Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

The men's 100 metres was the shortest of the men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo, Japan. It was held at the Olympic Stadium on 14 and 15 October 1964. 76 athletes from 49 nations entered, with 3 not starting in the first round. Nations were limited to three athletes each, per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The first two rounds were held on 14 October, with the semifinals and the final on the following day.[1]

Men's 100 metres
at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad
VenueOlympic Stadium
Tokyo, Japan
Dates14 October (heats, quarterfinals)
15 October 1964 (semifinals, finals)
Competitors73 from 49 nations
Winning time10.0 seconds
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Bob Hayes  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Enrique Figuerola  Cuba
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Harry Jerome  Canada
← 1960
1968 →
Official Video Highlights

In the final, American Bob Hayes tied the world record of 10.0 seconds and won the gold medal. Enrique Figuerola of Cuba and Harry Jerome of Canada tied the old Olympic record time. It was Cuba's first medal in the event; Canada earned its first men's 100 metres medal since 1928.

Background edit

This was the fifteenth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. Neither of the top two runners from 1960 returned, but Rome bronze medalist Brit Peter Radford and fourth-place finisher Cuban Enrique Figuerola did. Other notable entrants were American Bob Hayes (the favorite who was unbeaten in the event, including the 100 yards variant, since 1962) and Canadian Harry Jerome (a 1960 semifinalist who held a share of the world record).[2] A muscle strain prevented Venezuelan Horacio Esteves (another 1960 semifinalist with a share of the world record) from competing.[3]

Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Iran, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Northern Rhodesia, Rhodesia, Senegal, and Vietnam were represented in the event for the first time. The new federation of Malaysia also competed for the first time, though both Malaya and Singapore had previously appeared. The United States was the only nation to have appeared at each of the first fifteen Olympic men's 100 metres events.[citation needed]

Competition format edit

The event retained the same basic four round format from 1920–1960: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. However, after an extremely static format from 1936 to 1956, the format was modified for a second time in 1964 after 1960's tweaks. The changes generally increased the number of athletes in each race; for the first time in Olympic men's 100 metres history, 8 runners competed at a time.[2]

1936–56 1960 1964
Heats Number of heats 12 9 10
Athletes per heat Up to 7 6–7 7–8
Qualifiers per heat 2 3 3
Quarterfinals Number of heats 4 4 4
Athletes per heat 6 6–7 7–8
Qualifiers per heat 3 3 4
Semifinals Number of heats 2 2 2
Athletes per heat 6 6 8
Qualifiers per heat 3 3 4
Finals Number of heats 1 1 1
Athletes per heat 6 6 8

Records edit

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record 10.0   Armin Hary Zürich, Switzerland 21 June 1960
10.0   Harry Jerome Saskatoon, Canada 15 July 1960
10.0   Horacio Esteves Caracas, Venezuela 15 August 1964
Olympic record 10.2   Armin Hary Rome, Italy 31 August 1960
10.3   Armin Hary Rome, Italy 31 August 1960
10.3   Dave Sime Rome, Italy 31 August 1960

Bob Hayes had an official time of 10.0 seconds in the final, breaking the Olympic record by 0.2 seconds and matching the world record. His official time of 9.9 seconds in the semifinals did not count for records purposes because of wind assistance.

Results edit

First round edit

The top three runners in each of the 10 heats advanced. The Official Report describes the weather for these heats as 'rainy'. The wind varied widely, between a 2.85 m/s headwind (in heat 3) and a 1.60 m/s tailwind (in heat 6).[4]

Heat 1 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Hideo Iijima   Japan 10.3 Q
2 Bernard Laidebeur   France 10.5 Q
3 Edvin Ozolin   Soviet Union 10.5 Q
4 Kenneth Powell   India 10.7
5 Zbigniew Syka   Poland 10.7
6 Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa   Madagascar 10.8
7 Sara Camara   Mali 11.3

Heat 2 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Trenton Jackson   United States 10.5 Q
2 Peter Radford   Great Britain 10.6 Q
3 B. El Maachi Bouchaib   Morocco 10.6 Q
4 Csaba Csutorás   Hungary 10.7
5 Johan Du Preez   Rhodesia 10.7
6 Jeong Gi-seon   South Korea 11.0
7 Arnulfo Valles   Philippines 11.1

