaud	FRA	4: 02.2

Finale: July 10th

In the final, the 1908 Olympic champion Melvin Sheppard took the lead. In the meantime, Henri Arnaud moved forward. At the beginning of the last lap Abel Kiviat pushed hard, but Norman Taber, Arnold Jackson, John Paul Jones and initially Melvin Sheppard, who then fell back, were able to follow. It got dramatic in the last fifty meters. The three Americans were ahead, then left a gap that Jackson pushed into and ultimately fought for victory with Taber. Only the target photograph could then decide which of the two had won. This technique was first used in this race at the Olympic Games to determine the winner.

There are different results for this race in the various sources from sixth place onwards. Partly look completely different than shown here. What is actually true is hardly comprehensible any more. Since, according to the variant chosen here, there are also time specifications, it could be the one with the highest probability of correctness. .

5000 m

Hannes Kolehmainen crossed the finish line after a tough fight in front of Jean Bouin

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 5000 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Hannes Kolehmainen	FIN	14: 36.6 WR
2	Jean Bouin	FRA	14: 36.7
3	George Hutson	GBR	15: 07.6
4th	George Bonhag	United States	15: 09.8
5	Tell Berna	United States	15: 10.0
6th	Mauritz Carlsson	SWE	15: 18.6
7th	Louis Scott	United States	k. A.
8th	Alexander Decoteau	CAN

Finale: July 10th

The race turned into a duel between Hannes Kolehmainen and Jean Bouin. The Finn ensured a high pace from the start, only Bouin was able to follow him and now accelerated himself. But he couldn't shake Kolehmainen. At the beginning of the last lap, Bouin pushed again, but on the back straight Kolehmainen took the lead again. Only in the last twenty meters could the Finn narrowly prevail against the French. Both runners stayed almost half a minute below the previous world record .

10,000 m

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 10,000 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Hannes Kolehmainen	FIN	31: 20.8 OR
2	Lewis Tewanima	United States	32: 06.6
3	Albin Stenroos	FIN	32: 21.8
4th	Joe Keeper	CAN	32: 36.2
5	Alfonso Orlando	ITA	33: 31.2

Finale: July 8th

Since the Frenchman Jean Bouin , two days later Olympic runner-up over 5000 meters , did without the 10,000 meters , there were no serious opponents for Hannes Kolehmainen and he won the race by over 45 seconds. Officially, his time was initially even rated as a world record . However, Jean Bouin was the first ever to run faster than 31 minutes with 30: 58.8 minutes in November 1911. It was only in 1926 that the Frenchman's time was subsequently recognized as a world record.

Six of the eleven runners who competed in the final did not reach the finish line, and four actually qualified athletes did not even make it to the final after the heats.

marathon

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - marathon (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	Ken McArthur	RSA	2: 36: 54.8
2	Christopher Gitsham	RSA	2: 37: 52.0
3	Gaston Strobino	United States	2: 38: 42.4
4th	Andrew Sockalexis	United States	2: 42: 07.9
5	James Duffy	CAN	2: 42: 18.8
6th	Sigfrid Jacobsson	SWE	2: 43: 24.9
7th	John Gallagher	United States	2: 44: 19.4
8th	Joseph Erxleben	United States	2: 45: 47.4

Date: July 14th
Distance: 40.2 kilometers

For the first time at the Olympic Games, the marathon was run with a turning point. The start and finish were in the stadium. At the turning point, Christopher Gitsham led Tatu Kolehmainen , who later had to retire. Kenneth McArthur was already in third place, making up more and more ground and overtaking Gitsham when he stopped to drink a glass of water. This order did not change until the finish.

There was a lot of drama in this race. The Portuguese Francisco Lázaro was the first athlete to die as a result of completing his competition during the modern Olympic Games. To protect himself from the sun he had rubbed himself with wax and could no longer sweat. Due to the completely disturbed electrolyte balance and the heating, he collapsed exhausted. Treatment in a clinic could not prevent his death the following day either.

