The men's medley relay was run for the first time at the 1908 Summer Olympics

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The event consisted of 1600 metres being run by four athletes per team. Unlike the later 4 x 400 metres relay

4 x 400 metres relay

The 4 x 400 meters relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners who each complete 400 meters or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, the first 500 meters is run in lanes...

, however, the athletes had different distances to run. In the medley, the first two runners each ran 200 metres. The third runner ran 400 and the fourth ran 800. The competition was held on July 24, 1908 and July 25, 1908. 28 runners from 7 nations competed.

The event was run in two rounds.

First round

All first round heats were held on July 24, 1908.

First round, heat 1
Simon had a ten yard lead over Laaftman at the end of the first 200 metres; after Lindberg gained on Racz, Stenborg passed Nagy during the 400, giving Björn a three yard advantage over Bodor to begin the second half of the race. Bodor was up to the task and ran the split in 1:56.6 to pass Björn and win by three yards.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Pál Simon Pál Simon Pál Simon was a Hungarian athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born and died in Budapest....   Frigyes Wiesner Frigyes Wiesner Frigyes Mezei was a Hungarian athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....   József Nagy  Ödön Bodor Ödön Bodor Ödön Bodor was a Hungarian athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He was Jewish.-Career:...		3:32.6
2	Sven Låftman Sven Låftman Sven Låftman was a Swedish athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.Låftman won his preliminary heat in the 200 metres with a time of 23.8 seconds, the slowest winning time in the round...   Knut Lindberg Knut Lindberg Knut Lindberg was a Swedish athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....   Knut Stenborg Knut Stenborg Knut Stenborg was a Swedish athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....   Evert Björn Evert Björn Evert Björn was a Swedish athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....		(3:33.0)

First round, heat 2
The German team dominated this heat, with each runner increasing the lead; Braun crossed the finish line 90 yards ahead of Evers.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Arthur Hoffmann Arthur Hoffmann (athlete) Arthur Hoffmann was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born in Danzig and died in Hamburg....   Hans Eicke Hans Eicke Hans Eicke was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.-Career:Eicke was born and died in Berlin. Eicke was a member of the silver medal German medley relay team. He was the second runner on the squad, running the second 200 metres...   Otto Trieloff Otto Trieloff Otto Paul Trieloff was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born in Duisburg and died in Essen-Rüttenscheid....   Hanns Braun Hanns Braun Hanns Braun was a German athlete.-Biography:He was born in Wernfels and died near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France as fighter-pilot in an airplane-crash in World War I....		3:43.2
2	Evert Koops Evert Koops Evert "Eddy" Koops was a Dutch athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born and died in Arnhem....   Jacobus Hoogveld Jacobus Hoogveld Jacobus Johannes Hoogveld was a Dutch athlete, who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London....   Victor Henny Victor Henny Victor Henny was a Dutch athlete, who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London....   Bram Evers		(3:55.4)

First round, heat 3
Hamilton gave the Americans a slight lead at the end of the first 200 metres, with the Canadians in second and the British team third. Cartmell increased the lead while Pankhurst caught up to Buddo near the end of the second 200. In the 400, Taylor held the American lead while Montague ensured second place for the Britons, but Just had little chance of catching Sheppard, who had won the individual 800 metres, in the second half of the race. Sheppard finished 25 yards in front of the British team.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	William Hamilton  Nate Cartmell Nathaniel Cartmell Nathaniel John Cartmell , also known as Nat and Nate, was an American athlete who won medals at two editions of the Olympic Games...   John Taylor John Taylor (athlete) John Baxter Taylor Jr. was an American track and field athlete, notable as the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal...   Mel Sheppard Mel Sheppard Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...		3:27.2
2	George Hawkins  Henry Pankhurst Henry Pankhurst Henry J. Pankhurst was a British athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.In the 100 metres, Pankhurst took second place in his first round heat with a time of 11.5 seconds, just behind Harold Huff who won with 11.4 seconds...   Edwin Montague Edwin Montague Edwin Herbert Montague was a British athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.Montague won his preliminary heat in the 400 metres with a time of 50.2 seconds. He dropped his time to 49.8 seconds in the semifinals, but lost to Wyndam Halswelle who set a new Olympic record at...   Theodore Just Theodore Just Theodore Hartman Just was a British athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.In the 800 metres, Just won his first round heat easily with a time of 1:57.8. He then placed fifth in the final with a time of 1:56.4.He was also a member of the British relay team...		3:32.0
3	Frank Lukeman Frank Lukeman Francis Lawrence Lukeman , was a Canadian athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....   Donald Buddo Donald Buddo Donald Smith Buddo was a Canadian athlete who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born in Montreal and died in London, Ontario....   Louis Sebert Louis Sebert Louis Joseph Sebert was a Canadian athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.In the 100 metres, Sebert took second place in his first round heat with a time of 11.7 seconds. He did not advance to the semifinals.His result in the 200 metres was similar...   R. Irving Parkes R. Irving Parkes Robert Irving Parkes was a Canadian athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London....		unknown

Final

The final was held on July 25, 1908.

At the end of the first 200 metres, Hamilton had a six yard lead over Simon, with Hoffmann about a yard behind the Hungarian. Cartmell and Taylor increased the American lead, and Sheppard began the second half of the race with a fifteen yard lead over Bodor; he pulled away and won by twenty-five yards. Braun and Bodor fought mightily for second place, with the German, who had a five yard deficit at the beginning of the 800 metres, winning by five inches.

Place	Name	Nation	Split	Time
1	William Hamilton  Nate Cartmell Nathaniel Cartmell Nathaniel John Cartmell , also known as Nat and Nate, was an American athlete who won medals at two editions of the Olympic Games...   John Taylor John Taylor (athlete) John Baxter Taylor Jr. was an American track and field athlete, notable as the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal...   Mel Sheppard Mel Sheppard Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...		0:22.0 0:22.2 0:49.8 1:55.4	3:29.4
2	Arthur Hoffmann Arthur Hoffmann (athlete) Arthur Hoffmann was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born in Danzig and died in Hamburg....   Hans Eicke Hans Eicke Hans Eicke was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.-Career:Eicke was born and died in Berlin. Eicke was a member of the silver medal German medley relay team. He was the second runner on the squad, running the second 200 metres...   Otto Trieloff Otto Trieloff Otto Paul Trieloff was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born in Duisburg and died in Essen-Rüttenscheid....   Hanns Braun Hanns Braun Hanns Braun was a German athlete.-Biography:He was born in Wernfels and died near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France as fighter-pilot in an airplane-crash in World War I....			3:32.4
3	Pál Simon Pál Simon Pál Simon was a Hungarian athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born and died in Budapest....   Frigyes Wiesner Frigyes Wiesner Frigyes Mezei was a Hungarian athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....   József Nagy  Ödön Bodor Ödön Bodor Ödön Bodor was a Hungarian athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He was Jewish.-Career:...			3:32.5