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Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Dates 6 – 15 July 1912
Medal Events 30

Track & field athletics was the showcase event of the 1912 Olympic Games, as it often is. The biggest stars of the competition were Hannes Kolehmainen, the Finnish distance runner who won the 5,000 and 10,000 metre runs, and the cross-country, and Jim Thorpe, the American Indian multi-performer, who won the decathlon and pentathlon.

Track & field athletics was conducted within the Olympic stadium that had been especially constructed for the 1912 Olympic Games. The track was the unusual distance of just over 383 metres in length. It was constructed by Charles Perry, the British trainer, who had also helped build the tracks that were used at the 1896, 1906, and 1908 Olympic Games.

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
100 metres, Men Olympic 6 – 7 July 1912 70 22
200 metres, Men Olympic 10 – 11 July 1912 61 19
400 metres, Men Olympic 12 – 13 July 1912 49 16
800 metres, Men Olympic 6 – 8 July 1912 47 16
1,500 metres, Men Olympic 9 – 10 July 1912 45 14
5,000 metres, Men Olympic 9 – 10 July 1912 31 11
10,000 metres, Men Olympic 7 – 8 July 1912 30 13
Marathon, Men Olympic 14 July 1912 68 19
110 metres Hurdles, Men Olympic 11 – 12 July 1912 22 10
4 x 100 metres Relay, Men Olympic 8 – 9 July 1912 33 8
4 x 400 metres Relay, Men Olympic 14 – 15 July 1912 28 7
3,000 metres, Team, Men Olympic 12 – 13 July 1912 24 5
10 kilometres Race Walk, Men Olympic 8 – 11 July 1912 23 11
Cross-Country, Individual, Men Olympic 15 July 1912 45 10
Cross-Country, Team, Men Olympic 15 July 1912 41 6
High Jump, Men Olympic 7 – 8 July 1912 35 10
Standing High Jump, Men Olympic 13 July 1912 17 8
Pole Vault, Men Olympic 10 – 11 July 1912 25 11
Long Jump, Men Olympic 12 July 1912 30 13
Standing Long Jump, Men Olympic 8 July 1912 19 8
Triple Jump, Men Olympic 15 July 1912 20 8
Shot Put, Men Olympic 10 July 1912 22 14
Shot Put, Both Hands, Men Olympic 11 July 1912 7 4
Discus Throw, Men Olympic 12 July 1912 41 15
Discus Throw, Both Hands, Men Olympic 13 July 1912 20 6
Hammer Throw, Men Olympic 14 July 1912 14 4
Javelin Throw, Men Olympic 6 July 1912 25 7
Javelin Throw, Both Hands, Men Olympic 9 July 1912 14 4
Pentathlon, Men Olympic 7 July 1912 26 11
Decathlon, Men Olympic 13 – 15 July 1912 29 12
533 (533/0) 27 (27/0)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 metres, Men Ralph CraigUSA Alvah MeyerUSA Donald LippincottUSA
200 metres, Men Ralph CraigUSA Donald LippincottUSA Willie ApplegarthGBR
400 metres, Men Charles ReidpathUSA Hanns BraunGER Ed LindbergUSA
800 metres, Men Ted MeredithUSA Mel SheppardUSA Ira DavenportUSA
1,500 metres, Men Arnold JacksonGBR Abel KiviatUSA Norm TaberUSA
5,000 metres, Men Hannes KolehmainenFIN Jean BouinFRA George HutsonGBR
10,000 metres, Men Hannes KolehmainenFIN Lewis TewanimaUSA Albin StenroosFIN
Marathon, Men Ken McArthurRSA Chris GitshamRSA Gaston StrobinoUSA
110 metres Hurdles, Men Fred KellyUSA James WendellUSA Martin HawkinsUSA
4 × 100 metres Relay, Men Great BritainGBR SwedenSWE ——
4 × 400 metres Relay, Men United StatesUSA FranceFRA Great BritainGBR
3,000 metres, Team, Men United StatesUSA SwedenSWE Great BritainGBR
10 kilometres Race Walk, Men George GouldingCAN Ernie WebbGBR Nando AltimaniITA
Cross-Country, Individual, Men Hannes KolehmainenFIN Hjalmar AnderssonSWE John EkeSWE
Cross-Country, Team, Men SwedenSWE FinlandFIN Great BritainGBR
High Jump, Men Alma RichardsUSA Hans LiescheGER George HorineUSA
Standing High Jump, Men Platt AdamsUSA Ben AdamsUSA Kostas TsiklitirasGRE
Pole Vault, Men Harry BabcockUSA Frank Nelson
Marc Wright		USA
USA		 William Halpenny
Bertil Uggla
Frank Murphy		CAN
SWE
USA
Long Jump, Men Albert GuttersonUSA Cal BrickerCAN Georg ÅbergSWE
Standing Long Jump, Men Kostas TsiklitirasGRE Platt AdamsUSA Ben AdamsUSA
Triple Jump, Men Topsy LindblomSWE Georg ÅbergSWE Erik AlmlöfSWE
Shot Put, Men Pat McDonaldUSA Ralph RoseUSA Larry WhitneyUSA
Shot Put, Both Hands, Men Ralph RoseUSA Pat McDonaldUSA Elmer NiklanderFIN
Discus Throw, Men Armas TaipaleFIN Dick ByrdUSA Jim DuncanUSA
Discus Throw, Both Hands, Men Armas TaipaleFIN Elmer NiklanderFIN Emil MagnussonSWE
Hammer Throw, Men Matt McGrathUSA Duncan GillisCAN Clarence ChildsUSA
Javelin Throw, Men Eric LemmingSWE Julius SaaristoFIN Miklós KovácsHUN
Javelin Throw, Both Hands, Men Julius SaaristoFIN Väinö SiikaniemiFIN Urho PeltonenFIN
Pentathlon, Men Jim ThorpeUSA Ferdinand Bie
Jim Donahue		NOR
USA		 Frank LukemanCAN
Decathlon, Men Jim ThorpeUSA Hugo Wieslander
Charles Lomberg		SWE
SWE		 Gösta HolmérSWE

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
United States USA 16 14 12 42
Finland FIN 6 4 3 13
Sweden SWE 3 6 6 15
Great Britain GBR 2 1 5 8
Canada CAN 1 2 2 5
South Africa RSA 1 1 0 2
Greece GRE 1 0 1 2
France FRA 0 2 0 2
Germany GER 0 2 0 2
Norway NOR 0 1 0 1
Hungary HUN 0 0 1 1
Italy ITA 0 0 1 1