110 m hurdles

The 110 meter hurdles with the leading Fred Kelly

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 110 m hurdles (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Fred Kelly	United States	15.1
2	James Wendell	United States	15.2
3	Martin Hawkins	United States	15.3
4th	John Case	United States	15.3
5	Kenneth Powell	GBR	15.5
DNF	John Nicholson	United States

Finale: July 12th

Eleven preliminary runs were carried out over 110 m hurdles , in which only two participants were eliminated ...
Five US Americans and one British qualified for the final. John Nicholson and James Wendell were just ahead halfway through the track when Nicholson collided with a hurdle and completely lost his rhythm. Fred Kelly then overtook Wendell and became Olympic champion. His time was a tenth of a second above the world and Olympic records of his predecessor Forrest Smithson .
The dominance of the US athletes in the Olympic Games was impressively continued here. It was her third triple success in a row. All Olympic champions by then were US Americans and they had won thirteen of the fourteen medals awarded.

4 × 100 m relay

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 100 m (men)

space	country	Athletes	Time (s)
1	Great Britain	David Jacobs Henry Macintosh Victor d'Arcy Willie Applegarth	42.4
2	Sweden	Ivan Möller Charles Luther Ture Person Knut Lindberg	42.6
DSQ	German Empire	Otto Röhr Max Herrmann Erwin Kern Richard Rau

The German final runner Richard Rau (right) crosses the finish line behind Victor d'Arcy, but the German relay is later disqualified

Finale: July 9th

The German relay set a new world record in the semifinals with 42.3 seconds , but failed in the final due to a faulty change after the German final runner had reached the finish line roughly on a par with the British. A bronze medal was not awarded because only three seasons had qualified for the final. Sweden received the silver medal.

Concerning. after the disqualification there was a lot of confusion. Photos from a Swedish daily newspaper showed that the switch in question had actually taken place regularly. So the German team lodged a protest, which was not granted, as the decision of three judges was to be accepted as a factual decision.

4 × 400 m relay

The winning US season over 4 × 400 meters , from left to right: Charles Reidpath, Edwar Lindberg, James Meredith and Melvin Sheppard

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 400 m (men)

space	country	Athletes	Time (min)
1	United States	Mel Sheppard Edward Lindberg Ted Meredith Charles Reidpath	3: 16.6 WR
2	France	Charles Lelong Robert Schurrer Pierre Failliot Charles Poulenard	3: 20.7
3	Great Britain	George Nicol Ernest Henley James Soutter Cyril Seedhouse	3: 23.2

Final: July 15th

The victorious US season started as a huge favorite. Starting runner Melvin Sheppard, three-time Olympic champion in 1908 , was a semi-finalist over 400 meters , the first two over 400 meters Edward Lindberg - second runner - and Charles Reidpath - final runner - were part of this season and finally James Meredith, the Olympic champion over 800 meters as third runner . A new world record was also set here with 3: 16.6 min .

3000 m team

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 3000 m team (men)

space	country	Athletes	Place number
1	United States	Tell Berna (1st - 8: 44.6) Norman Taber (3rd - 8: 45.2) George Bonhag (5th - 8: 46.6) not counted: Abel Kiviat ( DNF ) Louis Scott ( DNF )	09
2	Sweden	Thorild Olsson (2nd - 8: 44.6) Ernst Wide (4th - 8: 46.2) Bror Fock (7th - 8: 47.2) not counted: John Zander (10th - 8: 48.9 ) Nils Frykberg (11th - 8th: 49.0)	13
3	Great Britain	Joe Cottrill (6th - 8th: 46.8) George Hutson (8th - 9th: 47.2) Cyril Porter (9th - 8: 48.0) not counted: Edward Owen (12th - n / a ) William Moore ( DNF )	23

Finale: July 13th

Each country could start with up to five participants. As in the team runs of the previous games, the pure placement of the best three in each country was rated. These placements were added up and the order resulted from the lowest sums.
With 8: 36.9 minutes, Hannes Kolehmainen had set a new 3000 meter world record in the lead- up. Nevertheless, the Finns were eliminated here against the overall stronger runners of the USA .

