The men's 400 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. This race was depicted in the film ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell ...

''. The competition was held on Thursday, July 10, 1924, and on Friday, July 11, 1924. As for all other races the track was 500 metres in circumference. Sixty runners from 27 nations competed. No nation had more than 4 athletes.

Background

This was the seventh appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The defending gold medalist from 1920,

Bevil Rudd Bevil Gordon D'Urban Rudd (5 October 1894 – 2 February 1948) was a South African athlete, the 1920 Olympic Champion in the 400 metres. Biography Rudd was born in Kimberley. He was the son of Henry Percy Rudd and Mable Mina Blyth; ...

of South Africa, did not return; the other two medalists, silver-winning Guy Butler of Great Britain and bronze-winning

Nils Engdahl Nils Engdahl (4 November 1898 – 10 September 1983) was a Swedish runner who competed at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics in six 100–800 m events in total. He had his best achievements in the 4 × 400 m relay, in which his teams finished f ...

of Sweden, did.

Eric Liddell Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and Christian missionary. Born in Qing China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended boarding school near London, spending time when p ...

of Great Britain was the 1924 Scottish and AAA champion. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Haiti, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, and Switzerland appeared in the event for the first time. The United States made its seventh 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 17 heats, ranging from 1 to 5 athletes. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals. There were 6 quarterfinals, intended to have 5 or 6 runners in each but sometimes having 4 due to withdrawals; 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. 108–09.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics. ''(*)'' 440 yards (= 402.34 m) In the quarterfinals, Josef Imbach set a new Olympic record with 48.0 seconds. In the semifinals Horatio Fitch improved the Olympic record with 47.8 seconds. In the final,

set a new world record with 47.6 seconds; this time was ratified as a 400 metres world record as Ted Meredith ran his record over 440 yards.

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

rescinded Liddell's time as a world record in 1928.

Schedule

Results

Round 1

All heats were held on Thursday, July 10, 1924, and started at 2 p.m. The best two finishers of every heat qualified for the quarter-finals.

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Heat 5

Heat 6

Heat 7

Heat 8

Heat 9

Heat 10

Heat 11

Heat 12

Heat 13

Heat 14

Heat 15

Heat 16

Heat 17

Quarterfinals

All quarter-finals were held on Thursday, July 10, 1924, and started at 4 p.m. The best two finishers of every heat qualified for the semifinals. Lajos Kurunczy and

Erik Åström Erik Johannes "Åsa" Åström (23 February 1902 – 25 April 1971) was a Finnish sprinter. He set Finnish records at 200 m and 400 m and competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. Career Åström first became Finnish champion at 200 m in 1921; his ...

qualified for the quarterfinals but withdrew.

Quarterfinal 1

Quarterfinal 2

Quarterfinal 3

Quarterfinal 4

Quarterfinal 5

Quarterfinal 6

Semifinals

All semi-finals were held on Friday, July 11, 1924, and started at 2:45 p.m. The best three finishers of each heat qualified for the final.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

The final was held on Friday, July 11, 1924, and started at 5:30 p.m. Taylor's ankle gave out just before the finish line in a career-ending injury; he crawled across the line. Imbach tripped over the lane-dividing ropes, fell, and was unable to finish.

References

External links

Olympic Report
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1924 Summer Olympics - Men's 400 Metres 400 metres 400 metres at the Olympics