1968 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	400 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	55 athletes from 38 countries
Competition location	Estadio Olímpico Universitario
Competition phase	October 16, 1968 (preliminary) October 17 (quarter-finals / semi-finals) October 18, 1968 (final)
Medalist Lee Evans ( USA )   Larry James ( USA )   Ron Freeman ( USA )

The men's 400-meter run at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City was held on October 16, 17 and 18, 1968 at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario . 55 athletes took part.

The US team celebrated a triple success. Olympic champion in a new world record time was Lee Evans ahead of Larry James and Ron Freeman .

Manfred Kinder , Helmar Müller and Martin Jellinghaus started for the Federal Republic of Germany - officially 'Germany' . While Kinder was eliminated in the preliminary stages, Helmar Müller only failed in the semi-finals. Jellinghaus made it to the finals where he finished fifth.
The GDR - officially 'East Germany' - was represented by Michael Zerbes and Wolfgang Müller . Both survived the preliminary runs. Zerbes failed in the quarter-finals, Wolfgang Müller in the semifinals.
Runners from Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Existing records

World record	44.1 s	Larry James ( USA )	Echo Summit , USA	September 14, 1968
Olympic record	44.9 s	Otis Davis ( USA )	Final of Rome , Italy	September 6, 1960

Conducting the competition

The athletes competed in the eight heats on October 16. The four first-placed runners reached the quarter-finals on October 17th. From this, the four best runners qualified for the next round, the semi-finals, which were held on the same day. The four best runners from the preliminary rounds also made it to the final, which took place on October 18th.

Time schedule

October 16, 3:40 p.m .: preliminary runs

October 17, 3:20 p.m .: quarter-finals

October 17, 6 p.m .: semi-finals

October 18, 3:50 p.m .: Final

Note: All times are Mexico City local time ( UTC −6)

The qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue.

Preliminary round

Date: October 16, 1968, from 3:40 p.m.

Forward 1

Manfred Kinder, BR Germany, dropped out in the run-up.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Lee Evans	United States	45.3 s	45.40 s
2	Claver Kamanya	Tanzania	45.7 s	45.74 s
3	Christian Nicolau	France	45.7 s	45.77 s
4th	Sam Bugri	Ghana	45.8 s	45.88 s
5	Manfred children	BR Germany	46.9 s	46.95 s
6th	Ezra Burnham	Barbados	47.9 s	47.94 s

Forward 2

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	45.5 s	45.52 s
2	Clifton Forbes	Jamaica	45.7 s	45.75 s
3	Larry James	United States	45.8 s	45.83 s
4th	Daniel Rudisha	Kenya	46.9 s	46.96 s
5	Angelo Hussein	Sudan	47.7 s	47.80 s
6th	Victor Asirvatham	Malaysia	48.0 s	48.02 s

Forward 3

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Amadou Gakou	Senegal	45.3 s	45.39 s
2	Tegegne Bezabeh	Ethiopia	45.5 s	45.60 s
3	Ron Freeman	United States	45.6 s	45.67 s
4th	Rodobaldo Díaz	Cuba	46.4 s	46.48 s
5	Ramón Magariños	Spain	46.9 s	46.92 s
6th	Anthony Egwunyenga	Nigeria	47.3 s	47.37 s
7th	Francisco Menocal	Nicaragua	49.1 s	49.14 s

Forward 4

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Martin Jellinghaus	BR Germany	46.4 s	46.50 s
2	Pedro Grajales	Colombia	46.7 s	46.73 s
3	Michael Zerbes	GDR	46.8 s	46.84 s
4th	Ross MacKenzie	Canada	47.0 s	47.05 s
5	Howard Davies	Great Britain	47.2 s	47.30 s
6th	Jacques Pennewaert	Belgium	48.5 s	48.55 s
7th	José Astacio	El Salvador	52.9 s	52.92 s

Forward 5

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Amos Omolo	Uganda	45.8 s	45.85 s
2	Munyoro Nyamau	Kenya	45.9 s	45.91 s
3	Jean-Claude Nallet	France	45.9 s	45.93 s
4th	Helmar Müller	BR Germany	45.9 s	45.98 s
5	José Jacinto Hidalgo	Venezuela	46.3 s	46.32 s
6th	Carlos Martínez	Cuba	47.2 s	47.28 s
7th	Tony Harper	Bermuda	49.1 s	49.18 s

