1968 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	100 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	65 athletes from 42 countries
Competition location	Estadio Olímpico Universitario
Competition phase	October 13, 1968 (heats / quarter-finals) October 14 (semi-finals / finals)
Medalist Jim Hines ( USA )   Lennox Miller ( JAM )   Charles Greene ( USA )

The men's 100-meter run at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City was held on October 13 and 14, 1968 in the Estadio Olímpico Universitario . 65 athletes took part.

The American Jim Hines became Olympic champion . He won ahead of Jamaican Lennox Miller and Charles Greene from the USA.

Gert Metz , Karl-Peter Schmidtke and Gerhard Wucherer started for the Federal Republic of Germany - officially 'Germany' . While Metz was eliminated in the run-up, Schmidtke and Wucherer made it to the quarter-finals. Both failed there.
For the GDR - officially 'East Germany' - Heinz Erbstößer , Hartmut Schelter and Harald Eggers ran . All three survived the preliminary runs. Erbstößer was eliminated in the quarter-finals, Eggers and Schelter in the semifinals.
Switzerland was represented by Hansruedi Wiedmer, who failed in the preliminary run. Runners from Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Existing records

World record	9.9 s	Jim Hines ( USA )	Sacramento , USA	June 20, 1968
		Ronnie Ray Smith ( USA )
		Charles Greene ( USA )
Olympic record	10.0 s	Bob Hayes ( USA )	Tokyo finals , Japan	October 15, 1964

Conducting the competition

The athletes competed in the nine heats on October 13th. The three best runners and the five fastest runners below made it to the quarter-finals on the same day. From this, the four first placed reached the semi-finals on October 14th. Here, too, the first four qualified for the next round, the final, which took place on the same day.

Time schedule

October 13, 10 a.m .: Preliminaries
October 13, 4.30 p.m .: Quarter-finals
October 14, 4 p.m .: Semi-finals
October 14, 6 p.m .: Final

Note: All times are Mexico City local time ( UTC −6)

The directly qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue, the others in light green.

Preliminary round

Date: October 13, 1968, from 10 a.m.

Forward 1

Wind: +2.8 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Charles Greene	United States	10.0 s	10.09 s
2	Hideo Iijima	Japan	10.2 s	10.24 s
3	Canagasabai Kunalan	Singapore	10.4 s	10.47 s
4th	Wiesław Maniak	Poland	10.4 s	10.49 s
5	Barka Sy	Senegal	10.6 s	10.61 s

Forward 2

Wind: +0.8 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Jim Hines	United States	10.2 s	10.26 s
2	Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa	Madagascar	10.2 s	10.30 s
3	Gaoussou Koné	Ivory Coast	10.3 s	10.37 s
4th	Amos Omolo	Uganda	10.4 s	10.50 s
5	Porfirio Veras	Dominican Republic	10.5 s	10.51 s
6th	Julius Sang	Kenya	10.6 s	10.64 s
7th	Jorge Vizcarrondo	Puerto Rico	10.7 s	10.71 s
8th	Manuel Planchart	Venezuela	10.7 s	10.80 s

Forward 3

Wind: 0.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Enrique Figuerola	Cuba	10.3 s	10.40 s
2	Iván Moreno	Chile	10.5 s	10.53 s
3	Barrie Kelly	Great Britain	10.5 s	10.55 s
4th	Yevgeny Sinyayev	Soviet Union	10.5 s	10.56 s
5	Zenon Nowosz	Poland	10.5 s	10.57 s
6th	Charles Asati	Kenya	10.6 s	10.63 s
7th	Jimmy Sierra	Colombia	10.8 s	10.88 s

Forward 4

Wind: +0.6 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Pablo Montes	Cuba	10.1 s	10.14 s
2	Mel Pender	United States	10.3 s	10.35 s
3	Ron Jones	Great Britain	10.4 s	10.45 s
4th	Oleksiy Chlopotnov	Soviet Union	10.6 s	10.67 s
5	Norris Stubbs	Bahamas	10.8 s	10.91 s
6th	Chen Chuan show	Taiwan	10.8 s	10.88 s
7th	Philippe Housiaux	Belgium	10.9 s	10.94 s

Forward 5

Wind: +0.7 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Roger Bambuck	France	10.1 s	10.18 s
2	Heinz Erbstößer	GDR	10.4 s	10.42 s
3	Michael Ahey	Ghana	10.5 s	10.59 s
4th	Bernard Nottage	Bahamas	10.6 s	10.64 s
5	Ennio Preatoni	Italy	10.6 s	10.65 s
6th	Hansruedi Wiedmer	Switzerland	10.7 s	10.75 s
7th	Su Wen-ho	Taiwan	10.8 s	10.81 s

