The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Fifty athletes from 20 nations competed. NOCs were limited to 4 competitors each.Official Report, p. 374. The event was won by Ray Barbuti of the United States, the first title for the Americans in the event since 1912 and the fifth overall. Jimmy Ball won Canada's first medal in the event, a silver.
Background
This was the eighth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics.
None of the finalists from 1924 returned. The world record holder, Emerson Spencer, came in fifth at the U.S. Olympic trials and missed the team. Ray Barbuti won the U.S. trials.
Chile and Greece appeared in the event for the first time. The United States made its eighth 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. The first round had 15 heats, ranging from 2 to 5 athletes. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals. There were 6 quarterfinals of 5 runners each; the top two athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 6 runners each. The top two runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making a six-man final.Official Report, pp. 408–12.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics.
No records were set during this event.
Schedule
Date Time Round Thursday, 2 August 1928 14:00 16:00 Heats Quarterfinals Friday, 3 August 1928 14:00 16:00 Semifinals Final
Results
Round 1
The top two finishers in each of the 15 heats advanced to the quarterfinals.
Heat 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Hermon Phillips 49.4 2 Georges Dupont Unknown 3 Zygmunt Weiss 50.8 4 Rinus van den Berge Unknown 5 Víctor Villaseñor Unknown
Heat 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Emil Snider 50.4 2 François Prinsen Unknown
Heat 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Phil Edwards 49.8 2 Georges Krotoff 50.5 3 Jaroslav Vykoupil Unknown 4 Stefan Kostrzewski 52.2
Heat 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 John Rinkel 50.2 2 Johann Bartl Unknown 3 Émile Langenraedt Unknown 4 Feliks Żuber 52.6
Heat 5
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jochen Büchner 50.2 2 Andries Hoogerwerf Unknown
Heat 6
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Ray Barbuti 49.8 2 Sean Lavan Unknown 3 Louis Lundgren Unknown 4 Jenő Szalay Unknown 5 Rudolfo Hannig Unknown
Heat 7
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harry Storz 50.6 2 Harry Broos Unknown 3 Joaquín Miquel Unknown
Heat 8
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jimmy Ball 55.8 2 Roger Leigh-Wood Unknown
Heat 9
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jesús Moraila 1:00.0 2 James Hall Unknown
Heat 10
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 László Barsi 55.6 2 José Lucílo Iturbe Unknown
Heat 11
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Joe Tierney 49.8 2 Alex Wilson 49.9 3 Klemens Biniakowski 50.8
Heat 12
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 René Féger 51.4 2 Billy Green Unknown 3 José Vicente Salinas Unknown
Heat 13
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Hermann Geißler 50.2 2 Adje Paulen Unknown 3 László Magdics Unknown 4 Vasilios Stavrinos Unknown 5 Fritz Eyschen Unknown
Heat 14
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Otto Neumann 50.6 2 Fred Macbeth Unknown 3 Charles Stuart Unknown 4 Mór Gerő Unknown
Heat 15
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Reinhold Schmidt 50.0 2 Joseph Jackson 50.6 3 John Hanlon Unknown 4 Alfonso García Unknown
Quarterfinals
The first two finishers in each of the six heats advanced to the semifinal round.
Quarterfinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Hermon Phillips 49.6 2 Georges Krotoff Unknown 3 Billy Green Unknown 4 Reinhold Schmidt Unknown 5 James Hall Unknown
Quarterfinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Ray Barbuti 48.8 2 Alex Wilson Unknown 3 Otto Neumann Unknown 4 Georges Dupont Unknown 5 Jesús Moraila Unknown
Quarterfinal 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jimmy Ball 49.2 2 René Féger Unknown 3 Euil Snider Unknown 4 Andries Hoogerwerf Unknown 5 Hermann Geißler Unknown
Quarterfinal 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Harry Storz 49.4 2 John Rinkel Unknown 3 Joseph Jackson Unknown 4 François Prinsen Unknown 5 José Lucílo Iturbe Unknown
Quarterfinal 5
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Phil Edwards 49.2 2 Harry Broos Unknown 3 Johann Bartl Unknown 4 Joe Tierney Unknown 5 Sean Lavan Unknown
Quarterfinal 6
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Joachim Büchner 48.6 2 László Barsi Unknown 3 Roger Leigh-Wood Unknown 4 Adje Paulen Unknown 5 Fred Macbeth Unknown
Semifinals
The first three finishers in each of the two heats advanced to the final.
Semifinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Jimmy Ball 48.6 2 Ray Barbuti 48.8 3 Harry Werner Storz 49.0 4 László Barsi 49.2 5 Harry Broos 49.9 6 Georges Krotoff Unknown
Semifinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 Joachim Büchner 48.6 2 Hermon Phillips 49.1 3 John Rinkel 49.1 4 Alex Wilson 49.2 5 René Féger 49.6 6 Phil Edwards 50.2
Final
Rank Athlete Nation Time 47.8 48.0 48.2 4 48.4 5 48.8 6 49.0
References
External links Official Report Results