| | Event type
100 metres, Men
| Date | 30 – 31 July 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 63 from 33 countries |
The fastest sprinters in the world in 1948 were felt to be Mel Patton of the USA and Lloyd LaBeach of Panama, who became his nation’s first Olympic athlete ever in London. They had raced several times in 1947 and early 1948, basically splitting the races, as there was little to choose between them. Another top sprinter was Barney Ewell, but he had been at his best during the war years and was felt to be slightly past his prime. One athlete who would not compete in London was Hal Davis, who would have been favored in either 1940 or 1944 if the Olympics had not been lost to the war. An unusual thing happened at the US Olympic Trials. The heavy favorite in the high hurdles was Harrison Dillard, who had not lost a hurdle race in several years, but he hit a hurdle in the final of the Trials and did not finish. Fortunately for him, he had also entered the 100 metres and made the team in that event behind Patton and Ewell. In the Olympic final, Patton got off to a disastrous start and was not a factor. Dillard led from start to finish with Ewell closing quickly to get the silver medal, LaBeach in third.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | QF | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 69 | Harrison Dillard |  USA | 10.4 (1 h5) | 10.4 (1 h1) | 10.5 (1 h1) | 10.3 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 70 | Barney Ewell | USA | 10.5 (1 h1) | 10.5 (1 h2) | 10.5 (2 h1) | 10.4 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 57 | Lloyd LaBeach |  PAN | 10.5 (1 h3) | 10.5 (1 h4) | 10.5 (2 h2) | 10.6 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 36 | Alastair McCorquodale |  GBR | 10.5 (2 h1) | 10.5 (2 h3) | 10.7 (3 h1) | – (4) | |||
| 5 | 71 | Mel Patton | USA | 10.6 (1 h2) | 10.4 (1 h3) | 10.4 (1 h2) | – (5) | |||
| 6 | 35 | McDonald Bailey | GBR | 10.5 (1 h6) | 10.6 (2 h2) | 10.6 (3 h2) | – (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r3/4 | 4 | John Bartram |  AUS | 10.8 (2 h8) | 10.6 (3 h3) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r3/4 | 6 | John Treloar | AUS | 10.5 (1 h7) | 10.5 (2 h4) | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r3/4 | 72 | Juan López |  URU | 10.5 (1 h4) | 10.6 (2 h1) | – (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r3/4 | 25 | Rafael Fortún |  CUB | 10.7 (1 h8) | 10.6 (3 h4) | – (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r3/4 | 5 | Morris Curotta | AUS | 10.7 (1 h9) | 10.8 (3 h2) | – (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r3/4 | 34 | Ken Jones | GBR | 10.6 (2 h4) | 10.7 (3 h1) | – (6 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r2/4 | 15 | Ivan Hausen |  BRA | 10.9 (2 h2) | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/4 | 66 | Georgie Lewis |  TTO | 10.8 (1 h10) | – (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r2/4 | 32 | René Valmy |  FRA | 10.8 (2 h7) | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r2/4 | 14 | Haroldo da Silva | BRA | 10.6 (2 h5) | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/4 | 18 | Ted Haggis |  CAN | 10.9 (2 h10) | – (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/4 | 44 | Béla Goldoványi |  HUN | 11.0 (2 h3) | – (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r2/4 | 74 | Mario Fayos | URU | 11.0 (1 h12) | – (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r2/4 | 1 | Gerardo Bönnhoff |  ARG | 10.8 (2 h9) | – (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/4 | 61 | Nuno Morais |  POR | 10.9w (2 h11) | – (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/4 | 45 | Haukur Clausen |  ISL | 11.0 (2 h6) | – (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r2/4 | 9 | Isidoor Van De Wiele |  BEL | 10.8w (1 h11) | – (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r2/4 | 48 | Eric Prabhakar |  IND | 11.0 (2 h12) | – (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/4 | 50 | Les Laing |  JAM | 11.0 (3 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/4 | 19 | Jimmy O'Brien | CAN | 10.9 (3 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/4 | 12 | Frank Mahoney |  BER | 11.8 (3 