Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles

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 (45 runners) and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took place on Sunday August 5, 1984.[1] 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. He became 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 the nation its first medal in the 400 metres hurdles since 1968.

Men's 400 metres hurdles
at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
Edwin Moses (1987)
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Dates3 August 1984 (quarterfinals)
4 August 1984 (semifinals)
5 August 1984 (final)
Competitors45 from 30 nations
Winning time47.75
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Edwin Moses
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Danny Harris
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Harald Schmid
 West Germany
← 1980
1988 →
Official Video Highlights

Background

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This was the 18th 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.

One of the eight finalists from the 1980 Games returned: seventh-place finisher Franz Meier of Switzerland. Also returning was 1976 gold medalist Edwin Moses of the United States, who had not competed in 1980 due to the American-led boycott. Moses had not lost a 400 metres hurdles race since 26 August, 1977; he had won 89 consecutive finals since then, including the inaugural 1983 World Championship. There was little expectation that anyone would challenge Moses, but if anyone could it was thought to be Harald Schmid of West Germany—the winner in Moses's last loss seven years earlier, the runner-up at the World Championship, and the 1978 and 1982 European champion. Moses' teenage teammate Danny Harris was also an up-and-coming contender.[2]

The Bahamas, Bahrain, Cameroon, Egypt, the Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Mozambique, Paraguay, Rwanda, the Seychelles, and the United Arab Emirates each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 17th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

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 6 quarterfinal heats with between 6 and 8 athletes each. The top 2 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals along with the next fastest 4 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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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics.

World record   Edwin Moses (USA) 47.02 Koblenz, West Germany 31 August 1983
Olympic record   Edwin Moses (USA) 47.64 Montreal, Canada 25 July 1976

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

Schedule

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All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

Date Time Round
Friday, 3 August 1984 11:20 Quarterfinals
Saturday, 4 August 1984 18:25 Semifinals
Sunday, 5 August 1984 18:55 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

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The quarterfinals were held on Friday August 3, 1984.

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Edwin Moses   United States 49.33 Q
2 Antônio Dias Ferreira   Brazil 49.85 Q
3 Michel Zimmermann   Belgium 49.90 q
4 Thomas Futterknecht   Austria 50.25
5 Thomas Nyberg   Sweden 50.47
6 Gérard Brunel   France 50.99
7 Ahmed Ghanem   Egypt 51.08
8 Phil Beattie   Great Britain 51.27

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harald Schmid   West Germany 49.34 Q
2 Karl Smith   Jamaica 49.66 Q
3 Franz Meier   Switzerland 49.81 q
4 Rik Tommelein   Belgium 50.05 q
5 Shigenori Omori   Japan 50.14
6 Yeoryiós Vamvakas   Greece 50.39
7 Oswaldo Zea   Venezuela 51.44

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Sven Nylander   Sweden 49.88 Q
2 Ryoichi Yoshida   Japan 50.24 Q
3 René Djédjémél   Ivory Coast 50.27
4 Peter Rwamuhanda   Uganda 50.55
5 Franck Jonot   France 51.39
6 Martin Gillingham   Great Britain 52.15
7 Vincent Confait   Seychelles 53.62
8 Nicolás Chaparro   Paraguay 56.98

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Tranel Hawkins   United States 49.51 Q
2 Simon Kitur   Kenya 49.70 Q
3 Uwe Schmitt   West Germany 49.77 q
4 Ahmed Hamada Jassim   Bahrain 50.62
5 Ian Newhouse   Canada 51.14
6 Christer Gullstrand   Sweden 51.27
7 Jean-Pierre Abossolo-Ze   Cameroon 52.85
8 Domingos Mendes   Mozambique 54.52

Quarterfinal 5

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Amadou Dia Bâ   Senegal 49.94 Q
2 Henry Amike   Nigeria 50.11 Q
3 Ken Gray   Jamaica 50.46
4 Martin Briggs   Great Britain 50.80
5 Pierre Leveille   Canada 51.47
6 Meshak Munyoro   Kenya 51.99
7 Faustin Butéra   Rwanda 54.36
8 Ibrahim Khamis   United Arab Emirates 55.50

