As in 1908 there were 17 heats, with two qualifying from each heat for
the semi-final round. Lippincott was the fastest in the first round with
10.6, a metre clear of Applegarth in heat 16. Lippincott, Meyer and
Craig all won their semi-finals in 10.7, but the favourite for the final
was Howard Drew who had pulled a muscle winning his semi-final.
However, Drew did not appear at the start of the final.
At the eighth time of asking (!), Patching was away quickest. Craig
then got into top gear, catching the Springbok at 60m and won going
away. Meyer was second, inches ahead of the others who finished
almost in a tie, with Patching perhaps unlucky not to have been ruled
third.
6 Semis with 33 athletes. Winners of each Semi advanced to Final.
Semi 1
time
1. Howard Drew
United States
11.0s
Q
2. Ira Courtney
United States
3. Peter Gerhardt
United States
4. Charles Luther
Sweden
5. Erwin Kern
Germany
6. Vilmos Rácz
Hungary
Drew "ran magnificently" and used a "powerful, concentrated finish" to become "a safe winner.
Semi 2
time
1. George Patching
South Africa
10.9s
Q
2. Knut Lindberg
Sweden
3. Richard Rice
Great Britain
4. Franco Giongo
Italy
5. Aelter Léon
Belgium
Patching had another false start in this round. Lindberg fell behind early, dropping to fourth place at the halfway mark, but challenged Patching with a "hard spurt" at the end. The distance between the two was too much for him to make up, however.
Semi 3
time
1. Alvah Meyer
United States
10.7s
Q
2. David Jacobs
Great Britain
3. Frank Lukeman
Canada
4. Szalay Pál
Hungary
-. Rolf Smedmark
Sweden
DNF
In an event marred by false starts, this semifinal heat was decided by a legal start that one runner thought false. Smedmark was off first, but came to a stop thinking he had false started. The remaining runners saw a "hard struggle between Meyer and Jacobs" with Meyer "strongest in the last 10 metres" to win.
Semi 4
time
1. Ralph Craig
United States
10.7s
Q
2. Richard Rau
Germany
10.9s
3. William Stewart
Australasia
4. István Jankovich
Hungary
5. René Mourlon
France
6. Ferenc Szobota
Hungary
This semifinal heat featured 9 false starts. Rau led for the first 70 metres before being caught by Craig, who "won by more than a metre.
Semi 5
time
1. Donald Lippincott
United States
10.7s
Q
2. Willie Applegarth
Great Britain
3. Bedřich Vygoda
Bohrmia
4. Clement Wilson
United States
5. Victor d'Arcy
Great Britain
6. John Howard
Canada
This heat had a "sharp struggle for the lead during the whole of the race.
17 Heats with 70 athletes. Best 2 from each Heat advanced to Quarter-Finals.
Heat 1
time
1. Charles Luther
Sweden
12.8s
Q
Heat 2
time
1. Ivan Möller
Sweden
11.5s
Q
2. Szalay Pál
Hungary
Q
3. Rudolf Rauch
Austria
Möller and Szalay were close at 70 metres; "Möller was stronger in the finish, however, and won by something more than half a metre."
Heat 3
time
1. Ira Courtney
United States
11.2s
Q
2. István Jankovich
Hungary
Q
3. Pierre Failliot
France
4. Henry Blakeney
Great Britain
5. Ladislav Jiránek-Strana
Bohrmia
6. Pablo Eitel
Chile
There was much separation at the top of this heat; Courtney "won without being extended" and Jankovich "was a very easy second."
Heat 4
time
1. Richard Rice
Great Britain
11.4s
Q
2. Rolf Smedmark
Sweden
Q
With both runners assured of advancement to the semifinals, they "ran the course very quietly" with Rice "breaking the tape easily ahead of" Smedmark.
Heat 5
time
1. Victor d'Arcy
Great Britain
11.2s
Q
2. Reuben Povey
South Africa
Q
3. António Stromp
Portugal
This was a close race between the top two placers, with d'Arcy "shak[ing] off" Povey at the end and winning "by a metre."
Heat 6
time
1. Richard Rau
Germany
11.5s
Q
2. Vilmos Rácz
Hungary
Q
3. Ture Person
Sweden
4. Robert Schurrer
France
5. Dimitrios Triantafyllakos
Greece
6. Leopolds Lēvenšteins
Russia
Rau started strongly and led throughout.
Heat 7
time
1. William Stewart
Australasia
11.0s
Q
2. Aelter Léon
Belgium
Q
3. Charles Lelong
France
4. Jan Grijseels
Netherlands
5. Richard Schwarz
Russia
In one of the faster heats, Stewart finished "well in front of [Aelter], who also ran very well."
