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Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's triple jump

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Men's triple jump
at the Games of the I Olympiad
James B. Connolly won the triple jump and became the first Olympic Champion since the 4th century AD
VenuePanathinaiko Stadium
Dates6 April 1896
Competitors7 from 5 nations
Winning distance13.71 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) James Brendan Connolly
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Alexandre Tuffèri
 France
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ioannis Persakis
 Greece
1900 →

The men's triple jump was one of four jumping events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. There were 7 competitors from 5 nations in the triple jump, then known as the "hop, skip, and jump" despite the wide range of techniques used by the competitors. The event was held on 6 April, immediately after the first heats of the 100 metre race. Since there was only one round of the triple jump, the winner was crowned as the first modern Olympic champion.[1]

The winning margin was 1.01 metres which as of 2023 remains the only time the men's triple jump was won by more than 60 cm at the Olympics.

Background

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This was the first appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. There were 11 entrants, but only 7 men actually started.[2][3]

Competition format

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There was a single round of jumping. There were no rules on the jumps allowed. "The styles of the medalists were described in The Field as follows: Connolly took two hops on his right foot and then a jump; Tuffèri performed a hop, step and a jump in the standard English method; and Persakis used two steps and a jump."[2][3]

Records

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There were no standing Olympic records (as this was the first Games) before the event.

World record  Matthew Roseingreue (IRL)* 15.26 m (50 ft 34 in) Gort 15 August 1895[4]
Olympic record N/A N/A N/A N/A

* unofficial

The following record was established during the competition:

Date Event Athlete Nation Distance (m) Record
April 6 Final James Brendan Connolly  United States 13.71 OR

Schedule

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The exact time of the contest is not known; it was the second event of the Games. The first day began with the arrival of the King and a brief opening ceremony at 3 p.m., followed by the first round of the 100 metres before the triple jump began.

Date Time Round
Gregorian Julian
Monday, 6 April 1896 Monday, 25 March 1896 Final

Results

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Rank Athlete Nation Distance Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) James Brendan Connolly  United States 13.71 OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Alexandre Tuffèri  France 12.70
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ioannis Persakis  Greece 12.52
4 Alajos Szokolyi  Hungary 11.26
5 Carl Schuhmann  Germany Unknown
6–7 Fritz Hofmann  Germany Unknown
Khristos Zoumis  Greece Unknown
Alfred Flatow  Germany DNS
Adolphe Grisel  France DNS
Pál Péthy  Hungary DNS
Friedrich Traun  Germany DNS

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1896 Athens Summer Games: Men's Triple Jump". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Triple Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b Official Report, pp. 62–63.
  4. ^ "Track and Field Statistics". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.

Sources

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