Cross country running

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Cross Country (men)

The cross-country run, known in English-speaking countries and also today as cross-country run, was held here as an Olympic competition for the first time. There was an individual and a team classification. The discipline was on the Olympic program up to and including 1924 and was then canceled. The length of the course of Stockholm is given in many sources as about 8000 meters. However, this seems difficult to understand due to the times achieved, because then the participants would have to sneak across the route rather than run. A comparison with the times achieved at the Olympic Games in 1920 also makes it clear that the route here in Stockholm must have been considerably longer.

Date: July 8th

Individual evaluation

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Hannes Kolehmainen	FIN	45: 11.6
2	Hjalmar Andersson	SWE	45: 44.8
3	John Eke	SWE	46: 37.6
4th	Jalmari Eskola	FIN	46: 54.8
5	Josef Ternström	SWE	47: 07.1
6th	Albin Stenroos	FIN	47: 23.4
7th	Ville Kyrönen	FIN	47: 32.0
8th	Leonard Richardson	RSA	47: 33.5

First there was the duel between Hannes Kolehmainen and Jean Bouin like over 5000 meters . The Frenchman suddenly lost contact on the track, although he was actually considered a specialist in such races. I.a. he had won the Cross of Nations in 1911 and 1912. Then Bouin gave up and Kolehmainen won his third gold medal at these games by more than half a minute.

Team ranking

space	country	Athletes	Place number
1	Sweden	Hjalmar Andersson (2nd - 45: 44.8) John Eke (3rd - 46: 37.6) Josef Ternström (5th - 47: 07.1)	10
2	Finland	Hannes Kolehmainen (1st - 45: 11.6) Jalmari Eskola (4th - 46: 54.8) Albin Stenroos (6th - 47: 23.4)	11
3	Great Britain	Frederick Hibbins (15th - 49: 18.2) Ernest Glover (16th 49: 53.7) Thomas Humphreys (18th - 50: 28.0)	49
4th	Norway	Olaf Hovdenak (19th - 50: 40.8) Parelius Finnerud (20th - 51: 16.2) Johannes Andersen (22nd - 51: 47.4)	61
5	Denmark	Lauritz Christiansen (14 - 49: 06.4) Viggo Pedersen (23 - 53: 00.8) Gerhard Topp (26 - 54: 24.9)	63

Five out of six teams came into the ranking, which, as in the 3,000-meter team run, was based on the number of places alone.

10,000 m walking

The referees checked the walkers precisely, here George Golding in the lead ahead of Ernest Webb

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 10,000 m walking (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	George Goulding	CAN	46: 28.4 WR
2	Ernest Webb	GBR	46: 50.4
3	Fernando Altimani	ITA	47: 37.6
4th	Aage Rasmussen	THE	48: 00.0
DNF	Vilhelm Gylche	THE
	Frederick Kaiser	United States
	William Palmer	GBR
DSQ	Thomas Dumbill	GBR
	Arthur St. Norman	RSA
	William Yates	GBR

Finale: July 8th

Ernest Webb - in 1908 in London both silver in the two walking competitions at the time - had to put up with second place again. The winner was the Canadian George Goulding - in 1908 fourth in the 3500 meter walk and 22nd in the marathon at that time .

Of the ten finalists who took part, only four made it to the finish. Three walkers gave up and three others were disqualified under the hawk eyes of the judges for impure walking style.

high jump

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - high jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Alma Richards	United States	1.93 OR
2	Hans Liesche	GER	1.91
3	George Horine	United States	1.89
4th	Egon Erickson	United States	1.87
	Jim Thorpe	United States
6th	Harry grumbles	United States	1.85
	John Johnstone	United States
8th	Karl-Axel Kullerstrand	SWE	1.83

Finale: July 8th

The real favorite in this competition was George Horine, who in May was the first jumper ever to break the 2-meter mark and thus took on the world record here. He had his own jumping style, in contrast to everyone else, he didn't run from the front, but from the left side and then curled himself over the bar in the so-called western roll , while the 'shear jump' was otherwise common. But Horine didn't get past six feet, with which he won the bronze medal. Up front there was a duel between Hans Liesche and Alma Richards. Liesche had crossed 1.91 m in the second attempt, which Richards only succeeded in the third attempt. But the American mastered 1.93 m, on which Liesche failed three times, and was Olympic champion.

