Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 3500 metres walk

The men's 3500 metre walk race was held for the only time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held on Tuesday, July 14, 1908. It was held in two rounds. There were three heats in the first round, with the top three in each heat advancing to the final. 25 racewalkers from eight nations competed.[1] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[2]

Men's 3500 metres walk
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
VenueWhite City Stadium
DateJuly 14
Competitors25 from 8 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) George Larner  Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ernest Webb  Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Harry Kerr  Australasia

Records

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This was the first racewalking event at the Modern Olympics (discounting the 1906 Intercalated Games which is no longer considered an official Olympic event). The world record for the comparable distance of 2.25 miles was 15:51 15 (15:19.4 pace for 3500m).

World record   F. P. Murray (USA) 15:51 15 (2.25 miles) New York City 6 November 1883 [3]
Olympic record N/A

Results

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First round

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Heat 1

Larner led the entire race.

Place Name Nation Time
1 George Larner   Great Britain 15:32.0
2 Harry Kerr   Australasia 16:02.2
3 William Palmer   Great Britain 16:33.0
4 Paul Gunia   Germany 16:38.0
5 Sydney Sarel   Great Britain 17:06.0
6 Arne Højme   Denmark 17:23.4
7 Jo Goetzee   Netherlands 17:37.8
Bill Brown   Great Britain Disqualified
Alfred Yeoumans   Great Britain Disqualified
Piet Soudyn   Netherlands Disqualified

Heat 2

Webb had little competition, leading from the start and winning by nearly 2 minutes.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Ernest Webb   Great Britain 15:17.2
2 Charles Vestergaard   Denmark 17:07.0
3 Einar Rothman   Sweden 17:40.2
4 Willem Winkelman   Netherlands 17:57.6
5 István Drubina   Hungary 18:44.6
6 Piet Ruimers   Netherlands 18:44.6
Richard Quinn   Great Britain Disqualified
John Reid   Great Britain Disqualified

Heat 3

As in the other two heats, the winner led from the beginning. Unlike in the others, however, this race became close as Harrison made a late attempt to pass Goulding. Goulding finished strongly to fend off Harrison, winning by 10 seconds.

Place Name Nation Time
1 George Goulding   Canada 15:54.0
2 Ralph Harrison   Great Britain 16:04.4
3 Albert Rowland   Australasia 16:08.6
4 Ernest Larner   Great Britain 16:10.0
5 John Butler   Great Britain 16:17.0
6 Richard Wilhelm   Germany 17:33.8
7 Jan Huijgen   Netherlands 17:37.8

Final

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The start of the final.

Webb, Goulding, and Harrison were the early leaders. Harrison was disqualified shortly after Larner passed him. By the end of the first mile, the top four spots had solidified into the final positions. Larner had passed the field, bumping Webb to second place, while Kerr had managed to overtake Goulding.

Place Name Nation Time
1 George Larner   Great Britain 14:55.0
2 Ernest Webb   Great Britain 15:07.4
3 Harry Kerr   Australasia 15:43.4
4 George Goulding   Canada 15:49.8
5 Arthur Rowland   Australasia 16:07.0
6 Charles Vestergaard   Denmark 17:21.8
7 Einar Rothman   Sweden 17:50.0
William Palmer   Great Britain Did not finish
Ralph Harrison   Great Britain Disqualified

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's 3,500 metres Walk". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  2. ^ Official report, p. 32.
  3. ^ "Spalding's official athletic almanac" (PDF). lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com. 1908. p. 15. Retrieved 28 July 2023.

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 31 March 2006. Available electronically at [1] Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.