Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

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Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XI Olympiad
Venue Olympiastadion: Berlin, Germany
DatesAugust 6 (heats and quarterfinals)
August 7 (semifinals and final)
Competitors42 from 25 nations
Winning time46.5
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Archie Williams
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Godfrey Brown
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Bronze medal icon.svg James LuValle
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
  1932
1948  

The men's 400 metres sprint event at the 1936 Olympic Games took place in early August. Forty-two athletes from 25 nations competed. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by 0.2 seconds by American Archie Williams, the third consecutive and seventh overall title in the event for the United States. [2] Godfrey Brown's silver was Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1924.

Background

This was the tenth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the finalists from 1932 returned. Archie Williams of the United States was the favorite, setting the world record at 46.1 seconds at the 1936 NCAA championships. [1]

The Republic of China and Romania appeared in the event for the first time. The United States made its tenth 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. There were 8 heats in the first round, each with 5 or 6 athletes. The top three runners in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals. There were 4 quarterfinals of 6 runners each; the top three athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 6 runners each. The top three runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making a six-man final. [1] [3]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Archie Williams  (USA)46.1 Chicago, United States 19 June 1936
Olympic recordUS flag 48 stars.svg  Bill Carr  (USA)46.2 Los Angeles, United States 5 August 1932

No records were set during this event.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Thursday, 6 August 193610:30
15:15
Heats
Quarterfinals
Friday, 7 August 193615:00
17:30
Semifinals
Final

Results

Heats

The fastest three runners in each of the eight heats advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Bill Roberts Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.1Q
2 Olle Danielsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 48.6Q
3 Johnny Loaring Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 49.1Q
4 Albert Jud Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 49.4
5 Tibor Ribényi Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946; 3-2 aspect ratio).svg  Hungary 50.1

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Georges Henry Flag of France.svg  France 49.2Q
2 Karel Kněnický Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 49.6Q
3 Dennis Shore Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 49.9Q
4 Sven Strömberg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 50.0
5 Johann Baptist Gudenus Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 52.9

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Godfrey Brown Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.8Q
2 Mario Lanzi Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 49.3Q
3 Adolf Metzner Flag of the German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Germany 50.2Q
4 Mohamed Ebeid Flag of Egypt (1922-1953).svg  Egypt 50.5
5 Jean Verhaert Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 50.7
6 Leonard Tay Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Republic of China 52.4

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Harold Smallwood US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 49.0Q
2 Marshall Limon Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 49.2Q
3 József Vadas Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946; 3-2 aspect ratio).svg  Hungary 49.2Q
4 Rolf Schønheyder Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 49.4
5 Antônio de Carvalho Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil 50.4
6 Hiroyoshi Kubota Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 50.8

Heat 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Jimmy LuValle US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 49.1Q
2 Juan Carlos Anderson Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 49.4Q
3 Zoltán Zsitva Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946; 3-2 aspect ratio).svg  Hungary 49.8Q
4 Francisc Nemeş Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 50.9
5 Keiji Imai Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 51.0

Heat 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Hermann Blazejezak Flag of the German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Germany 47.9Q
2 Godfrey Rampling Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.6Q
3 Börje Strandvall Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 49.3Q
4 Raymond Boisset Flag of France.svg  France 49.5
5 Jean Krombach Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 50.4

Heat 7

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Archie Williams US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 47.8Q
2 William Fritz Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 49.0Q
3 Gunnar Christensen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 49.3Q
4 Toyoyi Aihara Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 50.2
5 Raúl Muñoz Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 50.5

Heat 8

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Pierre Skawinski Flag of France.svg  France 48.9Q
2 Bertil von Wachenfeldt Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 49.0Q
3 Rudolf Klupsch Flag of the German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Germany 49.1Q
4 Alfred König Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 49.4
5 Gyan Bhalla Flag of the Governor-General of India (1885-1947).svg  India 52.4

Quarterfinals

The fastest three runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal 1

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
15 Bill Roberts Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 47.7Q
21 Harold Smallwood US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 48.6Q
33 Mario Lanzi Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 48.8Q
42 Zoltán Zsitva Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946; 3-2 aspect ratio).svg  Hungary 49.4
54 Dennis Shore Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 49.6
66 Gunnar Christensen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 51.0

Quarterfinal 2

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
12 Hermann Blazejezak Flag of the German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Germany 48.2Q
25 Godfrey Brown Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.3Q
36 William Fritz Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 48.4Q
44 Bertil von Wachenfeldt Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 48.5
51 Georges Henry Flag of France.svg  France 49.4
63 Börje Strandvall Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 49.9

Quarterfinal 3

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
11 Archie Williams US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 48.0Q
23 Juan Carlos Anderson Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 48.7Q
32 Johnny Loaring Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 49.3Q
44 Olle Danielsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 49.6
Adolf Metzner Flag of the German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Germany DNS
József Vadas Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946; 3-2 aspect ratio).svg  Hungary DNS

Quarterfinal 4

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
12 Jimmy LuValle US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 47.6Q
26 Pierre Skawinski Flag of France.svg  France 48.0Q
33 Godfrey Rampling Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.0Q
44 Rudolf Klupsch Flag of the German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Germany 48.8
51 Marshall Limon Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 48.9
65 Karel Kněnický Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 49.6

Semifinals

The fastest three runners in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
15 Archie Williams US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 47.2Q
22 Bill Roberts Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.0Q
33 Johnny Loaring Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 48.1Q
41 Mario Lanzi Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 48.2
55 Pierre Skawinski Flag of France.svg  France 52.0
Harold Smallwood US flag 48 stars.svg  United States DNS

Semifinal 2

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
14 Jimmy LuValle US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 47.1Q
25 Godfrey Brown Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 47.3Q
36 William Fritz Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 47.4Q
42 Godfrey Rampling Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 47.5
53 Juan Carlos Anderson Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 48.5
61 Hermann Blazejezak Flag of the German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Germany 49.2

Final

RankLaneAthleteNationTime
Gold medal icon.svg5 Archie Williams US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 46.5
Silver medal icon.svg6 Godfrey Brown Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 46.7
Bronze medal icon.svg2 James LuValle US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 46.8
43 Bill Roberts Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 46.8
51 William Fritz Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 47.8
64 Johnny Loaring Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 (with disc).svg  Canada 48.2

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  2. "Athletics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  3. Official Report, vol. 1, pp. 624–26.