Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Thursday, August 19, 1920, and on Friday, August 20, 1920. 37 runners from 16 nations competed.[1] No nation had more than 4 runners, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by Bevil Rudd of South Africa, the nation's first title (and first medal) in the event. Nils Engdahl's bronze was Sweden's first medal in the 400 metres.

Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
VenueOlympisch Stadion
DatesAugust 19–20
Competitors37 from 16 nations
Winning time49.6
Medalists
Bevil Rudd  South Africa
Guy Butler  Great Britain
Nils Engdahl  Sweden

Background

This was the sixth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The only returning finalist from the pre-war 1912 Games was Ted Meredith of the United States, who had finished 4th in Stockholm and who had broken the world record in 1916. Other favored entrants included 1919 AAU champion Frank Shea of the United States, 1919 AAA champion Guy Butler of Great Britain, and 1920 AAA champion Bevil Rudd of South Africa.[2]

Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, India, Luxembourg, and Spain appeared in the event for the first time. The United States made its sixth appearance in the event, the only nation to compete in it at every Olympic Games to that point.

Competition format

Despite the smaller field than 1912 (37 athletes, down from 49), the competition expanded from three rounds to four. The first round had 10 heats, with 3 or 4 runners each. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals. There were 4 quarterfinals, with 5 runners in each; the top three athletes in each heat advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 6 runners each. Again, the top three runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making a six-man final.[2][3]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.

World record Ted Meredith (USA)47.4(*)Cambridge, United States27 May 1916
Olympic record Charles Reidpath (USA)48.2Stockholm, Sweden13 July 1912

(*) 440 yards (= 402.34 m)

No records were set during this event.

Schedule

Date Time Round
Thursday, 19 August 192009:30
15:15
Heats
Quarterfinals
Friday, 20 August 192014:00
16:15
Semifinals
Final

Results

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Lindsay Great Britain52.0Q
2Clarence Oldfield South Africa52.2Q
3Tolly Bolin Sweden52.6

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Gaston Féry France51.1Q
2John Ainsworth-Davis Great Britain51.3Q
3Karel Frankenstein Czechoslovakia51.8
4Francis Irvine South AfricaUnknown

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Frank Shea United States50.8Q
2Henry Dafel South Africa51.2Q
3Sven Krokström Sweden51.6

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Ted Meredith United States51.6Q
2Géo André France52.3Q
3Giuseppe Bernardoni Italy52.8

Heat 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Bevil Rudd South Africa50.6Q
2Erik Wilén Finland51.1Q
3Reinhold Saulmann Estonia51.6
4Giovanni Tosi Italy51.8

Heat 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Robert Emery United States52.6Q
2Guy Butler Great Britain53.2Q
3Karel Přibyl Czechoslovakia54.0
4Jules Migeot Belgium55.1

Heat 7

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1George Schiller United States50.4Q
2Nils Engdahl Sweden50.6Q
3Maurice Delvart France50.9
4Einar Mangset Norway51.3

Heat 8

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Eric Sundblad Sweden52.0Q
2Hec Phillips Canada52.3Q
3Agide Simonazzi Italy53.0
4Purma Bannerjee India53.1

Heat 9

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Omer Corteyn Belgium52.2Q
2Hedges Worthington-Eyre Great Britain52.5Q
3Jean Proess Luxembourg52.6
4José García Lorenzana Spain52.8

Heat 10

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1François Morren Belgium51.6Q
2Miguel García Onsalo Spain52.0Q
3Eugène Bayon France52.4
4Ahmed Khairy EgyptUnknown

Quarterfinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Nils Engdahl Sweden50.4Q
2John Ainsworth-Davis Great Britain50.7Q
3Robert Emery United States50.7Q
4François Morren Belgium50.8
5Clarence Oldfield South Africa51.1

Quarterfinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Gaston Féry France50.6Q
2Guy Butler Great Britain50.7Q
3Ted Meredith United States50.8Q
4Erik Wilén Finland51.1
5Hec Phillips Canada51.5

Quarterfinal 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Henry Dafel South Africa51.0Q
2George Schiller United States51.3Q
3Eric Sundblad Sweden51.4Q
4Robert Lindsay Great Britain51.7
5Omer Corteyn Belgium52.1

Quarterfinal 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Frank Shea United States51.0Q
2Bevil Rudd South Africa51.2Q
3Géo André France51.3Q
4Miguel García Onsalo Spain52.6
5Hedges Worthington-Eyre Great Britain52.7

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Nils Engdahl Sweden49.6Q
2Bevil Rudd South Africa49.7Q
3John Ainsworth-Davis Great Britain49.9Q
4Robert Emery United StatesUnknown
5George Schiller United StatesUnknown
6Gaston Féry FranceUnknown

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Frank Shea United States50.0Q
2Guy Butler Great Britain50.2Q
3Henry Dafel South Africa50.4Q
4Ted Meredith United States50.4
5Géo André France50.5
6Eric Sundblad Sweden52.0

Final

RankAthleteNationTime
Bevil Rudd South Africa49.6
Guy Butler Great Britain49.9
Nils Engdahl Sweden49.9
4Frank Shea United States49.9
5John Ainsworth-Davis Great Britain50.0
6Henry Dafel South Africa50.1

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. Official Report, pp. 90–92.
  • Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 11 August 2007.
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