The men's 400 metres was an event at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in Barcelona, Spain. There were a total number of 68 participating athletes from 52 nations, with nine qualifying heats. 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. In heat 1 of the semifinal round, Derek Redmond tore his hamstring 150 meters into the race. His father, Jim, rushed onto the track and supported Redmond as he limped to the finish line. Redmond was disqualified due to outside assistance, but the crowd gave him a standing ovation. The incident became one of the best-remembered moments in Olympic history. In heat 2 of the semi-final round, Quincy Watts set an Olympic record with 43.71. This was the second-fastest time in history, behind only the world record held by Butch Reynolds. The previous second-fastest time had been run by Danny Everett at the United States Olympic Trials, where Reynolds did not qualify for the Olympics. In the Olympic semi-finals, Everett suffered a foot injury and hobbled to the finish. In the final, Watts won the gold medal and improved his Olympic record to 43.50.

Background

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. 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

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.Official Report, vol. 5, pp. 40–41.

Records

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

Schedule

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 Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+02:00), sometimes referred to as Central European Daylight Time (CEDT), is the standard clock time observed during the period of summer daylight-saving in those European countries which observe Central E ...

( UTC+2)

Results

Round 1

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Heat 5

Heat 6

Heat 7

Heat 8

Heat 9

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1

Quarterfinal 2

Quarterfinal 3

Quarterfinal 4

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Redmond was injured and did not finish without assistance.

Semifinal 2

Final

The final was held on August 5, 1992.

References

External links

Official Report

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics - Men's 400 metres 400 metres at the Olympics Men's events at the 1992 Summer Olympics