1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 200 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	200 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	51 athletes from 28 countries
Competition location	Wembley Stadium
Competition phase	August 2, 1948 (preliminary / quarter-finals) August 3, 1948 (semi-finals / final)
Medalist Mel Patton ( USA )   Barney Ewell ( USA )   Lloyd LaBeach ( PAN )

The men's 200-meter race at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held at Wembley Stadium on August 2 and 3, 1948 . 51 athletes took part.

The American Mel Patton was Olympic champion ahead of his compatriot Barney Ewell . Lloyd LaBeach from Panama won bronze .

Existing records

• World record : 20.7 s - Jesse Owens ( USA ), Berlin , August 5, 1936 / Mel Patton ( USA ), Evanston , July 10, 1948
• Olympic record : 20.7 s - Jesse Owens ( USA ), Olympic final in Berlin , August 5, 1936

Conducting the competition

The runners started the preliminaries on August 2nd. A total of twelve runs were completed. The two best runners each qualified for the quarter-finals on the same day that the three best runners reached the semifinals. The two semi-finals, from which the first three starters qualified for the final, and the final were held on August 3rd.

Note: The qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue.

Prelims

August 2, 1948, 2.30 p.m.
Not all times have been recorded.

Forward 1

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Herb McKenley	Jamaica	21.3 s
2	Ted Haggis	Canada	22.2 s
3	Haukur Clausen	Iceland	22.2 s
4th	Stanley Lines	Bermuda	k. A.
5	Lipski	Poland	k. A.

Forward 2

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Paul Vallé	Great Britain	22.3 s
2	John De Saram	Ceylon	23.1 s
3	Bernabe Lovina	Philippines	23.2 s
4th	Stefanos Petrakis	Greece	k. A.

John De Saram was the first Sri Lankan athlete (then still known as Ceylon ) to take part in the Olympic Games.

Forward 3

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Rafael Fortun	Cuba	21.9 s
2	Dennis Shore	South African Union	22.1 s
3	Nuno Morais	Portugal	22.6 s
4th	Honest man	Argentina	k. A.
5	Phillips	India	k. A.

Forward 4

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Barney Ewell	United States	21.6 s
2	Abram van Heerden	South African Union	21.8 s
3	Angel García	Cuba	22.2 s
4th	Fernand Linssen	Belgium	k. A.
5	Hazzard Dill	Bermuda	k. A.
6th	Ali Salman	Kingdom of Iraq	k. A.

Forward 5

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Julien Lebas	France	22.0 s
2	Rosalvo Ramos	Brazil	22.2 s
3	Basil McKenzie	Jamaica	22.4 s

Forward 6

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Mel Patton	United States	21.6 s
2	Leslie Laing	Jamaica	21.8 s
3	Guillermo Geary	Argentina	23.0 s
4th	Duncan White	Ceylon	k. A.

Forward 7

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Gerardo Bönnhoff	Argentina	22.2 s
2	John Fairgrieve	Great Britain	22.2 s
3	Raúl Mazorra	Cuba	23.0 s
4th	Kemal Aksur	Turkey	k. A.
5	Guillermo Rodríguez	Mexico	k. A.

Forward 8

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Cliff Bourland	United States	21.3 s
2	Aroldo da Silva	Brazil	21.9 s
3	George Lewis	Trinidad and Tobago	22.4 s
4th	Walter Perez	Uruguay	k. A.
5	Peter Bloch	Norway	k. A.

Forward 9

Raşit Öztaş (with a US colleague) dropped out in the run-up

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	John Treloar	Australia	21.7 s
2	Muhammad Sharif Butt	Pakistan	22.8 s
3	Raşit Öztaş	Turkey	23.0 s
4th	Perry Johnson	Bermuda	k. A.

Forward 10

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Alastair McCorquodale	Great Britain	22.1 s
2	Santiago Ferrando	Peru	22.5 s
3	Fernand Bourgaux	Belgium	22.9 s
4th	Étienne Bally	France	k. A.

Forward 11

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Juan Lopez	Uruguay	22.1 s
2	Ivan Hausen	Brazil	22.2 s
3	Gabe Scholten	Netherlands	22.2 s
4th	Maung His Pe	Burma	k. A.

