Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

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Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad
VenueOlympic Stadium
Dates17–19 October
Competitors50 from 33 nations
Winning time45.1
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Mike Larrabee  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Wendell Mottley  Trinidad and Tobago
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Andrzej Badeński  Poland
← 1960
1968 →
Athletics at the
1964 Summer Olympics
Olympic Athletics.png
Track events
100 mmenwomen
200 mmenwomen
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800 mmenwomen
1500 mmen
5000 mmen
10,000 mmen
80 m hurdleswomen
110 m hurdlesmen
400 m hurdlesmen
3000 m
steeplechase		men
4×100 m relaymenwomen
4×400 m relaymen
Road events
Marathonmen
20 km walkmen
50 km walkmen
Field events
Long jumpmenwomen
Triple jumpmen
High jumpmenwomen
Pole vaultmen
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Combined events
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  • v
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The men's 400 metres was the third-shortest of the men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 17 October, 18 October, and 19 October 1964. 55 athletes from 36 nations entered, with 5 not starting in the first round. The first two rounds were held on 17 October, with the semifinals on 18 October and the final on 19 October.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Mike Larrabee of the United States, the third consecutive and tenth overall victory for an American in the event. Trinidad and Tobago and Poland each earned their first medal in the 400 metres.

Background[]

This was the fifteenth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the finalists from 1960 returned. The United States again had a strong team; Henry Carr would have been favored, but ran only in the 200 metres and the 4 × 400 metres relay. Ulis Williams was the 1962 and 1963 AAU champion, but Mike Larrabee matched the world record to win the U.S. Olympic trials. Other contenders included 1962 European champion Robbie Ian Brightwell of Great Britain and Wendell Mottley of Trinidad and Tobago.[2]

Hong Kong, Iran, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Tanzania appeared in this event for the first time. South Korea and Mongolia had entrants, but did not start. The United States made its fifteenth appearance in the event, the only nation to compete in it at every Olympic Games to that point.

Competition format[]

The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. A significant change, however, was the introduction of the "fastest loser" system. Previously, advancement depended solely on the runners' place in their heat. The 1964 competition added advancement places to the fastest runners across the heats in the first round who did not advance based on place. The 1964 event also increased the standard heat size to 8 athletes.

There were 7 heats in the first round, each scheduled to have 7 or 8 athletes but with one dropping to as low as 5 after withdrawals. The top four runners in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals, along with the next four fastest runners overall. There were 4 quarterfinals of 8 runners each; 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[]

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

World record  Otis Davis (USA) 44.9 Rome, Italy 6 September 1960
Olympic record  Otis Davis (USA) 44.9 Rome, Italy 6 September 1960

No records were set during this event.

Schedule[]

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Date Time Round
Saturday, 17 October 1964 10:00
15:00		 Round 1
Quarterfinals
Sunday, 18 October 1964 15:20 Semifinals
Monday, 19 October 1964 13:00 Final

Results[]

First round[]

The top four runners in each of the 7 heats advanced.

Heat 1[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Wendell Mottley  Trinidad and Tobago 45.9 Q
2 Robbie Ian Brightwell  Great Britain 46.1 Q
3 Jean-Pierre Boccardo  France 46.6 Q
4 Gary Eddy  Australia 46.9 Q
5 Stanisław Swatowski  Poland 47.6
6 István Gyulai  Hungary 48.0
7 Didier Mejía  Mexico 48.1
—  South Korea DNS

Heat 2[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Kent Bernard  Trinidad and Tobago 46.8 Q
2 Sergio Bello  Italy 47.5 Q
3 Vadym Arkhypchuk  Soviet Union 47.7 Q
4 Tim Graham  Great Britain 48.4 Q
5 Arsenio Jazmin  Philippines 49.9
— Amarsanaa Dulam  Mongolia DNS
Wesley Johnson  Liberia DNS
 Ghana DNS

Heat 3[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Andrzej Badeński  Poland 46.4 Q
2 Adrian Peter Metcalfe  Great Britain 46.7 Q
3 Jörg Jüttner  United Team of Germany 47.0 Q
4 Rupert Hoilette  Jamaica 47.5 Q
5 Amos Omolo  Uganda 47.6
6 Juan Carlos Dyrzka  Argentina 48.3
7 Amadou Gakou  Senegal 50.1
8 Daniel Thomas  Tanzania 50.4

Heat 4[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ulis Williams  United States 46.2 Q
2 Edwin Skinner  Trinidad and Tobago 46.5 Q
3 Tegegn Bezabih  Ethiopia 46.7 Q
4 Peter Vassella  Australia 46.7 Q
5 Johannes Schmitt  United Team of Germany 46.9 q
6 Muhammad Sadiq  Pakistan 47.3 q
7 Víctor Maldonado  Venezuela 47.7
8 Jacques Pennewaert  Belgium 47.7

