Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles

The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 23 to 26.[1] There were 35 competitors from 24 nations.[2] The event was won by Félix Sánchez of the Dominican Republic, the nation's first medal in the men's 400 metres hurdles. Silver went to Danny McFarlane of Jamaica, returning to the podium in the event for the first time since 1992. Naman Keïta's bronze was France's first medal in the event in over 100 years; the last Frenchman to medal in the long hurdles was Henri Tauzin in 1900. The United States' five-Games gold medal (and podium) streak ended; for only the second time in the history of the event, Americans competed but won no medals (after 1968, with the United States also not on the podium in 1980 due to the boycott).

Men's 400 metres hurdles
at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad
Félix Sánchez (2005)
VenueAthens Olympic Stadium
Dates23–26 August
Competitors35 from 24 nations
Winning time47.63
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Félix Sánchez
 Dominican Republic
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Danny McFarlane
 Jamaica
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Naman Keïta
 France
← 2000
2008 →
Official Video

Background

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This was the 23rd time the event was held. It had been introduced along with the men's 200 metres hurdles in 1900, with the 200 being dropped after 1904 and the 400 being held through 1908 before being left off the 1912 programme. However, when the Olympics returned in 1920 after World War I, the men's 400 metres hurdles was back and would continue to be contested at every Games thereafter.

The top four of the eight finalists from the 2000 Games returned: gold medalist Angelo Taylor of the United States, silver medalist Hadi Souan Somayli of Saudi Arabia, bronze medalist Llewellyn Herbert of South Africa, and fourth-place finisher James Carter of the United States. Félix Sánchez of the Dominican Republic had finished 20th in 2000, but had risen to prominence since as he won the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. He was the favorite in Athens.[2] Defending champion Taylor made it to the semifinals but did not qualify for the final.

Belize, Kazakhstan, Mali, and Niger each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 22nd appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Summary

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In the final, a false start had been accredited to at least three athletes including Dominican Republic's Félix Sánchez, a solid pre-race favorite in this event. Nonetheless, he sped out of the blocks, and quickly opened his lead over the American and fastest pre-Olympic entrant James Carter on the sixth hurdle. The two had chased against each other towards the final bend with Carter pulling ahead into the lead. As Carter went backwards in the last two hurdles, Sanchez left the field trailing to quickly move again to the front and maintained it to a blazing finish in his seasonal best at 47.63 seconds, extending his winning streak on his forty-third race since the previous defeat in 2001.[3] Behind him, Jamaican hurdler Danny McFarlane and delighted Frenchman Naman Keïta edged Carter out to a ragged fourth to deny the American supremacy on the podium for the first time at a non-boycotted Games since 1968, giving both of them the silver and bronze respectively.[4][5]

Qualification

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The qualification period for athletics was 1 January 2003 to 9 August 2004. For the men's 400 metres hurdles, each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run the race in 49.20 seconds or faster during the qualification period. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. If an NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had run the race in 49.50 seconds or faster could be entered.

Competition format

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The competition used the three-round format used every Games since 1908 (except the four-round competition in 1952): quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. The hurdles were 3 feet (91.5 centimetres) tall and were placed 35 metres apart beginning 45 metres from the starting line, resulting in a 40 metres home stretch after the last hurdle. The 400 metres track was standard.

There were 5 quarterfinal heats with 7 athletes each. The top 4 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals along with the next fastest 4 overall. The 24 semifinalists were divided into 3 semifinals of 8 athletes each, with the top 2 in each semifinal and the next 2 fastest overall advancing to the 8-man final.[2]

Records

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Prior to the competition, the existing world record, Olympic record, and world leading time were as follows:

World record   Kevin Young (USA) 46.78 Barcelona, Spain 6 August 1992
Olympic record   Kevin Young (USA) 46.78 Barcelona, Spain 6 August 1992
World Leading   James Carter (USA) 47.68 Sacramento, United States 11 July 2004

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

Schedule

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All times are Greece Standard Time (UTC+2)

Date Time Round
Monday, 23 August 2004 19:30 Quarterfinals
Tuesday, 24 August 2004 21:05 Semifinals
Thursday, 26 August 2004 22:30 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

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Qualification rule: The first four finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next four fastest overall runners (q) advanced to the semifinals.[6]

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 8 Angelo Taylor   United States 48.79 Q
2 6 Jiří Mužík   Czech Republic 48.85 Q, SB
3 3 Chris Rawlinson   Great Britain 48.94 Q
4 5 Boris Gorban   Russia 49.25 Q
5 2 Yevgeniy Meleshenko   Kazakhstan 49.43 q
6 4 Ken Yoshizawa   Japan 50.95
7 7 Kurt Couto   Mozambique 51.18 NR

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 2 Danny McFarlane   Jamaica 48.53 Q, SB
2 3 Bennie Brazell   United States 48.57 Q
3 5 Marek Plawgo   Poland 48.67 Q, SB
4 4 Llewellyn Herbert   South Africa 48.70 Q
5 6 Štěpán Tesařík   Czech Republic 49.44 q
6 7 Alaa Motar   Iraq 51.97
8 Yacnier Luis   Cuba DSQ

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 8 James Carter   United States 48.64 Q
2 6 Periklis Iakovakis   Greece 48.69 Q, SB
3 7 Dai Tamesue   Japan 48.80 Q
4 4 Eduardo Iván Rodríguez   Spain 49.25 Q
5 2 Bayano Kamani   Panama 49.37 q
6 3 Ibrahima Maïga   Mali 50.63
7 5 Michael Aguilar   Belize 51.21

