Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles
| Men's 110 metres hurdles at the Games of the I Olympiad | |||||||
| Venue | Panathinaiko Stadium | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | April 7 (heats) April 10 (final) | ||||||
| Competitors | 8 from 6 nations | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
| Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics  | ||
|---|---|---|
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | |
| 400 m | men | |
| 800 m | men | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | |
| Triple jump | men | |
| High jump | men | |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Shot put | men | |
| Discus throw | men | |
The men's 110 metres hurdles was the only hurdling event on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The preliminary heats were the first track event of the day on 7 April. Eight competitors ran in two heats of four runners each. Only the fastest two runners in each heat advanced to the final.
Results
Heats
The heats were held on 7 April. The top two finishers in each of the two heats advanced to the final.
Heat 1
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Grantley Goulding (GBR) |
18.4 s |
| 2 |  Frantz Reichel (FRA) |
Unknown |
| 3 | .svg.png){kind=small} Alajos Szokolyi (HUN) |
Unknown |
| 4 | .svg.png){kind=small} Anastasios Andreou (GRE) |
Unknown |
Grantley Goulding of Great Britain finished first, in a time of 18.4 seconds. Szokolyi hit the last hurdle and stumbled, allowing Reichel to pass him and finish second.
Heat 2
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Thomas Curtis (USA) |
18.0 s |
| 2 | William Hoyt (USA) |
Unknown |
| 3-4 |  Kurt Doerry (GER) |
Unknown |
| Athanasios Skaltsogiannis (GRE) |
Unknown |
The Americans finished 1st and 2nd in this heat, with Thomas Curtis advancing to the final with a time of 18 seconds, and Hoyt second.
Athanasios Skaltsogiannis of Greece and Kurt Doerry of Germany also competed, though their final positions are not recorded.
Final
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Curtis (USA) |
17.6 s |
| 2 | Grantley Goulding (GBR) |
17.6 s |
| – | William Hoyt (USA) |
DNS |
| Frantz Reichel (FRA) |
DNS |
The final of the 110 metre hurdles was run on 10 April. Reichel was unable to compete in the final as he was serving as an assistant to Albin Lermusiaux in the marathon, and Hoyt withdrew in order to prepare for the pole vault; thus, only two athletes competed, but they finished within one-tenth of a second. Goulding led at the final hurdle, being a better hurdler, but Curtis passed him in the straight and won a tight race by two inches.
References
- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at la84foundation.org)
- Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at la84foundation.org)
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.