Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

The men's 800 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held from Sunday, August 15, 1920, to Tuesday, August 17, 1920. Forty runners from 17 nations competed.[1] No nation had more than 4 runners, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by Albert Hill of Great Britain, snapping a three-Games streak of American victories and starting a four-Games streak of British wins. Bevil Rudd, the 400 metres winner in 1920, took bronze to give South Africa its first medal in the 800 metres.

Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
VenueOlympisch Stadion
DatesAugust 15 (round 1)
August 17 (semifinals & final)
Competitors40 from 17 nations
Winning time1:53.4
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Albert Hill  Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Earl Eby  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bevil Rudd  South Africa
← 1912
1924 →

Background

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This was the sixth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the pre-war finalists from 1908 returned to the 800 metres (champion and world record holder Ted Meredith ran only in the 400 metres in 1920). Contenders included Bevil Rudd of South Africa, the 1920 AAA champion; Albert Hill of Great Britain, the 1919 AAA champion, and Earl Eby of the United States, the 1920 U.S. champion.[2]

Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, and Switzerland appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain and the United States each made their fifth appearance, tied for the most among all nations.

Competition format

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The competition used the three-round format introduced in 1912, though the final expanded to nine runners for the first time. There were five quarterfinal heats of between 7 and 9 athletes each; the top four runners in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were three semifinals with 6 or 7 athletes each; the top three runners in each semifinal advanced to the nine-man final.[2][3]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.[4]

World record   Ted Meredith (USA) 1:51.9 Stockholm, Sweden 8 July 1912
Olympic record   Ted Meredith (USA) 1:51.9 Stockholm, Sweden 8 July 1912

No world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

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The semifinals and final were held on the same day, the final essentially immediately following the semifinals.[2]

Date Time Round
Sunday, 15 August 1920 16:00 Round 1
Tuesday, 17 August 1920 16:15
16:45
Semifinals
Final

Results

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Times were generally only published for the winners of each heat. Some of the times listed below are estimates based on contemporary reports of the races.[5]

Round 1

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Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Edgar Mountain   Great Britain 1:57.6 Q
2 Giuseppe Bonini   Italy 1:58.8 Q
3 Fernand Bauduin   France 1:59.1 Q
4 James Doig   South Africa 1:59.6 Q
5 Joseph Vander Wee   Belgium 2:00.0
6 Saburo Hasumi   Japan 2:02.2
7 José Luis Grasset   Spain
8 Karel Přibyl   Czechoslovakia
9 Jean Proess   Luxembourg 2:12

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Bevil Rudd   South Africa 1:55.0 Q
2 Albert Hill   Great Britain 1:56.2 Q
3 Earl Eby   United States 1:56.8 Q
4 Paul Esparbès   France 1:58.0 Q
5 Hec Phillips   Canada
6 Odolf Larsen   Norway 2:01.6
7 Léoncé Oleffe   Belgium
8 Elis Johansson   Sweden
Arturo Porro   Italy

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Philip Noel-Baker   Great Britain 1:56.0 Q
2 Donald Scott   United States 1:56.9 Q
3 Tolly Bolin   Sweden 1:57.8 Q
4 Adje Paulen   Netherlands 1:58.4 Q
5 Paul Martin   Switzerland 1:59.8
6 Karel Frankenstein   Czechoslovakia
Agide Simonazzi   Italy
Panagiotis Retelas   Greece

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Robert Goullieux   France 1:58.8 Q
2 Thomas Campbell   United States 1:59.1 Q
3 Henry Dafel   South Africa 1:59.2 Q
4 Ernesto Ambrosini   Italy 1:59.4 Q
5 Nils Engdahl   Sweden 2:00.0
6 Johannes Villemson   Estonia 2:00.2
7 Josef Teplý   Czechoslovakia 2:00.6
Jean Delarge   Belgium DNF

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Sven Lundgren   Sweden 2:00.6 Q
2 Albert Sprott   United States 2:01.5 Q
3 Miguel García Onsalo   Spain 2:02.2 Q
4 Kléber Argouac'h   France 2:02.5 Q
5 Jaroslav Procházka   Czechoslovakia
6 Henri Godin   Belgium
7 Émile Barral   Monaco
Erkka Wilén   Finland DNS

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Donald Scott   United States 1:57.2 Q
2 Edgar Mountain   Great Britain 1:58.2 Q
3 Albert Sprott   United States 1:58.6 Q
4 Ernesto Ambrosini   Italy 1:59.5
5 Robert Goullieux   France 1:59.6
6 Miguel García Onsalo   Spain 2:01.2
7 James Doig   South Africa 2:01.5

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Bevil Rudd   South Africa 1:57.0 Q
2 Thomas Campbell   United States 1:57.6 Q
3 Adje Paulen   Netherlands 1:57.8 Q
4 Sven Lundgren   Sweden 1:58.4
5 Giuseppe Bonini   Italy 1:59.0
6 Kléber Argouac'h   France 1:59.6
Philip Noel-Baker   Great Britain DNS

Semifinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Albert Hill   Great Britain 1:56.4 Q
2 Earl Eby   United States 1:57.0 Q
3 Paul Esparbès   France 1:57.3 Q
4 Tolly Bolin   Sweden 1:57.5
5 Fernand Bauduin   France 2:01
6 Henry Dafel   South Africa

Final

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The first lap was led by Eby and Scott with Eby holding the lead at the halfway point of the race passing the 400m mark in 54.2 seconds. As the 2nd and final lap began Rudd took the lead and held it until the finishing straight where Hill and Eby passed him and battled each other until the end. Hill pulled ahead in the final meters to win Great Britain its 3rd gold medal in the 800m.[2]

Rank Athlete Nation Time
  Albert Hill   Great Britain 1:53.4
  Earl Eby   United States 1:53.6
  Bevil Rudd   South Africa 1:53.6
4 Edgar Mountain   Great Britain 1:53.7
5 Donald Scott   United States 1:54.6
6 Albert Sprott   United States 1:55.4
7 Adje Paulen   Netherlands 1:56.3
8 Paul Esparbès   France 1:58.6
Thomas Campbell   United States DNF

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  3. ^ Official Report, pp. 93–94.
  4. ^ "World Record Progression of 800 Metres". World Athletics. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 June 2021.

Further reading

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  • Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2008.