Forward 6

Wind: +3.8 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Lennox Miller	Jamaica	10.1 s	10.18 s
2	Hartmut Schelter	GDR	10.4 s	10.42 s
3	Manikavasagam Jegathesan	Malaysia	10.5 s	10.59 s
4th	Robert Ojo	Nigeria	10.6 s	10.64 s
5	Ron Monsegue	Trinidad and Tobago	10.6 s	10.65 s
6th	Rogelio Onofre	Philippines	10.7 s	10.75 s
DNF	Tom Robinson	Bahamas

Forward 7

Wind: +0.4 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Harry Jerome	Canada	10.3 s	10.35 s
2	Karl-Peter Schmidtke	BR Germany	10.3 s	10.38 s
3	Harald Eggers	GDR	10.3 s	10.38 s
4th	Kola Abdulai	Nigeria	10.4 s	10.45 s
5	Miguel Ángel González	Mexico	10.5 s	10.59 s
6th	Pablo McNeil	Jamaica	10.6 s	10.62 s
7th	Hassan El-Mech	Morocco	10.7 s	10.79 s
8th	Morgan Gesmalla	Sudan	11.0 s	11.09 s

Forward 8

Wind: 0.0 m / s

Eddy Monsels was the first Suriname athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. In 1960, the 800-meter runner Siegfried Esajas arrived, but missed his start.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Gérard Fenouil	France	10.3 s	10.35 s
2	Gerhard Wucherer	BR Germany	10.3 s	10.38 s
3	Marian Dudziak	Poland	10.3 s	10.38 s
4th	Vladislav Sapeja	Soviet Union	10.4 s	10.45 s
5	Eddy Monsels	Dutch Guiana	10.5 s	10.59 s
6th	Greg Lewis	Australia	10.6 s	10.62 s
7th	Félix Bécquer	Mexico	10.7 s	10.79 s
8th	Rafael Santos	El Salvador	11.0 s	11.09 s

Forward 9

Wind: 0.0 m / s

Juan Argüello was the first Nicaraguan athlete to compete in the Olympic Games.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Hermes Ramirez	Cuba	10.2 s	10.30 s
2	Andrés Calonge	Argentina	10.4 s	10.44 s
3	Jocelyn Delecour	France	10.4 s	10.45 s
4th	Gert Metz	BR Germany	10.5 s	10.55 s
5	Norman Chihota	Tanzania	10.5 s	10.57 s
6th	Horacio Esteves	Venezuela	10.6 s	10.65 s
7th	José Luis Sánchez	Spain	10.6 s	10.69 s
8th	Juan Argüello	Nicaragua	11.1 s	11.18 s

Quarter finals

The Japanese Hideo IIjima failed in the semifinals

Date: October 13, 1968, from 4.30 p.m.

Run 1

Wind: +1.8 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Lennox Miller	Jamaica	10.1 s	10.11 s
2	Jim Hines	United States	10.1 s	10.14 s
3	Enrique Figuerola	Cuba	10.2 s	10.23 s
4th	Iván Moreno	Chile	10.3 s	10.37 s
5	Andrés Calonge	Argentina	10.3 s	10.39 s
6th	Ron Jones	Great Britain	10.4 s	10.42 s
7th	Karl-Peter Schmidtke	BR Germany	10.4 s	10.48 s
8th	Vladislav Sapeja	Soviet Union	10.4 s	10.51 s

Run 2

Wind: +0.5 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Hermes Ramirez	Cuba	10.0 s	10.10 s	ORe
2	Mel Pender	United States	10.1 s	10.16 s
3	Roger Bambuck	France	10.1 s	10.17 s
4th	Harry Jerome	Canada	10.2 s	10.22 s
5	Heinz Erbstößer	GDR	10.2 s	10.28 s
6th	Gerhard Wucherer	BR Germany	10.3 s	10.33 s
7th	Kola Abdulai	Nigeria	10.3 s	10.38 s
8th	Michael Ahey	Ghana	10.4 s	10.49 s

Run 3

Wind: +4.2 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Pablo Montes	Cuba	10.1 s	10.16 s
2	Hartmut Schelter	GDR	10.2 s	10.29 s
3	Hideo Iijima	Japan	10.3 s	10.31 s
4th	Gérard Fenouil	France	10.3 s	10.31 s
5	Marian Dudziak	Poland	10.3 s	10.32 s
6th	Manikavasagam Jegathesan	Malaysia	10.3 s	10.38 s
7th	Amos Omolo	Uganda	10.4 s	10.45 s
8th	Robert Ojo	Nigeria	10.5 s	10.58 s

