Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were a total number of 68 participating athletes from 52 nations, with nine qualifying heats.[1][2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Quincy Watts of the United States, the third in what would ultimately be seven consecutive American victories stretching from 1984 to 2008 and the 15th overall title in the event by the United States. Steve Lewis became the third man (and first American) to win a second medal in the event. Samson Kitur earned Kenya's first medal in the men's 400 metres since 1972.

Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XXV Olympiad
VenueEstadi Olímpic de Montjuïc
Dates1 August 1992 (heats)
2 August 1992 (quarter-finals)
3 August 1992 (semi-finals)
5 August 1992 (final)
Competitors69 from 52 nations
Winning time43.50 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Quincy Watts
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Steve Lewis
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Samson Kitur
 Kenya
← 1988
1996 →
Official Video Highlights

In heat 1 of the semifinal round, Derek Redmond tore his hamstring 250 meters to the finish line and was disqualified due to outside assistance from his father Jim. Despite the results, the crowd gave him a standing ovation, and became as one of the well-remembered moments in Olympic's history.

In heat 2 of the semifinal round, Quincy Watts ran the number 2 time in history, 43.71, only surpassed by the world record held by Butch Reynolds. At those trials, Danny Everett had run the previous number time in history 43.81, while Reynolds did not qualify. In heat 2, Everett suffered a foot injury and hobbled home. In the final, Watts again improved the number 2 time in history while breaking the Olympic Record with his 43.50 win.[3]

Background

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This was the 22nd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Defending gold medalist Steve Lewis and bronze medalist Danny Everett of the United States, but Quincy Watts beat silver medalist Butch Reynolds at the U.S. Olympic trials to take the third spot. Roger Black of Great Britain had taken silver at the 1991 world championship.[2]

Angola, the Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritania, and Qatar appeared in this event for the first time. The Unified Team, consisting of some former Soviet republics, competed in the only Summer Games the Unified Team existed. One Yugoslav athlete competed as an "Independent Olympic Participant." The United States made its 21st appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Competition format

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The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was used for the first round. There were 9 first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 runners. The top three runners in each heat advanced, along with the next five fastest overall. The 32 quarterfinalists were divided into 4 quarterfinals with 8 runners each; the top four athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals, with no "fastest loser" spots. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 8 runners each. The top four runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making an eight-man final.[2][4]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1976 Summer Olympics.

World record   Butch Reynolds (USA) 43.29 Zürich, Switzerland 17 August 1988
Olympic record   Lee Evans (USA) 43.86 Mexico City, Mexico 18 October 1968

Quincy Watts set two new Olympic records. He first ran 43.71 in the semifinals and improved his mark in the final to 43.50.

The following national records were established during the competition:

Nation Athlete Round Time
  Central African Republic Martial Biguet Heat 3 47.82

Schedule

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Following the 1984 schedule, the event was held on four separate days, with each round being on a different day.

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)

Date Time Round
Saturday, 1 August 1992 10:00 Round 1
Sunday, 2 August 1992 19:15 Quarterfinals
Monday, 3 August 1992 19:15 Semifinals
Wednesday, 5 August 1992 20:35 Final

Results

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Round 1

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Heat 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Derek Redmond   Great Britain 45.03 Q
2 5 Roberto Hernández   Cuba 45.07 Q
3 6 Solomon Amegatcher   Ghana 45.42 Q
4 3 Dennis Blake   Jamaica 45.92 q
5 7 Aktawat Sakoolchan   Thailand 46.78
6 1 Ali Faudet   Chad 47.10
7 2 Jaime Rodrigues   Mozambique 48.89

Heat 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 5 Troy Douglas   Bermuda 46.02 Q
2 2 Alvin Daniel   Trinidad and Tobago 46.09 Q
3 6 Thomas Schönlebe   Germany 46.26 Q
4 8 Seibert Straughn   Barbados 46.54
5 1 Delon Felix   Grenada 47.39
6 4 Mohamed Al-Malky   Oman 48.00
7 7 Randolph Foster   Costa Rica 48.80
8 3 Vanxay Sinebandith   Laos 51.71

Heat 3

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Quincy Watts   United States 45.38 Q
2 5 Bobang Phiri   South Africa 45.57 Q
3 1 Rico Lieder   Germany 45.86 Q
4 2 Francis Ogola   Uganda 45.87 q
5 6 Ediélson Tenório   Brazil 46.31 q
6 7 Kossi Akoto   Togo 46.97
7 3 Martial Biguet   Central African Republic 47.82 NR

Heat 4

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Simon Kemboi   Kenya 45.84 Q
2 1 Slobodan Branković   Independent Olympic Participants 46.34 Q
3 2 Devon Morris   Jamaica 46.45 Q
4 8 Patrick Delice   Trinidad and Tobago 46.58
5 7 Subul Babo   Papua New Guinea 47.17
6 5 Médard Makanga   Republic of the Congo 48.17
7 3 Kenmore Hughes   Antigua and Barbuda 48.56
8 6 Mohamed Amir   Maldives 50.35

Heat 5

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Danny Everett   United States 45.68 Q
2 4 David Grindley   Great Britain 45.79 Q
3 8 Andrea Nuti   Italy 46.12 Q
4 6 Innocent Egbunike   Nigeria 46.51
5 1 Dmitry Kosov   Unified Team 47.28
6 2 Joseph Adam   Seychelles 47.68
7 7 Baptiste Firiam   Vanuatu 48.98
8 5 Eulogio Ngache   Equatorial Guinea 50.83

