Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's medley relay

Men's medley relay at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Venue	White City Stadium
Dates	July 24 (semifinals) July 25 (final)
Competitors	28 from 7 nations
Medalists
United States (USA) Nathaniel Cartmell, William F. Hamilton, Mel Sheppard, John Taylor    Germany (GER) Hanns Braun, Hans Eicke, Arthur Hoffmann, Otto Trieloff    Hungary (HUN) Ödön Bodor, József Nagy, Pál Simon, Frigyes Wiesner

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 medley relay was run for the first time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The event consisted of 1600 metres being run by four athletes per team. Unlike the later 4x400 metre relay, however, the athletes had different distances to run. In the medley, the first two runners each ran 200 metres. The third runner ran 400 and the fourth ran 800. The competition was held on July 24, 1908 and July 25, 1908. 28 runners from 7 nations competed.

The event was run in two rounds.

Results

First round

All first round heats were held on July 24, 1908.

First round, heat 1 Simon had a ten yard lead over Laaftman at the end of the first 200 metres. Lindberg gained four yards on Racz, leaving Nagy with a six yard lead to start. Stenborg passed Nagy during the 400, giving Björn a three yard advantage over Bodor to begin the second half of the race. Bodor was up to the task, however, running his part in 1:56.6 to pass up the Swede and win the Hungarian team qualification to the final.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Pál Simon Frigyes Wiesner József Nagy Ödön Bodor	Hungary	3:32.6
2	Sven Låftman Knut Lindberg Knut Stenborg Evert Björn	Sweden	unknown

First round, heat 2 The German team dominated this heat, with each runner increasing the lead.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Arthur Hoffmann Hans Eicke Otto Trieloff Hanns Braun	Germany	3:43.2
2	Evert Koops Jacobus Hoogveld Victor Henny Bram Evers	Netherlands	90 yards behind

First round, heat 3 Hamilton gave the American team a slight lead at the end of the first 200 metres, with the Canadians in second and the British team third. Cartmell increased his team's lead while Pankhurst caught up to Buddo near the end of the second 200. In the 400, Taylor held the American lead while Montague put some distance between himself and Sebert to solidify second place for the Britons. Just had little chance of catching Sheppard in the second half of the race. The American, who had won the individual 800 metres, finished 25 yards in front.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	William F. Hamilton Nathaniel Cartmell John Taylor Mel Sheppard	United States	3:27.2
2	George A. Hawkins Henry Pankhurst Edwin Montague Theodore Just	Great Britain	3:32.0
3	Frank Lukeman Donald Buddo Louis Sebert R. Irving Parkes	Canada	unknown

Final

The final was held on July 25, 1908.

At the end of the first 200 metres, Hamilton had a six yard lead over Simon with Hoffmann about a yard behind the Hungarian. Cartmell increased the Americans' lead even more, as did Taylor. Sheppard began the second half of the race with a fifteen yard lead over Bodor, twenty ahead of Braun. He had drawn away even further to twenty-five yards by the time he finished. Braun and Bodor fought mightily for second place, with the German being faster and turning a five yard deficit at the beginning of the 800 metres into a five inch victory.

Place	Name	Nation	Split	Time
1	William F. Hamilton Nathaniel Cartmell John Taylor Mel Sheppard	United States	0:22.0 0:22.2 0:49.8 1:55.4	3:29.4
2	Arthur Hoffmann Hans Eicke Otto Trieloff Hanns Braun	Germany		3:32.4
3	Pál Simon Frigyes Wiesner József Nagy Ödön Bodor	Hungary		3:32.5

References

• Official Report of the Games of the IV Olympiad (1908).
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich". http://olympic.w.interia.pl/. Retrieved 11 August 2007.  (Polish)