Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The competition was held from July 27 to July 30, 1980.[1] Fifty athletes from 32 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 0.24 seconds by Viktor Markin of the Soviet Union, the nation's first title in the men's 400 metres and first medal in the event since 1956. With the United States boycotting the Games, the country was not represented on the podium for the first time since 1920. Australia earned its first medal in the event with Rick Mitchell's silver, while East Germany won its first medal with Frank Schaffer's bronze, which was the first medal by any German since the United Team took silvers in 1956 and 1960.

Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XXII Olympiad
VenueCentral Lenin Stadium
Dates27 July 1980 (heats)
28 July 1980 (quarter-finals and semi-finals)
30 July 1980 (final)
Competitors50 from 32 nations
Winning time44.60
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Viktor Markin
 Soviet Union
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Rick Mitchell
 Australia
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Frank Schaffer
 East Germany
← 1976
1984 →

Background edit

This was the nineteenth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Defending gold medalist from 1976 Alberto Juantorena of Cuba returned to try to repeat without competition from the Americans, but with an Achilles tendon injury from 1979. Other returning finalists were fourth-place finisher Fons Brijdenbach of Belgium, sixth-place finisher Rick Mitchell of Australia, and seventh-place finisher David Jenkins of Great Britain. The field was relatively open, with no clear favorite.[2]

Botswana, Guinea, Laos, Libya, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and Syria appeared in this event for the first time. Great Britain made its seventeenth appearance in the event, most of any present in Moscow but still one behind the United States at 18.

Competition format edit

The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was available but not used because there were 8 first-round heats, making for even advancement. Each heat has 6 or 7 runners, with the top 4 advancing. The 4 quarterfinals each had 8 runners; the top four athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals, with no "fastest loser" spots. 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 edit

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1976 Summer Olympics.

World record   Lee Evans (USA) 43.86 Mexico City, Mexico 18 October 1968
Olympic record   Lee Evans (USA) 43.86 Mexico City, Mexico 18 October 1968

No world or Olympic records were set during this event.

Schedule edit

The quarterfinals were moved to the second day (along with the semifinals) after one time on the first day in 1976.

All times are Moscow Time (UTC+3)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 27 July 1980 11:30 Round 1
Monday, 28 July 1980 11:00
19:30
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Wednesday, 30 July 1980 18:40 Final

Results edit

Round 1 edit

Eight Round One heats were held at the Lenin Stadium on Sunday, 27 July 1980. The first four in each heat progressed to the quarterfinals.

Heat 1 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 6 David Jenkins   Great Britain 46.67 Q
2 5 Karel Kolář   Czechoslovakia 47.26 Q
3 2 Francis Demarthon   France 47.43 Q
4 3 Eddy De Leeuw   Belgium 47.59 Q
5 7 Charles Dramiga   Uganda 48.69
6 4 Asfaw Deble   Ethiopia 49.77
Constantino Reis   Mozambique DNS

Heat 2 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 1 Bert Cameron   Jamaica 47.54 Q
2 3 Didier Dubois   France 47.57 Q
3 4 Silver Ayoo   Uganda 47.78 Q
4 6 Charles Lupiya   Zambia 48.49 Q
5 7 Horia Toboc   Romania 49.90
6 2 Léopold Hounkanrin   Benin 51.04
7 5 Joseph Ramotshabi   Botswana 51.49

Heat 3 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 1 Dele Udo   Nigeria 46.48 Q
2 7 Joseph Coombs   Trinidad and Tobago 46.55 Q
3 3 Rick Mitchell   Australia 46.63 Q
4 5 Jens Smedegaard Hansen   Denmark 47.01 Q
5 4 Jimmy Massallay   Sierra Leone 49.68
6 6 El-Mehdi Sallah Diab   Libya 49.89
7 2 Panh Khemanith   Laos 53.74

Heat 4 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Derrick Peynado   Jamaica 47.37 Q
2 3 Fons Brijdenbach   Belgium 47.72 Q
3 1 Andrzej Stępień   Poland 47.99 Q
4 2 Glen Cohen   Great Britain 48.35 Q
5 6 Régis Tranquille   Seychelles 49.34
6 5 Mohamed Diakité   Guinea 49.59
Emmanuel Bitanga   Cameroon DNS

Heat 5 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Viktor Markin   Soviet Union 46.88 Q
2 1 Mike Solomon   Trinidad and Tobago 47.24 Q
3 6 Hope Ezeigbo   Nigeria 47.46 Q
4 4 Jacques Borlée   Belgium 47.77 Q
5 2 Mohamed El-Abed   Syria 50.47
6 5 Sahr Kendor   Sierra Leone 52.98
Koen Gijsbers   Netherlands DNS

Heat 6 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Jozo Alebić   Yugoslavia 47.61 Q
2 2 Stefano Malinverni   Italy 47.63 Q
3 3 Ian Stapleton   Jamaica 47.97 Q
4 6 Hussain Ali Nasayyif   Iraq 48.03 Q
5 5 Harry Schulting   Netherlands 48.53
6 1 William Akabi-Davis   Sierra Leone 50.80
Ramyan al-Ramian   Kuwait DNS

