Kraenzlein improved the Olympic record to 15.6 in his heat – a world
best over the metric distance. Behind him, Moloney (16.0e) and
McLean (16.0e) were much quicker than Pritchard, winner of the other
heat in 16.6. Lécuyer made the final without having to run, as his oppo-
sition didn’t turn up. Moloney and McLean then won repechage heats
to qualify.
McLean got a flying start in the final, and led by 4m at the first hur-
dle. However, Kraenzlein was the finest hurdler of his era, the first to
use the single arm thrust technique used by all the modern top hurdlers,
and the first to run over the hurdles rather than jump. He caught
McLean by the eighth hurdle, and crossed the line 2.5m ahead. Again,
it was a world’s best for 110m hurdles, though his best over the slightly
shorter 120y (109.73m) was 15.2.
United States
France
India
