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Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles

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Men's 400 metres hurdles
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
John Akii-Bua
VenueOlympiastadion
Dates31 August 1972 & 2 September 1972
Competitors37 from 25 nations
Winning time47.82 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) John Akii-Bua
 Uganda
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ralph Mann
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) David Hemery
 Great Britain
← 1968
1976 →

The men's 400 metres hurdles was an event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on 31 August - 2 September.[1] There were 37 competitors from 25 nations.[2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by John Akii-Bua of Uganda, the nation's first medal in the event and first gold medal in any Olympic event. Ralph Mann returned the United States to the podium after a one-Games absence with his silver medal, while David Hemery added a bronze to his 1968 gold to become the fifth man (and first non-American) to earn multiple medals in the event while extending Great Britain's podium streak in the 400 metres hurdles to three Games.

Background

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This was the 15th time the event was held. It had been introduced along with the men's 200 metres hurdles in 1900, with the 200 being dropped after 1904 and the 400 being held through 1908 before being left off the 1912 programme. However, when the Olympics returned in 1920 after World War I, the men's 400 metres hurdles was back and would continue to be contested at every Games thereafter.

Four of the eight finalists from the 1968 Games returned: gold medalist David Hemery and bronze medalist John Sherwood of Great Britain, seventh-place finisher Rainer Schubert of West Germany, and eighth-place finisher Roberto Frinolli of Italy. Hemery was one of the favorites, along with Ralph Mann of the United States, who had won the American championship from 1969 to 1971 as well as the U.S. trials. Uganda's John Akii-Bua had run the fastest time in 1971, but had little competitive experience.[2]

Madagascar, Nigeria, and Spain each made their debut in the event; East Germany competed separately for the first time. The United States made its 15th appearance, the only nation to have competed at every edition of the event to that point.

Competition format

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The competition used the three-round format used every Games since 1908 (except the four-round competition in 1952): quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Ten sets of hurdles were set on the course. The hurdles were 3 feet (91.5 centimetres) tall and were placed 35 metres apart beginning 45 metres from the starting line, resulting in a 40 metres home stretch after the last hurdle. The 400 metres track was standard.

There were 5 quarterfinal heats with 7 or 8 athletes each. The top 3 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals, along with the next fastest hurdler overall. The 16 semifinalists were divided into 2 semifinals of 8 athletes each, with the top 4 in each semifinal advancing to the 8-man final.[2]

Records

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

World record  David Hemery (GBR) 48.1 Mexico City, Mexico 15 October 1968
Olympic record  David Hemery (GBR) 48.1 Mexico City, Mexico 15 October 1968

John Akii-Bua was the first to run the event in under 48 seconds, setting a new world record in the final with a time of 47.82 seconds.

Schedule

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All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Thursday, 31 August 1972 10:00 Quarterfinals
Friday, 1 September 1972 14:30 Semifinals
Saturday, 2 September 1972 16:15 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

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The top three runners in each of the five heats (blue) and the next fastest (green), advanced to the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Dieter Büttner  West Germany 49.78 Q
2 Viktor Savchenko  Soviet Union 49.90 Q
3 Jean-Pierre Corval  France 50.15 Q
4 Tadeusz Kulczycki  Poland 50.19 q
5 Manuel Soriano  Spain 50.88
6 Fatwell Kimaiyo  Kenya 51.23
7 Roberto Frinolli  Italy 51.69
8 Jean-Aimé Randrianalijaona  Madagascar 52.75

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 David Hemery  Great Britain 49.72 Q
2 Gary Knoke  Australia 50.10 Q
3 Yuriy Zorin  Soviet Union 50.35 Q
4 Bill Koskei  Kenya 50.58
5 Giorgio Ballati  Italy 50.90
6 José Jacinto Hidalgo  Venezuela 54.00
7 Norman Brinkworth  Pakistan 54.67

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Christian Rudolph  East Germany 50.00 Q
2 Ralph Mann  United States 50.18 Q
3 Rainer Schubert  West Germany 50.23 Q
4 Ari Salin  Finland 50.45
5 Jean-Pierre Perrinelle  France 51.81
6 José Carvalho  Portugal 52.64
7 Hassan Bergaoui  Tunisia 53.70