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/4 | 41 | Jan Meijer |  NED | 11.0 (3 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h5 r1/4 | 55 | Peter Bloch |  NOR | 11.1 (3 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h6 r1/4 | 64 | Abram van Heerden |  RSA | 11.1 (3 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h7 r1/4 | 43 | György Csányi | HUN | 11.1 (3 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h8 r1/4 | 51 | Basil McKenzie | JAM | 10.8 (3 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h9 r1/4 | 27 | Raúl Mazorra | CUB | 11.1 (3 h9) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h10 r1/4 | 73 | Walter Pérez | URU | 11.0 (3 h10) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h11 r1/4 | 23 | Alberto Labarthe |  CHI | 11.0w (3 h11) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h12 r1/4 | 42 | László Bartha | HUN | 11.1 (3 h12) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/4 | 26 | Ángel García | CUB | – (4 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/4 | 3 | Fernando Lapuente | ARG | – (4 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/4 | 58 | Máximo Reyes |  PER | – (4 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/4 | 7 | Pol Braekman | BEL | – (4 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h6 r1/4 | 24 | Carlos Silva | CHI | – (4 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h7 r1/4 | 2 | Carlos Isaack | ARG | – (4 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h8 r1/4 | 13 | Hélio da Silva | BRA | – (4 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h9 r1/4 | 46 | Örn Clausen | ISL | – (4 h9) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h10 r1/4 | 309 | Santiago Ferrando | PER | – (4 h10) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h11 r1/4 | 56 | Sharif Butt |  PAK | – (4 h11) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h12 r1/4 | 40 | Jan Kleyn | NED | – (4 h12) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/4 | 53 | Nestor Jacono |  MLT | – (5 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/4 | 8 | Hector Gosset | BEL | – (5 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/4 | 47 | Finnbjörn Þorvaldsson | ISL | – (5 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h6 r1/4 | 59 | Bernabe Lovina |  PHI | – (5 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h7 r1/4 | 28 | Ezz El-Din Moukhtar |  EGY | – (5 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h8 r1/4 | 39 | Jo Zwaan | NED | – (5 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h9 r1/4 | 68 | Raşit Öztaş |  TUR | – (5 h9) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h10 r1/4 | 38 | Stefanos Petrakis |  GRE | – (5 h10) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h11 r1/4 | 16 | Charles Thompson |  GUY | – (5 h11) | – | – | – | 1 | ||
| 5 h12 r1/4 | 67 | Kemal Aksur | TUR | – (5 h12) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/4 | 54 | Gonzalo Rodríguez |  MEX | – (6 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h6 r1/4 | 11 | Stanley Lines | BER | – (6 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h7 r1/4 | 49 | Ali Salman |  IRQ | – (6 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h12 r1/4 | 17 | Sein Pe |  MYA | – (6 h12) | – | – | – | |||
| AC h9 r1/4 | 10 | Perry Johnson | BER | – (DQ h9) | – | – | – | |||
| AC h12 r1/4 | 31 | Étienne Bally | FRA | – (DNF h12) | – | – | – | |||
| 60 | Bogdan Lipski |  POL | – (DNS h1) | – | – | – | ||||
| 65 | Ricardo Sáenz |  ESP | – (DNS h5) | – | – | – | ||||
| 30 | John O'Donnell |  IRL | – (DNS h5) | – | – | – | ||||
| 20 | Jack Parry | CAN | – (DNS h7) | – | – | – | ||||
| 29 | Joe Kelly | IRL | – (DNS h11) | – | – | – | ||||
| 33 | Joseph Stéphan | FRA | – (DNS h10) | – | – | – | ||||
| 37 | Kyros Marinis | GRE | – (DNS h4) | – | – | – | ||||
| 52 | George Rhoden | JAM | – (DNS h3) | – | – | – | ||||
| 62 | Tomás Paquete | POR | – (DNS h3) | – | – | – | ||||
| 63 | Dennis Shore | RSA | – (DNS h11) | – | – | – | ||||
| 21 | John De Saram |  SRI | – (DNS h3) | – | – | – | ||||
| 22 | Duncan White | SRI | – (DNS h8) | – | – | – |
Round One (30 July 1948 — 15:00)
Top two in each heat advanced to the quarter-finals.