Heat 8
time
1. Knut Lindberg
Sweden
11.6s
Q
2. Bedřich Vygoda
Bohrmia
11.6s
Q
3. Dušan Milošević
Serbia
11.6s
4. Jón Halldórsson
Iceland
12.1s
Lindberg won the heat "easily.
Heat 9
time
1. Alvah Meyer
United States
11.6s
Q
2. Franco Giongo
Italy
Q
3. Robert Duncan
Great Britain
4. Georges Rolot
France
Meyer "won without any apparent effort," as Giongo "ran well, although he was not the same class as the American.
Heat 10
time
1. David Jacobs
Great Britain
10.8s
Q, =OR
2. Clement Wilson
United States
Q
3. Marius Delaby
France
4. Herman Sotaaen
Norway
5. Labík-Gregan Václav
Bohrmia
Jacobs matched the Olympic record in a tight heat, neck-and-neck with Wilson for most of the way before winning by "a hands-breadth.
Heat 11
time
1. Frank Belote
United States
11.0s
Q
2. René Mourlon
France
Q
3. Henry Macintosh
Great Britain
4. Harry Beasley
Canada
Belote was "a safe winner, after a very quick finish.
Heat 12
time
1. Peter Gerhardt
United States
11.2s
Q
2. Frank Lukeman
Canada
Q
3. Fritz Weinzinger
Austria
4. Alexander Pedersen
Norway
5. Duncan Macmillan
Great Britain
Weinzinger had a good start and led at 25 metres before falling to third. Gerhard "was clearly the best man.
Heat 13
time
1. John Howard
Canada
11.0s
Q
2. George Patching
South Africa
Q
3. Harold Heiland
United States
4. Pavel Shtiglits
Russia
-. Emil Ketterer
Germany
DNF
Patching had a false start. The top three men were close, with Patching leading at 85 metres but Howard taking the lead at the end by "the least bit.
Heat 14
time
1. Arthur Anderson
Great Britain
11.0s
Q
2. Rupert Thomas
United States
Q
3. Frank McConnell
Canada
4. Skotte Jacobsson
Sweden
McConnell led early but faltered at the end; Thomas passed him for the second qualifying spot "just before reaching the post.
Heat 15
time
1. Howard Drew
United States
11.0s
Q
2. Erwin Kern
Germany
Q
3. Julien Boullery
France
-. James Barker
Great Britain
DNF
There was a false start. Drew "won easily" with Kern "a pretty good distance behind.
Heat 16
time
1. Donald Lippincott
United States
10.6s
Q, OR
2. Willie Applegarth
Great Britain
Q
3. Max Herrmann
Germany
4. Ervin Szerelemhegyi
Hungary
5. Yahiko Mishima
Japan
There were two false starts in this heat before, on the third try, Lippincott set a new Olympic record and the first official world record. He "led from start to finish, and gave the impression that he would be an easy winner, but Applegarth came on very quickly in the last 20 metres, and Lippincott had to do his very best in order to keep the lead.
Heat 17
time
1. Ralph Craig
United States
11.2s
Q
2. Ferenc Szobota
Hungary
Q
3. Ragnar Ekberg
Sweden
4. Fritz Fleischer
Austria
Ekberg started well and led through halfway before being passed by Craig and Szobota at around 60 metres. Craig then "won easily" over Szobota.
World Record
10.5s(*)
Emil Ketterer, Germany Karlsruhe (GER) July 9, 1911
10.5s(*)
Richard Rau, Germany Braunschweig (GER) August 13, 1911
10.5s(*)
Richard Rau, Germany Munich (GER) May 12, 1912
10.5s(*)
Erwin Kern, Germany Munich (GER) May 26, 1912
Olympic Record
10.8s
Frank Jarvis, United States Paris (FRA) July 14, 1900
10.8s
Walter Tewksbury, United States Paris (FRA) July 14, 1900
10.8s
James Rector, United States London (GBR) July 20, 1908
10.8s(**)
Reggie Walker, South Africa London (GBR) July 21, 1908
10.8s
James Rector, United States London (GBR) July 21, 1908
10.8s
Reggie Walker, South Africa London (GBR) July 22, 1908
_ (**) Actual time was 10.7, rounded up to the nearest fifth, in accordance with rules in force at the time. So his time was only given as 104⁄5.The Olympic record for the 100 metres coming into 1912 was 10.8 seconds.
It was matched by David Jacobs of Great Britain in the 10th heat before being broken by American Donald Lippincott with 10.6 seconds in the 16th heat. This was also the inaugural official world record in the 100 metres. Three semifinalists (including Lippincott) ran the race in 10.7 seconds, but the new record of 10.6 seconds stood for the rest of the event.
United States
South Africa
Sweden
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Belgium
Canada
Australasia
France
Bohrmia
Austria
Chile
Portugal
Germany
Greece
Russia
Netherlands
Serbia
Iceland
Norway
Russia
Japan
