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) |
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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
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
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
- ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Berlin 2009 Page 548 (Engl.) ( Memento of 29 June 2011 at the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 2, 2017
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ SportsReference , accessed November 2, 2017