Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles

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.[1] There were 30 competitors from 24 nations.[2] 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.

Men's 400 metres hurdles
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
David Hemery
VenueEstadio Olímpico Universitario
DatesOctober 13–15
Competitors30 from 24 nations
Winning time48.1 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) David Hemery
 Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Gerhard Hennige
 West Germany
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) John Sherwood
 Great Britain
← 1964
1972 →
Official Video Highlights @1:05:39 Video on YouTube

Background

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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.[2]

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

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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

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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.[2]

Records

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Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record   Geoff Vanderstock (USA) 48.8 Echo Summit, United States 11 September 1968
Olympic record   Glenn Davis (USA) 49.3 Rome, Italy 2 September 1960

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

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All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 13 October 1968 15:00 Quarterfinals
Monday, 14 October 1968 15:00 Semifinals
Tuesday, 15 October 1968 17:35 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

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Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Gerhard Hennige   West Germany 49.5 Q
2 Geoff Vanderstock   United States 50.6 Q
3 Vyacheslav Skomorokhov   Soviet Union 50.7 Q
4 Víctor Maldonado   Venezuela 51.4 Q
5 Kiyoo Yui   Japan 51.5
6 Robert McLaren   Canada 51.8
7 Miguel Olivera   Cuba 51.9
8 Mohamed Asswai Khalifa   Libya 54.3

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Juan Carlos Dyrzka   Argentina 49.8 Q
2 Roger Johnson   New Zealand 51.3 Q
3 John Cooper   Great Britain 51.4 Q
4 Mamadou Sarr   Senegal 51.5 Q
5 Wes Brooker   Canada 51.5
6 William Quaye   Ghana 51.6

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Ron Whitney   United States 49.0 Q, OR
2 Rainer Schubert   West Germany 49.1 Q
3 Gary Knoke   Australia 49.8 Q
4 John Sherwood   Great Britain 50.2 Q
5 Wilhelm Weistand   Poland 50.7
6 Wilfried Geeroms   Belgium 51.2
7 Juan Santiago Gordón   Chile 52.4
8 Zambrose Abdul Rahman   Malaysia 53.2

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Roberto Frinolli   Italy 49.9 Q
2 David Hemery   Great Britain 50.3 Q
3 Robert Poirier   France 50.5 Q
4 Jaakko Tuominen   Finland 50.6 Q
5 Kimaru Songok   Kenya 50.6
6 Alejandro Sánchez   Mexico 51.6
7 Juan García   Cuba 51.8
8 Georgios Birmbilis   Greece 52.6

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Roberto Frinolli   Italy 49.2 Q
2 Geoff Vanderstock   United States 49.2 Q
3 John Sherwood   Great Britain 49.3 Q
4 Rainer Schubert   West Germany 49.3 Q
5 Juan Carlos Dyrzka   Argentina 49.8
6 Jaakko Tuominen   Finland 50.8
7 John Cooper   Great Britain 50.8
8 Víctor Maldonado   Venezuela 52.2

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Gerhard Hennige   West Germany 49.1 Q
2 Ron Whitney   United States 49.2 Q
3 David Hemery   Great Britain 49.3 Q
4 Vyacheslav Skomorokhov   Soviet Union 49.6 Q
5 Gary Knoke   Australia 49.6
6 Robert Poirier   France 51.2
7 Roger Johnson   New Zealand 51.8
8 Mamadou Sarr   Senegal 52.1

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
  David Hemery   Great Britain 48.1 WR
  Gerhard Hennige   West Germany 49.0
  John Sherwood   Great Britain 49.0
4 Geoff Vanderstock   United States 49.0
5 Vyacheslav Skomorokhov   Soviet Union 49.1
6 Ron Whitney   United States 49.2
7 Rainer Schubert   West Germany 49.2
8 Roberto Frinolli   Italy 50.1

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Notes
  David Hemery   Great Britain 50.3 49.3 48.1 WR
  Gerhard Hennige   West Germany 49.5 49.1 49.0
  John Sherwood   Great Britain 50.2 49.3 49.0
4 Geoff Vanderstock   United States 50.6 49.2 49.0
5 Vyacheslav Skomorokhov   Soviet Union 50.7 49.6 49.1
6 Ron Whitney   United States 49.0 49.2 49.2
7 Rainer Schubert   West Germany 49.1 49.3 49.2
8 Roberto Frinolli   Italy 49.9 49.2 50.1
9 Gary Knoke   Australia 49.8 49.6 Did not advance
10 Juan Carlos Dyrzka   Argentina 49.8 49.8
11 Jaakko Tuominen   Finland 50.6 50.8
12 John Cooper   Great Britain 51.4 50.8
13 Robert Poirier   France 50.5 51.2
14 Roger Johnson   New Zealand 51.3 51.8
15 Mamadou Sarr   Senegal 51.5 52.1
16 Víctor Maldonado   Venezuela 51.4 52.2
17 Kimaru Songok   Kenya 50.6 Did not advance
18 Wilhelm Weistand   Poland 50.7
19 Wilfried Geeroms   Belgium 51.2
20 Wes Brooker   Canada 51.5
Kiyoo Yui   Japan 51.5
22 William Quaye   Ghana 51.6
Alejandro Sánchez   Mexico 51.6
24 Juan García   Cuba 51.8
Robert McLaren   Canada 51.8
26 Miguel Olivera   Cuba 51.9
27 Juan Santiago Gordón   Chile 52.4
28 Georgios Birmbilis   Greece 52.6
29 Zambrose Abdul Rahman   Malaysia 53.2
30 Mohamed Asswai Khalifa   Libya 54.3

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Hurdles". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "400 metres Hurdles, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
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