Heat One
| Wind | 1.1 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Barney Ewell | USA | 10.5 | 10.7 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Alastair McCorquodale | GBR | 10.5 | 10.73 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Les Laing | JAM | 11.0 | 11.06 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Ángel García | CUB | – | 11.25 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Nestor Jacono | MLT | – | 11.54 | |||
| 2 | Bogdan Lipski | POL | – | – |
Heat Two
| Wind | 0.3 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Mel Patton | USA | 10.6 | 10.7 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Ivan Hausen | BRA | 10.9 | 10.94 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Jimmy O'Brien | CAN | 10.9 | 11.12 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Fernando Lapuente | ARG | – | 11.16 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Hector Gosset | BEL | – | 11.50 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Gonzalo Rodríguez | MEX | – | 11.97 |
Heat Three
| Wind | 0.4 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lloyd LaBeach | PAN | 10.5 | 10.7 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Béla Goldoványi | HUN | 11.0 | 11.03 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Frank Mahoney | BER | 11.8 | 11.94 | 2 | ||
| 1 | George Rhoden | JAM | – | – | ||||
| 2 | Tomás Paquete | POR | – | – | ||||
| 6 | John De Saram | SRI | – | – |
Heat Four
| Wind | 1.3 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Juan López | URU | 10.5 | 10.7 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Ken Jones | GBR | 10.6 | 10.74 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Jan Meijer | NED | 11.0 | 11.01 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Máximo Reyes | PER | – | 11.04 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Finnbjörn Þorvaldsson | ISL | – | 11.23 | |||
| 4 | Kyros Marinis | GRE | – | – |
Heat Five
| Wind | 0.9 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Harrison Dillard | USA | 10.4 | 10.7 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Haroldo da Silva | BRA | 10.6 | 10.94 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Peter Bloch | NOR | 11.1 | 11.20 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Pol Braekman | BEL | – | 11.30 | |||
| 2 | Ricardo Sáenz | ESP | – | – | ||||
| 3 | John O'Donnell | IRL | – | – |
Heat Six
| Wind | 1.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | McDonald Bailey | GBR | 10.5 | 10.7 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Haukur Clausen | ISL | 11.0 | 10.89 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Abram van Heerden | RSA | 11.1 | 11.01 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Carlos Silva | CHI | – | 11.08 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Bernabe Lovina | PHI | – | 11.32 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Stanley Lines | BER | – | 11.69 |
Heat Seven
| Wind | 0.9 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | John Treloar | AUS | 10.5 | 10.6 | |||
| 2 | 4 | René Valmy | FRA | 10.8 | 10.80 | |||
| 3 | 1 | György Csányi | HUN | 11.1 | 11.11 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Carlos Isaack | ARG | – | 11.24 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Ezz El-Din Moukhtar | EGY | – | 11.71 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Ali Salman | IRQ | – | 11.90 | |||
| 5 | Jack Parry | CAN | – | – |
Heat Eight
| Wind | 0.3 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Rafael Fortún | CUB | 10.7 | 10.8 | |||
| 2 | 4 | John Bartram | AUS | 10.8 | 10.89 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Basil McKenzie | JAM | 10.8 | 10.92 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Hélio da Silva | BRA | – | 11.09 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Jo Zwaan | NED | – | 11.09 | |||
| 2 | Duncan White | SRI | – | – |
Heat Nine
| Wind | 0.6 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Morris Curotta | AUS | 10.7 | 10.8 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Gerardo Bönnhoff | ARG | 10.8 | 10.83 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Raúl Mazorra | CUB | 11.1 | 11.14 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Örn Clausen | ISL | – | 11.22 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Raşit Öztaş | TUR | – | 11.35 | |||
| 5 | Perry Johnson | BER | – | – |
Heat Ten
