Athletics at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. This race was depicted in the film Chariots of Fire. The first two rounds were held on 6 July, with the semifinals and final on 7 July. Eighty-six sprinters from 34 countries competed. The event was won by Harold Abrahams of Great Britain—Great Britain's first Olympic gold medal in the men's 100 metres and only the second time that the United States failed to win. Jackson Scholz kept the Americans on the podium with a silver. Arthur Porritt won the bronze, New Zealand's first medal in the event. The Chariots of Fire film presents a fictionalized version of the event in which Eric Liddell, a devout Christian, dropped out shortly before the competition because the heat was on Sunday, and his faith compelled him to keep Sunday as the Sabbath. While the basic story is accurate, the true timeline was less dramatic, as "Liddell knew about the Olympic schedule several months in advance and never intended to run the 100 in Paris."
Background
This was the seventh time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. For the first time, a defending gold medalist attempted to retain his title. Two other 1920 finalists, Loren Murchison and Jackson Scholz, also returned. Other notable entrants included Great Britain's Harold Abrahams, a favorite along with Paddock. Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Estonia, Haiti, Ireland, Latvia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, and Turkey were represented in the event for the first time. The United States was the only nation to have appeared at each of the first seven Olympic men's 100 metres events.
Competition format
The event retained the four round format from 1920: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 17 heats, of 3–6 athletes each, with the top 2 in each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The 34 quarterfinalists were placed into 6 heats of 5 or 6 athletes. Again, the top 2 advanced. There were 2 heats of 6 semifinalists, this time with the top 3 advancing to the 6-man final.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows: No new records were set in 1924, though Harold Abrahams equalled the Olympic record three times.
Results
All times shown are in seconds.
Heats
The first round was held on 6 July. The first two runners of each heat qualified for the second round.
Heat 1
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Loren Murchison
10.8
Q
2
Arthur Porritt
10.9
Q
3
Camilo Rivas
4
Mariano Aguilar
5
Alberto Jurado
Heat 2
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Cyril Coaffee
11.0
Q
2
Ernesto Bonacina
11.2
Q
3
Mogens Truelsen
4
Gentil dos Santos
5
Alois Linka
11.6
Heat 3
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Charles Paddock
11.2
Q
2
Oto Seviško
11.8
Q
3
Ferdinand Kaindl
Heat 4
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Maurice Degrelle
11.0
Q
2
Reijo Halme
11.1
Q
3
Frederik Lamp
4
Fritz Schedl
5
Władysław Dobrowolski
11.5
6
Rauf Hasağasi
Heat 5
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Lajos Kurunczy
11.4
Q
2
Johans Oja
Q
3
Henricus Cockuyt
4
Wilfred Hildreth
5
Lawrence Betts
Heat 6
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Henricus Broos
11.0
Q
2
George Dunston
11.2
Q
3
Antonín Svoboda
11.3
4
Poul Schiang
11.5
5
José-María Larrabeiti
11.6
6
David Nepomuceno
Heat 7
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Lancelot Royle
11.0
Q
2
Giovanni Frangipane
11.1
Q
3
Valéry Théard
11.2
4
Juan Junqueras
11.3
5
Zygmunt Weiss
11.4
Heat 8
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Walter Rangeley
11.0
Q
2
Marinus van den Berge
11.1
Q
3
Diego Ordóñez
4
Victor Moriaud
5
Karel Pott
6
Miguel Enrico
Heat 9
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Albert Heisé
11.2
Q
2
Gusztáv Rózsahegyi
11.3
Q
3
Lauri Härö
11.3
4
Curt Wiberg
11.4
5
Alexandros Papafingos
Heat 10
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Wilfred Nichol
11.0
Q
2
Paul Brochart
11.1
Q
3
Laurence Armstrong
4
Konstantinos Pantelidis
5
Gvido Jekals
Heat 11
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Chester Bowman
11.0
Q
2
Walter Strebi
11.2
Q
3
James Hall
11.3
4
Bror Österdahl
11.3
5
Félix Escobar
6
Herminio Ahumada
Heat 12
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
George Hester
11.2
Q
2
Johannes van Kampen
11.2
Q
3
Karl Borner
4
William Lowe
5
László Muskát
–
Eugène Moetbeek
DQ
Heat 13
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Jackson Scholz
10.8
Q
2
Paul Hammer
11.3
Q
3
Terence Pitt
11.3
4
Knut Russell
11.3
5
Reinhold Kesküll
11.5
Heat 14
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Harold Abrahams
11.0
Q
2
Slip Carr
11.0
Q
3
Sasago Tani
4
Anton Husgafvel
5
Álvaro Ribeiro
6
Şekip Engineri
Heat 15
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
André Mourlon
11.0
Q
2
Enrico Torre
11.2
Q
3
Joseph Hilger
Heat 16
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Félix Mendizábal
11.4
Q
2
Anthony Vince
11.4
Q
3
Vittorio Zucca
11.5
4
Stanisław Sośnicki
11.6
5
Artūrs Gedvillo
Heat 17
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Ferenc Gerő
11.0
Q
2
René Mourlon
11.0
Q
3
Väinö Eskola
11.1
4
Aleksander Szenajch
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals were held on 6 July. The first two runners of each heat qualified for the semifinals.
Quarterfinal 1
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Loren Murchison
10.8
Q
2
Giovanni Frangipane
11.0
Q
3
Henricus Broos
11.1
4
Paul Hammer
11.1
5
Reijo Halme
11.1
6
Anthony Vince
Quarterfinal 2
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Chester Bowman
10.8
Q
2
Arthur Porritt
10.9
Q
3
Walter Rangeley
11.0
4
René Mourlon
11.0
5
Lajos Kurunczy
11.0
6
Enrico Torre
Quarterfinal 3
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Cyril Coaffee
10.8
Q
2
Wilfred Nichol
11.0
Q
3
André Mourlon
11.1
4
Marinus van den Berge
5
Jānis Oja
6
Walter Strebi
Quarterfinal 4
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Harold Abrahams
10.6
Q
2
George Hester
10.7
Q
3
Ferenc Gerő
4
Albert Heisé
5
Ernesto Bonacina
6
Félix Mendizábal
Quarterfinal 5
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Charles Paddock
10.8
Q
2
Maurice Degrelle
11.0
Q
3
Johannes van Kampen
4
George Dunston
5
Gusztáv Rózsahegyi
Quarterfinal 6
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
Jackson Scholz
10.8
Q
2
Slip Carr
10.9
Q
3
Lancelot Royle
4
Paul Brochart
5
Oto Seviško
Semifinals
The semifinals were held on 7 July. The first three runners from each semifinal qualified for the final.
