Wyndham Halswelle, the man who ran an Olympic final alone

Becoming an Olympic champion is always nice. But Wyndham Halswelle no doubt had imagined it differently during the 1908 Olympics in London. The British athlete reached the final of the 400 meters, but ran the decisive race all alone… Halswelle went down in history as the only man to win an Olympic title with a walkover.

The 400 meters was on the program for the fourth time during the Olympic Games in London. A total of 37 athletes took part in the competition. These were divided over sixteen heats. Only the winner of those heats advanced to the semi-finals. Wyndham Halswelle won his heat by force majeure. He left the American Frederick de Selding and Bram Evers from the Netherlands well behind.
In the semi-finals Halswelle showed that he was in excellent form. The Briton set a time of 48.4 seconds: an Olympic record.

A lonely race

However, it was especially the final that caused a lot of commotion. In addition to Halswelle, three Americans had qualified for the final battle: John Carpenter, John Taylor and William Robbins.

The final took place on July 23. John Carpenter won the race. Halswelle was second, just ahead of William Robbins. However, one of the officials said after the race that Carpenter had made himself as wide as possible during the race, in order to make it extra difficult for Halswelle to pass him. At this time there was no running in separate lanes and runners could therefore sometimes hinder each other. Under American rules that was allowed, but under British rules it was not and those rules were used during the Games. The result was therefore declared invalid and Carpenter was even disqualified after deliberation. It was determined that the three remaining athletes had to run again, but in lanes that were cordoned off. Out of dissatisfaction with their compatriot’s disqualification,however, John Taylor and William Robbins refused to run a second time. The Americans were displeased with the fact that all officials came from England next to the track.

So it happened that a day later Halswelle ran all alone in the second final. He finished in exactly 50 seconds. But it might as well have taken him three minutes…

Because of the incident, the juries at the Olympic Games were formed internationally after 1908.

Sniper

Although Halswelle was born in London, he is often referred to as a Scot, due to his grandfather’s ancestry. In 2003 he was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. His medals can also be admired there. The athlete did not grow old. He died in World War I, during the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle. The athlete was hit by a German sniper. He was then 32 years old.