| | Event type

Triple Jump, Men

Date	25 July 1908
Status	Olympic
Location	White City Stadium, London
Participants	20 from 8 countries

There could be no favorite as the event was rarely contested at national meets in this era. The world record had stood since 1893 when Edward Bloss (USA) had jumped 48-6 (14.78) when the event was on the AAU program for the only time prior to 1908. The Olympic record was 47-5¾ (14.47), set by Meyer Prinstein (USA) in 1900.

Three qualifying sections were held in the morning with the three leading competitors taking three further jumps in the final, which took place immediately the qualifying rounds. The Irishman Tim Ahearne and Garfield MacDonald, a Canadian from Nova Scotia, waged a fierce battle and completely dominated the competition. They were both drawn in the same qualifying section and both produced their best performance in the final three jumps. With his final jump Ahearne set a new Olympic record to take the gold medal and MacDonald was unable to match Ahearne’s effort. Contrary to most reports, Ahearne did not win with the last jump of the competition. He was ahead of MacDonald in the jumping order.

Tim Ahearne and his brother, Dan Ahearn, hailed from Dirreen, County Limerick in Ireland. Shortly after the Olympics, they emigrated to the United States, where Dan dropped the final “e” from his name. Tim Ahearne had won the 1909 AAA long jump championship, but in the United States he was eclipsed by his younger brother. Dan Ahearn set the first IAAF-recognized triple jump with 50-11 (15.52) in May 1911. He won the AAU triple jump in 1911 and 1913-1918, usually defeating Tim, who was runner-up in 1911, 1913-14, and 1916.

Pos	Nr	Athlete	NOC	Distance	Distance (Imp.)	Qualifying	Final
1	–	Tim Ahearne	GBR	–	–	14.72 (1)	14.92 (1)	Gold	WR
2	–	Garfield MacDonald	CAN	–	–	14.12 (3)	14.76 (2)	Silver	OR
3	–	Edvard Larsen	NOR	–	–	14.37 (2)	14.39 (3)	Bronze
4	–	Cal Bricker	CAN	–	–	14.10 (4)	–
5	–	Platt Adams	USA	–	–	14.07 (5)	–
6	–	Frank Mount Pleasant	USA	–	–	13.97 (6)	–
7	–	Karl Fryksdahl	SWE	–	–	13.65 (7)	–
8	–	John Brennan	USA	–	–	13.59 (8)	–
9	–	Martin Sheridan	USA	–	–	13.42 (9)	–
10	–	Doug Stupart	RSA	–	–	13.40 (10)	–
11	–	Cyril Dugmore	GBR	–	–	13.31 (11)	–
12	–	Michael Dineen	GBR	–	–	13.23 (12)	–
13	–	Henry Olsen	NOR	–	–	13.17 (13)	–
14	–	Oscar Guttormsen	NOR	–	–	13.16 (14)	–
15	–	Dimitrios Muller	GRE	–	–	13.09 (15)	–
16	–	Frank Irons	USA	–	–	12.67 (16)	–
17	–	Sam Bellah	USA	–	–	12.55 (17)	–
AC	–	Nate Sherman	USA	–	–	– (AC)	–
AC	–	George Mayberry	GBR	–	–	– (AC)	–
AC	–	Juho Halme	FIN	–	–	– (AC)	–
DNS	–	Sandy Quinn	CAN	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Uuno Railo	FIN	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	F. Young	USA	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	John Schommer	USA	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Ben Stephenson	USA	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Carl Silfverstrand	SWE	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Ernest Hutcheon	ANZ	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Gustav Krojer	AUT	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	George Barber	CAN	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Frank Lukeman	CAN	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Ted Savage	CAN	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Con Leahy	GBR	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Arthur Hoffmann	GER	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Albert Weinstein	GER	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Paul Weinstein	GER	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Emilio Brambilla	ITA	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Skotte Jacobsson	SWE	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Sven Låftman	SWE	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Knut Stenborg	SWE	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Ed Cook	USA	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	James O'Connell	USA	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Karl Lampelmayer	AUT	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Martin Brustmann	GER	–	–	–	–

Qualifying Round (25 July 1908 — 10:00)

Each competitor was allowed three jumps, after which the leading three were allowed a further three trials.

Pos	Athlete	NOC	Distance	Distance (Imp.)
1	Tim Ahearne	GBR	14.72	48-3¾	QOR
2	Edvard Larsen	NOR	14.37	47-2	Q
3	Garfield MacDonald	CAN	14.12	46-4	Q
4	Cal Bricker	CAN	14.10	46-3
5	Platt Adams	USA	14.07	46-2
6	Frank Mount Pleasant	USA	13.97	45-10
7	Karl Fryksdahl	SWE	13.65	44-9½
8	John Brennan	USA	13.59	44-7
9	Martin Sheridan	USA	13.42	44-0¼
10	Doug Stupart	RSA	13.40	43-11½
11	Cyril Dugmore	GBR	13.31	43-8
12	Michael Dineen	GBR	13.23	43-5
13	Henry Olsen	NOR	13.17	43-2¾
14	Oscar Guttormsen	NOR	13.16	43-2
15	Dimitrios Muller	GRE	13.09	42-11½
16	Frank Irons	USA	12.67	41-7
17	Sam Bellah	USA	12.55	41-2
AC	Nate Sherman	USA	–	–
AC	George Mayberry	GBR	–	–
AC	Juho Halme	FIN	–	–

Qualifying Round, Group A (25 July 1908)

Pos	Athlete	NOC	Distance	Distance (Imp.)
1	Platt Adams	USA	14.07	46-2
2	Karl Fryksdahl	SWE	13.65	44-9½
3	Martin Sheridan	USA	13.42	44-0¼
4	Cyril Dugmore	GBR	13.31	43-8
5	Henry Olsen	NOR	13.17	43-2¾
6	Dimitrios Muller	GRE	13.09	42-11½
7	Frank Irons	USA	12.67	41-7

Qualifying Round, Group B (25 July 1908)

Pos	Athlete	NOC	Distance	Distance (Imp.)
1	Tim Ahearne	GBR	14.72	48-3¾	OR
2	Garfield MacDonald	CAN	14.12	46-4
3	John Brennan	USA	13.59	44-7
4	Doug Stupart	RSA	13.40	43-11½
5	Oscar Guttormsen	NOR	13.16	43-2
6	Sam Bellah	USA	12.55	41-2
AC	Nate Sherman	USA	–	–
AC	George Mayberry	GBR	–	–
AC	Juho Halme	FIN	–	–

Qualifying Round, Group C (25 July 1908)

Pos	Athlete	NOC	Distance	Distance (Imp.)
1	Edvard Larsen	NOR	14.37	47-2
2	Cal Bricker	CAN	14.10	46-3
3	Frank Mount Pleasant	USA	13.97	45-10
4	Michael Dineen	GBR	13.23	43-5

Final Round (25 July 1908)

Pos	Athlete	NOC	Distance	Distance (Imp.)
1	Tim Ahearne	GBR	14.92	48-11¼	WR
2	Garfield MacDonald	CAN	14.76	48-5¼	OR
3	Edvard Larsen	NOR	14.39	47-2¾