Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Athletics
VenueOlympic Stadium
DatesSeptember 24 (heats)
September 25 (quarter-finals)
September 26 (semi-finals)
September 28 (final)
Competitors75 from 55 nations
Winning time43.87
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Steve Lewis
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Butch Reynolds
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Danny Everett
 United States

The men's 400 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea took place between 24 and 28 September 1988.[1] Seventy-five athletes from 55 nations competed.[2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Steve Lewis of the United States, the second in what would ultimately be 7 consecutive American victories stretching from 1984 to 2008. The United States swept the podium in the event for the third time, having previously done so in 1904 and 1968.

Summary

It always promised to be a classic. The clear favourite was the legendary American Harry "Butch" Reynolds. He had set a new world record of 43.29 seconds only a few months before. Reynolds breezed through the heats and into the final.

The final, ran on Thursday September 28, 1988, started somewhat as expected, with Reynolds holding back and saving himself for his normal strong finish. To the surprise of most watching a young American Steve Lewis went out strong from the start and gave Reynolds a run for his money. Entering the home straight Lewis was leading and Reynolds charging back at him but Reynolds left it too late and the 19yr old Lewis hung on for victory in an amazing time of 43.87sec. Reynolds finished second and Danny Everett third for an American sweep. The same trio was also involved with Kevin Robinzine in winning the 4 × 400 m relay.

The career of Lewis was blighted by injury although he did compete in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, placing 2nd in 400m and being part of the American quartet who took gold in 4 × 400 m relay.

Background

This was the 21st appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the Americans from 1984 returned, but all five non-American finalists did: silver medalist Gabriel Tiacoh of the Ivory Coast, fourth-place finisher Darren Clark of Australia, sixth-place finisher Sunday Uti and seventh-place finisher Innocent Egbunike of Nigeria, and Bert Cameron of Jamaica (who had qualified for but did not start the Los Angeles final due to injury). The new American team was favored, however; Butch Reynolds had just broken the 20-year-old world record, and Danny Everett and Steve Lewis were strong contenders. The 1987 world champion, Thomas Schönlebe of East Germany, was also a significant challenger.[2]

Bangladesh, Honduras, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mali, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Korea, Vanuatu, the (U.S.) Virgin Islands, and Zaire appeared in this event for the first time; the Republic of China had previously competed, but now appeared as Chinese Taipei for the first time. The United States made its 20th 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 10 first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 runners. The top three runners in each heat advanced, along with the next two 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.[2]

Records

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

World record Butch Reynolds (USA)43.29 Zürich, Switzerland17 August 1988
Olympic record Lee Evans (USA)43.86 Mexico City, Mexico18 October 1968

No world or Olympic records were set during this event.

Schedule

Following the 1984 schedule, the event was held on four separate days, with each round being on a different day.

All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)

Date Time Round
Saturday, 24 September 19889:30Round 1
Sunday, 25 September 198812:20Quarterfinals
Monday, 26 September 198815:45Semifinals
Wednesday, 28 September 198812:55Final

Results

Round 1

Heat 1

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
12 Todd Bennett Great Britain 46.37Q
27 Miles Murphy Australia 46.38Q
33 Anton Skerritt Canada 46.64Q
44 Richard Louis Barbados 46.80
58 Felix Sandy Sierra Leone 46.82
65 Gustavo Envela Equatorial Guinea 48.11
76 Joe Rodan Fiji 48.69
81 Odiya Silweya Malawi 49.73

Heat 2

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
17 Brian Whittle Great Britain 46.07Q
26 Gaietà Cornet Spain 46.16Q
33 Butch Reynolds United States 46.28Q
44 Seibert Straughn Barbados 47.37
51 Filipe Lombá Portugal 47.57
65 Ali Faudet Chad 48.69
72 Baptiste Firiam Vanuatu 51.77

Heat 3

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
13 Mohamed Amer Al-Malki Oman 46.79Q
26 Lucas Sang Kenya 46.85Q
32 Ousmane Diarra Senegal 46.86Q
44 Douglas Kalembo Zambia 47.44
58 Mohamed Hossain Milzer Bangladesh 48.76
61 Akossi Gnalo Togo 51.46
—7 Sérgio de Menezes Brazil DNF
—— William Taramai Cook Islands DNS

Heat 4

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
11 Ian Morris Trinidad and Tobago 45.84Q
24 Thomas Schönlebe East Germany 47.07Q
32 Sunday Uti Nigeria 47.08Q
43 Lin Kuang-liang Chinese Taipei 48.18
58 Ernest Tché-Noubossie Cameroon 48.31
67 Haji Bakr Al-Qahtani Saudi Arabia 48.53
76 Enock Musonda Zambia 49.21
85 Ahmed Shageef Maldives 50.61

Heat 5

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
17 Steve Lewis United States 45.31Q
26 Jens Carlowitz East Germany 45.64Q
33 Gabriel Tiacoh Ivory Coast 47.19Q
45 Jean-Didiace Bémou Republic of the Congo 48.46
52 Abdullah Ali Ahmed Libya 48.89
64 Jonathan Chipalo Zambia 48.97
71 Maher Abbas Lebanon 51.29
88 Carlton Usher Belize 51.42

