1964 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	400 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	50 athletes from 33 countries
Competition location	Tokyo Olympic Stadium
Competition phase	October 17, 1964 (preliminary / quarter finals) October 18, 1964 (semi-finals) October 19, 1964 (final)
Medalist Mike Larrabee ( USA )   Wendell Mottley ( TTO )   Andrzej Badeński ( POL )

The men's 400-meter run at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo was held from October 17 to 19, 1964 in the Tokyo Olympic Stadium. 50 athletes took part.

The American Mike Larrabee became Olympic champion . He won ahead of Wendell Mottley from Trinidad and Tobago and Andrzej Badeński from Poland.

Three Germans and one Swiss competed, athletes from Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part. Jürgen Kalfelder failed from the Germans in the lead. Johannes Schmitt and Jörg Jüttner also qualified for the quarter-finals, as did the Swiss Peter Laeng. Schmitt and Laeng were eliminated in the quarter-finals, Jüttner in the semi-finals.

Existing records

World record	44.9 s	Otis Davis ( USA )	Rome , Italy	September 6, 1960
		Carl Kaufmann ( Germany )
Olympic record		Otis Davis ( USA )	Final of Rome , Italy
		Carl Kaufmann ( Germany )

Conducting the competition

The athletes competed in a total of seven heats on October 17th. The four best starters and the four fastest runners below qualified for the quarter-finals on the same day. Here, too, the best four runners progressed. In the semifinals on October 18th, the four best participants each qualified for the final on October 19th.

Time schedule

October 17, 10 a.m .: Preliminary runs
October 17, 3:40 p.m .: Quarter-finals
October 18, 3:20 p.m .: Semi-finals
October 19, 3 p.m .: Final

Note: All times are Tokyo local time (UTC + 9)

The athletes directly qualified for the next round are highlighted in light blue, those who have qualified over time are highlighted in light green.

Prelims

Date: October 17, 1964, from 10 a.m.

Weather conditions: sunny, 17–19 ° C, humidity approx. 66–69%

Forward 1

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Wendell Mottley	Trinidad and Tobago	45.9 s	45.94 s
2	Robbie Brightwell	Great Britain	46.1 s	46.13 s
3	Jean-Pierre Boccardo	France	46.6 s	46.63 s
4th	Gary Eddy	Australia	46.9 s	46.92 s
5	Stanislaw Swatowski	Poland	47.6 s	k. A.
6th	István Gyulai	Hungary	48.0 s
7th	Didier Mejia	Mexico	48.1 s

Forward 2

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Kent Bernard	Trinidad and Tobago	46.8 s	46.80 s
2	Sergio Bello	Italy	47.5 s	47.54 s
3	Wadym Archyptschuk	Soviet Union	47.7 s	47.70 s
4th	Tim Graham	Great Britain	48.4 s	k. A.
5	Arsenio Jazmin	Philippines	49.9 s	k. A.

Forward 3

Amadou Gakou from Senegal dropped out

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	46.4 s	46.46 s
2	Adrian Metcalfe	Great Britain	46.7 s	46.79 s
3	Jörg Jüttner	Germany	47.0 s	47.06 s
4th	Rupert Hoilette	Jamaica	47.5 s	47.50 s
5	Amos Omolo	Uganda	47.6 s	47.65 s
6th	Juan Carlos Dyrzka	Argentina	48.3 s	k. A.
7th	Amadou Gakou	Senegal	50.1 s
8th	Daniel Thomas	Tanganyika	50.4 s

Forward 4

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Ulis Williams	United States	46.2 s	46.20 s
2	Edwin Skinner	Trinidad and Tobago	46.5 s	46.50 s
3	Tegegne Bezabeh	Ethiopia	46.7 s	46.73 s
4th	Peter Vassella	Australia	46.7 s	46.77 s
5	Johannes Schmitt	Germany	46.9 s	46.90 s
6th	Muhammad Sadiq	Pakistan	47.3 s	k. A.
7th	Víctor Maldonado	Venezuela	47.7 s	k. A.
8th	Jacques Pennewaert	Belgium	47.7 s

Forward 5

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Ollan Cassell	United States	46.8 s	46.81 s
2	Bill Crothers	Canada	46.8 s	46.86 s
3	James Addy	Ghana	47.2 s	47.27 s
4th	Pedro Grajales	Colombia	47.2 s	47.28 s
5	Viktor Bychkov	Soviet Union	47.3 s	47.32 s
6th	Jürgen Kalfelder	Germany	47.7 s	47.77 s
7th	Yoyaga Dit Coulibaly	Ivory Coast	48.8 s	k. A.

