Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

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Men's 100 metres
at the Games of the X Olympiad
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DatesJuly 31, 1932 (heats, quarterfinals)
August 1, 1932 (semifinals, final)
Competitors33 from 17 nations
Winning time10.3 seconds
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Eddie Tolan  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ralph Metcalfe  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Arthur Jonath  Germany
← 1928
1936 →
Official Video on YouTube

The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, United States, were held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on July 31 and August 1.[1] Thirty-three runners from 17 nations competed. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes.[2]

The photo finish final was won by American Eddie Tolan in a world record-equalling time of 10.38 seconds. Teammate Ralph Metcalfe won the silver and was credited with the same time as Tolan.[3] It was the first American victory since 1920, after the United States was kept off the podium entirely in 1928. Germany won its second consecutive bronze medal in the event. Defending Olympic champion and world record holder Percy Williams of Canada did not advance past the semifinals. Takayoshi Yoshioka was the first Asian to make the final.[4]

Background[edit]

This was the ninth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. Notable entrants included Canada's Percy Williams, the defending gold medalist and world record holder, and American Ralph Metcalfe, NCAA champion and U.S. Olympic trial winner.[4]

Two electrical timing devices, one hand-operated and one camera-based, were introduced to "double check" the stop watches.[5][6]

China was represented in the event for the first time. The United States was the only nation to have appeared at each of the first nine Olympic men's 100 metres events.

Competition format[edit]

The event retained the four round format from 1920–1928: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 7 heats, of 4–6 athletes each, with the top 3 in each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The 21 quarterfinalists (19 after two withdrawals) were placed into 4 heats of 4 or 5 athletes. Again, the top 3 advanced. There were 2 heats of 6 semifinalists, once again with the top 3 advancing to the 6-man final.[4]

Records[edit]

These are the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics.

World Record 10.3 Canada Percy Williams Toronto (CAN) August 9, 1930
Olympic Record 10.6 United States Donald Lippincott Stockholm (SWE) July 6, 1912
10.6 United States Charlie Paddock Antwerp (BEL) August 16, 1920
10.6 United Kingdom Harold Abrahams Paris (FRA) July 6/7 1924
10.6 United States Robert McAllister Amsterdam (NED) July 29/30 1928
10.6 Canada Percy Williams Amsterdam (NED) July 30, 1928
10.6 South Africa Wilfred Legg Amsterdam (NED) July 30, 1928

Arthur Jonath equalled the standing Olympic record with 10.6 in the third heat of the first round. Eddie Tolan set a new Olympic record with 10.4 in the first heat of the quarterfinals, and in the final, Tolan and Ralph Metcalfe equalled the world record of 10.3.

Results[edit]

Heats[edit]

Heat 1[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Eddie Tolan  United States 10.9 Q
2 José de Almeida  Brazil 11.0 Q
3 Fernando Ortíz  Mexico 11.2 Q
4 André Théard  Haiti 11.4
5 António Rodrigues  Portugal 11.5
Fred Reid  Great Britain DNF

Heat 2[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 George Simpson  United States 10.9 Q
2 Ernie Page  Great Britain 11.1 Q
3 Andrej Engel  Czechoslovakia 11.2 Q
4 Bunoo Sutton  India 11.4
5 Liu Changchun Taiwan China 11.5

Heat 3[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Arthur Jonath  Germany 10.6 Q, =WR
2 Allan Elliot  New Zealand 10.8 Q
3 Izuo Anno  Japan 10.9 Q
4 Ronald Vernieux  India 11.0
5 Samuel Giacosa  Argentina 11.1

Heat 4[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Carlos Bianchi  Argentina 10.8 Q
2 Helmut Körnig  Germany 11.0 Q
3 Percy Williams  Canada 11.1 Q
4 Jesús Moraila  Mexico 11.2

Heat 5[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ralph Metcalfe  United States 11.0 Q
2 Bert Pearson  Canada 11.1 Q
3 Angelos Lambrou  Greece 11.3 Q
4 Fernando Ramírez  Mexico 11.4

