Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres
| Men's 800 metres at the Games of the X Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | |||||||||
| Dates | August 1 and August 2 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 21 from 11 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 1:49.7 WR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
The men's
Background
This was the ninth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the medalists from 1928 returned, but three finalists did: fourth-place finisher
New Zealand appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain and the United States each made their eighth appearance, tied for the most among all nations.
Competition format
With only 21 athletes, the three-round format introduced in 1912 was impractical. Only two rounds were held, still with the nine-man final introduced in 1920. There were three semifinals with 7 athletes each; the top three runners in each semifinal advanced to the nine-man final.[2][4]
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1932 Summer Olympics.
| World record |  Séra Martin (FRA) |
1:50.6 | Paris, France | 14 July 1928 |
| Olympic record |  Douglas Lowe (GBR) |
1:51.8 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 31 July 1928 |
Tommy Hampson broke the world record in the final, setting the new record at 1:49.7.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, 1 August 1932 | 16:30 | Semifinals |
| Tuesday, 2 August 1932 | 15:45 | Final |
Results
Semifinals
Three heats were held; the fastest three runners in each advanced to the final round.
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edwin Genung |  United States |
1:54.8 | Q |
| 2 | Phil Edwards |
 Canada |
1:55.1 | Q |
| 3 | Jack Powell |
Great Britain |
1:55.6 | Q |
| 4 | Cyril Evans |  New Zealand |
1:56.6 | |
| 5 | Paul Martin |  Switzerland |
1:58.4 | |
| 6 | Nestor Gomes |  Brazil |
2:00.5 | |
| — | Jean Keller |  France |
DNF |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chuck Hornbostel | United States |
1:52.4 | Q |
| 2 | Alex Wilson | Canada |
1:52.5 | Q |
| 3 | Otto Peltzer |  Germany |
1:53.6 | Q |
| 4 | Hjalle Johannesen |
 Norway |
1:54.3 | |
| 5 | Hermenegildo del Rosso |  Argentina |
1:54.9 | |
| 6 | René Morel | France |
1:55.2 | |
| 7 | José Lucílo Iturbe |
 Mexico |
1:55.6 |
Semifinal 3
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Hampson | Great Britain |
1:53.0 | Q |
| 2 | Séra Martin | France |
1:53.2 | Q |
| 3 | Edwin Turner | United States |
1:54.0 | Q |
| 4 | Eddie King | Canada |
1:54.4 | |
| 5 | Max Danz | Germany |
1:58.9 | |
| 6 | Domingos Puglisi | Brazil |
1:59.4 | |
| 7 | Miguel Vasconcelos | Mexico |
2:00.0 |
Final
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Tommy Hampson | Great Britain |
1:49.7 | WR |
 |
Alex Wilson | Canada |
1:49.9 | |
 |
Phil Edwards |
Canada |
1:51.5 | |
| 4 | Edwin Genung | United States |
1:51.7 | |
| 5 | Edwin Turner | United States |
1:52.5 | |
| 6 | Chuck Hornbostel | United States |
1:52.7 | |
| 7 | Jack Powell |
Great Britain |
1:53.0 | |
| 8 | Séra Martin | France |
1:53.6 | |
| 9 | Otto Peltzer | Germany |
1:55.0 |
References
- ^ "Athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ Official Report, p. 377.
- ^ Official Report, pp. 414–15.