Run 4

Wind: +2.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Charles Greene	United States	10.0 s	10.02 s	ORe
2	Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa	Madagascar	10.1 s	10.18 s
3	Gaoussou Koné	Ivory Coast	10.2 s	10.22 s
4th	Harald Eggers	GDR	10.2 s	10.25 s
5	Barrie Kelly	Great Britain	10.3 s	10.35 s
6th	Jocelyn Delecour	France	10.3 s	10.36 s
7th	Canagasabai Kunalan	Singapore	10.4 s	10.38 s
8th	Eddy Monsels	Dutch Guiana	10.4 s	10.45 s

Semifinals

Bronze medal for Charles Greene, USA

Date: October 14, 1968, from 4 p.m.

Run 1

Wind: +1.9 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Jim Hines	United States	10.0 s	10.08 s	ORe
2	Roger Bambuck	France	10.1 s	10.11 s
3	Harry Jerome	Canada	10.1 s	10.17 s
4th	Mel Pender	United States	10.2 s	10.21 s
5	Enrique Figuerola	Cuba	10.2 s	10.23 s
6th	Hermes Ramirez	Cuba	10.2 s	10.25 s
7th	Harald Eggers	GDR	10.2 s	10.29 s
8th	Hideo Iijima	Japan	10.3 s	10.34 s

Run 2

Wind: 0.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Charles Greene	United States	10.1 s	10.13 s
2	Lennox Miller	Jamaica	10.1 s	10.15 s
3	Pablo Montes	Cuba	10.1 s	10.19 s
4th	Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa	Madagascar	10.2 s	10.26 s
5	Gaoussou Koné	Ivory Coast	10.2 s	10.27 s
6th	Iván Moreno	Chile	10.3 s	10.37 s
7th	Gérard Fenouil	France	10.3 s	10.40 s
8th	Hartmut Schelter	GDR	10.3 s	10.40 s

final

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Jim Hines	United States	9.9 s	9.95 s	WRe / OR
2	Lennox Miller	Jamaica	10.0 s	10.04 s
3	Charles Greene	United States	10.0 s	10.07 s
4th	Pablo Montes	Cuba	10.1 s	10.14 s
5	Roger Bambuck	France	10.1 s	10.15 s
6th	Mel Pender	United States	10.1 s	10.17 s
7th	Harry Jerome	Canada	10.1 s	10.20 s
8th	Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa	Madagascar	10.2 s	10.27 s

Date: October 14, 1968, 6:00 p.m.

Wind: +0.3 m / s

The US sprinters Jim Hines and Charlie Greene were favored. Each of the two was convinced that they would win the race. Like the experts, both saw the Jamaican Lennox Miller as their biggest competitor. In the preliminary rounds, the Olympic record was set once by Greene in the quarter-finals and then by Hines in the semifinals. Officially, these times were even world records at the time , but that was only because the IAAF only recognized the 9.9 seconds previously achieved by Hines, Ronnie Ray Smith and Greene as a record after the Olympic Games.
In the final, almost as expected, the fast-starting American Melvin Pender came out of the blocks the fastest. Pender stayed in front until halfway through the course, but then five of his opponents stormed past him, above all Jim Hines, who clearly won the race in the final meters. The victory time of 9.95 s was later the first electronically timed world record time recognized by the IAAF. At the time of the Olympic Games, records and leaderboards were still held in tenths of a second on the basis of hand stopping, so that the official winning time was 9.9 s. That meant a new Olympic record and the setting of the world record. Second was Lennox Miller and bronze went to Charlie Greene. The best European was the Frenchman Roger Bambuck in fifth place behind the Cuban Pablo Montes.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, pp. 332–335

Video

• Jim Hines Breaks The 10 Second Barrier For 100m Gold - Mexico 1968 Olympics , published June 19, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed November 2, 2017

Web links

• SportsReference 100 m , accessed November 2, 2017
• Official report of the Olympic Games 1968 p. 521, English / French. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF world records. 100 m men on rekorde-im-sport.de, accessed on November 2, 2017
2. ↑ Official report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 10, English / French (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Official Report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 521, engl./frz. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017 
4. ↑ Article in the blog caraibischelettern (nl.) , Accessed on November 2, 2017
5. ↑ SportsReference , accessed November 2, 2017