Heat 6[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Danie Joubert  South Africa 11.0 Q
2 Harold Wright  Canada 11.2 Q
3 Ernst Geerling  Germany 11.3 Q
4 Ricardo Guimarães  Brazil 11.4

Heat 7[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Takayoshi Yoshioka  Japan 10.9 Q
2 Chris Berger  Netherlands 11.1 Q
3 Héctor Berra  Argentina 11.2 Q
4 Stanley Fuller  Great Britain 11.3
5 Mario Marques  Brazil 11.5

Quarterfinals[edit]

Berra and Lambrou withdrew before the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinal 1[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Eddie Tolan  United States 10.53 Q, OR
2 Carlos Bianchi  Argentina 10.5 Q
3 Percy Williams  Canada 10.7 Q
4 Chris Berger  Netherlands 10.7
5 Fernando Ortíz  Mexico 11.0

Quarterfinal 2[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 George Simpson  United States 10.74 Q
2 Harold Wright  Canada 10.9 Q
3 Helmut Körnig  Germany 11.0 Q
4 Andrej Engel  Czechoslovakia 11.1

Quarterfinal 3[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ralph Metcalfe  United States 10.77 Q
2 Takayoshi Yoshioka  Japan 10.8 Q
3 Allan Elliot  New Zealand 10.9 Q
4 Ernie Page  Great Britain 10.9
5 Ernst Geerling  Germany 11.1

Quarterfinal 4[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Arthur Jonath  Germany 10.68 Q
2 Danie Joubert  South Africa 10.6 Q
3 Bert Pearson  Canada 10.7 Q
4 José de Almeida  Brazil 10.8
5 Izuo Anno  Japan 10.9

Semifinals[edit]

Semifinal 1[edit]

The finish was so close that the timing system displayed errors.

Film of the race indicates that Yoshioka won with Joubert second and Tolan third, while officials clocked Tolan at 10.81 seconds, with Joubert also at 10.81 seconds, and Yoshioka at 10.83 seconds.

However, this discrepancy was a moot point, as all three men advanced to the final in any event.[4]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Eddie Tolan  United States 10.81 Q
2 Danie Joubert  South Africa 10.81 Q
3 Takayoshi Yoshioka  Japan 10.83 Q
4 Percy Williams  Canada 10.91
5 Allan Elliot  New Zealand 11.0
6 Helmut Körnig  Germany 11.2

Semifinal 2[edit]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ralph Metcalfe  United States 10.65 Q
2 George Simpson  United States 10.70 Q
3 Arthur Jonath  Germany 10.71 Q
4 Carlos Bianchi  Argentina 10.73
5 Bert Pearson  Canada 10.95
6 Harold Wright  Canada 11.1

Final[edit]

Under the rules in force at the time, runners were judged to have finished the race when they had crossed the line; in 1933, this was changed so that runners finished the race when they reached the line.

The final was close enough that had this rule been in force at the Games, Metcalfe would have been the winner: Melcalfe reached the finish line first, but Tolan, who was shorter,[7] crossed the line first.[8][9]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Eddie Tolan  United States 10.38 =WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ralph Metcalfe  United States 10.38 =WR
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Arthur Jonath  Germany 10.50
4 George Simpson  United States 10.53
5 Danie Joubert  South Africa 10.60
6 Takayoshi Yoshioka  Japan 10.79

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's 100 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  2. ^ Official Report, p. 377.
  3. ^ "Tolan wins by two inches in Olympic 100 meters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 2, 1932. p. 1.
  4. ^ a b c d "100 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  5. ^ Official Report, p. 380.
  6. ^ Official Report, pp. 384–85.
  7. ^ "Friends and rivals". Milwaukee Journal. World Wide photo. August 3, 1932. p. 3, part 2.
  8. ^ Wolf, Bob (July 26, 1984). "Olympic blunder". Milwaukee Journal. p. 3, part 3.
  9. ^ Rice, Grantland (August 2, 1932). "Tolan-Metcalfe race greatest in Olympic history, says Rice". Milwaukee Journal. NANA. p. 4, part 2.

External links[edit]