Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's triple jump
The men's triple jump was one of four jumping events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. There were 7 competitors from 5 nations in the triple jump, then known as the "hop, skip, and jump" despite the wide range of techniques used by the competitors. The event was held on 6 April, immediately after the first heats of the 100 metre race. Since there was only one round of the triple jump, the winner was crowned as the first modern Olympic champion.[1]
| Men's triple jump at the Games of the I Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 James B. Connolly won the triple jump and became the first Olympic Champion since the 4th century AD | ||||||||||
| Venue | Panathinaiko Stadium | |||||||||
| Dates | 6 April 1896 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 7 from 5 nations | |||||||||
| Winning distance | 13.71 OR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
The winning margin was 1.01 metres which as of 2023 remains the only time the men's triple jump was won by more than 60 cm at the Olympics.
Background
editThis was the first appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. There were 11 entrants, but only 7 men actually started.[2][3]
Competition format
editThere was a single round of jumping. There were no rules on the jumps allowed. "The styles of the medalists were described in The Field as follows: Connolly took two hops on his right foot and then a jump; Tuffèri performed a hop, step and a jump in the standard English method; and Persakis used two steps and a jump."[2][3]
Records
editThere were no standing Olympic records (as this was the first Games) before the event.
| World record |  Matthew Roseingreue (IRL)* |
15.26 m (50 ft 3⁄4 in) | Gort | 15 August 1895[4] |
| Olympic record | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
* unofficial
The following record was established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Athlete | Nation | Distance (m) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 6 | Final | James Brendan Connolly |  United States |
13.71 | OR |
Schedule
editThe exact time of the contest is not known; it was the second event of the Games. The first day began with the arrival of the King and a brief opening ceremony at 3 p.m., followed by the first round of the 100 metres before the triple jump began.
| Date | Time | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gregorian | Julian | ||
| Monday, 6 April 1896 | Monday, 25 March 1896 | Final | |
Results
edit| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
James Brendan Connolly | United States
|
13.71 | OR |
|
Alexandre Tuffèri |  France
|
12.70 | |
|
Ioannis Persakis |  Greece
|
12.52 | |
| 4 | Alajos Szokolyi |  Hungary
|
11.26 | |
| 5 | Carl Schuhmann |  Germany
|
Unknown | |
| 6–7 | Fritz Hofmann | Germany
|
Unknown | |
| Khristos Zoumis | Greece
|
Unknown | ||
| — | Alfred Flatow | Germany
|
DNS | |
| Adolphe Grisel | France
|
DNS | ||
| Pál Péthy | Hungary
|
DNS | ||
| Friedrich Traun | Germany
|
DNS |
References
edit- ^ "Athletics at the 1896 Athens Summer Games: Men's Triple Jump". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Triple Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ a b Official Report, pp. 62–63.
- ^ "Track and Field Statistics". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
Sources
edit- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at la84foundation.org)
- Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at la84foundation.org)
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.