Venue White City Stadium | Competitors 43 from 15 nations | |
 | ||
Dates July 21 (quarterfinals)
July 22 (semifinals)
July 23 (final) | ||
The men's 200 metre race was held for the third time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held from July 21, 1908 to July 23, 1908.
Contents
43 sprinters from 15 nations competed.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.
(*) unofficial 220 yards (= 201.17 m)
(**) straight course
Heats
The winner of each heat advanced, with all others eliminated. Heats were held on July 21, 1908.
Heat 1
George led by ten yards when he crossed the finish line.
Heat 2
In a tight race, Huff barely beat Duffy, crossing the line with a lead of less than two yards.
Heat 3
Roche won by a mere yard.
Heat 4
Cartmell won by about two yards.
Heat 5
Malfait had about a four-yard lead when he finished.
Heat 6
Laaftman won by two yards.
Heat 7
There was no competition for Radóczy in the seventh heat.
Heat 8
Cloughen had a comfortable six-yard lead when he crossed the finish line.
Heat 9
Hurdsfield led by a yard and a half at the finish.
Heat 10
Hamilton's margin of victory was three yards.
Heat 11
Kerr's victory was by about three yards.
Heat 12
Sherman led by two yards when he finished.
Heat 13
Reed won by two and a half yards.
Heat 14
Guttormsen was the second runner to win without competition.
Heat 15
The race was extremely tight until the final straightaway, where Hawkins pulled away to win.
Semifinals
The semifinal round was held on July 22, 1908, a day after the heats. The winners of each semifinal advanced to the final, with the other runners being knocked out of competition.
Semifinal 1
The first semifinal featured both of the runners who had won via walkover in the heats. There was very little room separating the lead three runners, with Kerr about nine inches in front of Hamilton and twelve ahead of Radoczy.
Semifinal 2
This all-American heat was also close, but not as close as the first. Cartmell won by about five feet.
Semifinal 3
Cloughen finally pulled ahead of Reed three-quarters of the way into the race, holding onto the lead until the finish.
Semifinal 4
Låftman was forced to scratch due to an injury. The three runners broke apart in the last ten metres, with Hawkins winning by a foot.
Final
The final was held on July 23, 1908.
The top three were within two feet of each other, as Kerr's early lead evaporated in the straight. He was able to hang onto nine inches, however, and defeated Cloughen by that small margin.