Heat 7 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Frank Schaffer   East Germany 46.13 Q
2 5 Viktor Burakov   Soviet Union 46.41 Q
3 4 Alberto Juantorena   Cuba 46.69 Q
4 3 Roberto Tozzi   Italy 47.01 Q
5 6 Jerzy Pietrzyk   Poland 47.18
6 1 Geraldo José Pegado   Brazil 48.71
Ruben Inacio   Angola DNS
Boubacar Diallo   Senegal DNS

Heat 8 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 6 Nikolay Chernetskiy   Soviet Union 47.04 Q
2 2 Mauro Zuliani   Italy 47.16 Q
3 3 Marcel Klarenbeek   Netherlands 47.67 Q
4 7 Alan Bell   Great Britain 47.38 Q
5 5 Oddur Sigurðsson   Iceland 47.39
6 1 Isidoro Hornillos   Spain 47.45
Christer Gullstrand   Sweden DNS

Quarterfinals edit

The quarterfinals were held on 28 July 1980. The top four in each heat advanced to the semifinals.

Quarterfinal 1 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Rick Mitchell   Australia 45.73 Q
2 6 Fons Brijdenbach   Belgium 45.88 Q
3 2 Jens Smedegaard Hansen   Denmark 45.89 Q
4 1 Dele Udo   Nigeria 46.18 Q
5 4 Francis Demarthon   France 46.38
6 3 Jozo Alebić   Yugoslavia 46.60
7 5 Charles Lupiya   Zambia 47.67
8 8 Stefano Malinverni   Italy 47.79

Quarterfinal 2 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 2 Viktor Markin   Soviet Union 45.58 Q
2 4 Joseph Coombs   Trinidad and Tobago 45.81 Q
3 1 Mauro Zuliani   Italy 45.93 Q
4 3 Alan Bell   Great Britain 46.17 Q
5 5 Andrzej Stępień   Poland 46.31
6 7 Eddy De Leeuw   Belgium 46.47
7 8 Derrick Peynado   Jamaica 46.50
8 6 Marcel Klarenbeek   Netherlands 46.81

Quarterfinal 3 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Frank Schaffer   East Germany 46.15 Q
2 6 Alberto Juantorena   Cuba 46.23 Q
3 2 Viktor Burakov   Soviet Union 46.23 Q
4 5 Didier Dubois   France 46.60 Q
5 1 Silver Ayoo   Uganda 47.03
6 4 Bert Cameron   Jamaica 47.31 3
7 3 Glen Cohen   Great Britain 47.35
8 8 Jacques Borlée   Belgium 47.73

Quarterfinal 4 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 8 David Jenkins   Great Britain 45.99 Q
2 1 Mike Solomon   Trinidad and Tobago 46.12 Q
3 2 Karel Kolář   Czechoslovakia 46.27 Q
4 3 Nikolay Chernetskiy   Soviet Union 46.30 Q
5 5 Roberto Tozzi   Italy 46.73
6 6 Hope Ezeigbo   Nigeria 46.88
7 4 Ian Stapleton   Jamaica 47.64
8 7 Hussain Ali Nasayyif   Iraq 48.50

Semifinals edit

The semifinals were held on Tuesday, July 29, 1980.

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 5 Fons Brijdenbach   Belgium 45.46 Q
2 4 Rick Mitchell   Australia 45.48 Q
3 7 David Jenkins   Great Britain 45.59 Q
4 8 Mike Solomon   Trinidad and Tobago 45.61 Q
5 3 Dele Udo   Nigeria 45.88
6 2 Nikolay Chernetskiy   Soviet Union 45.94
7 6 Mauro Zuliani   Italy 46.01
8 1 Karel Kolář   Czechoslovakia 46.11

Semifinal 2 edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Frank Schaffer   East Germany 45.47 Q
2 1 Viktor Markin   Soviet Union 45.60 Q
3 8 Alberto Juantorena   Cuba 45.95 Q
4 3 Joseph Coombs   Trinidad and Tobago 45.96 Q
5 6 Viktor Burakov   Soviet Union 45.97
6 4 Didier Dubois   France 46.72
7 5 Jens Smedegaard Hansen   Denmark 47.00
8 2 Alan Bell   Great Britain 48.50

Final edit

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time
  2 Viktor Markin   Soviet Union 44.60
  4 Rick Mitchell   Australia 44.84
  6 Frank Schaffer   East Germany 44.87
4 3 Alberto Juantorena   Cuba 45.09
5 1 Fons Brydenbach   Belgium 45.10
6 7 Mike Solomon   Trinidad and Tobago 45.55
7 8 David Jenkins   Great Britain 45.56
8 5 Joseph Coombs   Trinidad and Tobago 46.33

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, p. 29.

External links edit