Forward 12

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Lloyd LaBeach	Panama	21.4 s
2	Jan Lammers	Netherlands	22.0 s
3	Donald Pettie	Canada	22.0 s
4th	Mario Fayos	Uruguay	k. A.
5	Joseph Stéphan	France	k. A.

Quarter finals

August 2, 1948, 4.15 p.m.
Not all times have been recorded.

Run 1

The British Alastair McCorquodale failed in the semifinals

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Herb McKenley	Jamaica	21.3 s
2	Barney Ewell	United States	21.8 s
3	Paul Vallé	Great Britain	22.1 s
4th	Jan Lammers	Netherlands	k. A.
5	Julien Lebas	France	k. A.
6th	Rosalvo Ramos	Brazil	k. A.

Run 2

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Cliff Bourland	United States	21.3 s
2	John Treloar	Australia	21.5 s
3	Aroldo da Silva	Brazil	22.0 s
4th	Gerardo Bönnhoff	Argentina	k. A.
5	Dennis Shore	South African Union	k. A.
6th	John De Saram	Ceylon	k. A.

Run 3

The Uruguayan Juan Lopéz did not make the quarter-finals.

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Lloyd LaBeach	Panama	21.7 s
2	Leslie Laing	Jamaica	21.8 s
3	Abram van Heerden	South African Union	22.9 s
4th	John Fairgrieve	Great Britain	k. A.
5	Santiago Ferrando	Peru	k. A.

Run 4

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Mel Patton	United States	21.4 s
2	Alastair McCorquodale	Great Britain	21.8 s
3	Rafael Fortun	Cuba	22.0 s
4th	Ivan Hausen	Brazil	22.3 s
5	Ted Haggis	Canada	k. A.
6th	Muhammad Sharif Butt	Pakistan	k. A.

Semifinals

August 3, 1948, 3:30 p.m.
Not all times have been recorded.

Run 1

Herb McKenley (JAM) finished fourth in the final

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Herb McKenley	Jamaica	21.4 s
2	Mel Patton	United States	21.6 s
3	Barney Ewell	United States	21.9 s
4th	Aroldo da Silva	Brazil	k. A.
5	Abram van Heerden	South African Union	k. A.
6th	Paul Vallé	Great Britain	k. A.

Run 2

Olympic champion Mel Patton (USA), here with his trainer Dean Cromwell

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Cliff Bourland	United States	21.5 s
2	Lloyd LaBeach	Panama	21.6 s
3	Leslie Laing	Jamaica	21.6 s
4th	John Treloar	Australia	k. A.
5	Alastair McCorquodale	Great Britain	k. A.
6th	Rafael Fortun	Cuba	k. A.

final

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Mel Patton	United States	21.1 s
2	Barney Ewell	United States	21.1 s
3	Lloyd LaBeach	Panama	21.2 s
4th	Herb McKenley	Jamaica	21.2 s
5	Cliff Bourland	United States	21.3 s
6th	Leslie Laing	Jamaica	21.6 s

August 3, 1948, 5:15 p.m.
The final was contested by three Americans, two Jamaicans and a sprinter from Panama. The American Barney Ewell, who won silver in the 100 meters , was the favorite as the reigning US champion. His compatriot Mel Patton, fifth over 100 meters, from whom at least a medal was expected there, caught Ewell out of the corner and was able to win with a wafer-thin margin. Lloyd LaBeach from Panama ran for his second bronze medal after the 100 meters.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, p. 16f

Web links

• SportsReference 200 m , accessed August 18, 2017
• Official report pp. 244–245, engl. (PDF), accessed on August 18, 2017
• London 1948, MEL PATTON 200m (amateur footage) on youtube.com, published June 9, 2016, accessed August 18, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ^ Official report "Athletic Timetable" , p. 240. (Eng.)
2. ^ Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, p. 16
3. ^ Official report "Athletic Timetable" , p. 240. (Eng.)
4. ^ Official report "Athletic Timetable" , p. 240. (Eng.)
5. ^ Official report "Athletic Timetable" , p. 240, engl. (PDF), accessed on August 19, 2017
6. ↑ Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, p. 17
7. ↑ SportsReference (Eng.)