Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

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Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XXX Olympiad
2012 Summer Olympics - Mens 400 metres - Kirani James.jpg
Venue Olympic Stadium
Date4–6 August
Competitors49 from 38 nations
Winning time43.94
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Kirani James Flag of Grenada.svg  Grenada
Silver medal icon.svg Luguelín Santos Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic
Bronze medal icon.svg Lalonde Gordon Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago
  2008
2016  
Official Video TV-icon-2.svg
Official Video

The men's 400 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 4–6 August. [1] Forty-nine athletes from 38 nations competed. [2] The event was won by 0.52 seconds by Kirani James of Grenada, earning the country its first Olympic medal. Luguelín Santos's silver was the Dominican Republic's first medal in the men's 400 metres. Lalonde Gordon's bronze was Trinidad and Tobago's first medal in the event since 1964.

It was only the fourth time that no American was on the podium—following 1908 (where a rules dispute led to disqualification of one of the Americans in the final and the refusal of the other two Americans to run in protest), 1920 (where the top American came in fourth with the same time as the silver and bronze medalists) and 1980 (when the United States boycotted the Games entirely).

It was the first time in any Olympic event that three different Caribbean nations shared the podium. [2]

Summary

The first round went largely to form, but defending champion LaShawn Merritt came to the meet injured and re-injured himself, unable to finish. Renny Quow also failed to start his heat. In the first race, Oscar Pistorius ran a season best to qualify. In the second heat, world champion Kirani James ran easily to win. The third heat featured three national records as Jonathan Borlée took his twin brother's mark for Belgium (Kevin also qualified in the seventh heat), Pavel Maslák set the mark for the Czech Republic and Donald Sanford set the mark for Israel. Most of the time qualifiers came from the hotly contested fourth heat, 45.61, the slowest time qualifier, though Conrad Williams got in with a 46.12 in the slow sixth heat.

It took under 45 seconds to make the final as Lalonde Gordon led the qualifiers from heat 1. Heat 2 featured James and Jonathan Borlée, and double-amputee Pistorius' attempt to make the final. But Pistorius' late charge was non-existent and he finished last in the heat. After the race, in a show of sportsmanship, James and Pistorius exchanged bib numbers, which James proudly showed as he celebrated. In the third heat, shotgun survivor Bryshon Nellum ran 45.02 for the fastest non-qualifier.

Aside from Chris Brown, the finals were filled by athletes under age 24, three of them still teenagers. Demetrius Pinder took the early lead down the back stretch, but reigning World Junior Champion Luguelín Santos (age 18) and reigning World Champion Kirani James (age 19) were in the lead coming off the turn. Down the stretch, James powered ahead for the gold medal. [3] It was also the first Olympic medal for his country. Lalonde Gordon came from behind but could not overtake Santos; he received a bronze. Santos' silver medal was the third medal for the Dominican Republic, coming 45 minutes after Felix Sánchez won his second gold.

Background

This was the 27th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five of the finalists from 2008 returned: gold medalist LaShawn Merritt of the United States, fourth-place finisher Chris Brown of the Bahamas, sixth-place finisher Martyn Rooney of Great Britain, seventh-place finisher Renny Quow of Trinidad and Tobago, and eight-place finisher Johan Wissman of Sweden. 2008 gold and 2012 silver medalist Jeremy Wariner failed to make the U.S. team. Despite the Americans' string of 7 straight victories, it was the young Kirani James of Grenada who was favored going into this event. Merritt was the strongest American, but James had beaten him at the 2011 world championships and Merritt came into the 2012 Games injured. [2]

Brunei, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Macedonia, Myanmar, and Palestine appeared in this event for the first time. There was one Independent Olympic Athlete from the former Netherlands Antilles, which had previously competed in 1976. The United States made its 26th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 3 qualified athletes in the men's 100 metres event if all athletes met the A standard, or 1 athlete if they met the B standard. The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the qualifying period that had the approval of the IAAF. Indoor and outdoor meets were eligible. The A standard for the 2012 men's 400 metres was 45.30 seconds; the B standard was 45.90 seconds. The qualifying period for was from 1 May 2011 to 8 July 2012. NOCs could also have an athlete enter the 400 metres through a universality place. NOCs could enter one male athlete in an athletics event, regardless of time, if they had no male athletes meeting the qualifying A or B standards in any men's athletic event. [4] [5] [6]

Competition format

The men's 400 metres competition consisted of 7 heats (Round 1), 3 semifinals and a final. [7] The fastest competitors from each race in the heats qualified for the semifinals along with the fastest overall competitors not already qualified that were required to fill the 24 available spaces in the semifinals. A total of eight competitors qualified for the final from the semifinals. [8]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Michael Johnson  (USA)43.18 Seville, Spain26 August 1999
Olympic recordFlag of the United States.svg  Michael Johnson  (USA)43.49 Atlanta, United States29 July 1996

No new world or Olympic records were set during the event.

The following new national records were set during the competition.