Heat 5[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ollan Cassell  United States 46.8 Q
2 William Crothers  Canada 46.8 Q
3 James Addy  Ghana 47.2 Q
4 P. A. Grajales Escobar  Colombia 47.2 Q
5 Viktor Bychkov  Soviet Union 47.3 q
6 Jürgen Kalfelder  United Team of Germany 47.7
7 Yoyaga Dit Coulibaly  Ivory Coast 48.8
— George E. Kerr  Jamaica DNS

Heat 6[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Mike Larrabee  United States 46.8 Q
2 Ebenezer Quartey  Ghana 47.1 Q
3 Peter Laeng  Switzerland 47.1 Q
4 Hryhoriy Sverbetov  Soviet Union 47.3 Q
5 Ken Roche  Australia 47.4 q
6 Somsakdi Tongsuke  Thailand 48.9
7 Jasim Karim Kuraishi  Iraq 49.5

Heat 7[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Josef Trousil  Czechoslovakia 47.0 Q
2 Wilson Kiprugut  Kenya 47.1 Q
3 Laurie Khan  Jamaica 47.2 Q
4 Ireneusz Kluczek  Poland 47.3 Q
5 Hortensio Fucil  Venezuela 47.9
6 Hayase Hirotada  Japan 48.5
7 William Hill  Hong Kong 48.7
8 Hossein Ghafourizadeh  Iran 50.8

Quarterfinals[]

The four fastest runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinals.

Quarterfinal 1[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Wendell Mottley  Trinidad and Tobago 45.8 Q
2 Ollan Cassell  United States 46.2 Q
3 Jean Pierre Boccardo  France 46.3 Q
4 Peter Vassella  Australia 46.5 Q
5 Peter Laeng  Switzerland 46.7
6 Sergio Bello  Italy 46.9
7 Ebenezer Quartey  Ghana 47.0
8 Muhammad Sadiq  Pakistan 48.0

Quarterfinal 2[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Andrzej Badeński  Poland 46.5 Q
2 William Crothers  Canada 46.7 Q
3 Tim Graham  Great Britain 46.8 Q
4 Laurie Khan  Jamaica 47.0 Q
5 Josef Trousil  Czechoslovakia 47.2
6 Johannes Schmitt  United Team of Germany 47.2
7 Ken Roche  Australia 48.0
8 Hryhoriy Sverbetov  Soviet Union 48.0

Quarterfinal 3[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Mike Larrabee  United States 46.5 Q
2 Kent Bernard  Trinidad and Tobago 46.7 Q
3 Robbie Ian Brightwell  Great Britain 47.1 Q
4 Jörg Jüttner  United Team of Germany 47.2 Q
5 Rupert Hoilette  Jamaica 47.6
6 Gary Eddy  Australia 47.6
7 Wilson Kiprugut  Kenya 47.7
8 Vadym Arkhypchuk  Soviet Union 47.9

Quarterfinal 4[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Edwin Skinner  Trinidad and Tobago 46.9 Q
2 Ulis Williams  United States 46.9 Q
3 Tegegn Bezabih  Ethiopia 47.2 Q
4 James Addy  Ghana 47.3 Q
5 Adrian Peter Metcalfe  Great Britain 47.8
6 P. A. Grajales Escobar  Colombia 47.8
7 Viktor Bychkov  Soviet Union 47.9
— Ireneusz Kluczek  Poland DNS

Semifinals[]

The top four runners in each of the two semifinals advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Robbie Ian Brightwell  Great Britain 45.7 Q
2 Wendell Mottley  Trinidad and Tobago 45.9 Q
3 Ulis Williams  United States 46.2 Q
4 Peter Vassella  Australia 46.5 Q
5 Jörg Jüttner  United Team of Germany 46.7
6 Laurie Khan  Jamaica 47.0
7 Tegegn Bezabih  Ethiopia 47.1
8 Jean Pierre Boccardo  France 47.1

Semifinal 2[]

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Mike Larrabee  United States 46.0 Q
2 Andrzej Badeński  Poland 46.2 Q
3 Edwin Skinner  Trinidad and Tobago 46.5 Q
4 Tim Graham  Great Britain 46.5 Q
5 Ollan Cassell  United States 46.6
6 William Crothers  Canada 46.9
7 Kent Bernard  Trinidad and Tobago 47.1
8 James Addy  Ghana 47.6

Final[]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 Mike Larrabee  United States 45.1
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 Wendell Mottley  Trinidad and Tobago 45.2
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2 Andrzej Badeński  Poland 45.6
4 6 Robbie Ian Brightwell  Great Britain 45.7
5 8 Ulis Williams  United States 46.0
6 1 Tim Graham  Great Britain 46.0
7 3 Peter Vassella  Australia 46.3
8 4 Edwin Skinner  Trinidad and Tobago 46.8

References[]

  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 2, pp. 25–26.
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