Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 3500 metres walk


The men's 3500 metre walk race was held for the only time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held on Tuesday, July 14, 1908. It was held in two rounds. There were three heats in the first round, with the top three in each heat advancing to the final. 25 racewalkers from eight nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.

Results

First round

Heat 1
Larner led the entire race.
PlaceNameNationTime
1George Larner15:32.0
2Harry Kerr16:02.2
3William Palmer16:33.0
4Paul Gunia16:38.0
5Sydney Sarel17:06.0
6Arne Højme17:23.4
7Jo Goetzee17:37.8
—Bill BrownDisqualified
—Alfred YeoumansDisqualified
—Piet SoudynDisqualified

Heat 2
Webb had little competition, leading from the start and winning by nearly 2 minutes.
PlaceNameNationTime
1Ernest Webb15:17.2
2Charles Vestergaard17:07.0
3Einar Rothman17:40.2
4Willem Winkelman17:57.6
5István Drubina18:44.6
6Piet Ruimers18:44.6
—Richard QuinnDisqualified
—John J. ReidDisqualified

Heat 3
As in the other two heats, the winner led from the beginning. Unlike in the others, however, this race became close as Harrison made a late attempt to pass Goulding. Goulding finished strongly to fend off Harrison, winning by 10 seconds.
PlaceNameNationTime
1George Goulding15:54.0
2Ralph Harrison16:04.4
3Arthur Rowland16:08.6
4Ernest Larner16:10.0
5John Butler16:17.0
6Richard Wilhelm17:33.8
7Jan Huijgen17:37.8

Final

Webb, Goulding, and Harrison were the early leaders. Harrison was disqualified shortly after Larner passed him. By the end of the first mile, the top four spots had solidified into the final positions. Larner had passed the field, bumping Webb to second place, while Kerr had managed to overtake Goulding.
PlaceNameNationTime
1George Larner14:55.0
2Ernest Webb15:07.4
3Harry Kerr15:43.4
4George Goulding15:49.8
5Arthur Rowland16:07.0
6Charles Vestergaard17:21.8
7Einar Rothman17:50.0
—William PalmerDid not finish
—Ralph HarrisonDisqualified