NationAthleteRoundTime
Belgium Jonathan Borlée Heat 344.43
Czech Republic Pavel Maslák Heat 344.91
Israel Donald Sanford Heat 345.71
Grenada Kirani James Final43.94

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Saturday, 4 August 201210:35Round 1
Sunday, 5 August 201220:40Semifinals
Monday, 6 August 201221:30Final

Results

Official Video of the First Round TV-icon-2.svg
Official Video of the First Round

Round 1

[9]

Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 3 fastest times qualified.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
1 Luguelín Santos Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 0.18745.04Q
2 Oscar Pistorius Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 0.23645.44Q, SB
3 Maksim Dyldin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 0.19045.52Q, DSQ
4 Rusheen McDonald Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 0.24346.67
5 Vitaliy Butrym Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 0.16547.62
Ahmed Mohamed Al-Merjabi [a]Flag of Oman.svg  Oman DNS
Renny Quow Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago DNS

[a] Ahmed Mohamed Al-Merjabi was forced to scratch from this race after he injured his foot in a training session three days earlier. [10]

Heat 2

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
16 Kirani James Flag of Grenada.svg  Grenada 0.17345.23Q
27 Ramon Miller Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 0.16045.57Q
34 Liemarvin Bonevacia Olympic flag.svg  Independent Olympic Athletes 0.23245.60Q, PB
48 Isaac Makwala Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 0.21145.67
53 Deon Lendore Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 0.20545.81
65 Daundre Barnaby Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 0.17146.04
79 Bereket Desta Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 0.22447.40
82 Bahaa Al Farra Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 0.21249.93SB

Heat 3

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
16 Jonathan Borlée Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0.17944.43Q, NR
27 Pavel Maslák Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 0.18644.91Q, NR
34 Pavel Trenikhin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 0.19445.00Q, PB
49 Dane Hyatt Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 0.26145.14q
52 Donald Sanford Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 0.16845.71 NR
65 Nelson Stone Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 0.19346.71SB
78 Sergej Zaikov Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 0.20947.12
83 Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Rositi Flag of Brunei.svg  Brunei 0.18848.67PB

Heat 4

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
12 Demetrius Pinder Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 0.15144.92Q
27 Bryshon Nellum Flag of the United States.svg  United States 0.19145.29Q
36 Yousef Ahmed Masrahi Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 0.14745.43Q, PB
43 Tabarie Henry Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  Virgin Islands 0.17645.43q
55 Albert Bravo Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela 0.19745.61q, PB
64 Jermaine Gonzales Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 0.17146.21
78 Kristijan Efremov Flag of Macedonia.svg  Macedonia 0.22947.92PB
89 Zaw Win Thet Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar 0.18150.07

Heat 5

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
13 Chris Brown Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 0.17145.40Q
26 Tony McQuay Flag of the United States.svg  United States 0.15545.48Q
32 Nigel Levine Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 0.14845.58Q
47 Yuzo Kanemaru Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 0.15646.01
55 Jānis Leitis Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 0.15946.41
68 Augusto Stanley Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg  Paraguay 0.19047.21

Heat 6

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
17 Steven Solomon Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 0.14545.18Q, PB
25 Lalonde Gordon Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 0.17845.43Q
32 Conrad Williams Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 0.16446.12Q
48 Marcell Deák-Nagy Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 0.18646.17
56 Winston George Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana 0.24546.86
64 Sajjad Hashemi Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 0.17147.75
3 LaShawn Merritt Flag of the United States.svg  United States 0.195DNF [note 1]

Heat 7

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
12 Kevin Borlée Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0.16645.14Q
25 Martyn Rooney Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 0.18645.36Q
38 Rabah Yousif Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 0.20345.46Q
47 Nery Brenes Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 0.23745.65
54 Erison Hurtault Flag of Dominica.svg  Dominica 0.15846.05SB
63 Marcin Marciniszyn Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 0.18046.35
6 Mathieu Gnanligo Flag of Benin.svg  Benin 0.168DNF
Official Video of the Semifinal Round TV-icon-2.svg
Official Video of the Semifinal Round

Semifinals

[11]

Qual. rule: first 2 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

Semifinal 1

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
17 Lalonde Gordon Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 0.16844.58Q, PB
25 Demetrius Pinder Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 0.16144.94Q
36 Steven Solomon Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 0.18844.97q, PB
49 Rabah Yousif Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 0.17845.13=PB
54 Pavel Maslák Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 0.16645.15
62 Tabarie Henry Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  Virgin Islands 0.16745.19SB
78 Pavel Trenikhin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 0.19845.35
83 Conrad Williams Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 0.15345.53

Semifinal 2

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
17 Kirani James Flag of Grenada.svg  Grenada 0.17044.59Q, SB
26 Chris Brown Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 0.17444.67Q, SB
34 Jonathan Borlée Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0.16444.99q
49 Tony McQuay Flag of the United States.svg  United States 0.23045.31
58 Maksim Dyldin Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 0.16845.39DSQ
63 Nigel Levine Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 0.14645.64
72 Albert Bravo Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela 0.18546.22
85 Oscar Pistorius Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 0.25446.54

Semifinal 3

RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
15 Luguelín Santos Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 0.15544.78Q
24 Kevin Borlée Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0.14744.84Q
36 Bryshon Nellum Flag of the United States.svg  United States 0.17345.02
48 Ramon Miller Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 0.19045.11
57 Martyn Rooney Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 0.18645.31
62 Dane Hyatt Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 0.15945.59
79 Yousef Ahmed Masrahi Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 0.14645.91
83 Liemarvin Bonevacia Olympic flag.svg  Independent Olympic Athletes 0.15396.42 [note 1]

Final

[12]

The final turn of the 400 metres final
L-R K. Borlee, Pinder, Santos, Brown, James Mens 400m - 2012 Summer Olympics 2.jpg
The final turn of the 400 metres final
L-R K. Borlée, Pinder, Santos, Brown, James
RankLaneAthleteNationReactionTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg5 Kirani James Flag of Grenada.svg  Grenada 0.16343.94 NR
Silver medal icon.svg7 Luguelín Santos Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 0.18544.46
Bronze medal icon.svg4 Lalonde Gordon Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 0.15944.52PB
46 Chris Brown Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 0.16644.79
59 Kevin Borlée Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0.15144.81
62 Jonathan Borlée Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0.17344.83
78 Demetrius Pinder Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 0.15344.98
83 Steven Solomon Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 0.14345.14

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