Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on the 3rd, 4th, & 7th of September.[1] Sixty-four athletes from 49 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 Vince Matthews of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive and 12th overall victory in the event (all by different men). The Americans' hopes to repeat their podium sweep of four years earlier were dashed by injury in the final. Bronze medalist Julius Sang became the first black African to win a sprint Olympic medal, earning Kenya's first medal in the event.

Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
VenueOlympic Stadium, Munich, West Germany
Date3 September 1972
4 September 1972
7 September 1972
Competitors64 from 49 nations
Winning time44.66
Medalists
Vince Matthews
 United States
Wayne Collett
 United States
Julius Sang
 Kenya

On the victory podium, Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett talked to each other and failed to stand at attention during the medal ceremony. On the advice of Avery Brundage, the IOC banned them from further competition. Since the third American competitor, John Smith, had pulled a hamstring while leading 80 metres into the final and had been ruled unfit to run, the United States were left unable to field a 4 x 400 relay team, and were thus forced to scratch from the event.

Background

This was the seventeenth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Three finalists, but no medalists, from 1968 returned: fourth-place finisher Amadou Gakou of Senegal, sixth-place Tegegne Bezabeh of Ethiopia, and seventh-place Andrzej Badeński of Poland (who had won bronze in 1964). Despite the complete turnover from their 1968 podium sweep, the United States team was again favored—this time led by John Smith, the 440-yard world record holder and AAU champion.[2]

Benin, Cambodia, the Republic of the Congo, Fiji, Kuwait, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, Paraguay, Peru, Saudi Arabia, and Zambia appeared in this event for the first time. The United States made its seventeenth 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. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was applied in the first round and quarterfinals. There were 9, each scheduled to have 7 or 8 athletes but some with only 6 starters. The top four runners in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals along with the next four fastest overall. The 5 quarterfinals each had 8 runners; the top three athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals, with one spot for the next fastest finisher. 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 Lee Evans (USA)43.8Mexico City, Mexico18 October 1968
Olympic record Lee Evans (USA)43.8Mexico City, Mexico18 October 1968

No world or Olympic records were set during this event.

Schedule

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 3 September 197216:00Round 1
Monday, 4 September 197211:35
17:45
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Thursday, 7 September 197217:30Final

Results

Round 1

The top four runners in each of the nine heats (darker green) and the next four fastest (lighter green), advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Heat 1

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
14Andrzej Badeński Poland46.21Q
23Charles Joseph Trinidad and Tobago46.38Q
35Mulugetta Tadesse Ethiopia46.38Q
47Wickremasinghe Wimaladasa Ceylon46.62Q
52Bjarni Sefánsson Iceland46.76q
66Jozo Alebić Yugoslavia47.01
78Silver Ayoo Uganda47.04
81Nusrat Iqbal Sahi Pakistan49.57

Heat 2

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
12David Jenkins Great Britain46.15Q
27Anders Faager Sweden46.29Q
38Munyoro Nyamau Kenya46.33Q
45Omar Ghizlat Morocco46.37Q
53Bruce Ijirighwo Nigeria46.59q
66Samuela Yavala Fiji47.76
71Théophile Nkounkou Republic of the Congo47.86
84Francisco Menocal Nicaragua50.96

Heat 3

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
18Georg Nückles West Germany46.64Q
26Yoshiharu Tomonaga Japan47.01Q
33Francis Kerbiriou France47.01Q
41Sam Bugri Ghana47.83Q
52Thomas N'Ma Liberia49.73
65Jean-Max Faustin Haiti52.33
Marcello Fiasconaro ItalyDNS
Michael Frederiksson SwedenDNS

Heat 4

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
15Alberto Juantorena Cuba45.94Q
21Wayne Collett United States46.00Q
33Claver Kamanya Tanzania46.18Q
44Gilles Bertould France46.36Q
52Eric Phillips Venezuela46.74q
67Pedro Ferrer Puerto Rico47.90
77Nicodemus Maipampe Zambia48.84

Heat 5

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
12Tegegne Bezabeh Ethiopia45.88Q
21Vince Matthews United States45.94Q
37Angelo Hussein Sudan47.01Q
43Robert Ojo Nigeria47.03Q
55Fanahan McSweeney Ireland47.07
66Fernando Silva Portugal47.67
74Kassem Hamzé Lebanon49.20

Heat 6

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
18Charles Asati Kenya45.16Q
25Leighton Priestley Jamaica45.75Q
32Fernando Acevedo Peru45.80Q
46Jan Werner Poland45.93Q
54Gary Armstrong Great Britain46.48q
63Francisco Rojas Paraguay47.46
71Brian MacLaren Canada47.65
Caspar Springer BarbadosDNF

