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

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 0.1 seconds 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.

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 →

Background

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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

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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

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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

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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

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First round

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

Heat 1

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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
Chang Jong Kil   South Korea DNS

Heat 2

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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
Samuel Owusa-Mensah   Ghana DNS

Heat 3

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

Quarterfinal 1

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

Semifinal 1

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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

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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

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time
  5 Mike Larrabee   United States 45.1
  7 Wendell Mottley   Trinidad and Tobago 45.2
  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

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  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.