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Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

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Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
VenueUniversity Olympic Stadium, Mexico City
Dates16–18 October 1968
Competitors55 from 36 nations
Winning time43.86 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Lee Evans
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Larry James
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ron Freeman
 United States
← 1964
1972 →
Official Video Highlights @1:04:38 Video on YouTube

The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The competition was held between 16–18 of October.[1] Times are listed as both hand timing and automatic timing. Hand timing was the official time used in the 1968 Olympics. Fifty-five athletes from 36 nations competed.[2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Lee Evans of the United States, the fourth consecutive and 11th overall title in the event by an American. The Americans swept the podium, the second time a podium sweep occurred in the men's 400 metres (the United States had previously done it in 1904, when the nation had 10 of the 12 competitors).

Background

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This was the sixteenth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Andrzej Badeński of Poland, who had won bronze in 1964, was the only finalist from the Tokyo Games to compete again in 1968. The United States team was "dominant in this event in 1968"; Larry James held the world record at 44.1 seconds, Lee Evans was the AAU and NCAA champion, and even the third member of the team, Ron Freeman, ran well below Olympic record time at the U.S. trials.[2]

Barbados, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Morocco, Nicaragua, and Sudan appeared in this event for the first time. The federation of Malaysia also competed for the first time, though Malaya had previously appeared. East and West Germany competed separately for the first time. The United States made its sixteenth appearance in the event, the only nation to compete in it at every Olympic Games to that point.

Competition format

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The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was available but not used in 1968 because there was no need to balance quarterfinals as there were 8 heats in the first round. Those heats each had between 6 and 8 athletes, with the top four advancing. The 4 quarterfinals each had 8 runners; the top four athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 8 runners each. The top four runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making an eight-man final.[2][3]

Records

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Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record  Larry James (USA) 44.1 Echo Summit, United States 14 September 1968
Olympic record  Otis Davis (USA) 44.9 Rome, Italy 6 September 1960

Lee Evans broke the Olympic record with a 44.8 second run in the second semifinal; both Larry James and Martin Jellinghaus matched the old record in that same semifinal. All three Americans broke the new record in the final, with Evans (43.8 seconds) and James (43.9 seconds) also coming in under the world record time. Evans' auto-timed result of 43.86 seconds was not official under the rules at that point (which used hand-timed results) but was later recognized as the initial world record upon the switch to automatic timing as official in 1977.

Schedule

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The quarterfinals were held on the second day (with the semifinals) rather than the first day (with the first round heats), a change from previous years.

All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 16 October 1968 15:40 Round 1
Thursday, 17 October 1968 15:20
18:00
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Friday, 18 October 1968 15:50 Final

Results

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Round 1

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The top four runners in each of the eight heats advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Lee Evans  United States 45.3 45.40 Q
2 Claver Kamanya  Tanzania 45.7 45.74 Q
3 Christian Nicolau  France 45.7 45.77 Q
4 Sam Bugri  Ghana 45.8 45.88 Q
5 Manfred Kinder  West Germany 46.9 46.95
6 Ezra Burnham  Barbados 47.9 47.94

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Andrzej Badeński  Poland 45.5 45.52 Q
2 Clifton Forbes  Jamaica 45.7 45.75 Q
3 Larry James  United States 45.8 45.83 Q
4 Daniel Rudisha  Kenya 46.9 46.96 Q
5 Angelo Hussein  Sudan 47.7 47.80
6 Victor Asirvatham  Malaysia 48.0 48.02

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Amadou Gakou  Senegal 45.3 45.39 Q
2 Tegegne Bezabeh  Ethiopia 45.5 45.60 Q
3 Ron Freeman  United States 45.6 45.67 Q
4 Rodobaldo Díaz  Cuba 46.4 46.48 Q
5 Ramon Magariños  Spain 46.9 46.92
6 Anthony Egwunyenga  Nigeria 47.3 47.37
7 Francisco Menocal  Nicaragua 49.1 49.14

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Martin Jellinghaus  West Germany 46.4 46.50 Q
2 Pedro Grajales  Colombia 46.7 46.73 Q
3 Michael Zerbes  East Germany 46.8 46.84 Q
4 Ross MacKenzie  Canada 47.0 47.05 Q
5 Howard Davies  Great Britain 47.2 47.30
6 Jacques Pennewaert  Belgium 48.5 48.55
7 José Astacio  El Salvador 52.9 52.92

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Amos Omolo  Uganda 45.8 45.85 Q
2 Munyoro Nyamau  Kenya 45.9 45.91 Q
3 Jean-Claude Nallet  France 45.9 45.93 Q
4 Helmar Müller  West Germany 45.9 45.98 Q
5 José Jacinto Hidalgo  Venezuela 46.3 46.32
6 Carlos Martínez  Cuba 47.2 47.28
7 Tony Harper  Bermuda 49.1 49.18

Heat 6

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Jan Werner  Poland 45.9 45.97 Q
2 Martin Winbolt-Lewis  Great Britain 46.2 46.27 Q
3 Mamman Makama  Nigeria 46.4 46.49 Q
4 Sergio Bello  Italy 46.5 46.54 Q
5 Eddy Téllez  Cuba 46.7 46.80
6 Noel Carroll  Ireland 46.8 46.83
7 José L'Oficial  Dominican Republic 47.9 47.93

