Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's tandem
The men's 2000 metre tandem was one of seven track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Each nation could enter up to 6 teams of 2.[1]
| Men's tandem at the Games of the IV Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | White City Stadium | |||||||||
| Dates | July 13–15 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 34 from 7 nations | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
Track cycling_pictogram.svg.png.webp){kind=small} | |
| 660 yards | men |
| 5000 metres | men |
| 20 kilometres | men |
| 100 kilometres | men |
| Sprint | men |
| Tandem | men |
| Team pursuit | men |
Competition format
The tandem race was a sprint-style race with teams of 2 on tandem bicycles. The distance was 2000 metres, or approximately 3.3 laps of the 660-yard track. The time limit for the race was 4 minutes. The competition was held over three rounds (heats, semifinals, and a final). The first round consisted of 7 heats of 2 or 3 teams each, with the winning team in each heat as well as the fastest second-place team advancing to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals of 4 teams each; the winning team in each semifinal as well as the faster second-place team advanced to the final. The final featured 3 teams, so all finalists received medals.
Results
First round
The fastest team in each of the seven heats and the fastest second-place team overall advanced to the semifinals.
The competition was held on Monday, July 13, 1908 starting at 4.15 p.m. (first four heats) and at 5.15 p.m. (remaining three heats).
Heat 1
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Brooks William Isaacs |  Great Britain (GBR) | 3:09.4 | Q |
| 2 | Alwin Boldt Hermann Martens | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Germany (GER) | 5 lengths behind |
Heat 2
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frederick Hamlin Horace Johnson | Great Britain (GBR) | 3:14.8 | Q |
| 2 | Marc Texier Pierre Texier |  France (FRA) | 4 lengths behind |
Heat 3
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Götze Otto Götze[2] | Germany (GER) | 2:55.6[3] | Q |
| 2 | Charles Avrillon Joseph Guyader | France (FRA) | bare wheel | |
| 3 | Cecil McKaig Edward Piercy | Great Britain (GBR) | 2 lengths behind 2nd |
Heat 4
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Léon Coeckelberg Jean Patou | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium (BEL) | 2:25.0 | Q |
| 2 | John Barnard Arthur Rushen | Great Britain (GBR) | 1.2 lengths behind | q |
| 3 | Andrew Hansson Gustaf Westerberg |  Sweden (SWE) | beaten off |
Heat 5
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | André Auffray Maurice Schilles | France (FRA) | 3:11.4 | Q |
| 2 | Philipus Frylink Floris Venter | South Africa (RSA) | 1 length behind |
Heat 6
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | François Bonnet Octave Lapize | France (FRA) | 3:06.8 | Q |
| 2 | R. Jolly J. Norman | Great Britain (GBR) | 6 lengths behind |
Heat 7
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Matthews Leonard Meredith | Great Britain (GBR) | 2:43.2 | Q |
| 2 | Gaston Dreyfus André Poulain | France (FRA) | 2 lengths behind | |
| 3 | Frederick McCarthy William Morton | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada (CAN) | beaten off |
Semifinals
The fastest team in each heat as well as the fastest second-place team overall advanced to the final.
The competition was held on Wednesday, July 15, 1908 starting at 5 p.m.
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frederick Hamlin Horace Johnson | Great Britain (GBR) | 2:42.2 | Q |
| 2 | Charlie Brooks William Isaacs | Great Britain (GBR) | 6 lengths behind | q |
| 3 | Max Götze Otto Götze[2] | Germany (GER) | Unknown | |
| 4 | Léon Coeckelberg Jean Patou | Belgium (BEL) | Unknown |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | André Auffray Maurice Schilles | France (FRA) | 2:46.2 | Q |
| 2 | John Matthews Leonard Meredith | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 length behind | |
| 3 | John Barnard Arthur Rushen | Great Britain (GBR) | Unknown | |
| 4 | François Bonnet Octave Lapize | France (FRA) | Unknown |
Final
The final was held on Wednesday, July 15, 1908 at 5.45 p.m.
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
 | André Auffray Maurice Schilles | France (FRA) | 3:07.6 |
 | Frederick Hamlin Horace Johnson | Great Britain (GBR) | Unknown |
 | Charlie Brooks William Isaacs | Great Britain (GBR) | Unknown |
Notes
- Official Report, p. 33.
- The official report shows as second team member Karl Neumer.
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2007. The Official Report gives a time of 2:05.6; however, from its descriptions of second place finishes that time would have resulted in Avrillon and Guyader advancing to the semifinals as the fastest losers. Wudarski gives a time of 2:55.6, which fits with other results and may indicate a transcription or typographical error in the Official Report.