Frank Jarvis

Who was Frank Jarvis?

Frank Washington Jarvis was an American athlete, and the Olympic 100 m champion of 1900.

Jarvis, an AAU champion in the 100 y, was among the pre-race favourites for the 100 m at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, but the hot favourite was American Arthur Duffey, who won the British Championships just prior to the Games.

In the heats, however, Jarvis and another American, Walter Tewksbury, posted times of 10.8, equalling the World Record. All three Americans qualified for the final, complemented by Stan Rowley of Australia. After a close first half of the final race, leading Duffey pulled a muscle, fell, and retired the race, leaving the three others to decide for the victory—Jarvis won.

At the same Olympics, Jarvis also competed in the triple jump and the standing triple jump, but did not achieve top classifications.

After his running career, Jarvis became a lawyer.