Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the V Olympiad

Reidpath winning gold with Braun in the foreground.
Venue Stockholm Olympic Stadium
Dates July 12 (heats, semifinals)
July 13 (final)
Competitors 49 from 16 nations
Medalists
    United States
    Germany
    United States
«1908 1920»
Athletics at the
1912 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m   men
200 m men
400 m men
800 m men
1500 m men
5000 m men
10,000 m men
110 m hurdles men
4×100 m relay men
4×400 m relay men
3000 m team race men
10 km walk men
Road events
Marathon men
Field events
Long jump men
Triple jump men
High jump men
Pole vault men
Standing long jump men
Standing high jump men
Shot put men
Discus throw men
Hammer throw men
Javelin throw men
2-hand shot put men
2-hand discus men
2-hand javelin men
Combined events
Pentathlon men
Decathlon men
Cross-country events
Individual men
Team men

The men's 400 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Friday, July 12, 1912 and on Saturday, July 13, 1912.

Forty-nine runners from 16 nations competed.

Contents

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World Record 47.8(*) Maxie Long New York (USA) September 29, 1900
Olympic Record 48.4(**) Wyndham Halswelle London (GBR) July 22, 1908

(*) unofficial 440 yards (= 402.34 m)

(**) This track was 536.45 metres=13 mile in circumference.

The Olympic record of 48.4 seconds, set at the previous Olympics, fell in the final. Charles Reidpath broke the record with a 48.2 second performance. Hanns Braun also broke the old record and Edward Lindberg tied it, en route to silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Results

Heats

All heats were held on Friday, July 12, 1912.

Heat 1

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  James Rosenberger (USA) 50.6 QS
2  Charles Poulenard (FRA) 50.7 QS
3  Wladyslaw Ponurski (AUT)
4  Claude Ross (ANZ)

Heat 2

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Ernest Haley (GBR) 1:06.6 QS
2  Mel Sheppard (USA) 1:06.6 QS

Heat 3

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Hanns Braun (GER) 50.6 QS
2  Ted Meredith (USA) QS
3  Armando Cortesão (POR)

Heat 4

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Paul Zerling (SWE) 55.4 QS
2  Yahiko Mishima (JPN) 55.5 QS

Heat 5

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Charles Lelong (FRA) 50.2 QS
2  Donnell Young (USA) 50.4 QS
3  István Déván (HUN)
4  Gustav Möller (SWE)

Heat 6

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Knut Stenborg (SWE) 1:01.6 QS

Heat 7

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Carroll Haff (USA) 50.4 QS
2  Emilio Lunghi (ITA) 50.5 QS
3  Max Herrmann (GER)

Heat 8

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Frigyes Wiesner (HUN) 50.8 QS
2  John Dahlin (SWE) 51.0 QS
3  Georges Malfait (FRA)

Heat 9

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Eric Lindholm (SWE) 51.4 QS
2  Jacob Pedersen (NOR) 51.6 QS
3  Hermann Burkowitz (GER) 51.7
4  Václav Labík (BOH)

Heat 10

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Edward Lindberg (USA) 50.6 QS
2  James Soutter (GBR) QS
3  Franco Giongo (ITA)

Heat 11

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Clarence Edmundson (USA) 50.2 QS
2  Ernest Henley (GBR) QS
3  Mel Brock (CAN)
4  Pyotr Gaevski (RUS)

Heat 12

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  George Nicol (GBR) 50.0 QS
2  Ira Davenport (USA) QS
3  Thomas Gallon (CAN)
4  Erich Lehmann (GER)
5  Georges Rolot (FRA)
6  Ödön Bodor (HUN)

Heat 13

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Julius Person (GER) 55.4 QS
2  Joseph Wells (GBR) 1:01.2 QS

Heat 14

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Cyril Seedhouse (GBR) 51.5 QS
2  Ervin Szerelemhegyi (HUN) QS
 Alexander Pedersen (NOR) Disqualified

Heat 15

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  George Patching (RSA) 51.1 QS
2  Charles Reidpath (USA) 51.2 QS
3  Heinrich Wenseler (GER)
4  Alan Patterson (GBR)
5  Robert Schurrer (FRA)

Semifinals

All semi-finals were held on Friday, July 12, 1912.

Semifinal 1

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Charles Reidpath (USA) 48.7 QF
2  Clarence Edmundson (USA)
3  George Nicol (GBR)
4  Frigyes Wiesner (HUN)
5  Charles Poulenard (FRA)
 John Dahlin (SWE) Did not start

Semifinal 2

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Edward Lindberg (USA) 48.9 QF
2  Eric Lindholm (SWE) 50.2
3  Charles Lelong (FRA)
 Julius Person (GER) Did not finish
 Cyril Seedhouse (GBR) Did not finish
 Joseph Wells (GBR) Did not finish

Semifinal 3

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Ted Meredith (USA) 48.8 QF
2  Mel Sheppard (USA) 48.9
3  George Patching (RSA) 50.5
4  Knut Stenborg (SWE) 50.5
5  Jacob Pedersen (NOR)
6  Ernest Henley (GBR)

Semifinal 4

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Carroll Haff (USA) 49.7 QF
2  Emilio Lunghi (ITA)
3  Ervin Szerelemhegyi (HUN)
 Ernest Haley (GBR) Did not finish
 James Rosenberger (USA) Did not finish
 Yahiko Mishima (JPN) Did not start

Semifinal 5

Place Athlete Time Qual.
1  Hanns Braun (GER) 49.2 QF
2  Ira Davenport (USA)
3  James Soutter (GBR)
4  Paul Zerling (SWE)
 Donnell Young (USA) Disqualified

Final

The final was held on Saturday, July 13, 1912.

Place Athlete Time
1  Charles Reidpath (USA) 48.2 OR
2  Hanns Braun (GER) 48.3
3  Edward Lindberg (USA) 48.4
4.  Ted Meredith (USA) 49.2
5.  Carroll Haff (USA) 49.5

References