Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 3200 metres steeplechase

The men's 3,200 metres steeplechase was held for the only time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held on July 17, 1908, and July 18, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres=13 mile in circumference. There were six heats of the first round, with the winners of those heats competing in the final.

Men's 3200 metre steeplechase
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
The water jump
VenueWhite City Stadium
DatesJuly 17, 1908 (semifinals)
July 18, 1908 (final)
Competitors24 from 6 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Arthur Russell  Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Archie Robertson  Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) John Eisele  United States

24 runners from 6 nations competed; eleven from Great Britain, eight from the United States, two from Canada, two from France, one from Hungary, and one from Italy.[1] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[2]

Records

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

World Record none
Olympic Record 7:34.4(*)   George Orton Paris (FRA) July 15, 1900
7:39.6(**)   James Lightbody St. Louis (USA) August 29, 1904

(*) The distance of this race was 2500 metres and the track was 500 metres in circumference.

(**) The distance of this race was 2590 metres and the track was 536.45 metres=13 mile in circumference.

Results

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First round

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All first round heats were held on Friday, July 17, 1908.

Heat 1

Russell beat Cartasegna by 100 yards. Downing was disqualified for incorrectly clearing the first water jump, while Ragueneau dropped out on the second lap and Carr injured his ankle.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Arthur Russell   Great Britain 10:56.2
2 Massimo Cartasegna   Italy 11:15.0
Gaston Ragueneau   France DNF
Edward Carr   United States DNF
Thomas Downing   Great Britain DSQ

Heat 2

Eisele was the only one to finish: de Fleurac led early, but was caught before the water jump and pulled up lame, while English fell and Lovas and Buckley dropped out trying to keep the pace.

Place Name Nation Time
1 John Eisele   United States 11:13.6
Antal Lovas   Hungary DNF
Louis de Fleurac   France DNF
Fred Buckley   Great Britain DNF
Joseph English   Great Britain DNF

Heat 3

Barker pulled up lame on the last lap, leaving Galbraith with the win.

Place Name Nation Time
1 William Galbraith   Canada 11:12.4
Henry Barker   Great Britain DNF

Heat 4

With Yorke being disqualified for obstruction and Bonhag injured, the race was between Robertson and Dull. Dull led at first, but Robertson passed him and won by two hundred yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Archie Robertson   Great Britain 11:10.0
2 Gayle Dull   United States (11:50.0)
George Bonhag   United States DNF
Richard Yorke   Great Britain DSQ

Heat 5

The Americans had little chance of catching up with Holdaway and Kinchin; Holdaway was a hundred yards ahead at the finish.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Guy Holdaway   Great Britain 11:18.8
2 Joseph Kinchin   Great Britain (11:44.0)
3 Roland Spitzer   United States unknown
4 Charles Hall   United States unknown

Heat 6

After Fitzgerald fell and Grantham pulled up lame, Sewell and Lightbody competed right up to the finish, when Sewell pulled away at the end to win a tight race by less than ten yards.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Harry Sewell   Great Britain 11:30.2
2 James Lightbody   United States 11:41.0
James Fitzgerald   Canada DNF
Billy Grantham   Great Britain DNF

Final

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The final was held on Saturday, July 18, 1908.

 
Arthur Russell finishing first in front of Archie Robertson.

Holdaway was the first to lead, but did not do so for long. Galbraith and Russell were the leaders for most of the first half of the race, until Galbraith fell back and Eisele joined Russell at the front. After the bell, Robertson passed Eisele and nearly caught Russell, trailing by only two yards when the two crossed the finish line.

Place Name Nation Time
1 Arthur Russell   Great Britain 10:47.8
2 Archie Robertson   Great Britain 10:48.4
3 John Eisele   United States 11:00.8
4 Guy Holdaway   Great Britain (11:26.0)
5 Harry Sewell   Great Britain unknown
6 William Galbraith   Canada unknown

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1908 London: Men's 3,200 metres Steeplechase". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  2. ^ Official report, p. 32.

Sources

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  • Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
  • De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Archived from the original on September 27, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved March 23, 2008.