1908 Olympic Games
The 1908 Olympics were the first true championships for the 1500 metres, as the previous Olympics were not well attended by the top milers of the day. However, the heats for the final were capricious in their format: only the winner of each of the eight heats would qualify for the final, and there was no seeding to ensure that top runners were separated in their heats. Accordingly, top runners like 1904 and 1906 Olympic champion James Lightbody, John Halstead, second-fastest in history in the event and three-time AAA champion George Butterfield all failed to advance.
Sheppard won the 1500 metres, setting an Olympic record at 4:05.0 in the first round that fell in the very next heat, when Norman Hallows ran a 4:03.6. Sheppard matched Hallows' time in the final the next day to win the first running gold medal awarded at the 1908 Games.
In the 800 metres, Sheppard won his first round (semifinal) heat with a time of 1:58.0; James Lintott remained close throughout the race and threatened to eliminate Sheppard from the competition. Noted for being a frontrunner, Sheppard ran the first 400 metres of the 800 metres final in 53 seconds and went on to win in the world record time of 1.52.8.
He earned his third gold medal on the medley relay race. He was the final runner on the American team, running fully half of the 1600 metre race. He was passed the baton by fellow Irish American Athletic Club member John Baxter Taylor, Jr., who would become the first African-American to win an Olympic Gold medal. Even without being in as good of form as he had been in the individual races, Sheppard had little trouble retaining the leads giving to him by his teammates, William Hamilton, Nate Cartmell, and John Taylor. The team won both the first round and final, in times of 3:27.2 and 3:29.4. Sheppard's 800 metre split for the final was 1:55.4.
Read more about this topic: Mel Sheppard
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