1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	400 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	53 athletes from 28 countries
Competition location	Wembley Stadium
Competition phase	August 4, 1948 (preliminary / quarter-finals) August 5, 1948 (semi-final / final)
Medalist Arthur Wint ( JAM )   Herb McKenley ( JAM )   Mal Whitfield ( USA )

The men's 400-meter race at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held at Wembley Stadium on August 4 and 5, 1948 . 53 athletes took part.

The Olympic champion was the Jamaican Arthur Wint ahead of his compatriot Herb McKenley . Bronze went to Mal Whitfield from the USA.

Existing records

• World record : 45.9 s - Herb McKenley ( Jamaica ), Milwaukee , July 2, 1948
• Olympic record : 46.2s - Bill Carr ( USA ), Los Angeles final , August 5, 1932

Conducting the competition

The runners started the heats on August 4th. A total of twelve runs were completed. The two best runners qualified for the quarter-finals on the same day that the three best runners qualified for the semi-finals. The two semi-finals and the final were held on August 5th. In the semi-finals, the first three starters were able to qualify for the final.

Note: The qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue.

Prelims

August 4, 1948, 2:30 p.m.

Forward 1

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Jimmy Reardon	Ireland	48.4 s
2	Marko Račič	Yugoslavia	50.5 s
3	Chen Ying-long	China	50.9 s
4th	Georgios Karageorgos	Greece	54.5 s

Forward 2

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Herb McKenley	Jamaica	48.4 s
2	Rune Larsson	Sweden	49.2 s
3	Ferenc Bánhalmi	Hungary	49.6 s
4th	Jaime Aparicio	Colombia	50.8 s
5	Guillermo Evans	Argentina	51.8 s

Forward 3

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Zvonko Sabolović	Yugoslavia	49.9 s
2	Kurt Lundquist	Sweden	50.0 s
3	Antonio Pocoví	Argentina	50.7 s
4th	Mario Rosas	Colombia	51.4 s
5	L. Hasso	Kingdom of Iraq	56.8 s

Forward 4

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	George Rhoden	Jamaica	48.4 s
2	Dennis Shore	South African Union	49.0 s
3	Oskar Hardmeier	Switzerland	49.2 s
4th	Angel García	Cuba	50.2 s
5	Bill Ramsay	Australia	50.3 s

Forward 5

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Jacques Lunis	France	49.3 s
2	Folke Alnevik	Sweden	50.2 s
3	Carlos Monges	Mexico	50.9 s

Forward 6

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	David Bolen	United States	50.1 s
2	John Bartram	Australia	50.8 s
3	Hazzard Dill	Bermuda	53.0 s

Forward 7

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Leslie Lewis	Great Britain	48.9 s
2	Bjorn Vade	Norway	49.6 s
3	Ernie McCullough	Canada	49.9 s
4th	Walter Keller	Switzerland	50.3 s
5	Runar Holmberg	Finland	50.6 s

Forward 8

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Times Whitfield	United States	48.3 s
2	Bill Roberts	Great Britain	48.9 s
3	Don McFarlane	Canada	49.5 s
4th	Olavi Talja	Finland	50.4 s
5	Max Trepp	Switzerland	50.9 s

Forward 9

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Arthur Wint	Jamaica	47.7 s
2	Francis Schewetta	France	48.9 s
3	John De Saram	Ceylon	51.2 s
4th	Tauno Suvanto	Finland	51.5 s
5	Dogan Acarbay	Turkey	53.0 s

Forward 10

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Morris Curotta	Australia	49.1 s
2	Rosalvo Ramos	Brazil	49.2 s
3	Raymond Crapet	France	49.4 s
4th	Kemal Horulu	Turkey	51.5 s

Forward 11

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	George Guida	United States	49.0 s
2	Derek Pugh	Great Britain	49.3 s
3	Gustavo Ehlers	Chile	49.5 s
4th	Stefanos Petrakis	Greece	54.5 s

Forward 12

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Herman Kunnen	Belgium	50.0 s
2	Bob McFarlane	Canada	50.6 s
3	Reynir Sigurðsson	Iceland	51.4 s
4th	Jaime Itlmann	Chile	51.5 s
5	Stylianos Stratakos	Greece	52.8 s

Quarter finals

August 4, 1948, 5:15 p.m.

