Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's standing high jump

The men's standing high jump was one of six jumping events on the athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on July 23, 1908. 23 high jumpers from eleven nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.^[1] The event was won by Ray Ewry of the United States, his third consecutive victory in the event. Ewry won all eight standing jump events from 1900 to 1908 as well as both events at the 1906 Intercalated Games. Konstantinos Tsiklitiras of Greece took silver, tying with American John Biller. Tsiklitiras was the first non-American to medal in the event; the United States had swept the medals in both 1900 and 1904.

Men's standing high jump at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Ray Ewry during standing high jump competition.
Venue	White City Stadium
Date	July 23, 1908
Competitors	23 from 11 nations
Winning height	1.57
Medalists
Ray Ewry  United States John Biller  United States Konstantinos Tsiklitiras  Greece
← 1904 1912 →

Background

This was the third appearance of the event, which was held four times from 1900 to 1912. Two-time defending champion (three-time if the 1906 Intercalated Games are counted) Ray Ewry of the United States was heavily favored.^[2]

Australasia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Norway, and Sweden each made their debut in the event. The United States made its third appearance, the only nation to have competed in each appearance of the event to that point.

Competition format

There were two rounds of jumping, though the results from the qualifying round carried over to the final. The top four jumpers in the qualifying round advanced to the final. Each competitor received three attempts at each height. The judges determined the initial height of the bar and any increases. "Diving" and "somersaulting" were not allowed.^[2][3]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World record	Ray Ewry (USA)	1.655	Paris, France	16 July 1900
Olympic record	Ray Ewry (USA)	1.655	Paris, France	16 July 1900

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

Date	Time	Round
Thursday, 23 July 1908		Qualifying Final

Results

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Height
	Ray Ewry	United States	1.57
	John Biller	United States	1.55
	Konstantinos Tsiklitiras	Greece	1.55
4	Frank Holmes	United States	1.52
5	Platt Adams	United States	1.47
	Géo André	France	1.47
	Alfred Motté	France	1.47
8	Wilhelm Blystad	Norway	1.42
	Léon Dupont	Belgium	1.42
	Walter Henderson	Great Britain	1.42
	Frank Irons	United States	1.42
	Svend Langkjær	Denmark	1.42
	Arthur Mallwitz	Germany	1.42
14	Allan Bengtsson	Sweden	1.40
	Karl Fryksdal	Sweden	1.40
16	Martin Sheridan	United States	1.37
17	Lancelot Stafford	Great Britain	1.32
	Ludwig Uettwiller	Germany	1.32
19–23	George Barber	Canada	Unknown
	Alfred Flaxman	Great Britain	Unknown
	Ernest Hutcheon	Australasia	Unknown
	Henri Jardin	France	Unknown
	Lawson Robertson	United States	Unknown

References

1. Official report, p. 32.
2. "Standing High Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
3. Official Report, p. 405.

Sources

• Official Report of the Games of the IV Olympiad (1908).
• De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1908". Accessed 7 April 2006. Available electronically at Archived 27 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine.