Quick Facts Men's 100 metres at the Games of the IV Olympiad, Venue ...

Men's 100 metres at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Venue	White City Stadium
Dates	July 20 (quarterfinals) July 21 (semifinals) July 22 (final)
Competitors	60 from 16 nations
Winning time	10.8
Medalists
Reggie Walker  South Africa James Rector  United States Robert Kerr  Canada
← 1904 (1906) 1912 →

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The men's 100 metres was the shortest of the sprint races at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held over the course of three days. The first round was held on 20 July, the semifinals on 21 July, and the final on 22 July. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes,^[1] The event was won by Reggie Walker of South Africa, the first time the gold medal went to a nation other than the United States. The Americans did stay on the podium with James Rector's silver medal. Canada won its first medal in the event, a bronze by Robert Kerr.

This was the fourth time the event was held. Nathaniel Cartmell, the 1904 silver medalist, competed again in 1908, but gold medalist Archie Hahn did not. Other notable entrants included John W. Morton of Great Britain, the four-time AAA Championships winner; Reggie Walker, the 1907 South African champion; and Knut Lindberg of Sweden, the unofficial world record holder.^[2]

Austria, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and South Africa were represented in the event for the first time. The United States and Hungary were the only two nations to have appeared at each of the first four Olympic men's 100 metres events.

With a larger field than in 1904, the event expanded from two rounds to three: heats, semifinals, and a final. Only the top runner in each heat, of which there were 17, advanced to the semifinals. These 17 semifinalists were divided into 4 semifinal heats; again, only the top runner advanced to the final.

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

More information World Record, Olympic Record ...

World Record	10.6(*)	Knut Lindberg	Gothenburg (SWE)	August 26, 1906
Olympic Record	10.8	Frank Jarvis	Paris (FRA)	July 14, 1900
	10.8	Walter Tewksbury	Paris (FRA)	July 14, 1900

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(*) unofficial

James Rector (in the 15th heat and the third semi-final) and Reggie Walker (in the first semi-final and final) both equalized the standing Olympic record. Reggie Walker's actual time in the first semi-final was 10.7, but was rounded up to the nearest fifth in accordance with rules in force at the time, so his time was given as 104⁄5.