Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles

This was the 15th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Two finalists from 1960 returned: bronze medalist Hayes Jones of the United States and sixth-place finisher Valentin Chistyakov of the Soviet Union. Jones and his countryman Blaine Lindgren were favored, with Willie Davenport giving the American team a solid chance at a fifth consecutive medal sweep.[2]

The Ivory Coast, Malaysia, and Northern Rhodesia each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 15th appearance, the only nation to have competed in the 110 metres hurdles in each Games to that point.

After one edition at four rounds in 1960, the format returned to the three-round format used since 1908. The semifinals and finals were expanded from 6 runners each to 8 runners each, however; in fact, the reduction in number of rounds was despite there being more hurdlers in 1964 than 1960. The 1964 competition also introduced the "fastest loser" system, used only in the first round at this edition. 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 semifinals who did not advance based on place.

The first round consisted of five heats, with 7 or 8 hurdlers each. The top three hurdlers in each heat, along with the next fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 16 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals of 8 hurdlers each; the top four hurdlers in each advanced to the 8-man final.[2][3]

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics.

World record	Martin Lauer (FRG)	13.2	Zurich, Switzerland	7 July 1959
Olympic record	Lee Calhoun (USA)	13.5	Melbourne, Australia	28 November 1956

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)