Wind, -2.51 m/s

Heat 3 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Gaoussou Koné   Ivory Coast 10.5 Q
2 Mel Pender   United States 10.5 Q
3 Michael Ahey   Ghana 10.6 Q
4 Franciscus Luitjes   Netherlands 10.6
5 Wilton Jackson   Trinidad and Tobago 10.6
6 Lynn Davies   Great Britain 10.7
7 Gerardo di Tolla   Peru 10.9
8 Lee Ar-tu   Taiwan 11.2

Heat 4 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Marian Dudziak   Poland 10.6 Q
2 Stanley Fabian Allotey   Ghana 10.6 Q
3 John Owiti   Kenya 10.6 Q
4 Carlos Lorenzo   Mexico 10.7
5 George Collie   Bahamas 10.9
6 Masaru Kamata   Japan 10.9
7 Ho Thành Chinh   Vietnam 11.9
Nikolay Politiko   Soviet Union DNS

Heat 5 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harry Jerome   Canada 10.5 Q
2 Claude Piquemal   France 10.5 Q
3 Lloyd Murad   Venezuela 10.8 Q
4 James Odongo   Uganda 10.9
5 Gusman Kosanov   Soviet Union 10.9
6 Abdoulaye N'Diaye   Senegal 11.0
7 Levy Psawkin   Israel 11.1

Heat 6 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Heinz Schumann   United Team of Germany 10.5 Q
2 Dennis O. Johnson   Jamaica 10.6 Q
3 William Earle   Australia 10.7 Q
4 Serafino Antao   Kenya 10.7
5 Huba Rozsnyai   Hungary 10.8
6 Alf Meakin   Great Britain 10.8
7 David Njitock   Cameroon 11.1
8 Akbar Babakhanlou   Iran 11.1

Heat 7 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Wiesław Maniak   Poland 10.5 Q
2 Arquímedes Herrera   Venezuela 10.5 Q
3 Mani Jegathesan   Malaysia 10.6 Q
4 José de Rocha   Portugal 11.0
5 Bassirou Doumbia   Senegal 11.0
6 Francisco Gutiérrez   Colombia 11.0
7 Iftikhar Shah   Pakistan 11.4

Heat 8 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Bob Hayes   United States 10.4 Q
2 Tom Robinson   Bahamas 10.5 Q
3 Bob Lay   Australia 10.5 Q
4 Ito Jiani   Italy 10.6
5 Rogelio Onofre   Philippines 10.7
6 Khudher Zalada   Iraq 11.1
David Ejoke   Nigeria DNS

Heat 9 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Fritz Obersiebrasse   United Team of Germany 10.4 Q
2 Iván Moreno   Chile 10.5 Q
3 Pablo McNeil   Jamaica 10.5 Q
4 László Mihályfi   Hungary 10.6
5 Gary Holdsworth   Australia 10.6
6 Max Barandun   Switzerland 10.7
7 Jeffery Smith   Northern Rhodesia 10.8
Wesley Johnson   Liberia DNF

Heat 10 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Enrique Figuerola   Cuba 10.5 Q
2 Lynn Headley   Jamaica 10.5 Q
3 Roger Bambuck   France 10.6 Q
4 Manfred Knickenberg   United Team of Germany 10.7
5 Léon Yombe   Republic of the Congo 10.8
6 Alberto Torres   Dominican Republic 10.9
7 Suthi Manyakass   Thailand 10.9
8 Rogelio Rivas   Spain 11.1

Quarterfinals edit

The top four runners in each of the four second round heats advanced to the semifinals. The weather was cloudy and winds were tailwinds throughout.[5]

Quarterfinal 1 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harry Jerome   Canada 10.3 Q
2 Trenton Jackson   United States 10.4 Q
3 Fritz Obersiebrasse   United Team of Germany 10.4 Q
4 Gaoussou Koné   Ivory Coast 10.4 Q
5 Dennis O. Johnson   Jamaica 10.5
6 Marian Dudziak   Poland 10.5
7 Bernard Laidebeur   France 10.5
8 William Joseph Earle   Australia 10.9

