Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Lester_Stevens

Lester Barber Stevens (February 28, 1884, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – January 1972, in Waukesha, Wisconsin) was an American athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. In the 100 meters, Stevens won his first round heat with a time of 11.2 seconds to advance to the semifinals. There, he placed fourth in his race and did not advance to the final.

Arthur_Hoffmann_(athlete)

Arthur ("Aute") Hoffmann (10 December 1887 – 4 April 1932) was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He was born in Danzig, and died in Hamburg, Germany.Hoffmann was a member of the silver medal German medley relay team. He was the first runner of the four-man squad, running 200 metres and followed by Hans Eicke, Otto Trieloff, and Hanns Braun. The team dominated the first round, defeating the Dutch team easily with a time of 3:43.2. In the final, though, the Germans could not match the American team. Hoffmann was seven yards behind the leading American and one behind the second-place Hungarian when he finished his 200. The German team moved into second place at the very end of the race, however, giving Hoffmann a silver medal.
Hoffman also competed in the 100 metre and 200 metre races, placing second in his first round heats in both and not advancing. In the long jump competition he finished 15th.

Jean_Bouin

Alexandre François Étienne Jean Bouin (French: [bwɛ̃]; 21 December 1888 – 29 September 1914) was a French middle-distance runner. He competed in the 1500m at the 1908 Olympics and the 5000m at the 1912 Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 5000m in 1912, behind Hannes Kolehmainen. His race against Kolehmainen has long been regarded as one of the most memorable moments in running. Kolehmainen and Bouin quickly pulled away from the others, with Bouin leading and Kolehmainen repeatedly trying to pass him. Kolehmainen succeeded only 20 metres from the finish, winning by 0.1 seconds. Both contenders broke the world record.Bouin set three more world records: two in 1911, in the 3,000 m and 10,000 metres, and one in 1913, in the one-hour run (19,021 metres). The next year, he was killed in action during World War I. After that the Stade Jean-Bouin in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, home of the Stade Français rugby union club, was named after him. The French government made a stamp
with his picture on it and many games have been held in his honor. A 10 km race under the name of Jean Bouin has taken place every year through the streets of Barcelona since 1920.