Pole vault

Olympic pole vault champion Harry Babcock

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - pole vault (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Harry Babcock	United States	3.95 OR
2	Frank Nelson	United States	3.85
	Marc Wright	United States
4th	Bertil Uggla	SWE	3.80
	William Halpenny	CAN
	Frank Murphy	United States
7th	Samuel Bellah	United States	3.75
8th	Frank Coyle	United States	3.65
	Gordon Dukes	United States	3.65
	Bill Fritz	United States	3.65

Finale: July 11th

In the pole vault , as in many other disciplines, there was a great dominance of the US athletes. Only three of the eleven finalists did not come from the USA and actually if they shared second place the three medals were distributed among the USA jumpers. For inexplicable reasons, however, the organizers decided to award a bronze medal to each of the three fourth-placed. The numerous equal rankings result u. a. from the fact that at that time there was no rule for multiple attempts.
Among the participants was the first four-meter jumper in history. Marc Wright had improved the world record to 4.02 m in June 2012 . Together with Frank Nelson he won the silver medal after jumping 3.85 m. Gold went to Harry Babcock with 3.95 m.
The qualitative further development of the pole vault is also evident from the fact that the seventh placed still surpassed the previous Olympic record of 3.71 m - achieved in London in 1908 .

Long jump

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - long jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Albert Gutterson	United States	7.60 OR
2	Calvin Bricker	CAN	7.21
3	Georg Åberg	SWE	7.18
4th	Harry Worthington	United States	7.03
5	Eugene Mercer	United States	6.97
6th	Fred Allen	United States	6.94
7th	Jim Thorpe	United States	6.89
8th	Robert Pasemann	GER	6.82

Finale: July 13th

Initially, there were three groups of jumping, there were no preliminary fights. The three best then each had three more attempts. Olympic champion Albert Gutterson reached 7.60 m in the first round and was only one centimeter below the world record of Irishman Peter O'Connor , whose record achievement was only recognized later. Gutterson couldn't improve any further, but would have won Olympic gold with his two next best attempts - 7.48 m and 7.25 m.

Triple jump

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Triple Jump (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Gustaf Lindblom	SWE	14.76
2	Georg Åberg	SWE	14.51
3	Erik Almlöf	SWE	14.17
4th	Erling Vinne	NOR	14.14
5	Platt Adams	United States	14.09
6th	Edvard Larsen	NOR	14.06
7th	Hjalmar Ohlsson	SWE	14.01
8th	Nils Fixdal	NOR	13.96

Final: July 15th

This was the discipline of the athletes from the host country. Half of the first ten were Swedes, three other jumpers came from Norway. All three medals stayed in Sweden. But Tim Ahearnes Olympic record of 1908 with 14.92 m and especially Dan Ahearns world record over 15.52 m - Dan Ahearn and Tim Ahearne were brothers despite different spelling - remained untouched.

Standing vault

Platt Adams, winner in standing vault and silver medalist in  standing long jump

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Standing vault (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Platt Adams	United States	1.63
2	Ben adams	United States	1.60
3	Konstantinos Tsiklitiras	GRE	1.55
4th	Richard Byrd	United States	1.50
	Leo Goehring	United States
	Edvard Möller	SWE

Finale: July 13th

Ray Ewry , who had dominated the standing jump competitions in the previous games , had retired from active competitive sports. His Olympic record was not reached here. His successors were the brothers Platt and Ben Adams, who won gold and silver medals here. Konstantinos Tsiklitiras - second in London in 1908 - won bronze.

