Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles

The men's 110 metres hurdles was the shorter of two hurdling events at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. It was dominated by the American runners. The competition was held from Thursday, July 23, 1908 to Saturday, July 25, 1908. 25 hurdlers from ten nations competed.[1] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[2]

Men's 110 metres hurdles at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Venue	White City Stadium
Dates	July 23 (quarterfinals) July 24 (semifinals) July 25 (final)
Competitors	25 from 10 nations
Medalists
Forrest Smithson  United States John Garrels  United States Arthur Shaw  United States

Ten sets of hurdles were set on the course. The hurdles were 3 feet, 6 inches (1.07m) tall and were placed ten yards (9.144m) apart beginning fifteen yards (13.716m) from the starting line.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World Record	15.0(*)	Thaddeus Shideler	St. Louis (USA)	June 11, 1904
Olympic Record	15.4	Alvin Kraenzlein	Paris (FRA)	July 14, 1900

(*) unofficial 120 yards (= 109.73 m)

Forrest Smithson equalled the Olympic record when he ran 15.4 seconds in his semifinal. In the final he set the first official world record in this event with 15.0 seconds.

Results

Heats

The first round heats were held on July 23, 1908, making the short hurdles one of the last events to begin. The Americans won every race in which they competed. The British team also had a strong showing, winning any time that there was no American in the race.

Heat 1

Healey won by four yards after leading from the start.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Alfred Healey	Great Britain	15.8	Q
2	Henry St Aubyn Murray	Australasia	(16.3)
3	Doug Stupart	South Africa	Unknown

Heat 2

Garrels won by seven yards.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John Garrels	United States	16.2	Q
2	Arthur Halligan	Great Britain	(17.1)

Heat 3

Groenings led by five yards at the finish.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Oswald Groenings	Great Britain	16.4	Q
2	Georgios Skoutarides	Greece	(17.0)

Heat 4

Kiely had no competition in the first round.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Laurence Kiely	Great Britain	Walkover	Q

Heat 5

Rand and Powell were even for most of the race. Powell hit the ninth hurdle, slowing him just enough for Rand to take the lead and win.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	William Rand	United States	15.8	Q
2	Kenneth Powell	Great Britain	(16.2)
3	Ted Savage	Canada	Unknown

Heat 6

Lemming fell during the race, allowing Walters to win while easing up.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Wallis Walters	Great Britain	17.8	Q
–	Oscar Lemming	Sweden	DNF

Heat 7

The seventh heat was another in which there was no competition.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	William Knyvett	Great Britain	Walkover	Q

Heat 8

Halbart won without competition.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Fernand Halbart	Belgium	Walkover	Q

Heat 9

Ahearne was the fourth runner to win without a contest.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Tim Ahearne	Great Britain	Walkover	Q

Heat 10

Smithson won by ten yards.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Forrest Smithson	United States	15.8	Q
2	Nándor Kovács	Hungary	(17.2)

Heat 11

Blijstad fell, allowing Hussey to win with a jog.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Eric Hussey	Great Britain	16.8	Q
–	Wilhelm Blijstad	Norway	DNF

Heat 12

Kinahan had an easy win by ten yards.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Cecil Kinahan	Great Britain	16.8	Q
2	Oscar Guttormsen	Norway	(18.2)

Heat 13

Howe and Leader were even over the hurdles, but Howe edged out Leader in the straight.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Leonard Howe	United States	15.8	Q
2	Edward Leader	Great Britain	(16.1)

Heat 14

Shaw won without a contest.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Arthur Shaw	United States	Walkover	Q

Semifinals

The semifinal round was held on July 24, 1908. Each of the four heats of the second round were won by American runners.

Semifinal 1

Shaw took the lead at the first set of hurdles, finishing about five metres ahead of Hussey.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Arthur Shaw	United States	15.6	Q
2	Eric Hussey	Great Britain	(16.5)
3	David Walters	Great Britain	(16.9)
4	Oswald Groenings	Great Britain	Unknown

Semifinal 2

Smithson had no trouble winning this heat, tying the Olympic record as he did so.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Forrest Smithson	United States	15.4	Q, =OR
2	William Knyvett	Great Britain	(15.6)
3	Leonard Howe	United States	(15.8)

Semifinal 3

Healey led for most of the race, with Rand close behind, but Healey was unable to clear the ninth hurdle cleanly, allowing Rand to pass him and win by a foot.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	William Rand	United States	15.8	Q
2	Alfred Healey	Great Britain	(15.9)
3	Laurence Kiely	Great Britain	Unknown
4	Tim Ahearne	Great Britain	Unknown

Semifinal 4

Halbert pulled up lame, and Garrels won by 15 yards.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John Garrels	United States	15.8	Q
2	Cecil Kinahan	Great Britain	(17.5)
–	Fernand Halbert	Belgium	DNF

Final

Smithson pulled away from his countrymen at every set of hurdles to win by five meters and set a new world record.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
	Forrest Smithson	United States	15.0	WR
	John Garrels	United States	(15.7)
	Arthur Shaw	United States	(15.8)
4	William Rand	United States	(16.0)

References

1. "Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's 110 metres Hurdles". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
2. Official report, p. 32.

Notes

• Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
• De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 30 July 2006.