Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics
These are the results of athletics competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics. 30 events were contested, all for men only.
Athletics at the Games of the V Olympiad | |
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Dates | 6-15 July |
No. of events | 30 |
Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics | |
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Track events | |
100 m | men |
200 m | men |
400 m | men |
800 m | men |
1500 m | men |
5000 m | men |
10,000 m | men |
110 m hurdles | men |
4 × 100 m relay | men |
4 × 400 m relay | men |
3000 m team race | men |
10 km walk | men |
Road events | |
Marathon | men |
Field events | |
Long jump | men |
Triple jump | men |
High jump | men |
Pole vault | men |
Standing long jump | men |
Standing high jump | men |
Shot put | men |
Discus throw | men |
Hammer throw | men |
Javelin throw | men |
2-hand shot put | men |
2-hand discus | men |
2-hand javelin | men |
Combined events | |
Pentathlon | men |
Decathlon | men |
Cross-country events | |
Individual | men |
Team | men |
The athletics programme grew by 4 events since the 1908 Summer Olympics. The 5000 and 10000 metre races were introduced, as the 5 mile event was eliminated. The 400 metre hurdle event made a brief disappearance, making the 1912 Olympics the only time that event was not held since its introduction in 1900. The 4x100 and 4x400 relays replaced the medley relay while the team race was shortened from 3 miles to 3000 metres. The decathlon, which had been held in 1904 but not in 1908, returned to the programme. Steeplechasing was eliminated, while racewalking was cut from 2 events to 1 with the 10 kilometre replacing the 10 mile and the 3500 metre eliminated. The pentathlon was introduced (as well as the separate sport modern pentathlon). The 1908 experiments of the Greek-style discus and the restricted javelin were replaced with two-handed throwing, for the shot put, discus, and javelin. Cross-country events, both for the individual and the team, were introduced. The competitions were held from Saturday, July 6, 1912, to Monday, July 15, 1912.
Medal summary





Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
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100 metres |
Ralph Craig![]() | 10.8 | Alvah Meyer![]() | 10.9 | Donald Lippincott![]() | 10.9 |
200 metres |
Ralph Craig![]() | 21.7 | Donald Lippincott![]() | 21.8 | Willie Applegarth![]() | 22.0 |
400 metres |
Charles Reidpath![]() | 48.2 WR | Hanns Braun![]() | 48.3 | Edward Lindberg![]() | 48.4 |
800 metres |
Ted Meredith![]() | 1:51.9 WR | Mel Sheppard![]() | 1:52.0 | Ira Davenport![]() | 1:52.0 |
1500 metres |
Arnold Jackson![]() | 3:56.8 OR | Abel Kiviat![]() | 3:56.9 | Norman Taber![]() | 3:56.9 |
5000 metres |
Hannes Kolehmainen![]() | 14:36.6 WR | Jean Bouin![]() | 14:36.7 | George Hutson![]() | 15:07.6 |
10,000 metres |
Hannes Kolehmainen![]() | 31:20.8 OR | Lewis Tewanima![]() | 32:06.6 | Albin Stenroos![]() | 32:21.8 |
110 metres hurdles |
Fred Kelly![]() | 15.1 | James Wendell![]() | 15.2 | Martin Hawkins![]() | 15.3 |
4 × 100 m relay |
![]() Willie Applegarth Victor d'Arcy David Jacobs Henry Macintosh | 42.4 | ![]() Knut Lindberg Charles Luther Ivan Möller Ture Person | 42.6 | none awarded | |
4 x 400 metres relay |
![]() Edward Lindberg Ted Meredith Charles Reidpath Mel Sheppard | 3:16.6 WR | ![]() Pierre Failliot Charles Lelong Charles Poulenard Robert Schurrer | 3:20.7 | ![]() Ernest Henley George Nicol Cyril Seedhouse James Soutter | 3:23.2 |
3000 metres team race |
![]() Tell Berna George Bonhag Abel Kiviat Louis Scott Norman Taber | 9 pts | ![]() Bror Fock Nils Frykberg Thorild Olsson Ernst Wide John Zander | 13 pts | ![]() Joe Cottrill George Hutson William Moore Edward Owen Cyril Porter | 23 pts |
Marathon |
Ken McArthur![]() | 2:36:54.8 OR | Christian Gitsham![]() | 2:37:52.0 | Gaston Strobino![]() | 2:38:42.4 |
10 kilometres walk |
George Goulding![]() | 46:28.4 | Ernest Webb![]() | 46:50.4 | Fernando Altimani![]() | 47:37.6 |
Individual cross country |
Hannes Kolehmainen![]() | 45:11.6 | Hjalmar Andersson![]() | 45:44.8 | John Eke![]() | 46:37.6 |
Team cross country |
