The men's 200 metres was the second-shortest of the men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. 63 athletes from 48 nations entered, with 6 not starting in the first round. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The first two rounds were held on 16 October, with the semifinals and the final on 17 October. The event was won by 0.2 seconds by Henry Carr of the United States, the nation's 11th victory in the event. Fellow American Paul Drayton took silver; it was the fifth time in six Games that the United States had the top two finishers. Edwin Roberts gave Trinidad and Tobago its first medal in the men's 200 metres with his bronze.
The men's 400 metres was the third-shortest of the men's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 17 October, 18 October, and 19 October 1964. 55 athletes from 36 nations entered, with 5 not starting in the first round. The first two rounds were held on 17 October, with the semifinals on 18 October and the final on 19 October. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.1 seconds by Mike Larrabee of the United States, the third consecutive and tenth overall victory for an American in the event. Trinidad and Tobago and Poland each earned their first medal in the 400 metres.
The men's 400 metres event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia took place between 26 and 29 July. There were 62 competitors from 42 countries. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
The men's 400 metres event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics programme was held at Stadium Australia from 22 to 25 September 2000. Sixty-eight athletes from 44 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Michael Johnson of the United States, successfully defending his 1996 gold medal. It was the fifth in what would ultimately be 7 consecutive American victories stretching from 1984 to 2008 and the 17th overall title in the event by the United States. Gregory Haughton's bronze was Jamaica's first medal in the event since the nation won back-to-back golds in 1948 and 1952.
The men's 200 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The first two rounds were held on 8 July, with the semifinals and final on 9 July. Sixty-five sprinters from 33 countries competed. Nations were limited to 4 athletes each. The event was won by Jackson Scholz of the United States, the nation's third consecutive victory in the event and fifth in six Games. For the third straight Games, the podium consisted of two Americans winning gold and silver and a Brit taking bronze. Paddock, the silver medalist in 1920 as well, was the second man to earn multiple medals in the 200 metres.
The men's 200 metres was held on 2 September and 3 September as part of the athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics, which were held in Rome. 74 athletes from 54 nations entered, but only 62 athletes from 47 nations ultimately competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.1 seconds by Livio Berruti of Italy, the first victory in the event by a nation outside of North America and snapping a five-Games winning streak by the United States. The Americans finished with a silver medal, by Lester Carney, to extend their medal streak to six Games. Abdoulaye Seye of France took bronze. Berruti's gold and Seye's bronze were the first medal for their nations in the men's 200 metres.
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, were held at Olympiastadion on 2 and 3 August. The final was won by 0.1 seconds by American Jesse Owens, and teammate Ralph Metcalfe repeated as silver medalist. Tinus Osendarp of the Netherlands won that nation's first medal in the men's 100 metres, a bronze.
The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The competition was held on July 26, 1976, July 28, 1976, and on July 29, 1976. Forty-four athletes from 29 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.14 seconds by Alberto Juantorena of Cuba, the nation's first medal in the event, breaking a string of five victories by the United States. Juantorena became the first man to win both the 800 metres and 400 metres in an Olympics. His winning time of 44.26 seconds remained as the fastest time at sea level until it was broken by Butch Reynolds in May 1987 in Columbus, Ohio.
The men's 200 metres sprint event at the 1936 Olympic Games took place between August 4 and August 5. There were 44 athletes from 22 nations competing. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by 0.4 seconds by African American Jesse Owens, with silver going to Mack Robinson. Owens thus reached 3 gold medals in 1936, with the sprint relay still to come. The Netherlands earned its first medal in the men's 200 metres with Tinus Osendarp's bronze.
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games took place on August 3 and August 4. There were 32 competitors from 20 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Glenn Hardin. After two Games of silver and bronze medals, it was the United States' first victory since 1920 and sixth overall. However, it was the first time since 1900 that the Americans had only one medalist in the event. John Loaring took Canada's first 400 metres hurdles medal since 1900 with his silver. Miguel White gave the Philippines a bronze in its 400 metres hurdles debut.
The men's 400 metres sprint event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place between August 4 and August 5. Fifty-three athletes from 28 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by 0.2 seconds by Jamaican Arthur Wint coming from almost 10 meters back to catch teammate and world record holder Herb McKenley. This was Jamaica's first Olympic gold medal in any event, and broke a string of 3 straight American victories in the men's 400 metres.
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games took place July 30 and July 31. There were 25 competitors from 17 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Roy Cochran. It was the nation's second consecutive and seventh overall victory in the event. Duncan White won Ceylon's first Olympic medal in any event with his silver. As of the 2016 Games, it remains the only medal won by a male competitor from Ceylon/Sri Lanka; the nation has won one other medal, Susanthika Jayasinghe's silver in the 2000 women's 200 metres. Sweden's first medal in the men's 400 metres hurdles was won by Rune Larsson, taking bronze.
The men's 400 metres sprint event at the 1932 Olympic Games took place on August 4 and August 5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Twenty-seven athletes from 15 nations competed. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes. The event was won by Bill Carr of the United States, that nation's second consecutive title and sixth overall in the event. Ben Eastman's silver marked the first time countrymen had gone one-two in the event since the United States did it at the first three Olympics.
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1932 Olympic Games took place on July 31 and August 1 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There were 18 competitors from 13 nations. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes. The event was won by Bob Tisdall of Ireland, the nation's first medal in the event in its 400 metres hurdles debut. The United States took silver and bronze, extending its streak of taking at least silver in all 7 appearances of the event to that point. Taylor became the first man to earn three medals in the event, adding to his 1924 gold and 1928 bronze. Defending champion David Burghley of Great Britain finished fourth.
The men's 200 metres sprint event at the 1952 Olympic Games took place between July 22 and July 23. There were 71 competitors from 35 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Andy Stanfield. Americans also took silver and bronze as the United States swept the medals in the event for the third time.
The men's 400 metres sprint event at the 1952 Olympic Games took place between July 24 and July 25. Seventy-one athletes from 35 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.11 seconds by George Rhoden of Jamaica, the second consecutive title in the event by a Jamaican. Herb McKenley repeated his silver medal performance from 1948, becoming the second man to win two medals in the event.
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place July 20–21, 1952 at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. There were 40 competitors from 24 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by American Charles Moore. It was the nation's third consecutive and eighth overall victory in the event. The Soviet Union, in its debut, and New Zealand each earned their first medal in the men's 400 metres hurdles, with Yuriy Lituyev's silver and John Holland's bronze, respectively.
The men's 200 metres was an event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on 3–4 September. There were 57 competitors from 42 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.19 seconds by Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union, the nation's first medal in the event. Larry Black took silver, extending the United States' podium streak in the men's 200 metres to nine Games. Italy earned its first medal in the event since 1960 with Pietro Mennea's bronze.
The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The competition was held between 16–18 of October. Times are listed as both hand timing and automatic timing. Hand timing was the official time used in the 1968 Olympics. Fifty-five athletes from 36 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Lee Evans of the United States, the fourth consecutive and 11th overall title in the event by an American. The Americans swept the podium, the second time a podium sweep occurred in the men's 400 metres.
The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on 3, 4 and 7 September. Sixty-four athletes from 49 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.14 seconds by Vince Matthews of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive and 12th overall victory in the event. The Americans' hopes to repeat their podium sweep of four years earlier were dashed by injury in the final. Bronze medalist Julius Sang became the first black African to win a sprint Olympic medal, earning Kenya's first medal in the event.