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Georgie Lewis | TTO | 10.8 | 11.0 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Ted Haggis | CAN | 10.9 | 11.09 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Walter Pérez | URU | 11.0 | 11.13 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Santiago Ferrando | PER | – | 11.19 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Stefanos Petrakis | GRE | – | 11.62 | |||
| 1 | Joseph Stéphan | FRA | – | – |
Heat Eleven
| Wind | 3.3 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Isidoor Van De Wiele | BEL | 10.8w | 11.1w | |||
| 2 | 3 | Nuno Morais | POR | 10.9w | 11.133w | |||
| 3 | 2 | Alberto Labarthe | CHI | 11.0w | 11.16w | |||
| 4 | 5 | Sharif Butt | PAK | – | 11.23w | |||
| 5 | 1 | Charles Thompson | GUY | – | – | 3 | ||
| 4 | Joe Kelly | IRL | – | – | ||||
| 6 | Dennis Shore | RSA | – | – |
Heat Twelve
| Wind | 0.9 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Mario Fayos | URU | 11.0 | 11.1 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Eric Prabhakar | IND | 11.0 | 11.22 | |||
| 3 | 5 | László Bartha | HUN | 11.1 | 11.25 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Jan Kleyn | NED | – | 11.36 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Kemal Aksur | TUR | – | 11.45 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Sein Pe | MYA | – | 11.78 | |||
| 6 | Étienne Bally | FRA | – | – |
Quarter-Finals (30 July 1948 — 17:30)
Top three in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Wind | 0.2 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 69 | Harrison Dillard | USA | 10.4 | 10.5 | |||
| 2 | 72 | Juan López | URU | 10.6 | 10.74 | |||
| 3 | 34 | Ken Jones | GBR | 10.7 | 10.75 | |||
| 4 | 15 | Ivan Hausen | BRA | – | 10.93 | |||
| 5 | 18 | Ted Haggis | CAN | – | 10.97 | |||
| 6 | 61 | Nuno Morais | POR | – | 11.32 |
Heat Two
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70 | Barney Ewell | USA | 10.5 | 10.7 | |||
| 2 | 35 | McDonald Bailey | GBR | 10.6 | 10.90 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Morris Curotta | AUS | 10.8 | 10.93 | |||
| 4 | 66 | Georgie Lewis | TTO | – | 11.04 | |||
| 5 | 44 | Béla Goldoványi | HUN | – | 11.11 | |||
| 6 | 45 | Haukur Clausen | ISL | – | 11.18 |
Heat Three
| Wind | 1.5 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | Mel Patton | USA | 10.4 | 10.6 | |||
| 2 | 36 | Alastair McCorquodale | GBR | 10.5 | 10.64 | |||
| 3 | 4 | John Bartram | AUS | 10.6 | 10.77 | |||
| 4 | 32 | René Valmy | FRA | – | 10.82 | |||
| 5 | 74 | Mario Fayos | URU | – | 11.08 | |||
| 6 | 9 | Isidoor Van De Wiele | BEL | – | 11.10 |
Heat Four
| Wind | 1.9 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 57 | Lloyd LaBeach | PAN | 10.5 | 10.7 | |||
| 2 | 6 | John Treloar | AUS | 10.5 | 10.74 | |||
| 3 | 25 | Rafael Fortún | CUB | 10.6 | 10.75 | |||
| 4 | 14 | Haroldo da Silva | BRA | – | 11.04 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Gerardo Bönnhoff | ARG | – | 11.09 | |||
| 6 | 48 | Eric Prabhakar | IND | – | 11.26 |
Semi-Finals (31 July 1948 — 14:30)
Top three in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Wind | 1.5 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Harrison Dillard | USA | 10.5 | 10.6 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Barney Ewell | USA | 10.5 | 10.63 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Alastair McCorquodale | GBR | 10.7 | 10.81 | |||
| 4 | 5 | John Bartram | AUS | – | 10.98 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Juan López | URU | – | 11.05 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Morris Curotta | AUS | – | 11.15 |
Heat Two
| Wind | 1.3 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Mel Patton | USA | 10.4 | 10.6 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Lloyd LaBeach | PAN | 10.5 | 10.62 | |||
| 3 | 4 | McDonald Bailey | GBR | 10.6 | 10.71 | |||
| 4 | 3 | John Treloar | AUS | – | 10.74 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Rafael Fortún | CUB | – | 10.82 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Ken Jones | GBR | – | 11.01 |
Final (31 July 1948 — 15:45)
| Wind | 1.6 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Harrison Dillard | USA | 10.3 | 10.5 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Barney Ewell | USA | 10.4 | 10.56 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Lloyd LaBeach | PAN | 10.6 | 10.59 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Alastair McCorquodale | GBR | – | 10.61 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Mel Patton | USA | – | 10.67 | |||
| 6 | 5 | McDonald Bailey | GBR | – | 10.81 |