The men's 400 metres

400 metres

The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...

was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics

These are the results of athletics competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics. 30 events were contested, all for men only.The athletics programme grew by 4 events since the 1908 Summer Olympics. The 5000 and 10000 metre races were introduced for the first time, as the 5 mile event was eliminated...

 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.

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 New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	September 29, 1900
Olympic Record	48.4(**)	Wyndham Halswelle Wyndham Halswelle Wyndham Halswelle was a British athlete, winner of the controversial 400m race at the 1908 Summer Olympics, becoming the only athlete to win an Olympic title by a walkover....	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...  (GBR Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... )	July 22, 1908

(*) unofficial 440 yards (= 402.34 m)

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

The Olympic record of 48.4 seconds, set at the previous Olympics, fell in the final. Charles Reidpath

Charles Reidpath

Charles Decker Reidpath was an American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1912 Summer Olympics, who later went on to have an outstanding military career.-Biography:...

 broke the record with a 48.2 second performance. Hanns Braun

Hanns Braun

Hanns Braun was a German athlete.-Biography:He was born in Wernfels and died near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France as fighter-pilot in an airplane-crash in World War I....

 also broke the old record and Edward Lindberg

Edward Lindberg

Edward "Ed" Ferdinand Jacob Lindberg was an American Olympic athlete, winner of the gold medal in 4x400 m relay at the 1912 Summer Olympics....

tied it, en route to silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Heats

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

Heat 1

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		50.6	QS
2		50.7	QS
3
4

Heat 2

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:06.6	QS
2		1:06.6	QS

Heat 3

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		50.6	QS
2			QS
3

Heat 4

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		55.4	QS
2		55.5	QS

Heat 5

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		50.2	QS
2		50.4	QS
3
4

Heat 6

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		1:01.6	QS

Heat 7

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		50.4	QS
2		50.5	QS
3

Heat 8

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		50.8	QS
2		51.0	QS
3

Heat 9

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		51.4	QS
2		51.6	QS
3		51.7
4

Heat 10

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		50.6	QS
2			QS
3

Heat 11

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		50.2	QS
2			QS
3
4

Heat 12

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		50.0	QS
2			QS
3
4
5
6

Heat 13

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		55.4	QS
2		1:01.2	QS

Heat 14

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		51.5	QS
2			QS
—		Disqualified

Heat 15

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		51.1	QS
2		51.2	QS
3
4
5

Semifinals

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

Semifinal 1

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		48.7	QF
2
3
4
5
—		Did not start

Semifinal 2

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		48.9	QF
2		50.2
3
—		Did not finish
		Did not finish
		Did not finish

Semifinal 3

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		48.8	QF
2		48.9
3		50.5
4		50.5
5
6

Semifinal 4

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		49.7	QF
2
3
—		Did not finish
		Did not finish
		Did not start

Semifinal 5

Place	Athlete	Time	Qual.
1		49.2	QF
2
3
4
—		Disqualified

Final

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

Place	Athlete	Time
1		48.2 OR
2		48.3
3		48.4
4.		49.2
5.		49.5