![]() Hjalmar Andersson John Eke Josef Ternström | 10 pts | ![]() Jalmari Eskola Hannes Kolehmainen Albin Stenroos | 11 pts | ![]() Ernest Glover Frederick Hibbins Thomas Humphreys | 49 pts |
Long jump |
Albert Gutterson![]() | 7.60 m OR | Calvin Bricker![]() | 7.21 m | Georg Åberg![]() | 7.18 m |
Triple jump |
Gustaf Lindblom![]() | 14.76 m | Georg Åberg![]() | 14.51 m | Erik Almlöf![]() | 14.17 m |
High jump |
Alma Richards![]() | 1.93 m OR | Hans Liesche![]() | 1.91 m | George Horine![]() | 1.89 m |
Pole vault |
Harry Babcock![]() | 3.95 m OR | Frank Nelson![]() Marc Wright ![]() | 3.85 m | William Halpenny![]() Frank Murphy ![]() Bertil Uggla ![]() | 3.80 m |
Standing long jump |
Konstantinos Tsiklitiras![]() | 3.37 m | Platt Adams![]() | 3.36 m | Benjamin Adams![]() | 3.28 m |
Standing high jump |
Platt Adams![]() | 1.63 m | Benjamin Adams![]() | 1.60 m | Konstantinos Tsiklitiras![]() | 1.55 m |
Shot put |
Pat McDonald![]() | 15.34 m OR | Ralph Rose![]() | 15.25 m | Lawrence Whitney![]() | 13.93 m |
Discus throw |
Armas Taipale![]() | 45.21 m OR | Richard Byrd![]() | 42.32 m | James Duncan![]() | 42.28 m |
Hammer throw |
Matt McGrath![]() | 54.74 m OR | Duncan Gillis![]() | 48.39 m | Clarence Childs![]() | 48.17 m |
Javelin throw |
Eric Lemming![]() | 60.64 m OR | Julius Saaristo![]() | 58.66 m | Mór Kóczán![]() | 55.50 m |
Two handed shot put |
Ralph Rose![]() | 15.23 + 12.47 = 27.70 m | Pat McDonald![]() | 15.08 + 12.45 = 27.53 m | Elmer Niklander![]() | 14.71 + 12.43 = 27.14 m |
Two handed discus throw |
Armas Taipale![]() | 44.68 + 38.18 = 82.86 m | Elmer Niklander![]() | 40.28 + 37.68 = 77.96 m | Emil Magnusson![]() | 40.58 + 36.79 = 77.37 m |
Two handed javelin throw |
Julius Saaristo![]() | 61.00 + 48.42 = 109.42 m | Väinö Siikaniemi![]() | 54.09 + 47.04 = 101.13 m | Urho Peltonen![]() | 53.58 + 46.66 = 100.24 m |
Pentathlon |
Jim Thorpe![]() | 7 pts | Ferdinand Bie![]() | 16 pts | Frank Lukeman![]() | 24 pts |
James Donahue![]() | 24 pts[lower-alpha 1] | |||||
Decathlon |
Jim Thorpe![]() | 8412.955 pts[lower-alpha 2] | Hugo Wieslander![]() | 7724.495 pts | Gösta Holmér![]() | 7347.855 pts |
Charles Lomberg![]() | 7413.510 pts[lower-alpha 3] |
Medal table
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | ![]() | 16 | 14 | 12 | 42 |
2 | ![]() | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
3 | ![]() | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
4 | ![]() | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
5 | ![]() | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
6 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
7 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
8 | ![]() | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
![]() | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
10 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
11 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (12 entries) | 30 | 33 | 31 | 94 |
Participating nations
556 athletes from 27 nations competed. Egypt was the only nation not to compete in athletics.
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Notes
- The tie between Donahue and Lukeman was broken by calculating each athlete's score on the decathlon table, originally deciding between a bronze medal and fourth place. Donahue won, 3475.865 points to 3396.975 points, to take the bronze medal. Thorpe's disqualification in 1913 resulted in Bie being awarded the gold medal, while Donahue and Lukeman moved up to silver and bronze, respectively. When Thorpe's results were reinstated 70 years later, his gold medal status was returned while the other three athletes kept their upgraded placings—resulting in two gold medalists. In 2022, the IOC declared Thorpe as the sole winner of the gold medal, and named Bie a co-winner of silver alongside Donahue.[1]
- Total as given in Wudarski. A sum of the scores given by formula gives a total of 8412.995 points.
- Thorpe's disqualification in 1913 and subsequent reinstatement 70 years later resulted in the top 4 finishers being awarded medals—2 gold, a silver, and a bronze. The IOC's 2022 decision to reinstate Thorpe as sole gold medallist resulted in there being two silver medallists instead of two gold.
References
- Mather, Victor; Panja, Tariq (15 July 2022). "Jim Thorpe Is Restored as Sole Winner of 1912 Olympic Gold Medals". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2022.