The high jump from standing was held for the last time.

Stand long jump

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - standing long jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Konstantinos Tsiklitiras	GRE	3.37
2	Platt Adams	United States	3.36
3	Ben adams	United States	3.28
4th	Gustaf Malmsten	SWE	3.20
5	Leo Goehring	United States	3.14
6th	Edvard Möller	SWE	3.14
7th	András Baronyi	HUN	3.13
8th	Richard Byrd	United States	3.12

8th of July

Ray Ewry , who had dominated the standing jump competitions in the previous games , had retired from active competitive sports. His Olympic record was not reached here. As in the standing vault , the brothers Platt and Ben Adams each won a medal, for Platt it was silver, for Ben bronze. Konstantinos Tsiklitiras - already second in London in 1908 - won the gold medal here.

The long jump from standing was held for the last time.

The shot put medalist, v. l. No. : Pat McDonald (gold, two-armed: silver), Lawrence Whitney (bronze, two-armed: fourth) and Ralph Rose (silver, two-armed: gold)

Shot put

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Shot Put (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Pat McDonald	United States	15.34 OR
2	Ralph Rose	United States	15.25
3	Lawrence Whitney	United States	13.93
4th	Elmer Niklander	FIN	13.65
5	George Philbrook	United States	13.13
6th	Imre Mudin	HUN	12.81
7th	Einar Nilsson	SWE	12.62
8th	Patrick Quinn	GBR	12.53

Finale: July 10th

In the shot put there was a two-class society, in front the two Americans Pat McDonald and Ralph Rose, behind them the rest of the field. The 1908 Olympic champion Rose led up to the third round with initially 14.98 m and then 15.25 m. Rose also held the world record with 15.54 m . But with his fourth attempt, McDonald exceeded him, reaching 15.34 m here. Pat McDonald remained active in the sport for more than two decades, winning his last American championship in 1933 in weight throwing at the age of 46.

Both armed shot put

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Ambidextrous shot put (men)

space	athlete	country	Partial widths (m)	End width (m)
1	Ralph Rose	United States	15.23 / 12.47	27.70 OR
2	Pat McDonald	United States	15.08 / 12.45	27.53
3	Elmer Niklander	FIN	14.71 / 12.43	27.14
4th	Lawrence Whitney	United States	13.48 / 10.61	24.09
5	Einar Nilsson	SWE	12.52 / 10.85	23.37
6th	Paavo Aho	FIN	12.72 / 10.58	23.30
7th	Mığır Mığıryan	DOOR	10.85 / 8.93	19.78

July 11th

As with the two-armed discus and javelin throw , the participants had three attempts each with their left and right hands. The final result of the preliminary round was calculated by adding up the best distances. The best three bumpers then completed a further three attempts per hand to determine the medal ranks, taking into account the results of the first round.

The Finn Elmer Niklander improved significantly in the two-arm push. But here, too, the two Americans Pat McDonald and Ralph Rose dominated - but now in reverse order: Rose won ahead of McDonald.

The competition was part of the Olympic program only once.

The two-time Olympic champion Armas Taipale, also gold with both arms

Discus throw

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Armas Taipale	FIN	45.21 OR
2	Richard Byrd	United States	42.32
3	James Duncan	United States	42.28
4th	Elmer Niklander	FIN	42.09
5	Hans Tronner	AUT	41.24
6th	Arlie Mucks	United States	40.93
7th	George Philbrook	United States	40.92
8th	Emil Magnusson	SWE	39.91

Finale: July 12th

Armas Taipale performed here with a new throwing technique. He was the first to use his legs and hips intensively when turning and dropping and was clearly ahead of his competitors with his width. James Duncan, world record holder with 47.58 m, had to be satisfied with the bronze medal. Richard Byrd exceeded him by four centimeters.