Forward 6

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Mike Larrabee	United States	46.8 s	46.88 s
2	Ebenezer Quartey	Ghana	47.1 s	47.12 s
3	Peter Laeng	Switzerland	47.1 s	47.12 s
4th	Hryhoriy Swerbetov	Soviet Union	47.3 s	47.37 s
5	Ken Roche	Australia	47.4 s	47.43 s
6th	Somsak Thongsuk	Thailand	48.9 s	k. A.
7th	Jassim Karim Kuraishi	Iraq	49.5 s

Forward 7

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Josef Trousil	Czechoslovakia	47.0 s	47.04 s
2	Wilson Kiprugut	Kenya	47.1 s	47.04 s
3	Laurie Khan	Jamaica	47.2 s	47.25 s
4th	Ireneusz Kluczek	Poland	47.3 s	47.35 s
5	Hortensio Fucil	Venezuela	47.9 s	47.95 s
6th	William Hill	Hong Kong	48.7 s	k. A.
7th	Hossein Ghafourizadeh	Iran	50.8 s

Quarter finals

Date: October 17, 1964, from 3:40 p.m.

Weather conditions: sunny, approx. 23 ° C, humidity approx. 65%

Run 1

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Wendell Mottley	Trinidad and Tobago	45.8 s	45.88 s
2	Ollan Cassell	United States	46.2 s	46.24 s
3	Jean-Pierre Boccardo	France	46.3 s	46.34 s
4th	Peter Vassella	Australia	46.5 s	46.55 s
5	Peter Laeng	Switzerland	46.7 s	46.72 s
6th	Sergio Bello	Italy	46.9 s	46.93 s
7th	Ebenezer Quartey	Ghana	47.0 s	47.06 s
8th	Muhammad Sadiq	Pakistan	48.0 s	k. A.

Run 2

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	46.5 s	46.51 s
2	Bill Crothers	Canada	46.7 s	46.73 s
3	Tim Graham	Great Britain	46.8 s	46.83 s
4th	Laurie Khan	Jamaica	47.0 s	46.97 s
5	Josef Trousil	Czechoslovakia	47.2 s	47.22 s
6th	Johannes Schmitt	Germany	47.2 s	47.24 s
7th	Ken Roche	Australia	48.0 s	k. A.
8th	Hryhoriy Swerbetov	Soviet Union	48.0 s

Run 3

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Mike Larrabee	United States	46.5 s	46.57 s
2	Kent Bernard	Trinidad and Tobago	46.7 s	46.73 s
3	Robbie Brightwell	Great Britain	47.1 s	47.15 s
4th	Jörg Jüttner	Germany	47.2 s	47.22 s
5	Rupert Hoilette	Jamaica	47.6 s	47.60 s
6th	Gary Eddy	Australia	47.6 s	47.65 s
7th	Wilson Kiprugut	Kenya	47.7 s	k. A.
8th	Wadym Archyptschuk	Soviet Union	47.9 s

Run 4

The Pole Ireneusz Kluczek did not start his run.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Edwin Skinner	Trinidad and Tobago	46.9 s	46.90 s
2	Ulis Williams	United States	46.9 s	46.96 s
3	Tegegne Bezabeh	Ethiopia	47.2 s	47.23 s
4th	James Addy	Ghana	47.3 s	47.37 s
5	Adrian Metcalfe	Great Britain	47.8 s	47.81 s
6th	Pedro Grajales	Colombia	47.8 s	47.86 s
7th	Viktor Bychkov	Soviet Union	47.9 s	47.91 s

Semifinals

Date: October 18, 1964, from 3:20 p.m.

