Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

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Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XVII Olympiad
Venue Olympic Stadium
Dates3–6 September
Competitors59 from 44 nations
Winning time44.9 WR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Otis Davis Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Carl Kaufmann Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany
Bronze medal icon.svg Malcolm Spence Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa
  1956
1964  
Official Video Highlights TV-icon-2.svg
Official Video Highlights

The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. The competition was held between September 3 and September 6, 1960. 59 competitors from 44 nations entered, but 54 competitors from 41 nations participated. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.01 seconds by Otis Davis of the United States, the second consecutive and ninth overall title in the event for an American. Carl Kaufmann's silver was the second straight silver for a German in the event, while Malcolm Spence's bronze was the first medal for South Africa in the 400 metres since 1920.

Summary

This race was settled via photo finish using one of the first experimental attempts at fully automatic timing. Carl Kaufmann made a diving lunge at the finish line, his head crossing the line first. But it is the torso that counts and Otis Davis, running upright had his body ahead of Kaufmann. After a suspenseful pause, Davis was ruled the winner. The photo was made further famous after being published in Life Magazine. [2] In fourth place, Milkha Singh ran the Indian national record that lasted 44 years until the 2004 Olympics. [3]

There is potential confusion with two athletes in the competition named Malcolm Spence, both qualifying to the second semifinal. The (one year) younger Malcolm Spence representing South Africa eventually netted the bronze medal, while the senior Malcolm Spence from Jamaica, shortened his name to "Mal" while representing the British West Indies, achieved a bronze as part of their 4x400 metres relay, one second ahead of the 4th place South African team.

In the final, South African Malcolm Spence took off hard from the gun, making up the stagger and passing Milkha Singh to his outside before the second turn. Through the second turn, Otis Davis gained ground strongly, passing Spence to his outside halfway through the turn, emerging onto the home straight with the lead, two lanes inside of him Carl Kaufmann also gained on the turn and emerged slightly ahead of Spence. Kaufmann gained steadily on Davis but never caught him, desperately diving at the finish line from a half meter back but unable to get more than his head ahead of Davis. Singh was the best of the rest, holding his own the second half of the race against the initial lead of Spence, but unable to gain much ground. Ultimately Spence held on for bronze.

Background

This was the fourteenth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Of the finalists from 1956, bronze medalist Voitto Hellstén of Finland and sixth-place finisher Malcolm Spence returned in 1960. The field was relatively open, with no clear favorite. [4]

Afghanistan, the Bahamas, the British West Indies, Ghana, Guyana, Tunisia, and Uganda appeared in this event for the first time. The United States made its fourteenth appearance in the event, the only nation to compete in it at every Olympic Games to that point.

Competition format

The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. There were 9 heats in the first round, each scheduled to have 6 or 7 athletes but with some dropping to as low as 4 after withdrawals. The top three runners in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals. There were 4 quarterfinals of 6 or 7 runners each; the top three athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 6 runners each. The top three runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making a six-man final. [4] [5]

Records

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

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Lou Jones  (USA)45.2 Los Angeles, United States 30 June 1956
Olympic recordFlag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  George Rhoden  (JAM)45.9 Helsinki, Finland 25 July 1952

Otis Davis matched the Olympic record of 45.9 seconds in the quarterfinals. In the first semifinal, he set a new Olympic record at 45.5 seconds; by the end of the semifinals, four men had matched (Milkha Singh) or beaten (Malcolm Spence at 45.8 seconds, Carl Kaufmann at 45.7 seconds, and Otis at 45.5 seconds) the old record. In the final, the fifth- and sixth-place finishers (Manfred Kinder and Earl Young matched the old record—but still finished a full second behind the leaders, as Otis and Kaufmann broke the world record with 44.9 second finishes to take gold and silver. Singh's 45.6 seconds in the final set a national record that stood for 44 years.

Schedule

The semifinals and final were on different days for the first time since 1912.

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Saturday, 3 September 196009:50
16:10
Round 1
Quarterfinals
Monday, 5 September 196016:15Semifinals
Tuesday, 6 September 196015:45Finals

Results

First round

The top three runners in each of the 9 heats advanced.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Manfred Kinder Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 46.7Q
2 Edgar Davis Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 47.2Q
3 Malcolm Yardley Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 47.3Q
4 Josef Trousil Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 47.4
5 John Asare-Antwi Flag of the Union of African States (1958-1961).svg  Ghana 47.7
6 Kimitada Hayase Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 49.1
7Habib SayedFlag of Afghanistan (1931-1973).svg  Afghanistan 53.8

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Alf Pettersson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 48.3Q
2 Robbie Brightwell Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.4Q
3 Konstantin Grachev Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 49.3Q
4 Felix Heuertz Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 50.2
George Kerr Flag of the West Indies Federation.svg  British West Indies DNS
N. RomeroFlag of Venezuela (1954-2006).png  Venezuela DNS

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Carl Kaufmann Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 47.3Q
2 Barry Robinson Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 47.6Q
3 Lodewijk De Clerck Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 47.9Q
4 Anubes da Silva Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg  Brazil 48.0
5 Csaba Csutorás Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 48.2
6 Hugh Bullard Flag of the Bahamas (1953-1964).svg  Bahamas 51.1

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Malcolm Spence Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 46.7Q
2 Kevan Gosper Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 47.1Q
3 Terry Tobacco Flag of Canada (1957-1965).svg  Canada 47.4Q
4 Gadi Ado Flag of the Uganda Protectorate.svg  Uganda 49.0
5 Marcel Lambrechts Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 49.5
6 Jorge Terán Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico 49.6
7 Brahim Karabi Flag of Tunisia (1959-1999).svg  Tunisia 52.0