Discus throw with both arms

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - two-armed discus throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Partial widths (m)	End width (m)
1	Armas Taipale	FIN	44.68 / 38.18	82.86 OR
2	Elmer Niklander	FIN	44.68 / 38.18	77.96
3	Emil Magnusson	SWE	40.58 / 36.79	77.37
4th	Einar Nilsson	SWE	40.99 / 30.51	71.40
5	James Duncan	United States	39.78 / 31.35	71.13
6th	Emil Muller	United States	39.93 / 29.73	69.56
7th	Folke Fleetwood	SWE	36.95 / 31.27	68.22
8th	Carl Johan Lind	SWE	34.20 / 33.82	68.02

July 13th

As with the two-armed shot put and javelin throw , participants had three attempts each with their left and right arms. The final result of the preliminary round was calculated by adding up the best distances. The best three throwers then completed another three attempts per arm to determine the medal ranks, taking into account the results of the first round.

Also in this competition the Finn Armas Taipale dominated the competition and achieved the best distance with both arms. There was even a Finnish double victory, Elmer Niklander, the fourth of the two-armed discus throw won silver and since the Swede Emil Magnusson came third, the US athletes left the ring without medals.

The competition was part of the Olympic program only once.

Hammer throw

Olympic champion Matt McGrath

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - hammer throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Matt McGrath	United States	54.74 OR
2	Duncan Gillis	CAN	48.39
3	Clarence Childs	United States	48.17
4th	Robert Olsson	SWE	46.50
5	Carl Johan Lind	SWE	45.61
6th	Denis Carey	GBR	43.78
7th	Nils Linde	SWE	43.32
8th	Carl Jahnzon	SWE	42.58
	Ralph Rose	United States

Finale: July 14th

The outstanding thrower of this competition was the 1908 Olympic runner-up Matthew McGrath. With an Olympic record and a lead of more than six meters over his opponents, he won the gold medal at the age of 35, which is a bit advanced for a competitive athlete.

Javelin throw

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Javelin Throw (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Eric Lemming	SWE	60.64 OR
2	Juho Saaristo	FIN	58.66
3	Mór Kóczán	HUN	55.50
4th	Juho Halme	FIN	54.65
5	Väinö Siikaniemi	FIN	52.43
6th	Richard Åbrink	SWE	52.20
7th	Arne Halse	NOR	51.98
8th	Jonni Myyra	FIN	51.33

Date: July 6th

In the javelin throw , there was a duel between the Finnish world record holder Juho Saaristo, who had achieved the world record distance of 61.45 m in June 2012 , and the Swedish Olympic champion from 1908 Eric Lemming, whose annual best before these Olympic Games was 57.45 m. But in contrast to Saaristo, Lemming was able to improve and became Olympic champion with the Olympic record of 60.64 m before Saaristo, who achieved a very good 58.66 m.
Eric Lemming's Olympic history began in Paris in the 1900s , where he finished fourth in the pole vault and fifth in the high jump . At the Olympic Intermediate Games in 1906 , Lemming had won the two newly introduced competitions in javelin throwing (central grip / free grip) - at that time still known as 'Gerwurf' - which he had repeated at the Olympic Games in 1908 .

Juho Saaristo - Javelin throw, one arm: silver / two arms: gold

Javelin throw (two-armed)

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - two-armed javelin throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Partial widths (m)	End width (m)
1	Juho Saaristo	FIN	61.00 OR / 48.42	109.42 OR
2	Väinö Siikaniemi	FIN	54.09 / 47.04	101.13
3	Urho Peltonen	FIN	53.58 / 46.66	100.24
4th	Eric Lemming	SWE	58.33 / 40.26	098.59
5	Arne Halse	NOR	55.05 / 41.87	096.92
6th	Richard Åbrink	SWE	50.04 / 43.08	093.12
7th	Daniel Johansen	NOR	48.78 / 44.04	092.82
8th	Otto Nilsson	SWE	50.21 / 38.69	088.90

Date: July 9th

As with the two-armed shot put and discus throw , participants had three attempts each with their left and right arms. The final result of the preliminary round was calculated by adding up the best distances. The best three throwers then completed another three attempts per arm to determine the medal ranks, taking into account the results of the first round.