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 2 Félix Sánchez   Dominican Republic 48.51 Q
2 5 Alwyn Myburgh   South Africa 48.84 Q
3 4 Mikhail Lipsky   Russia 49.00 Q
4 3 Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily   Saudi Arabia 49.15 Q, SB
5 7 Dean Griffiths   Jamaica 49.41 q
6 6 Cédric El-Idrissi   Switzerland 49.44
7 8 Mowen Boino   Papua New Guinea 50.97 NR

Quarterfinal 5

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 8 Kemel Thompson   Jamaica 48.66 Q, SB
2 3 Naman Keïta   France 48.88 Q
3 2 Ockert Cilliers   South Africa 49.12 Q
4 4 Edivaldo Monteiro   Portugal 49.53 Q
5 6 Ibrahim Al-Hamaidi   Saudi Arabia 49.64
6 5 Matthew Douglas   Great Britain 49.77
7 7 Ibrahim Tondi   Niger 52.62

Semifinals

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Qualification rule: The first two finishers in each heat (Q) plus the next two fastest overall runners (q) moved on to the final.[7]

Semifinal 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 5 Félix Sánchez   Dominican Republic 47.93 Q
2 3 Marek Plawgo   Poland 48.16 Q, NR
3 6 Alwyn Myburgh   South Africa 48.21 q, SB
4 4 Angelo Taylor   United States 48.72
5 7 Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily   Saudi Arabia 48.98 SB
6 2 Mikhail Lipskiy   Russia 49.10
7 1 Edivaldo Monteiro   Portugal 49.26
8 8 Dean Griffiths   Jamaica 49.51

Semifinal 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Danny McFarlane   Jamaica 48.00 Q, PB
2 5 Bennie Brazell   United States 48.19 Q
3 4 Dai Tamesue   Japan 48.46 SB
4 6 Periklis Iakovakis   Greece 48.47 SB
5 2 Llewellyn Herbert   South Africa 48.57
6 8 Eduardo Iván Rodríguez   Spain 49.77
7 7 Štěpán Tesařík   Czech Republic 49.87
8 1 Chris Rawlinson   Great Britain 50.89

Semifinal 3

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 James Carter   United States 48.18 Q
2 7 Bayano Kamani   Panama 48.23 Q, NR
3 6 Naman Keïta   France 48.24 q
4 4 Kemel Thompson   Jamaica 48.25 SB
5 5 Jiří Mužík   Czech Republic 48.88
6 1 Ockert Cilliers   South Africa 49.01
7 2 Boris Gorban   Russia 49.46
8 8 Yevgeniy Meleshenko   Kazakhstan 49.48

Final

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[8]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
  6 Félix Sánchez   Dominican Republic 47.63 SB
  5 Danny McFarlane   Jamaica 48.11
  7 Naman Keïta   France 48.26
4 4 James Carter   United States 48.58
5 2 Bayano Kamani   Panama 48.74
6 3 Marek Plawgo   Poland 49.00
7 1 Alwyn Myburgh   South Africa 49.07
8 8 Bennie Brazell   United States 49.51

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Notes
  Félix Sánchez   Dominican Republic 48.51 47.93 47.63 SB
  Danny McFarlane   Jamaica 48.53 48.00 48.11 PB
  Naman Keïta   France 48.88 48.24 48.26
4 James Carter   United States 48.64 48.18 48.58
5 Bayano Kamani   Panama 49.37 48.23 48.74 NR
6 Marek Plawgo   Poland 48.67 48.16 49.00 NR
7 Alwyn Myburgh   South Africa 48.84 48.21 49.07 SB
8 Bennie Brazell   United States 48.57 48.19 49.51
9 Kemel Thompson   Jamaica 48.66 48.25 Did not advance SB
10 Dai Tamesue   Japan 48.80 48.46 SB
11 Periklis Iakovakis   Greece 48.69 48.47 SB
12 Llewellyn Herbert   South Africa 48.70 48.57
13 Angelo Taylor   United States 48.79 48.72
14 Jiří Mužík   Czech Republic 48.85 48.88 SB
15 Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily   Saudi Arabia 49.15 48.98 SB
16 Ockert Cilliers   South Africa 49.12 49.01
17 Mikhail Lipskiy   Russia 49.00 49.10
18 Edivaldo Monteiro   Portugal 49.53 49.26
19 Boris Gorban   Russia 49.25 49.46
20 Yevgeniy Meleshenko   Kazakhstan 49.43 49.48
21 Dean Griffiths   Jamaica 49.41 49.51
22 Eduardo Iván Rodríguez   Spain 49.25 49.77
23 Štěpán Tesařík   Czech Republic 49.44 49.87
24 Chris Rawlinson   Great Britain 48.94 50.89
25 Cédric El-Idrissi   Switzerland 49.44 Did not advance
26 Ibrahim Al-Hamaidi   Saudi Arabia 49.64
27 Matthew Douglas   Great Britain 49.77
28 Ibrahima Maïga   Mali 50.63
29 Ken Yoshizawa   Japan 50.95
30 Mowen Boino   Papua New Guinea 50.97 NR
31 Kurt Couto   Mozambique 51.18 NR
32 Michael Aguilar   Belize 51.21
33 Alaa Motar   Iraq 51.97
34 Ibrahim Tondi   Niger 52.62
35 Yacnier Luis   Cuba DSQ

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 2004 Athens Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Hurdles". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "400 metres Hurdles, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Sanchez storms to gold". BBC Sport. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  4. ^ Barclay, Bill (27 August 2004). "Invincible Sanchez storms to gold". Rediff.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  5. ^ Tucker, Elton (27 August 2004). "McFarlane wins third medal for Jamaica". Gleaner Company. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  6. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Men's 400m Hurdles Heats". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  7. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Men's 400m Hurdles Semifinals". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  8. ^ "IAAF Athens 2004: Men's 400m Hurdles Final". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
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