Wind, +1.90 m/s

Quarterfinal 2 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Enrique Figuerola   Cuba 10.3 Q
2 Wiesław Maniak   Poland 10.3 Q
3 Bob Lay   Australia 10.4 Q
4 Claude Piquemal   France 10.4 Q
5 Edvin Ozolin   Soviet Union 10.4
6 B. El Maachi Bouchaib   Morocco 10.5
7 John Owiti   Kenya 10.6

Quarterfinal 3 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Tom Robinson   Bahamas 10.3 Q
2 Mel Pender   United States 10.4 Q
3 Iijima Hideo   Japan 10.5 Q
4 Pablo McNeil   Jamaica 10.5 Q
5 Mani Jegathesan   Malaysia 10.6
6 Ivan Moreno   Chile 10.6
7 Stanley Fabian Allotey   Ghana 10.7
8 Lloyd Murad   Venezuela 10.7

Quarterfinal 4 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Bob Hayes   United States 10.3 Q
2 Arquimedes Herrera   Venezuela 10.4 Q
3 Lynn Headley   Jamaica 10.4 Q
4 Heinz Schumann   United Team of Germany 10.5 Q
5 Peter Radford   Great Britain 10.5
6 Roger Bambuck   France 10.5
7 Michael Ahey   Ghana 10.6

Semifinals edit

The top four runners in each of the two semifinals advanced to the final. The weather was described as "fine," with lower humidity than the first two rounds and a temperature of 23.8 degrees Celsius. There was a strong tailwind for the first semifinal and a moderate headwind for the second.[6]

Semifinal 1 edit

The tailwind speed of 5.28 m/s meant this semifinal was ineligible for record purposes.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Bob Hayes   United States 9.9 Q
2 Wiesław Maniak   Poland 10.1 Q
3 Tom Robinson   Bahamas 10.2 Q
4 Heinz Schumann   United Team of Germany 10.3 Q
5 Robert William Lay   Australia 10.3
6 Pablo McNeil   Jamaica 10.3
7 Arquimedes Herrera   Venezuela 10.4
8 Trenton Jackson   United States 10.6

Semifinal 2 edit

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harry Jerome   Canada 10.3 Q
2 Gaoussou Koné   Ivory Coast 10.4 Q
3 Enrique Figuerola   Cuba 10.4 Q
4 Mel Pender   United States 10.4 Q
5 Claude Piquemal   France 10.5
6 Lynn Headley   Jamaica 10.5
7 Iijima Hideo   Japan 10.6
8 Fritz Obersiebrasse   United Team of Germany 10.6

Final edit

Until the Tokyo Olympics world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds (a new Olympic record and matching the existing world record), despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds,[7] and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.

The final was run in "fine" weather, with a tailwind of just over a metre per second.[6] Hayes ran on lane one, which had been damaged by competitors in the men's 10,000 metres and the men's 20 km walk. Nevertheless, his "margin of victory was described by Track & Field News as 'insulting to an Olympic final field.'"[2]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
  Bob Hayes   United States 10.0 =WR
  Enrique Figuerola   Cuba 10.2
  Harry Jerome   Canada 10.2
4 Wiesław Maniak   Poland 10.4
5 Heinz Schumann   United Team of Germany 10.4
6 Gaoussou Koné   Ivory Coast 10.4
Mel Pender   United States 10.4
8 Tom Robinson   Bahamas 10.5
  • Wind speed= +1.1 m/s (2.5 mph)
 
The 100 m final. Left-right: Tom Robinson, Wiesław Maniak, Harry Jerome, Gaoussou Koné, Enrique Figuerola, Heinz Schumann, Bob Hayes

References edit

  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games: Men's 100 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "100 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Horacio conquistó el mundo hace 47 años". Solodeportes (in Spanish). Venezuela. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  4. ^ Official Report, vol. 2, pp. 19–20.
  5. ^ Official Report, vol. 2, p. 20.
  6. ^ a b Official Report, vol. 2, p. 21.
  7. ^ revisionist history: men's 100 WR. trackandfieldnews.com. 1 November 2013
  • Official Report