In a two-armed javelin throw , Juho Saaristo was able to turn the order in his favor. He won by a huge margin and improved the Olympic record in the javelin throw with his best arm to a smooth 61 meters

The competition was part of the Olympic program only once.

Pentathlon

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Pentathlon (men)

space	athlete	country	Place number
1	Jim Thorpe	United States	07th
	Ferdinand Bie	NOR	21st
2	James Donahue	United States	29
3	Frank Lukeman	CAN	29
4th	Austin Menaul	United States	30th
5	Avery Brundage	United States	31
6th	Hugo Wieslander	SWE	32

Date: July 7th

26 athletes started the competition. The pentathlon consisted of the long jump , javelin , 200-meter run , discus throw and 1500-meter run . The 21 best up to then were admitted to the fourth discipline, and only the seven best to the fifth. The scoring consisted of the addition of the athletes' respective placements in the various disciplines. In the event of a tie, the number of points in the decathlon table decided on the placement. James Donahue (3475.865 P) received the silver medal ahead of Frank Lukeman (3396.975 P).

Original Olympic champion Jim Thorpe was disqualified from the IOC in 1913 for breaking amateur rules at a baseball game. This disqualification was found null and void by the IOC in 1982 and Thorpe was declared a joint Olympic champion with Ferdinand Bie. In 1983 his children received replicas of the gold medal on behalf of the athlete who died in 1953.

Decathlon

Jim Thorpe, who was still recognized as an Olympic champion after his death

→ Main article : 1912 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Decathlon (men)

space	athlete	country	P - official value.	P - 85 value.
1	Jim Thorpe	United States	8412,955 WR	6564
	Hugo Wieslander	SWE	7724,495	5966
2	Charles Lomberg	SWE	7413,510	5722
3	Gösta Holmér	SWE	7347.855	5768
4th	James Donahue	United States	7083,450	5701
5	Eugene Mercer	United States	7074.995	5825
6th	Valdemar Wickholm	FIN	7058.795	5613
7th	Erik Kugelberg	SWE	6758.780	5345
8th	Karl stop	GER	6682,445	5286

Date: July 13-15

The disciplines of the decathlon and their order were then the same as they are today. However, the competition was spread over three days. As in the pentathlon, Jim Thorpe was the clearly dominant athlete. With 8412.955 points, he set a new world record . The valuation at that time was based on the Olympic records , which was a starting value of 1000 points. According to the current table from 1985, Thorpe scored the equivalent of 6564 points.

Original Olympic champion Jim Thorpe was disqualified from the IOC in 1913 for breaking amateur rules at a baseball game. This disqualification was found null and void by the IOC in 1982 and Thorpe was declared a joint Olympic champion with Hugo Wieslander. In 1983 his children received replicas of the gold medal on behalf of the athlete who died in 1953.

For a better classification of the performance, the converted points according to today's rating system are also given.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The history of Olympic athletics, Volume 1: 1896–1936, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 2nd edition 1970

Individual evidence

1. ^ Stockholm 1912. The Deep Fall of "Jim" Thorpe , RP Online July 23, 2004, accessed December 18, 2017

Web links

• IOC website on athletics at the 1912 Olympic Games at olympic.org, accessed July 28, 2017
• Stockholm 1912 from olympia-lexikon.de, accessed on July 28, 2017
• Institute for Sports History of the German Sport University Cologne, The 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm - "Patriotic" Games as a breakthrough for the Olympic movement , dissertation by Ansgar Molzberger, Cologne 2010 (PDF), accessed on July 28, 2017
• Stockholm 1912. Harmonious Games in Sweden from Wissen.de, accessed on July 28, 2017
• Stockholm 1912: Coubertin's "Ode to Sport" on sportschau.de, accessed on July 28, 2017