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 John Akii-Bua  Uganda 50.35 Q
2 Stavros Tziortzis  Greece 50.54 Q
3 Ivan Daniš  Czechoslovakia 50.62 Q
4 Bruce Field  Australia 51.46
5 Hansjörg Wirz  Switzerland 52.34
6 Dick Bruggeman  United States 54.36
7 Julio Ferrer  Puerto Rico 54.83
Francisco Rojas Soto  Paraguay DNS

Quarterfinal 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Yevgeny Gavrilenko  Soviet Union 49.73 Q
2 Jim Seymour  United States 49.81 Q
3 Rolf Ziegler  West Germany 50.17 Q
4 Roger Johnson  New Zealand 50.48
5 Mike Murei  Kenya 51.63
6 Lee Chung-Ping  Republic of China 52.61
7 Gladstone Agbamu  Nigeria 53.68
John Sherwood  Great Britain DNF

Semifinals

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The top four in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 John Akii-Bua  Uganda 49.25 Q
2 Ralph Mann  United States 49.53 Q
3 David Hemery  Great Britain 49.66 Q
4 Rainer Schubert  West Germany 49.80 Q
5 Rolf Ziegler  West Germany 49.88
6 Ivan Daniš  Czechoslovakia 50.01
7 Viktor Savchenko  Soviet Union 50.28
8 Jean-Pierre Corval  France 50.75

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Jim Seymour  United States 49.33 Q
2 Yevgeny Gavrilenko  Soviet Union 49.34 Q
3 Yuriy Zorin  Soviet Union 49.60 Q
4 Stavros Tziortzis  Greece 50.06 Q
5 Tadeusz Kulczycki  Poland 50.80
6 Gary Knoke  Australia 52.79
Christian Rudolph  East Germany DNF
Dieter Büttner  West Germany DNF

Final

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 1 John Akii-Bua  Uganda 47.82 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 Ralph Mann  United States 48.51
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 David Hemery  Great Britain 48.52
4 4 Jim Seymour  United States 48.64
5 7 Rainer Schubert  West Germany 49.65
6 2 Yevgeny Gavrilenko  Soviet Union 49.66
8 Stavros Tziortzis  Greece 49.66
8 3 Yuriy Zorin  Soviet Union 50.25

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) John Akii-Bua  Uganda 50.35 49.25 47.82 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ralph Mann  United States 50.18 49.53 48.51
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) David Hemery  Great Britain 49.72 49.66 48.52
4 Jim Seymour  United States 49.81 49.33 48.64
5 Rainer Schubert  West Germany 50.23 49.80 49.65
6 Yevgeny Gavrilenko  Soviet Union 49.73 49.34 49.66
Stavros Tziortzis  Greece 50.54 50.06 49.66
8 Yuriy Zorin  Soviet Union 50.35 49.60 50.25
9 Rolf Ziegler  West Germany 50.17 49.88 Did not advance
10 Ivan Daniš  Czechoslovakia 50.62 50.01
11 Viktor Savchenko  Soviet Union 49.90 50.28
12 Jean-Pierre Corval  France 50.15 50.75
13 Tadeusz Kulczycki  Poland 50.19 50.80
14 Gary Knoke  Australia 50.10 52.79
15 Christian Rudolph  East Germany 50.00 DNF
Dieter Büttner  West Germany 49.78 DNF
17 Ari Salin  Finland 50.45 Did not advance
18 Roger Johnson  New Zealand 50.48
19 Bill Koskei  Kenya 50.58
20 Manuel Soriano  Spain 50.88
21 Giorgio Ballati  Italy 50.90
22 Fatwell Kimaiyo  Kenya 51.23
23 Bruce Field  Australia 51.46
24 Mike Murei  Kenya 51.63
25 Roberto Frinolli  Italy 51.69
26 Jean-Pierre Perrinelle  France 51.81
27 Hansjörg Wirz  Switzerland 52.34
28 Lee Chung-Ping  Republic of China 52.61
29 José Carvalho  Portugal 52.64
30 Jean-Aimé Randrianalijaona  Madagascar 52.75
31 Gladstone Agbamu  Nigeria 53.68
32 Hassan Bergaoui  Tunisia 53.70
33 José Jacinto Hidalgo  Venezuela 54.00
34 Dick Bruggeman  United States 54.36
35 Norman Brinkworth  Pakistan 54.67
36 Julio Ferrer  Puerto Rico 54.83
37 John Sherwood  Great Britain DNF
Francisco Rojas Soto  Paraguay DNS

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Hurdles". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "400 metres Hurdles, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
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