Michael Groß, usually spelled Michael Gross in English, is a former competitive swimmer from Germany. He is 201 centimetres tall, and received the nickname "The Albatross" for his especially long arms that gave him a total span of 2.13 meters. Gross, competing for West Germany, won three Olympic gold medals, two in 1984 and one in 1988 in the freestyle and butterfly events, in addition to two World Championship titles in 1982, two in 1986 and one in 1991.
Togo competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. The country's participation at Athens marked its seventh appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, West Germany. The delegation included two track and field athletes and a single canoeist; Jan Sekpona in the men's 800 metres, Sandrine Thiébaud-Kangni in the women's 400 metres, and Benjamin Boukpeti in the men's K-1. Both Sekpona and Thiébaud-Kangni were eliminated in the first round of their competitions, while Boukpeti progressed to the semi-finals.
West Germany competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 290 competitors, 233 men and 57 women, took part in 163 events in 20 sports.
Rita Wilden, née Jahn is a German athlete, who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
Athletes from East Germany and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 293 competitors, 238 men and 55 women, took part in 148 events in 17 sports.
Athletes from West Germany competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first time that East Germany and West Germany sent separate teams to the Summer Olympic Games. 275 competitors, 232 men and 43 women, took part in 154 events in 17 sports for West Germany. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Munich, the West German flag was raised at the closing ceremony.
Austria competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. 234 competitors, 217 men and 17 women, took part in 105 events in 19 sports.
Heinz Ulzheimer was a West German track and field athlete, who mainly competed in the 800 metres. He was born in Höchst. He competed in the 800 metres for Germany at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, where he won the bronze medal. He then assisted the German team in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the bronze medal with his team mates Hans Geister, Günther Steines and Karl-Friedrich Haas. He died at the age of 90 in 2016.
Karl-Friedrich Haas was a West German athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He was born in Berlin, Brandenburg, Prussia, Germany. He competed for West Germany in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland where he won the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 metre relay with his team mates Hans Geister, Günther Steines and Heinz Ulzheimer. Four years later he competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia and won a silver in the individual 400 metres. His son Christian Haas was also an Olympic competitor.
Hans-Joachim "Jochen" Reske is a West German former track and field athlete, who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He won a silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and in 1962, at the European championships, he finished in third place in the individual 400 m and his team won the 4×400 metre relay.
Helmar Müller was a West German athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
Martin Jellinghaus is a retired West German former athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
Lothar Krieg was a West German athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
Bernd Herrmann was a West German athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
Martin Weppler is a retired West German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.
Peter Szmidt was a Canadian swimmer, competing in the freestyle events during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Georg Nückles is a retired West German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.
Hans-Joachim Fassnacht is a retired German swimmer. He competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics in various freestyle and butterfly events and won a silver medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle in 1972. In 1972 he also won a 1500 m freestyle semifinal, setting an Olympic record, but withdrew from the final.
The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 45 competitors from 30 nations, with six qualifying heats and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took place on Sunday August 5, 1984. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. American Edwin Moses won his second Olympic gold medal after 1976, while his 18-year-old teammate Danny Harris took the silver medal. Moses' gold was the United States' 13th victory in the event. Moses was the sixth man to win multiple medals in the event, and the second to win multiple golds. Harald Schmid of West Germany took bronze, giving that nation its first medal in the 400 metres hurdles since 1968.
The 400 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 400 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896 but nearly seventy years passed before the introduction of the women's 400 m, which has been held continuously since the 1964 Games. It is the most prestigious 400 m race at elite level. The competition format typically has two qualifying rounds leading to a final race between eight athletes.