Heat 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 German Guenard Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 47.3Q
2 Jerzy Kowalski Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 48.3Q
3 Giuseppe Bommarito Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 48.6Q
4 Li Po-ting Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Formosa 49.5
5 Clayton Glasgow Flag of British Guiana (1955-1966).svg  Guyana 50.7
6 George Johnson Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia 51.4

Heat 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Jack Yerman Flag of the United States.svg  United States 47.2Q
2 Milkha Singh Flag of India.svg  India 47.6Q
3 Stanisław Swatowski Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 48.1Q
4 Manikavasagam Jegathesan Flag of Malaya.svg  Malaya 48.4
5 Iván Rodríguez Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 49.6
6 Claro Pellosis Flag of the Philippines (1936-1985, 1986-1998).svg  Philippines 51.4

Heat 7

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Mal Spence Flag of the West Indies Federation.svg  British West Indies 47.6Q
2 Earl Young Flag of the United States.svg  United States 47.6Q
3 Bartonjo Rotich Flag of British East Africa.svg  Kenya 47.7Q
4 Zdeněk Váňa Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 48.3
5 Vasilios Sillis Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 48.4
6 Manum Bumroongpruck Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 49.6

Heat 8

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Abdul Karim Amu Flag of Nigeria (1952-1960).svg  Nigeria 46.8Q
2 Gordon Day Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 47.1Q
3 Hans-Joachim Reske Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 47.2Q
4 Voitto Hellstén Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 48.4
5 Jassim Karim Kuraishi Flag of Iraq (1959-1963).svg  Iraq 49.2
6 Fahir Özgüden Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 50.7

Heat 9

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Otis Davis Flag of the United States.svg  United States 46.8Q
2 Jim Wedderburn Flag of the West Indies Federation.svg  British West Indies 47.4Q
3 John Wrighton Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 47.4Q
4 René Weber Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 47.6
5 Moussa Said Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1974).svg  Ethiopia 48.2
6 Amos Grodzinowsky Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 48.9

Quarterfinal round

The top three in each of the 4 heats advanced.

Quarterfinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Carl KaufmannFlag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 46.5Q
2Milkha SinghFlag of India.svg  India 46.5Q
3Malcolm SpenceFlag of the West Indies Federation.svg  British West Indies 46.9Q
4Terry TobaccoFlag of Canada (1957-1965).svg  Canada 47.5
5Edgar DavisFlag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 48.0
6Malcolm YardleyFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.8
Alf PetterssonFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden DNS

Quarterfinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Jack YermanFlag of the United States.svg  United States 46.4Q
2Kevan GosperFlag of Australia.svg  Australia 46.5Q
3Manfred KinderFlag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 46.7Q
4Jim WedderburnFlag of the West Indies Federation.svg  British West Indies 47.0
5German GuenardFlag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 47.2
6John WrightonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 48.4

Quarterfinal 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Earl YoungFlag of the United States.svg  United States 46.1Q
2Robbie BrightwellFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 46.2Q
3Gordon DayFlag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 46.3Q
4Hans-Joachim ReskeFlag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 47.3
5Stanisław SwatowskiFlag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 47.4
6Konstantin GrachovFlag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 47.6
7Bartonjo RotichFlag of British East Africa.svg  Kenya 47.8

Quarterfinal 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1Otis DavisFlag of the United States.svg  United States 45.9Q, =OR
2Malcolm SpenceFlag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 46.1Q
3Abdel Karim AmuFlag of Nigeria (1952-1960).svg  Nigeria 46.6Q
4Jerzy KowalskiFlag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 46.7
5Giuseppe BommaritoFlag of Italy.svg  Italy 47.5
6Barry RobinsonFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 48.3
7Lodewijk De ClerckFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 48.4

Semifinal round

The top three in each of the 4 heats advanced.

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTime (hand)Time (auto)Notes
1 Otis Davis Flag of the United States.svg  United States 45.545.62Q
2 Milkha Singh Flag of India.svg  India 45.946.08Q
3 Manfred Kinder Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 46.046.13Q
4 Robbie Brightwell Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 46.146.25
5 Gordon Day Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 46.746.84
6Kevan GosperFlag of Australia.svg  Australia 47.147.28

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteNationTime (hand)Time (auto)Notes
1Carl KaufmannFlag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 45.745.88Q
2 Malcolm Spence Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 45.846.01Q
3 Earl Young Flag of the United States.svg  United States 46.146.29Q
4 Abdul Karim Amu Flag of Nigeria (1952-1960).svg  Nigeria 46.646.74
5 Mal Spence Flag of the West Indies Federation.svg  British West Indies 46.846.99
6Jack YermanFlag of the United States.svg  United States 48.948.96

Final

RankLaneAthleteNationTime (hand)Time (auto)Notes
Gold medal icon.svg3 Otis Davis Flag of the United States.svg  United States 44.945.07 WR
Silver medal icon.svg1 Carl Kaufmann Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 44.945.08 WR
Bronze medal icon.svg4 Malcolm Spence Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 45.545.60
45 Milkha Singh Flag of India.svg  India 45.645.73 NR
56 Manfred Kinder Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 45.946.04
62 Earl Young Flag of the United States.svg  United States 45.946.07

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References

  1. "Athletics at the 1960 Rome Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  2. "Otis Davis, 1960 400 meter and 4x400m Olympic Champion". 13 September 2009.
  3. "rediff.com Olympics Special: Milkha Singh on the race of his life".
  4. 1 2 "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  5. Official Report, vol. 2, pp. 75–79.