Heat 7

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
15Julius Sang Kenya45.24Q
21Martin Reynolds Great Britain46.46Q
32Daniel Velasques France46.70Q
43Karl Honz West Germany46.77Q
57Franklin Rahming Bahamas48.30
66Ibrahima Idrissou Benin48.50
74William Msiska Malawi48.81

Heat 8

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
13Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske West Germany45.27Q
27John Smith United States46.00Q
31Kyriakos Onisiforou Greece46.94Q
45Reza Entezari Iran47.89Q
56Mohamed Saad Kuwait49.61
64Mohamed Jaman Al-Dosari Saudi Arabia49.67
Lucijano Sušanj YugoslaviaDNS

Heat 9

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
16Markku Kukkoaho Finland46.05Q
23Zbigniew Jaremski Poland46.20Q
37Arthur Cooper Trinidad and Tobago47.15Q
48Amadou Gakou Senegal47.68Q
54Tambusamy Krishnan Malaysia48.31
61Frédérique Andrianaivo Madagascar48.72
75Savin Chem Cambodia48.82
Jimmy Sierra ColombiaDNS

Quarterfinals

The top three runners in each of the five heats, and the next fastest, advanced to the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal 1

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
12Wayne Collett United States45.80Q
26Alberto Juantorena Cuba45.96Q
37Jan Werner Poland46.02Q
45Martin Reynolds Great Britain46.11q
51Charles Joseph Trinidad and Tobago46.14
68Robert Ojo Nigeria46.73
74Omar Ghizlat Morocco46.84
83Sam Bugri Ghana47.34

Quarterfinal 2

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
12Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske West Germany45.41Q
23Vince Matthews United States45.62Q
36Tegegne Bezabeh Ethiopia45.97Q
41Gilles Bertould France46.14
55Wickremasinghe Wimaladasa Ceylon46.50
67Leighton Priestley Jamaica47.76
74Arthur Cooper Trinidad and Tobago48.29
88Reza Entezari Iran48.69

Quarterfinal 3

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
17David Jenkins Great Britain45.99Q
28John Smith United States46.04Q
34Markku Kukkoaho Finland46.11Q
43Munyoro Nyamau Kenya46.80
52Bruce Ijirighwo Nigeria46.81
66Daniel Velasques France46.91
75Amadou Gakou Senegal46.96
81Angelo Hussein Sudan47.33

Quarterfinal 4

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
13Karl Honz West Germany45.87Q
27Julius Sang Kenya45.92Q
35Zbigniew Jaremski Poland46.52Q
41Anders Faager Sweden46.54
54Francis Kerbiriou France46.63
62Yoshiharu Tomonaga Japan46.92
76Gary Armstrong Great Britain47.10
88Kyriakos Onisiforou Greece47.22

Quarterfinal 5

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
11Charles Asati Kenya46.04Q
25Andrzej Badeński Poland46.19Q
34Georg Nückles West Germany46.30Q
48Claver Kamanya Tanzania46.55
56Mulugetta Tadesse Ethiopia46.85
67Bjarni Stefánsson Iceland46.92
72Eric Phillips Venezuela46.97
3Fernando Acevedo PeruDNS

Semifinals

Top four in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
14Vince Matthews United States44.94Q
23Karl Honz West Germany45.32Q
31John Smith United States45.46Q
42Charles Asati Kenya45.47Q
58David Jenkins Great Britain45.91
66Tegegne Bezabeh Ethiopia45.98
75Georg Nückles West Germany46.28
87Andrzej Badeński Poland46.38

Semifinal 2

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
11Julius Sang Kenya45.30Q
23Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske West Germany45.62Q
32Wayne Collett United States45.77Q
44Markku Kukkoaho Finland46.02Q
55Alberto Juantorena Cuba46.07
68Jan Werner Poland46.26
77Martin Reynolds Great Britain46.71
6Zbigniew Jaremski PolandDNS

Final

Smith was leading at 80 metres when he pulled his hamstring and could not finish.

RankLaneAthleteNationTime
2Vince Matthews United States44.66
3Wayne Collett United States44.80
5Julius Sang Kenya44.92
48Charles Asati Kenya45.13
57Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske West Germany45.31
64Markku Kukkoaho Finland45.49
71Karl Honz West Germany45.68
6John Smith United StatesDNF

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. Official Report, vol. 3, p. 50.
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