Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles

The men's 110 metres hurdles was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third time the event was held. 6 hurdlers from 2 nations participated. The competition was held on September 3, 1904.^[1] The event was won by Frederick Schule of the United States, the third of five consecutive victories for the nation in the first five Olympic Games. It was also the second of four consecutive podium sweeps for the Americans in the event.

Men's 110 metres hurdles at the Games of the III Olympiad
The first heat of the 110 metres hurdles
Venue	Francis Field
Date	September 3
Competitors	6 from 2 nations
Winning time	16.0
Medalists
Frederick Schule  United States Thaddeus Shideler  United States Lesley Ashburner  United States
← 1900 1908 →

Background

This was the third appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the hurdlers from 1900 returned. Edwin Clapp was the 1903 and 1904 IC4A champion and the American favorite; he entered but did not start. Thaddeus Shideler had matched Alvin Kraenzlein's 120 yards hurdles world record. Frederick Schule was the 1903 AAU champion, while Frank Castleman was the 1904 winner.^[2]

Australia made its first appearance in the event. The United States made its third appearance, the only nation to compete in the 110 metres hurdles in each of the first three Games.

Competition format

There were two rounds: semifinals and a final. There were two semifinals, one with 2 runners and one with 4 runners after withdrawals. The top two runners in each of the semifinal heats advanced to the 4-man final.^[2]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1904 Summer Olympics.

World Record	15.0(*)	Thaddeus Shideler	St. Louis (USA)	June 11, 1904
Olympic Record	15.4	Alvin Kraenzlein	Paris (FRA)	July 14, 1900

(*) unofficial 120 yards (= 109.73 m)

Schedule

Date	Time	Round
Saturday, 3 September 1904		Semifinals Final

Results

Semifinals

The top two finishers in each semifinal heat advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Frederick Schule	United States	16.2	Q
2	Lesley Ashburner	United States	Unknown	Q
3	Ward McLanahan	United States	Unknown
4	Corrie Gardner	Australia	16.4

Semifinal 2

McPherson withdrew after learning that the hurdles were one foot lower than normal.^[3]

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Frank Castleman	United States	16.2	Q
2	Thaddeus Shideler	United States	Unknown	Q
—	Leslie McPherson	Australia	DNS
	Edwin Clapp	United States	DNS

Final

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time
	Frederick Schule	United States	16.0
	Thaddeus Shideler	United States	16.3
	Lesley Ashburner	United States	16.4
4	Frank Castleman	United States	Unknown

Results summary

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Semifinals	Final
	Frederick Schule	United States	16.2	16.0
	Thaddeus Shideler	United States	Unknown	16.3
	Lesley Ashburner	United States	Unknown	16.4
4	Frank Castleman	United States	16.2	Unknown
AC	Ward McLanahan	United States	Unknown	Did not advance
	Corrie Gardner	Australia	16.4
—	Leslie McPherson	Australia	DNS
	Edwin Clapp	United States	DNS
	C. R. Vincent	United States	DNS
	Louis Mertz	United States	DNS
	Lester Bailey	United States	DNS
	Sam Jones	United States	DNS

References

1. "Athletics at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Games: Men's 110 metres Hurdles". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
2. "110 metres Hurdles, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
3. "Leslie McPherson". corporate.olympics.com.au. Retrieved 18 June 2017.

Sources

• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 13 December 2006.