Heat 7

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Naftali Bon  Kenya 46.2 46.21 Q
2 Jan Balachowski  Poland 46.2 46.23 Q
3 Musa Dogon Yaro  Nigeria 46.2 46.24 Q
4 Gilles Bertould  France 46.3 46.31 Q
5 Don Domansky  Canada 46.4 46.46
6 Melesio Piña  Mexico 46.8 46.81
7 Leslie Miller  Bahamas 46.9 46.99
8 Yoyaga Dit Coulibaly  Ivory Coast 50.0 50.11

Heat 8

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Wolfgang Müller  East Germany 46.6 46.66 Q
2 Colin Campbell  Great Britain 46.6 46.66 Q
3 Sergio Ottolina  Italy 46.7 46.78 Q
4 Juan Carlos Dyrzka  Argentina 47.0 47.02 Q
5 George Simon  Trinidad and Tobago 47.9 47.95
6 Omar Ghizlat  Morocco 48.2 48.23
7 Kun Min-Mu  Taiwan 49.0 49.07

Quarterfinals

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The top four runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Amadou Gakou  Senegal 45.5 45.56 Q
2 Larry James  United States 45.7 45.77 Q
3 Claver Kamanya  Tanzania 46.0 46.03 Q
4 Ross MacKenzie  Canada 46.1 46.15 Q
5 Musa Dogon Yaro  Nigeria 46.1 46.19
6 Colin Campbell  Great Britain 46.3 46.35
7 Naftali Bon  Kenya 46.3 46.39
8 Sergio Bello  Italy 46.8 46.84

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Amos Omolo  Uganda 45.3 45.33 Q
2 Lee Evans  United States 45.5 45.54 Q
3 Munyoro Nyamau  Kenya 46.1 46.12 Q
4 Wolfgang Müller  East Germany 46.2 46.32 Q
5 Jan Balachowski  Poland 46.3 46.33
6 Rodobaldo Díaz  Cuba 46.3 46.38
7 Juan Carlos Dyrzka  Argentina 46.8 46.85
Christian Nicolau  France DNS

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Jan Werner  Poland 45.6 45.63 Q
2 Martin Jellinghaus  West Germany 45.9 46.00 Q
3 Tegegne Bezabeh  Ethiopia 46.0 46.02 Q
4 Sam Bugri  Ghana 46.0 46.08 Q
5 Clifton Forbes  Jamaica 46.2 46.29
6 Daniel Rudisha  Kenya 47.6 47.68
7 Gilles Bertould  France 48.9 48.91
Sergio Ottolina  Italy DNS

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Ron Freeman  United States 45.3 45.31 Q
2 Andrzej Badeński  Poland 45.6 45.60 Q
3 Helmar Müller  West Germany 45.7 45.78 Q
4 Jean-Claude Nallet  France 45.7 45.80 Q
5 Martin Winbolt-Lewis  Great Britain 45.9 45.91
6 Michael Zerbes  East Germany 46.1 46.19
7 Mamman Makama  Nigeria 46.4 46.41
8 Pedro Grajales  Colombia 46.5 46.53

Semifinals

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Top four in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Amadou Gakou  Senegal 45.1 45.17 Q
2 Ron Freeman  United States 45.4 45.47 Q
3 Andrzej Badeński  Poland 45.4 45.50 Q
4 Tegegne Bezabeh  Ethiopia 45.5 45.60 Q
5 Sam Burgi  Ghana 45.9 45.92
6 Helmar Müller  West Germany 46.2 46.22
7 Claver Kamanya  Tanzania 46.2 46.22
8 Wolfgang Müller  East Germany 48.3 48.37

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1 Lee Evans  United States 44.8 44.83 Q, OR
2 Larry James  United States 44.9 44.88 Q
3 Martin Jellinghaus  West Germany 44.9 45.06 Q
4 Amos Omolo  Uganda 45.4 45.52 Q
5 Jan Werner  Poland 45.7 45.75
6 Munyoro Nyamau  Kenya 46.3 46.37
7 Jean-Claude Nallet  France 49.0 49.01
8 Ross MacKenzie  Canada 49.2 49.28

Final

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Evans nearly withdrew from the final in protest of the expulsion of his college teammates Tommie Smith and John Carlos from the Games after their Black Power salute. Smith and Carlos, however, convinced him to compete. Evans and James were the first runners to achieve times below 44 seconds in the 400 metres.[2]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (auto) Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 Lee Evans  United States 43.8 43.86 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2 Larry James  United States 43.9 43.97
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1 Ron Freeman  United States 44.4 44.41
4 5 Amadou Gakou  Senegal 45.0 45.01
5 3 Martin Jellinghaus  West Germany 45.3 45.33
6 4 Tegegne Bezabeh  Ethiopia 45.4 45.42
7 7 Andrzej Badeński  Poland 45.4 45.42
8 8 Amos Omolo  Uganda 47.6 47.61

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, p. 522.
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