Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics - 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...

at the 1984 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, 41 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 17 by women. There were a total number of 1273 participating athletes from 124 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:...

in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

had an entry list of 76 competitors, with ten qualifying heats (76), four quarterfinals (32) and two semi-finals (16), before the final (7) took off.

Medalists

Abbreviations

Q	automatic qualification
q	qualification by rank
DNS	did not start
NM	no mark
OR	olympic record
WR	world record
AR	area record
NR	national record
PB	personal best
SB	season best

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics.

World Record	43.86	Lee Evans Lee Evans (athlete) Lee Edward Evans is a former American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics....	Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... (MEX Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... )	October 18, 1968
Olympic Record	43.86	Lee Evans Lee Evans (athlete) Lee Edward Evans is a former American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics....	Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... (MEX Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... )	October 18, 1968

Final

RANK	FINAL	TIME
		44.27
		44.54
		44.71
4.		44.75
5.		44.75
6.		44.93
7.		45.35.

Semifinals

RANK	HEAT 1	TIME
1.		45.16
2.		45.17
3.		45.26
4.		45.41
5.		45.59
6.		45.60
7.		45.69
8.		45.88.

RANK	HEAT 2	TIME
1.		44.64
2.		44.83
3.		44.92
4.		45.10
5.		45.21
6.		45.32 (NR)
7.		45.62
8.		45.97.

Quarterfinals

RANK	HEAT 1	TIME
1.		44.72
2.		44.77
3.		45.43
4.		45.57
5.		45.67
6.		46.14
7.		46.14
8.		46.48.

RANK	HEAT 2	TIME
1.		45.26
2.		45.31
3.		45.60
4.		45.64
5.		45.88
6.		46.10
7.		46.63
8.		46.93.

RANK	HEAT 3	TIME
1.		44.75
2.		45.01
3.		45.16
4.		45.35
5.		45.51
6.		45.79
7.		46.07
8.		46.19.

RANK	HEAT 4	TIME
1.		45.15
2.		45.78
3.		45.84
4.		45.91
5.		46.39
6.		46.50
7.		46.65
8.		46.71.

Preliminary Heats

RANK	HEAT 1	TIME
1.		46.20
2.		46.57
3.		46.72
4.		46.73
5.		47.33
6.		47.55
7.		47.91 (NR)
8.		49.64

RANK	HEAT 2	TIME
1.		45.96
2.		46.25
3.		46.46
4.		46.93
5.		47.12
6.		47.77
7.		49.09
8.		51.41.

RANK	HEAT 3	TIME
1.		46.63
2.		46.73
3.		47.02
4.		47.17
5.		47.40
6.		47.61
7.		49.58.

RANK	HEAT 4	TIME
1.		46.14
2.		46.30
3.		46.42
4.		46.70
5.		47.26
6.		47.30
7.		48.04
8.		52.21.

RANK	HEAT 5	TIME
1.		45.81
2.		46.18
3.		46.26
4.		46.78
5.		46.98
6.		48.11
7.		48.36
8.		48.71.

RANK	HEAT 6	TIME
1.		46.08
2.		46.14
3.		46.26
4.		46.46
5.		47.29
6.		48.71
7.		50.07.

RANK	HEAT 7	TIME
1.		45.42
2.		45.47
3.		46.03
5.		47.04
6.		47.43
7.		47.60
8.		52.12.

RANK	HEAT 8	TIME
1.		45.55
2.		46.12
3.		46.82
4.		47.07
5.		49.00
6.		49.12
7.		50.39.

RANK	HEAT 9	TIME
1.		45.94
2.		46.06
3.		46.09
4.		46.94
5.		47.55
6.		48.17
7.		48.49
8.		48.86.

RANK	HEAT 10	TIME
1.		45.64
2.		45.68
3.		45.74
4.		45.80
5.		46.68
6.		47.65
7.		48.90.

In popular culture

In the UK TV show Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...

, character Denver Mills is credited as having won the silver medal in the 400 metres at the 1984 Olympics.