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

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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 (round 1 & quarterfinals)
August 20 (semifinals & final)
Competitors37 from 16 nations
Winning time49.6
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Bevil Rudd  South Africa
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Guy Butler  Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Nils Engdahl  Sweden
← 1912
1924 →

Background

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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

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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

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.[4]

World record   Ted Meredith (USA) 47.4(*) Cambridge, United States 27 May 1916
Olympic record   Charles Reidpath (USA) 48.2 Stockholm, Sweden 13 July 1912

(*) 440 yards (= 402.34 m)

No records were set during this event.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Thursday, 19 August 1920 09:30
15:15		 Round 1
Quarterfinals
Friday, 20 August 1920 14:00
16:15		 Semifinals
Final

Results

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Times were generally only published for the winners of each heat. Some of the times listed below are estimates based on contemporary reports of the races.[5]

Round 1

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Heat 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Robert Lindsay   Great Britain 52.0 Q
2 Clarence Oldfield   South Africa 52.2 Q
3 Tolly Bolin   Sweden 52.6
— Émile Barral   Monaco DNS
— Fritiof Andersen   Denmark DNS
— Jean Colbach   Luxembourg DNS

Heat 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Gaston Féry   France 51.2 Q
2 John Ainsworth-Davis   Great Britain 51.5 Q
3 Karel Frankenstein   Czechoslovakia 52.5
4 Francis Irvine   South Africa 52.5
— William Hunt   Australia DNS

Heat 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Frank Shea   United States 50.8 Q
2 Henry Dafel   South Africa 51.2 Q
3 Sven Krokström   Sweden 51.6
— Josef Teplý   Czechoslovakia DNS

Heat 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ted Meredith   United States 51.6 Q
2 Géo André   France 52.3 Q
3 Giuseppe Bernardoni   Italy 52.8
— Dimitrios Karabatis   Greece DNS
— Gensabulo Noguchi   Japan DNS

Heat 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Bevil Rudd   South Africa 51.6 Q
2 Erik Wilén   Finland 52.0 Q
3 Reinhold Saulmann   Estonia 52.4 a
4 Giovanni Tosi   Italy 52.6
— August Sørensen   Denmark DNS
a.^ Reinhold Saulmann's time is given as 52.2 by contemporary Estonian reports.

Heat 6

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Robert Emery   United States 52.6 Q
2 Guy Butler   Great Britain 53.2 Q
3 Karel Přibyl   Czechoslovakia 54.0
4 Jules Migeot   Belgium 55.1
— Shinichi Yamaoka   Japan DNS

Heat 7

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 George Schiller   United States 50.4 Q
2 Nils Engdahl   Sweden 50.6 Q
3 Maurice Delvart   France 51.0
4 Einar Mangset   Norway 51.4
— Eduard Hašek   Czechoslovakia DNS

Heat 8

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Eric Sundblad   Sweden 52.0 Q
2 Hec Phillips   Canada 52.3 Q
3 Agide Simonazzi   Italy 53.0
4 Purma Bannerjee   India 53.1
— Paul Hammer   Luxembourg DNS

Heat 9

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Omer Corteyn   Belgium 52.2 Q
2 Hedges Worthington-Eyre   Great Britain 52.6 Q
3 Jean Proess   Luxembourg 53.2
4 José García Lorenzana   Spain 53.4
— Johannes Villemson   Estonia DNS

Heat 10

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 François Morren   Belgium 51.6 Q
2 Miguel García Onsalo   Spain 52.0 Q
3 Eugène Bayon   France 52.4
— Ahmed Khairy   Egypt DNF
— Ernesto Ambrosini   Italy DNS

Quarterfinals

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Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Nils Engdahl   Sweden 50.4 Q
2 John Ainsworth-Davis   Great Britain 50.7 Q
3 Robert Emery   United States 50.7 Q
4 François Morren   Belgium 50.8
5 Clarence Oldfield   South Africa 51.1

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Gaston Féry   France 50.6 Q
2 Guy Butler   Great Britain 50.7 Q
3 Ted Meredith   United States 50.8 Q
4 Erik Wilén   Finland 51.0
5 Hec Phillips   Canada 51.4

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Henry Dafel   South Africa 50.8 Q
2 George Schiller   United States 51.1 Q
3 Eric Sundblad   Sweden 51.2 Q
4 Robert Lindsay   Great Britain 51.6
5 Omer Corteyn   Belgium 52.0

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Frank Shea   United States 51.0 Q
2 Bevil Rudd   South Africa 51.3 Q
3 Géo André   France 51.6 Q
4 Miguel García Onsalo   Spain 52.8
5 Hedges Worthington-Eyre   Great Britain 53.2

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Nils Engdahl   Sweden 49.4 Q
2 Bevil Rudd   South Africa 49.7 Q
3 John Ainsworth-Davis   Great Britain 49.9 Q
4 Robert Emery   United States 50.2
5 George Schiller   United States
6 Gaston Féry   France 51.0

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Frank Shea   United States 50.0 Q
2 Guy Butler   Great Britain 50.2 Q
3 Henry Dafel   South Africa 50.4 Q
4 Ted Meredith   United States 50.6
5 Géo André   France 51.6
— Eric Sundblad   Sweden DNF

Final

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time
  1 Bevil Rudd   South Africa 49.6
  5 Guy Butler   Great Britain 50.1
  6 Nils Engdahl   Sweden 50.2
4 3 Frank Shea   United States 50.4
5 4 John Ainsworth-Davis   Great Britain 50.6
6 2 Henry Dafel   South Africa 50.6

References

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  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. ^ a b "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  3. ^ Official Report, pp. 90–92.
  4. ^ "World Record Progression of 400 Metres". World Athletics. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

Further reading

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  • 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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