Forward 6

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Jan Werner	Poland	45.9 s	45.97 s
2	Martin Winbolt-Lewis	Great Britain	46.2 s	46.27 s
3	Mamman Makama	Nigeria	46.4 s	46.49 s
4th	Sergio Bello	Italy	46.5 s	46.54 s
5	Eddy Téllez	Cuba	46.7 s	46.80 s
6th	Noel Carroll	Ireland	46.8 s	46.83 s
7th	José L'Oficial	Dominican Republic	47.9 s	47.93 s

Forward 7

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Naftali Bon	Kenya	46.2 s	46.21 s
2	Jan Balachowski	Poland	46.2 s	46.23 s
3	Musa Dogonyaro	Nigeria	46.2 s	46.24 s
4th	Gilles Bertould	France	46.3 s	46.31 s
5	Don Domansky	Canada	46.4 s	46.46 s
6th	Melesio Piña	Mexico	46.8 s	46.81 s
7th	Leslie Miller	Bahamas	46.9 s	46.99 s
8th	Yoyaga Dit Coulibaly	Ivory Coast	50.0 s	50.11 s

Forward 8

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Wolfgang Müller	GDR	46.6 s	46.66 s
2	Colin Campbell	Great Britain	46.6 s	46.66 s
3	Sergio Ottolina	Italy	46.7 s	46.78 s
4th	Juan Carlos Dyrzka	Argentina	46.3 s	46.31 s
5	George Simon	Trinidad and Tobago	47.9 s	47.95 s
6th	Omar Ghizlat	Morocco	48.2 s	48.23 s
7th	Kun Min-mu	Taiwan	49.0 s	49.07 s

Quarter finals

Date: October 17, 1968, from 3:20 p.m.

Run 1

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Amadou Gakou	Senegal	45.5 s	45.56 s
2	Larry James	United States	45.7 s	45.77 s
3	Claver Kamanya	Tanzania	46.0 s	46.03 s
4th	Ross MacKenzie	Canada	46.1 s	46.15 s
5	Musa Dogonyaro	Nigeria	46.1 s	46.19 s
6th	Colin Campbell	Great Britain	46.3 s	46.35 s
7th	Naftali Bon	Kenya	46.3 s	46.39 s
8th	Sergio Bello	Italy	46.8 s	46.84 s

Run 2

The French Christian Nicolau did not make the quarter-finals.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Amos Omolo	Uganda	45.3 s	45.33 s
2	Lee Evans	United States	45.5 s	45.54 s
3	Munyoro Nyamau	Kenya	46.1 s	46.12 s
4th	Wolfgang Müller	GDR	46.2 s	46.32 s
5	Jan Balachowski	Poland	46.3 s	46.33 s
6th	Rodobaldo Díaz	Cuba	46.3 s	46.38 s
7th	Juan Carlos Dyrzka	Argentina	46.8 s	46.85 s

Run 3

Sergio Ottolina (left) , Italy

The Italian Sergio Ottolina did not make the quarter-finals.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Jan Werner	Poland	45.6 s	45.63 s
2	Martin Jellinghaus	BR Germany	45.9 s	46.00 s
3	Tegegne Bezabeh	Ethiopia	46.0 s	46.02 s
4th	Sam Bugri	Ghana	46.0 s	46.08 s
5	Clifton Forbes	Jamaica	46.2 s	46.29 s
6th	Daniel Rudisha	Kenya	47.6 s	47.68 s
7th	Gilles Bertould	France	48.9 s	48.91 s

Run 4

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Ron Freeman	United States	45.3 s	45.31 s
2	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	45.6 s	45.60 s
3	Helmar Müller	BR Germany	45.7 s	45.78 s
4th	Jean-Claude Nallet	France	45.7 s	45.80 s
5	Martin Winbolt-Lewis	Great Britain	45.9 s	45.91 s
6th	Michael Zerbes	GDR	46.1 s	46.19 s
7th	Mamman Makama	Nigeria	46.4 s	46.41 s
8th	Pedro Grajales	Colombia	46.5 s	46.53 s

Semifinals

Date: October 17, 1968, from 6 p.m.

