Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 60 metres

The men's 60 metres was the shortest of the track races at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, which was the first time the event was held. It was held on 15 July 1900. 10 athletes from 6 nations competed. Five preliminary heats were scheduled, though only two were actually held. The top two athletes from each of the heats advanced to the final, resulting in a final race that featured three United States runners and an Australian. Hurdle specialist Alvin Kraenzlein of the United States won the event, with his countryman Walter Tewksbury in second and Australian Stan Rowley earning bronze.

Men's 60 metres at the Games of the II Olympiad
Finish of the final
Venue	Bois de Boulogne
Date	July 15
Competitors	10 from 6 nations
Winning time	7.0 OR
Medalists
Alvin Kraenzlein  United States Walter Tewksbury  United States Stan Rowley  Australia

Background

This was the first time the event was held; it would be held again only in 1904 before being discontinued. 110 metres hurdles champion Alvin Kraenzlein, 200 metres and 400 metres hurdles champion Walter Tewksbury, and 100 metres and 200 metres bronze medalist Stan Rowley were among the entrants.

Australia, France, Hungary, India, Sweden, and the United States competed in the debut of the event.

Records

World bests were not recognized until 1966.

As this was a new event, there was no standing Olympic record: Alvin Kraenzlein set the initial record with 7.0 seconds in the first semifinal, then equalled it in the final.

Competition format

The competition consisted of two rounds: semifinals and a final. The top two runners in each of the two semifinals advanced to the final.

Schedule

Date	Time	Round
Sunday, 15 July 1900	14:00 14:45	Semifinals Final

Results

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Minahan was about half a yard behind Kraenzlein, with Pritchard a yard behind him.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Alvin Kraenzlein	United States	7.0	Q, OR
2	Edmund Minahan	United States	7.0	Q
3	Norman Pritchard	India	7.1
4–5	Adolphe Klingelhoefer	France	Unknown
	Isaac Westergren	Sweden	Unknown

Semifinal 2

Tewksbury beat Rowley by a foot.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Walter Tewksbury	United States	7.2	Q
2	Stan Rowley	Australia	7.3	Q
3	William Holland	United States	Unknown
4–5	Pál Koppán	Hungary	Unknown
	Ernő Schubert	Hungary	Unknown

Final

The 60 metres final was a close race, with the two top Americans being separated by four inches and Rowley half a yard behind. It was each of the runners' second time running the 60 in less than an hour, as the final was held almost immediately after the preliminary heats.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
	Alvin Kraenzlein	United States	7.0	=OR
	Walter Tewksbury	United States	7.1
	Stan Rowley	Australia	7.2
4	Edmund Minahan	United States	7.2

Sources

• International Olympic Committee.
• De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically at [1] Archived 2006-02-11 at the Wayback Machine.
• Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.