Weather conditions: regenerative, approx. 13 ° C, humidity approx. 97%

Run 1

The Ethiopian Tegegne Bezabeh was eliminated in the semi-finals

Bronze medal winner: Andrzej Badeński (POL)

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Robbie Brightwell	Great Britain	45.7 s	45.79 s
2	Wendell Mottley	Trinidad and Tobago	45.9 s	45.96 s
3	Ulis Williams	United States	46.2 s	46.29 s
4th	Peter Vassella	Australia	46.5 s	46.52 s
5	Jörg Jüttner	Germany	46.7 s	46.78 s
6th	Laurie Khan	Jamaica	47.0 s	k. A.
7th	Tegegne Bezabeh	Ethiopia	47.1 s
8th	Jean-Pierre Boccardo	France	47.1 s

Run 2

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Mike Larrabee	United States	46.0 s	46.02 s
2	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	46.2 s	46.21 s
3	Edwin Skinner	Trinidad and Tobago	46.5 s	46.50 s
4th	Tim Graham	Great Britain	46.5 s	46.53 s
5	Ollan Cassell	United States	46.6 s	46.69 s
6th	Bill Crothers	Canada	46.9 s	46.96 s
7th	Kent Bernard	Trinidad and Tobago	47.1 s	47.08 s
8th	James Addy	Ghana	47.6 s	47.67 s

final

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Mike Larrabee	United States	45.1 s	45.15 s
2	Wendell Mottley	Trinidad and Tobago	45.2 s	45.24 s
3	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	45.6 s	45.64 s
4th	Robbie Brightwell	Great Britain	45.7 s	45.75 s
5	Ulis Williams	United States	46.0 s	46.01 s
6th	Tim Graham	Great Britain	46.0 s	46.08 s
7th	Peter Vassella	Australia	46.3 s	46.32 s
8th	Edwin Skinner	Trinidad and Tobago	46.8 s	k. A.

Date: October 19, 1964, 3 p.m.

Weather conditions: sunny, approx. 19 ° C, humidity approx. 45%

Ulis Williams, US champion of 1962 and 1963, as well as his compatriot Mike Larrabee, winner of the US Olympic qualifications, were the favorites for the gold medal. The Briton Robbie Brightwell, European champion from 1962 , was considered a medal candidate, as was Wendell Mottley from Trinidad and Tobago.

Mottley took the lead over the first 200 meters in the final. Behind him ran the Pole Andrzej Badeński. Larrabee stayed at the back for a long time, after 300 meters he was in fifth place. When it went into the home straight, only Peter Vassella and Edwin Skinner were back without a chance, six runners could still work out a medal chance. Mottley led to ten meters from the finish line, where Larrabee could still catch him and became Olympic champion. Mottley, who had never run under 46 seconds before these games, held second place, improving to 45.2 seconds. Badeński won bronze in 45.6 seconds ahead of Brightwell, who was only a tenth of a second behind.

In the 15th men's 400 meter Olympic final , Michaele Larrabee won the tenth gold medal for the USA.

Andrzej Badeński won the first Polish medal in this discipline.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, pp. 253–255

Video

• 1964 Olympic, 400 Meters, Tokyo, Japan , published March 12, 2008 on youtube.com, accessed October 25, 2017

Web links

• SportsReference 400m , accessed October 25, 2017
• Official report of the Olympic Games 1964 p. 25f engl. (PDF), accessed on October 25, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Berlin 2009 Page 548 (Engl.) ( Memento of 29 June 2011 at the Internet Archive ) retrieved on October 25, 2017
2. ↑ Official report of the 1964 Olympic Games ( 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. 17 (English) at library.la84.org (PDF), accessed on October 25, 2017 
3. ↑ Official report of the 1964 Olympic Games ( 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. 25 (English) at library.la84.org (PDF), accessed on October 25, 2017 
4. ↑ Official report of the 1964 Olympic Games ( 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. 25f (English) at library.la84.org (PDF), accessed on October 25, 2017 
5. ↑ ^{a b} 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. 26 (English) at library.la84.org (PDF), accessed on October 25, 2017 
6. ↑ SportsReference , accessed October 25, 2017