Run 1

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Amadou Gakou	Senegal	45.1 s	45.17 s
2	Ron Freeman	United States	45.4 s	45.47 s
3	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	45.4 s	45.50 s
4th	Tegegne Bezabeh	Ethiopia	45.5 s	45.60 s
5	Sam Bugri	Ghana	45.9 s	45.92 s
6th	Helmar Müller	BR Germany	46.2 s	46.22 s
7th	Claver Kamanya	Tanzania	46.2 s	46.22 s
8th	Wolfgang Müller	GDR	48.3 s	48.37 s

Run 2

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Lee Evans	United States	44.8 s	44.83 s	OR
2	Larry James	United States	44.9 s	44.88 s
3	Martin Jellinghaus	BR Germany	44.9 s	45.06 s
4th	Amos Omolo	Uganda	45.4 s	45.52 s
5	Jan Werner	Poland	45.7 s	45.75 s
6th	Munyoro Nyamau	Kenya	46.3 s	46.37 s
7th	Jean-Claude Nallet	France	49.0 s	49.01 s
8th	Ross MacKenzie	Canada	49.2 s	49.28 s

final

Date: October 18, 1968, 3:50 p.m.

American Lee Evans, who won the US Trials and remained below the existing world record with 44.0 seconds, was the favorite for the Olympic victory . Like John Carlos , however, he had worn the so-called brush shoes developed especially for synthetic surfaces over 200 meters , which had 68 short “nails” instead of the usual maximum of six thorns per shoe. Their use was not approved by the IAAF . Thus, Evans achievement could not be recognized as a world record. Larry James, who had run with an approved shoe model, had finished second in this race with a time of 44.1 seconds and was thus the world record holder. James was seen as the main competitor for Evans. Behind it, the third American, Ronald Freeman, was considered a clear candidate for a medal.

After the protest at the award ceremony of the 200-meter run , which resulted in Tommie Smith and John Carlos being expelled from the US team, Evans wanted to forego the 400-meter final out of solidarity for his two colleagues . Smith and Carlos then managed to persuade Evans to participate.

Evans got off to a quick start in the final. At the start of the straight he was just ahead of James. Evans picked up the pace, but James was able to follow, it stayed very tight until the finish. Lee Evans finally won in the new world record time of 43.8 s with a tenth of a second ahead of Larry James. Ronald Freeman completed the US triple triumph. Lee Evans and Larry James were the first athletes to run under 44 seconds.

Well behind the three US runners, Amadou Gakou from Senegal came fourth, while the German Martin Jellinghaus, who set the European record in the semi-finals, came fifth as the best European.

In the 16th Olympic final over 400 meters, Lee Evans ran for the eleventh US gold medal. It was the fourth US victory in a row.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Lee Evans	United States	43.8 s	43.86 s	WR
2	Larry James	United States	43.9 s	43.97 s
3	Ron Freeman	United States	44.4 s	44.41 s
4th	Amadou Gakou	Senegal	45.0 s	45.01 s
5	Martin Jellinghaus	BR Germany	45.3 s	45.33 s
6th	Tegegne Bezabeh	Ethiopia	45.4 s	45.42 s
7th	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	45.4 s	45.42 s
8th	Amos Omolo	Uganda	47.6 s	47.61 s

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, pp. 338–340

Video

• 400m. (WR) 1968 Olympic Games, Mexico City , published December 23, 2012 on youtube.com, accessed November 2, 2017

Web links

• SportsReference 400m , accessed November 2, 2017
• Official report - summary p. 56f, English / French. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017
• Official report of the Olympic Games 1968 p. 522, English / French. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Berlin 2009 Page 548 (Engl.) ( Memento of 29 June 2011 at the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 2, 2017
2. ↑ Official report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 10, English / French (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Official Report of the Olympic Games 1964 ( Memento of the original from June 30, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 522, engl. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017 
4. ↑ SportsReference , accessed November 2, 2017