Heat 6

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
16 Gérson de Souza Brazil 45.90Q
22 Howard Davis Jamaica 45.97Q
38 Takale Tuna Papua New Guinea 47.87Q
47 Sunday Maweni Botswana 47.97
55 Sulaiman Juma Al-Habsi Oman 48.30
63 Nordin Mohamed Jadi Malaysia 49.52
71 Michael Williams Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 51.22

Heat 7

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
17 Darren Clark Australia 45.93Q
25 Simeon Kipkemboi Kenya 45.15Q
33 Elvis Forde Barbados 46.47Q
44 Elijah Nkala Zimbabwe 46.60
51 Antonio Sánchez Spain 47.18
66 Jaime Rodrigues Mozambique 47.33
72 Aouf Abdul Rahman Youssef Iraq 47.45
88 Desai Wynter Virgin Islands 48.39

Heat 8

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
13 Bert Cameron Jamaica 46.24Q
22 Rob Stone Australia 46.52Q
36 Dawda Jallow The Gambia 46.91Q
48 Yun Nam-han South Korea 47.02
51 John Goville Uganda 47.11
65 Muhammad Fayyaz Pakistan 47.13
77 Yaya Seyba Mali 48.83
84 Alfred Browne Antigua and Barbuda 48.92

Heat 9

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
11 Danny Everett United States 45.63Q
23 Devon Morris Jamaica 45.95Q
32 Tomasz Jędrusik Poland 46.12Q
46 Patrick Delice Trinidad and Tobago 46.14q
55 Slobodan Branković Yugoslavia 46.59
67 Jorge Fidel Ponce Honduras 51.11
—8 Mwana Bute Kasongo Zaire DSQ

Heat 10

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
15 Susumu Takano Japan 45.42Q
27 Troy Douglas Bermuda 45.69Q
34 Innocent Egbunike Nigeria 46.02Q
46 Elkana Nyangau Kenya 46.25q
53 Ismail Mačev Yugoslavia 46.37
68 Elieser Wattebosi Indonesia 47.10
72 Willis Todman British Virgin Islands 50.11

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
16 Ian Morris Trinidad and Tobago 44.70Q
23 Jens Carlowitz East Germany 45.09Q
34 Brian Whittle Great Britain 45.22Q
45 Tomasz Jędrusik Poland 45.27Q
57 Sunday Uti Nigeria 45.33
62 Miles Murphy Australia 45.93
71 Dawda Jallow The Gambia 46.35
88 Elvis Forde Barbados 46.59

Quarterfinal 2

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
15 Danny Everett United States 44.33Q
26 Innocent Egbunike Nigeria 45.02Q
37 Thomas Schönlebe East Germany 45.09Q
48 Bert Cameron Jamaica 45.16Q
53 Simeon Kipkemboi Kenya 45.44
62 Todd Bennett Great Britain 45.96
71 Ousmane Diarra Senegal 46.23
84 Troy Douglas Bermuda 46.28

Quarterfinal 3

RankTime AthleteNation TimeNotes
15 Steve Lewis United States 44.41Q
23 Darren Clark Australia 44.96Q
38 Mohamed Amer Al-Malki Oman 45.01Q
46 Devon Morris Jamaica 45.30Q
54 Gaietà Cornet Spain 45.39
62 Anton Skerritt Canada 46.08
71 Elkana Nyangau Kenya 46.09
87 Takale Tuna Papua New Guinea 47.48

Quarterfinal 4

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
11 Butch Reynolds United States 44.46Q
23 Susumu Takano Japan 45.00Q
35 Gérson de Souza Brazil 45.35Q
46 Howard Davis Jamaica 45.40Q
57 Gabriel Tiacoh Ivory Coast 45.49
68 Lucas Sang Kenya 45.72
74 Patrick Delice Trinidad and Tobago 45.75
82 Rob Stone Australia 46.04

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
13 Steve Lewis United States 44.35Q
25 Danny Everett United States 44.36Q
36 Darren Clark Australia 44.38Q
48 Bertland Cameron Jamaica 44.50Q
54 Susumu Takano Japan 44.90
62 Jens Carlowitz East Germany 45.08
77 Gerson Souza Brazil 45.27
81 Tomasz Jędrusik Poland 46.17

Semifinal 2

RankLane AthleteNation TimeNotes
16 Butch Reynolds United States 44.33Q
23 Ian Morris Trinidad and Tobago 44.60Q
35 Mohamed Amer Al-Malki Oman 44.69Q
44 Innocent Egbunike Nigeria 44.74Q
52 Thomas Schönlebe East Germany 44.90
61 Howard Davis Jamaica 45.48
78 Devon Morris Jamaica 45.68
87 Brian Whittle Great Britain 46.07

Final

Lewis' winning margin of 0.06 seconds remains the smallest winning margin in the history of the event.


RankLane AthleteNation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s)6 Steve Lewis United States 43.87
2nd place, silver medalist(s)3 Butch Reynolds United States 43.93
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)4 Danny Everett United States 44.09
45 Darren Clark Australia 44.55
57 Innocent Egbunike Nigeria 44.72
62 Bertland Cameron Jamaica 44.94
78 Ian Morris Trinidad and Tobago 44.95
81 Mohamed Amer Al-Malki Oman 45.03

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
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