Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 10 miles walk
| Men's 10 miles walk at the Games of the IV Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | White City Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Dates | July 16 (semifinals) July 17 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 25 from 8 nations | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Track events | |
| 100 m | men |
| 200 m | men |
| 400 m | men |
| 800 m | men |
| 1500 m | men |
| 5 miles | men |
| 110 m hurdles | men |
| 400 m hurdles | men |
| 3200 m steeplechase | men |
| Medley relay | men |
| 3 mile team race | men |
| Road events | |
| Marathon | men |
| 3500 m walk | men |
| 10 mile walk | 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 |
| Greek discus | men |
| Freestyle javelin | men |
The men's 10 miles walk race was held at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. This was the only time the event was held. The competition was held on Thursday, July 16, 1908, and on Friday, July 17, 1908. The competition was held in two rounds. There were two heats in the first round, with the top four in each heat advancing to the final. 25 race walkers from eight nations competed.[1] NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[2]
Records
This was the Olympic debut of racewalking at this distance. The world record for the 10-mile racewalk at the time was 1:17:40 3⁄4 by E. E. Merrill.
| World record |  E. E. Merrill (USA) | 1:17:40 3⁄4 | Boston | 5 October 1880 | [3] |
| Olympic record | N/A |
George Larner and Ernest Webb both broke the previous world record mark in the final, with Larner setting a new world record of 1:15:57.4.
Results
First round
The first round heats were held on Thursday, July 16, 1908.
Heat 1
Carter, Larner, and Spencer intentionally drew even to finish in a line. Carter had been in second place, followed by Spencer and then Larner before they did so.
| Place | Name | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernest Webb |  Great Britain | 1:20:18.8 |
| 2 | Fred Carter | Great Britain | 1:21:25.4 |
| Ernest Larner | Great Britain | 1:21:25.4 | |
| Edward Spencer | Great Britain | 1:21:25.4 | |
| 5 | Arthur Rowland |  Australasia | 1:21:57:6 |
| 6 | Thomas Hammond | Great Britain | 1:23:44.0 |
| 7 | Paul Gunia | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Germany | 1:26:09.4 |
| — | Jo Goetzee |  Netherlands | Did not finish |
| Arne Højme |  Denmark | Did not finish | |
| Piet Soudyn | Netherlands | Did not finish | |
| Willem Winkelman | Netherlands | Did not finish | |
| Alfred Yeoumans | Great Britain | Disqualified |
Heat 2
| Place | Name | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Larner | Great Britain | 1:18:19.0 |
| 2 | Ralph Harrison | Great Britain | 1:18:21.2 |
| 3 | Harry Kerr | Australasia | 1:18:40.2 |
| 4 | William Palmer | Great Britain | 1:19:04.0 |
| 5 | Godwin Withers | Great Britain | 1:19:22.4 |
| 6 | Sidney Schofield | Great Britain | 1:21:07.4 |
| 7 | Piet Ruimers | Netherlands | 1:27:38.8 |
| 8 | Emmerich Rath |  Austria | 1:30:33.8[4] |
| — | John Butler | Great Britain | Did not finish |
| George Goulding | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada | Did not finish | |
| Jan Huijgen | Netherlands | Did not finish | |
| Einar Rothman |  Sweden | Did not finish | |
| Charles Vestergaard | Denmark | Did not finish |
Final
The final was held on Friday, July 17, 1908.
| Place | Name | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Larner | Great Britain | 1:15:57.4 |
| 2 | Ernest Webb | Great Britain | 1:17:31.0 |
| 3 | Edward Spencer | Great Britain | 1:21:20.2 |
| 4 | Fred Carter | Great Britain | 1:21:20.2 |
| 5 | Ernest Larner | Great Britain | 1:24:26.2 |
| 6 | William Palmer | Great Britain | Unknown[5] |
| — | Ralph Harrison | Great Britain | Did not start |
| — | Harry Kerr | Australasia | Did not start |
References
- "Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's 10 mile Walk". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- Official report, p. 32.
- "Spalding's official athletic almanac" (PDF). lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com. 1908. p. 15. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- The time appears on the official report as "go min. 334⁄5 sec."
- Listed on the official report as in sixth place, with a dash in the time column, indicating that Palmer finished in sixth place but without the time having been recorded. De Wael lists Palmer with Harrison in the "did not finish" section.
Sources
- Official Report of the Games of the IV Olympiad (1908).
- De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1908". Accessed 31 March 2006. Available electronically at Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.