Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

The men's 200 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Thursday, August 19, 1920, and on Friday, August 20, 1920. Forty-eight sprinters from 22 nations competed.[1] Nations were limited to 4 athletes each, down from the 12 allowed in previous Games. The event was won by Allen Woodring of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event and fourth in five Games. Fellow American Charley Paddock took silver. Great Britain reached the podium for a second consecutive Games with Harry Edward's bronze.

Men's 200 metres
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
The finish of the final, with Allen Woodring beating Charley Paddock
VenueOlympisch Stadion
DatesAugust 19 (round 1 & quarterfinals)
August 20 (semifinals & final)
Competitors48 from 22 nations
Winning time22.0
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Allen Woodring  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Charley Paddock  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Harry Edward  Great Britain
← 1912
1924 →

Background

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This was the fifth appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Olympics in 1896 but has been on the program ever since. None of the finalists from the pre-war 1912 Games returned. The favorite was Charley Paddock, winner of the U.S. trials and the 1919 Inter-Allied Championships. The strongest non-American competitor was Harry Edward of Great Britain, the 1920 AAA champion.[2]

Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland each made their debut in the event. The United States made its fifth appearance, the only nation to have competed at each edition of the 200 metres to date.

Competition format

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The competition expanded to four rounds: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 12 heats of between 3 and 5 runners each, with the top 2 men in each advancing to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals consisted of 5 heats of between 4 and 5 athletes each; the two fastest men in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals, each with 5 runners. In that round, the top three athletes advanced. The final had 6 runners.[2]

The race was run on a 390-metre track that was wet and soft.[2]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.

World record   Willie Applegarth (GBR)* 21.2 London, United Kingdom 4 July 1914
Olympic record   Archie Hahn (USA)** 21.6 St. Louis, United States 31 August 1904[3]

* unofficial 220 yards (= 201.17 m)

** straight course

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

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Thursday, 19 August 1920 14:00
16:00
Round 1
Quarterfinals
Friday, 20 August 1920 14:45
16:00
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.[4]

Round 1

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Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 René Tirard   France 23.2 Q
2 Agne Holmström   Sweden 23.3 Q
3 Diego Ordóñez   Spain 23.7
4 Shinichi Yamaoka   Japan 23.9
5 Bjarne Guldager   Norway

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 George Davidson   New Zealand 22.6 Q
2 Alexander Ponton   Canada 22.8 Q
3 Félix Mendizábal   Spain 23.2
4 Harry van Rappard   Netherlands 23.7

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Vojtěch Plzák   Czechoslovakia 23.4 Q
2 William Hill   Great Britain 23.8 Q
3 Marcel Gustin   Belgium 24.3

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Paul Brochart   Belgium 23.2 Q
2 William Hunt   Australia 23.5 Q
3 Giovanni Orlandi   Italy 23.8
4 Paul Hammer   Luxembourg 24.0
5 Federico Reparez   Spain

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Robert Caste   France 23.0 Q
2 Harold Abrahams   Great Britain 23.3 Q
3 Willie Bukes   South Africa 23.4
4 Rolf Stenersen   Norway 23.8

Heat 6

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Charley Paddock   United States 23.2 Q
2 August Sørensen   Denmark 23.8 Q
3 Victor d'Arcy   Great Britain 24.0
4 Ahmed Khairy   Egypt

Heat 7

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Sven Krokström   Sweden 23.8 Q
2 Max Houben   Belgium 24.2 Q
3 Dimitrios Karambatis   Greece 24.2

Heat 8

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Loren Murchison   United States 23.2 Q
2 Nils Sandström   Sweden 23.6 Q
3 Carlos Pajarón   Spain 24.2
4 August Waibel   Switzerland

Heat 9

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Allen Woodring   United States 22.8 Q
2 Cor Wezepoel   Netherlands 23.3 Q
3 Francis Irvine   South Africa 23.3
4 Ichiro Kaga   Japan
5 Edmond Médécin   Monaco

Heat 10

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harry Edward   Great Britain 22.8 Q
2 Jack Oosterlaak   South Africa 23.2 Q
3 Sven Malm   Sweden 23.3
4 Mario Riccobono   Italy
5 Reinhold Saulmann   Estonia 25.4

Heat 11

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 René Lorain   France 25.0 Q
2 Albert Heijnneman   Netherlands 25.4 Q
3 Cyril Coaffee   Canada

Heat 12

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Morris Kirksey   United States 23.4 Q
2 Josef Imbach   Switzerland 23.5 Q
3 Jean-René Seurin   France 23.6

Quarterfinals

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Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Loren Murchison   United States 22.8 Q
2 Josef Imbach   Switzerland 23.1 Q
3 René Tirard   France 23.2
4 August Sørensen   Denmark

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harry Edward   Great Britain 22.0 Q
2 Allen Woodring   United States 22.1 Q
3 Robert Caste   France 22.2
4 William Hunt   Australia 22.4
5 Agne Holmström   Sweden 22.5

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 George Davidson   New Zealand 22.8 Q
2 Charley Paddock   United States 22.9 Q
3 René Lorain   France 23.0
4 Nils Sandström   Sweden 23.3
5 Max Houben   Belgium

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Morris Kirksey   United States 22.6 Q
2 Alexander Ponton   Canada 22.7 Q
3 Harold Abrahams   Great Britain 23.0
4 Vojtěch Plzák   Czechoslovakia 23.1
5 Cor Wezepoel   Netherlands 23.3

Quarterfinal 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Jack Oosterlaak   South Africa 23.0 Q
2 Paul Brochart   Belgium 23.2 Q
3 William Hill   Great Britain 23.2
4 Sven Krokström   Sweden 23.3
Albert Heijnneman   Netherlands DNF

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Loren Murchison   United States 22.4 Q
2 Harry Edward   Great Britain 22.5 Q
3 George Davidson   New Zealand 22.5 Q
4 Morris Kirksey   United States 22.5
Paul Brochert   Belgium DNS

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Allen Woodring   United States 22.4 Q
2 Charley Paddock   United States 22.5 Q
3 Jack Oosterlaak   South Africa 22.7 Q
4 Alexandre Penton   Canada 22.9
Josef Imbach   Switzerland DNF

Final

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time
  3 Allen Woodring   United States 22.0
  4 Charley Paddock   United States 22.0
  5 Harry Edward   Great Britain 22.2
4 6 Loren Murchison   United States 22.2
5 1 George Davidson   New Zealand 22.3
6 2 Jack Oosterlaak   South Africa 22.3

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games: Men's 200 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "200 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  3. ^ Mallon, Bill (2012). "Track & Field Athletics – Olympic Record Progressions" (PDF). Track and Field News. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 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). Retrieved 11 August 2007.