Heat 6

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Samson Kitur   Kenya 45.41 Q
2 5 Susumu Takano   Japan 45.96 Q
3 6 Tamás Molnár   Hungary 46.21 Q
4 2 Anthony Wallace   Jamaica 46.88
5 4 Camera Ntereke   Botswana 47.32
6 3 Michael Joseph   Belize 50.90
1 Desai Wynter   Virgin Islands DNF
8 Lamin Marikong   The Gambia DSQ

Heat 7

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Ian Morris   Trinidad and Tobago 45.65 Q
2 6 Benyounes Lahlou   Morocco 45.73 Q
3 4 David Kitur   Kenya 46.22 Q
4 5 Mark Garner   Australia 46.26 q
5 7 Apisai Driu Baibai   Fiji 47.81
6 1 Henry Mohoanyane   Lesotho 48.39
7 2 Mohamed Mehdi Hasan   Bangladesh 48.62

Heat 8

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Steve Lewis   United States 45.14 Q
2 6 Sunday Bada   Nigeria 45.38 Q
3 4 Sidnei de Souza   Brazil 45.92 Q
4 5 Cayetano Cornet   Spain 46.13 q
5 7 Tim Hesse   Ghana 46.67
6 1 Michael McLean   Canada 47.75
7 2 Samba Fall   Mauritania 50.91

Heat 9

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Ibrahim Ismail Muftah   Qatar 45.21 Q
2 3 Roger Black   Great Britain 45.94 Q
3 5 Cephas Lemba   Zambia 45.94 Q
4 1 Marco Vaccari   Italy 46.37
5 7 Takahiro Watanabe   Japan 46.45
6 2 Foday Sillah   Sierra Leone 47.00
7 8 João Francisco Capindica   Angola 47.44
8 6 Stephen Lugor   Sudan 48.94

Quarterfinals

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Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 5 Steve Lewis   United States 44.54 Q
2 3 Roberto Hernández   Cuba 44.84 Q
3 4 Roger Black   Great Britain 45.28 Q
4 6 Simon Kemboi   Kenya 45.40 Q
5 8 Thomas Schönlebe   Germany 45.46
6 1 Slobodan Branković   Independent Olympic Participants 45.90
7 7 Andrea Nuti   Italy 45.96
8 2 Mark Garner   Australia 46.85

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Derek Redmond   Great Britain 45.02 Q
2 6 Susumu Takano   Japan 45.27 Q
3 5 Troy Douglas   Bermuda 45.67 Q
4 3 Danny Everett   United States 45.76 Q
5 1 David Kitur   Kenya 46.25
6 2 Ediélson Tenório   Brazil 46.34
7 7 Alvin Daniel   Trinidad and Tobago 46.44
8 8 Tamás Molnár   Hungary 46.80

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 5 Ian Morris   Trinidad and Tobago 44.78 Q
2 8 David Grindley   Great Britain 44.91 Q
3 3 Ibrahim Ismail Muftah   Qatar 45.18 Q
4 4 Sunday Bada   Nigeria 45.34 Q
5 7 Devon Morris   Jamaica 45.67
6 2 Cayetano Cornet   Spain 46.27
6 Solomon Amegatcher   Ghana DNF
1 Cephas Lemba   Zambia DNF

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 5 Samson Kitur   Kenya 44.66 Q
2 3 Quincy Watts   United States 45.06 Q
3 6 Bobang Phiri   South Africa 45.27 Q
4 4 Benyounes Lahlou   Morocco 45.38 Q
5 2 Sidney Telles   Brazil 45.55
6 1 Rico Lieder   Germany 45.86
7 7 Francis Ogola   Uganda 46.21
8 8 Dennis Blake   Jamaica 46.49

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Redmond was injured and did not finish without assistance.

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Steve Lewis   United States 44.50 Q
2 4 Roberto Hernández   Cuba 44.72 Q
3 6 Ibrahim Ismail Muftah   Qatar 45.01 Q
4 1 Susumu Takano   Japan 45.09 Q
5 2 Sunday Bada   Nigeria 45.36
6 7 Troy Douglas   Bermuda 45.59
7 8 Simon Kemboi   Kenya 45.93
5 Derek Redmond   Great Britain DNF

Semifinal 2

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 6 Quincy Watts   United States 43.71 Q, OR
2 3 Samson Kitur   Kenya 44.18 Q
3 4 Ian Morris   Trinidad and Tobago 44.21 Q
4 5 David Grindley   Great Britain 44.47 Q
5 7 Roger Black   Great Britain 44.72
6 1 Benyounes Lahlou   Morocco 45.49
7 2 Bobang Phiri   South Africa 45.59
8 8 Danny Everett   United States 56.61

Final

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The final was held on August 5, 1992.

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
  4 Quincy Watts   United States 43.50 OR
  7 Steve Lewis   United States 44.21
  5 Samson Kitur   Kenya 44.24
4 6 Ian Morris   Trinidad and Tobago 44.25
5 2 Roberto Hernández   Cuba 44.52
6 3 David Grindley   Great Britain 44.75
7 1 Ibrahim Ismail Muftah   Qatar 45.10
8 8 Susumu Takano   Japan 45.18

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  3. ^ "IOC - International Olympic Committee | Olympics.com".
  4. ^ Official Report, vol. 5, pp. 40–41.
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