Run 1

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Times Whitfield	United States	48.0 s
2	George Rhoden	Jamaica	48.6 s
3	Rosalvo Ramos	Brazil	48.7 s
4th	Leslie Lewis	Great Britain	49.2 s
5	Zvonko Sabolović	Yugoslavia	49.5 s
6th	Folke Alnevik	Sweden	50.6 s

Run 2

The Belgian Herman Kunnen did not start the run.

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Arthur Wint	Jamaica	47.7 s
2	Morris Curotta	Australia	48.4 s
3	Dennis Shore	South African Union	48.5 s
4th	Bill Roberts	Great Britain	48.6 s
5	Bjorn Vade	Norway	49.7 s

Run 3

World record holder Herb McKenley (JAM) won silver

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Herb McKenley	Jamaica	48.0 s
2	George Guida	United States	48.0 s
3	Rune Larsson	Sweden	48.8 s
4th	John Bartram	Australia	49.9 s
5	Francis Schewetta	France	49.9 s
6th	Marko Račič	Yugoslavia	52.1 s

Run 4

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	David Bolen	United States	48.0 s
2	Jimmy Reardon	Ireland	48.3 s
3	Bob McFarlane	Canada	48.4 s
4th	Kurt Lundquist	Sweden	48.4 s
5	Derek Pugh	Great Britain	48.8 s
6th	Jacques Lunis	France	48.9 s

Semifinals

August 5, 1948, 3 p.m.

Run 1

Mal Whitfield (USA), bronze medal winner

The Swede Rune Larsson did not run.

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Arthur Wint	Jamaica	46.3 s
2	Morris Curotta	Australia	47.2 s
3	Times Whitfield	United States	47.4 s
4th	George Rhoden	Jamaica	47.7 s
5	Jimmy Reardon	Ireland	47.8 s

Run 2

The finish line of the final: Arthur Wint (122) wins ahead of Herb McKenley (90). Mal Whitfield (136) is third. David Bolen was fourth with the 134.

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Herb McKenley	Jamaica	47.3 s
2	David Bolen	United States	47.9 s
3	George Guida	United States	48.3 s
4th	Dennis Shore	South African Union	48.8 s
5	Rosalvo Ramos	Brazil	49.1 s
6th	Bob McFarlane	Canada	51.7 s

final

space	Surname	nation	time	annotation
1	Arthur Wint	Jamaica	46.2 s	OR set
2	Herb McKenley	Jamaica	46.4 s
3	Times Whitfield	United States	46.9 s
4th	David Bolen	United States	47.2 s
5	Morris Curotta	Australia	47.9 s
6th	George Guida	United States	50.2 s

August 5, 1948, 4:45 p.m.

World record holder Herb McKenley from Jamaica was the top favorite. His compatriot Arthur Wint and the US runner Mal Whitfield, winner of the 800 meters , were among the medal candidates. In the final, McKenley picked up the pace and after 200 meters led by almost seven meters. In the last corner, however, he lost speed, the London air with its smog bothered him. 20 meters from the finish he was overtaken by Wint, who had lived in London for a few years and knew the air conditions.

Arthur Win's victory was the first ever Olympic victory by a Jamaican athlete at the Olympic Games.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, pp. 17–19

Web links

• SportsReference 400m , accessed August 19, 2017
• Official report , pages 246–247, engl. (PDF), accessed on August 19, 2017
• Before Usain Bolt - The First Jamaican Sprint Star Arthur Wint - London 1948 Olympics , published February 26, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed August 19, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Berlin 2009 page 548 ( Memento from June 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
2. ^ Official report "Athletic Timetable" page 241
3. ^ Official report "Athletic Timetable" page 241
4. ^ Official report "Athletic Timetable" page 241
5. ^ Official report "Athletic Timetable" page 241
6. ↑ SportsReference (Eng.)