Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put

The men's shot put was one of six throwing events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on July 16, 1908. 25 shot putters from eight nations competed.[1] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[2] The event was won by Ralph Rose, successfully defending his title from 1904 and making it four consecutive Games that the event was won by an American. The two-Games streak of sweeps in 1900 and 1904 ended, however, as Denis Horgan of Great Britain took silver. Johnny Garrels of the United States took bronze. Rose was the second man to win two medals in the shot put (and the first to win two golds); Wesley Coe nearly was the third as he ended up in 4th place, only 11 centimetres behind Garrels.

Men's shot put
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
The winner Ralph Rose
VenueWhite City Stadium
DateJuly 16
Competitors25 from 8 nations
Winning distance14.21
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Ralph Rose
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Denis Horgan
 Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) John Garrels
 United States
← 1904
1912 →

Background

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This was the fourth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Three Americans returned from the 1904 Games: gold medalist Ralph Rose, silver medalist Wesley Coe, and fourth-place finisher Martin Sheridan. Sheridan was best at the discus, but had won the shot put at the 1906 Intercalated Games (and was also an accomplished standing jumper). Irishman Denis Horgan, one of the best shot putters in the world over the past decade and a half, finally competed in the Olympics after not participating in prior Games. Horgan was 37 years old; still a strong contender (he would continue winning AAA championships until 1912), but unable to compete with Rose in his 23-year-old prime.[3]

Finland, France, Great Britain, and Norway made their debut in the men's shot put. Greece and the United States each appeared for the fourth time, having competed in all Olympic shot put competitions to date.

Competition format

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The competition returned to the two-round format of 1900, with results carrying over between rounds. Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. The top three men advanced to the final, where they received an additional three throws. The best result, qualifying or final, counted. The throw itself was largely under modern rules (16 pound weight, 7 foot circle), but no toe board was used.[3][4][5]

Records

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

World record   Ralph Rose (USA)* 15.12 Montreal, Canada 21 September 1907
Olympic record   Ralph Rose (USA) 14.81 St. Louis, United States 31 August 1904

* unofficial

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Wednesday, 22 July 1908 14:30 Qualifying
Final

Results

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Distances and placement are known only for the top eight. Sequences are not known.

Rank Athlete Nation Distance
Qualifier Final Best
  Ralph Rose   United States 14.08 14.21 14.21
  Denis Horgan   Great Britain 13.33 13.62 13.62
  John Garrels   United States 13.18 Unknown 13.18
4 Wesley Coe   United States 13.07 Did not advance 13.07
5 Edward Barrett   Great Britain 12.89 Did not advance 12.89
6 Bill Horr   United States 12.83 Did not advance 12.83
7 Jalmari Sauli   Finland 12.58 Did not advance 12.58
8 Lee Talbott   United States 11.63 Did not advance 11.63
9–25 James Barrett   Great Britain Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Wilbur Burroughs   United States Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Michalis Dorizas   Greece Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Nikolaos Georgantas   Greece Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Juho Halme   Finland Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Arne Halse   Norway Unknown Did not advance Unknown
István Mudin   Hungary Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Verner Järvinen   Finland Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Charles Lagarde   France Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Henry Alan Leeke   Great Britain Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Mór Kóczán   Hungary Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Tom Nicolson   Great Britain Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Elmer Niklander   Finland Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Martin Sheridan   United States Unknown Did not advance Unknown
André Tison   France Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Hugo Wieslander   Sweden Unknown Did not advance Unknown
Bruno Zilliacus   Finland Unknown Did not advance Unknown

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's Shot Put". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. ^ Official report, p. 32.
  3. ^ a b "Shot Put, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. ^ Official Report, p. 90.
  5. ^ Official Report, p. 407.

Sources

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  • Official Report of the Games of the IV Olympiad (1908).
  • De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1908". Accessed 7 April 2006. Available electronically at [1] Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.