110 metres hurdles 100 yards (91.44 m). The first standards were attempted in 1864 in Oxford and Cambridge: The length of the course was set to 120 yards (109.7 m) and over its course, runners were required to clear ten 3 foot 6 inch (1.07 m) high hurdles. The height and spacing of the hurdles have been related to Imperial units ever since. After the length of the course was rounded up to 110 metres in France in 1888, the standards were pretty much complete (except for Germany where 1 metre high hurdles were used until 1907). The massively constructed hurdles of the
Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles Semifinal 2 Smithson had no trouble winning this heat, tying the Olympic record as he did so. Semifinal 3 Healey led for most of the race, with Rand close behind, but Healey was unable to clear the ninth hurdle cleanly, allowing Rand to pass him and win by a foot. Semifinal 4 Halbert pulled up lame, and Garrels won by 15 yards. Smithson pulled away from his countrymen at every set of hurdles to win by five meters and set a new world record. Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles The men's 110 metres hurdles