Quarterfinal 6

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Danny Harris   United States 49.81 Q
2 Greg Rolle   Bahamas 50.41 Q
3 Lloyd Guss   Canada 51.02
4 Athanasios Kalogiannis   Greece 50.62
5 Jasem Al-Dowaila   Kuwait 51.45
José Alonso   Spain DNF

Semifinals

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The semifinals were held on Saturday August 4, 1984.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Edwin Moses   United States 48.51 Q
2 Tranel Hawkins   United States 48.94 Q
3 Amadou Dia Bâ   Senegal 49.44 Q
4 Michel Zimmermann   Belgium 49.79 Q
5 Simon Kitur   Kenya 49.80
6 Uwe Schmitt   West Germany 50.08
7 Greg Rolle   Bahamas 50.16
8 Antônio Dias Ferreira   Brazil 50.70

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Danny Harris   United States 48.92 Q
2 Sven Nylander   Sweden 49.03 Q
3 Harald Schmid   West Germany 49.04 Q
4 Henry Amike   Nigeria 49.36 Q
5 Karl Smith   Jamaica 49.58
6 Franz Meier   Switzerland 49.89
7 Ryoichi Yoshida   Japan 49.92
8 Rik Tommelein   Belgium 50.06

Final

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Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time
  6 Edwin Moses   United States 47.75
  4 Danny Harris   United States 48.13
  5 Harald Schmid   West Germany 48.19
4 3 Sven Nylander   Sweden 48.97
5 7 Amadou Dia Bâ   Senegal 49.28
6 1 Tranel Hawkins   United States 49.42
7 8 Michel Zimmermann   Belgium 50.69
8 2 Henry Amike   Nigeria 53.78

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
  Edwin Moses   United States 49.33 48.51 47.75
  Danny Harris   United States 49.81 48.92 48.13
  Harald Schmid   West Germany 49.34 49.04 48.19
4 Sven Nylander   Sweden 49.88 49.03 48.97
5 Amadou Dia Bâ   Senegal 49.94 49.44 49.28
6 Tranel Hawkins   United States 49.51 48.94 49.42
7 Michel Zimmermann   Belgium 49.90 49.79 50.69
8 Henry Amike   Nigeria 50.11 49.36 53.78
9 Karl Smith   Jamaica 49.66 49.58 Did not advance
10 Simon Kitur   Kenya 49.70 49.80
11 Franz Meier   Switzerland 49.81 49.89
12 Ryoichi Yoshida   Japan 50.24 49.92
13 Rik Tommelein   Belgium 50.05 50.06
14 Uwe Schmitt   West Germany 49.77 50.08
15 Greg Rolle   Bahamas 50.41 50.16
16 Antônio Dias Ferreira   Brazil 49.85 50.70
17 Shigenori Omori   Japan 50.14 Did not advance
18 Thomas Futterknecht   Austria 50.25
19 René Djédjémél   Ivory Coast 50.27
20 Yeoryiós Vamvakas   Greece 50.39
21 Ken Gray   Jamaica 50.46
22 Thomas Nyberg   Sweden 50.47
23 Peter Rwamuhanda   Uganda 50.55
24 Ahmed Hamada Jassim   Bahrain 50.62
Athanasios Kalogiannis   Greece 50.62
26 Martin Briggs   Great Britain 50.80
27 Gérard Brunel   France 50.99
28 Lloyd Guss   Canada 51.02
29 Ahmed Ghanem   Egypt 51.08
30 Ian Newhouse   Canada 51.14
31 Phil Beattie   Great Britain 51.27
Christer Gullstrand   Sweden 51.27
33 Franck Jonot   France 51.39
34 Oswaldo Zea   Venezuela 51.44
35 Jasem Al-Dowaila   Kuwait 51.45
36 Pierre Leveille   Canada 51.47
37 Meshak Munyoro   Kenya 51.99
38 Martin Gillingham   Great Britain 52.15
39 Jean-Pierre Abossolo-Ze   Cameroon 52.85
40 Vincent Confait   Seychelles 53.62
41 Faustin Butéra   Rwanda 54.36
42 Domingos Mendes   Mozambique 54.52
43 Ibrahim Khamis   United Arab Emirates 55.50
44 Nicolás Chaparro   Paraguay 56.98
45 José Alonso   Spain DNF

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles 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 "400 metres Hurdles, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 19 January 2021.