The men's 400 metres hurdles competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico took place on October 13–15 at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario. There were 30 competitors from 24 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by David Hemery of Great Britain, the nation's first victory in the men's 400 metres hurdles since 1928 and second overall—second-most after the United States' 11. The win broke a streak of 6 consecutive American victories. Further, the United States failed to medal in the event for the first time ever; in all 13 previous times the event was held, the American team had at least a silver medalist. Great Britain was the first nation other than the United States to have two medalists in the event in the same Games, as John Sherwood took bronze. Gerhard Hennige of West Germany was the first German hurdler to earn a medal in the event, finishing between the two Britons with silver.
Background
This was the 14th time the event was held. It had been introduced along with the men's 200 metres hurdles in 1900, with the 200 being dropped after 1904 and the 400 being held through 1908 before being left off the 1912 programme. However, when the Olympics returned in 1920 after World War I, the men's 400 metres hurdles was back and would continue to be contested at every Games thereafter.
Four of the eight finalists from the 1964 Games returned: silver medalist John Cooper of Great Britain, fourth-place finisher Gary Knoke of Australia, sixth-place finisher Roberto Frinolli of Italy, and eighth-place finisher Wilfried Geeroms of Belgium. Once again, the American team (which had won the last six gold medals in the event) was favored. Geoff Vanderstock had broken the world record at the U.S. trials; Ron Whitney had won the AAU title in 1967 and 1968.
Cuba, Ghana, and Libya each made their debut in the event; West Germany competed separately for the first time. The United States made its 14th appearance, the only nation to have competed at every edition of the event to that point.
Summary
In the final, David Hemery took the race out hard. By the final straightaway he had an ever-growing lead over the world record holder Geoff Vanderstock. Hemery continued to pour it on, taking seven tenths of a second out of the world record, a huge improvement. Vanderstock struggled between the final barrier and the finish line, his 2-metre advantage over field evaporated. Gerhard Hennige, then John Sherwood edged past him at the line.
Competition format
The competition used the three-round format used every Games since 1908 (except the four-round competition in 1952): quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Ten sets of hurdles were set on the course. The hurdles were 3 feet (91.5 centimetres) tall and were placed 35 metres apart beginning 45 metres from the starting line, resulting in a 40 metres home stretch after the last hurdle. The 400 metres track was standard.
There were 4 quarterfinal heats with 8 athletes each (before two withdrawals left one heat with only 6 men). The top 4 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. The 16 semifinalists were divided into 2 semifinals of 8 athletes each, with the top 4 in each semifinal advancing to the 8-man final.
Records
Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
Ron Whitney set a new Olympic record of 49.0 seconds in the third quarterfinal. Three men (Gerhard Hennige, John Sherwood, and Geoff Vanderstock matched that time in the final, but they were all nearly a full second behind the winner: Dave Hemery, who shattered the world record with a 48.1 seconds performance.
Schedule
All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
Date Time Round Sunday, 13 October 1968 15:00 Heats Monday, 14 October 1968 15:00 Semifinals Tuesday, 15 October 1968 17:35 Final
Results
Heats
Heats 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) Notes 1 Gerhard Hennige 49.5 49.57 2 Geoff Vanderstock 50.6 50.62 3 Vyacheslav Skomorokhov 50.7 50.72 4 Víctor Maldonado 51.4 51.46 5 Kiyoo Yui 51.5 51.56 6 Robert McLaren 51.8 51.84 7 Miguel Olivera 51.9 51.98 8 Mohamed Asswai Khalifa 54.3 54.34
Heats 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) Notes 1 Juan Carlos Dyrzka 49.8 49.82 2 Roger Johnson 51.3 51.39 3 John Cooper 51.4 51.43 4 Mamadou Sarr 51.5 51.58 5 Wes Brooker 51.5 51.68 6 William Quaye 51.6 55.54 Joachim Singer – Boyd Gittins –
Heats 3
Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) Notes 1 Ron Whitney 49.0 49.06 , 2 Rainer Schubert 49.1 49.15 3 Gary Knoke 49.8 49.88 4 John Sherwood 50.2 50.31 5 Wilhelm Weistand 50.7 50.71 6 Wilfried Geeroms 51.2 51.27 7 Juan Santiago Gordón 52.4 52.43 8 Zambrose Abdul Rahman 53.2 53.23
Heats 4
Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) Notes 1 Roberto Frinolli 49.9 49.95 2 David Hemery 50.3 50.33 3 Robert Poirier 50.5 50.51 4 Jaakko Tuominen 50.6 50.63 5 Kimaru Songok 50.6 50.66 6 Alejandro Sánchez 51.6 51.62 7 Juan García 51.8 51.87 8 Georgios Birmbilis 52.6 52.62
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) Notes 1 Roberto Frinolli 49.2 49.14 2 Geoff Vanderstock 49.2 49.22 3 John Sherwood 49.3 49.37 4 Rainer Schubert 49.3 49.38 5 Juan Carlos Dyrzka 49.8 49.86 6 Jaakko Tuominen 50.8 50.82 7 John Cooper 50.8 50.82 8 Víctor Maldonado 52.2 52.29
Semifinal 2
Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) Notes 1 Gerhard Hennige 49.1 49.16 2 Ron Whitney 49.2 49.29 3 David Hemery 49.3 49.37 4 Vyacheslav Skomorokhov 49.6 49.61 5 Gary Knoke 49.6 49.61 6 Robert Poirier 51.2 51.23 7 Roger Johnson 51.8 51.87 8 Mamadou Sarr 52.1 52.20
Final
Rank Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) Notes David Hemery 48.1 48.12 Gerhard Hennige 49.0 49.02 John Sherwood 49.0 49.03 4 Geoff Vanderstock 49.0 49.07 5 Vyacheslav Skomorokhov 49.1 49.12 6 Ron Whitney 49.2 49.27 7 Rainer Schubert 49.2 49.30 8 Roberto Frinolli 50.1 50.13
Results summary
Rank Athlete Nation Heats Semifinals Final Notes David Hemery 50.3 49.3 48.1 Gerhard Hennige 49.5 49.1 49.0 John Sherwood 50.2 49.3 49.0 4 Geoff Vanderstock 50.6 49.2 49.0 5 Vyacheslav Skomorokhov 50.7 49.6 49.1 6 Ron Whitney 49.0 49.2 49.2 7 Rainer Schubert 49.1 49.3 49.2 8 Roberto Frinolli 49.9 49.2 50.1 9 Gary Knoke 49.8 49.6 Did not advance 10 Juan Carlos Dyrzka 49.8 49.8 11 Jaakko Tuominen 50.6 50.8 12 John Cooper 51.4 50.8 13 Robert Poirier 50.5 51.2 14 Roger Johnson 51.3 51.8 15 Mamadou Sarr 51.5 52.1 16 Víctor Maldonado 51.4 52.2 17 Kimaru Songok 50.6 Did not advance 18 Wilhelm Weistand 50.7 19 Wilfried Geeroms 51.2 20 Wes Brooker 51.5 Kiyoo Yui 51.5 22 William Quaye 51.6 Alejandro Sánchez 51.6 24 Juan García 51.8 Robert McLaren 51.8 26 Miguel Olivera 51.9 27 Juan Santiago Gordón 52.4 28 Georgios Birmbilis 52.6 29 Zambrose Abdul Rahman 53.2 30 Mohamed Asswai Khalifa 54.3
References
External links Official Olympic Report, la84foundation.org. Retrieved August 13, 2012.