Men's 400 metres world record progression The first world record in the 400 m for men (athletics) was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912. The IAAF ratified Charles Reidpath's 48.2 performance set at that year's Stockholm Olympics as a world record, but it also recognized the superior mark over 440 yards (402.34 metres) run by Maxie Long in 1900 as a world record.

To June 21, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 23 world records in the event.[1]

The following tables show the world record progression in the men's 400 metres, as ratified by the IAAF.

Records 1900–1976

edit
Time Auto Athlete Nationality Location of race Date
47.8y Maxie Long   United States New York, USA September 29, 1900[1]
48.2 Charles Reidpath   United States Stockholm, Sweden July 13, 1912[1]
47.4y Ted Meredith   United States Cambridge, USA May 27, 1916[1]
47.0 Emerson Spencer   United States Palo Alto, USA May 12, 1928[1]
46.4y Ben Eastman   United States Palo Alto, California, USA March 26, 1932[1]
46.2 46.28 Bill Carr   United States Los Angeles, USA August 5, 1932[1]
46.1 Archie Williams   United States Chicago, USA June 19, 1936[1]
46.0 Rudolf Harbig   Germany Frankfurt am Main, Germany August 12, 1939[1]
Grover Klemmer   United States Philadelphia, USA June 6, 1941[1][2]
46.0y Herb McKenley   Jamaica Berkeley, USA June 5, 1948[1]
45.9 46.00 Herb McKenley   Jamaica Milwaukee, USA July 2, 1948[1]
45.8 Milkha Singh   India France 1958[1]
45.4A 45.68 Lou Jones   United States Mexico City, Mexico March 18, 1955[1]
45.2 Lou Jones   United States Los Angeles, USA June 30, 1956[1]
44.9 45.07 Otis Davis   United States Rome, Italy September 6, 1960[1]
45.08 Carl Kaufmann   West Germany Rome, Italy September 6, 1960[1]
44.9y Adolph Plummer   United States Tempe, USA May 25, 1963[1]
44.9 Mike Larrabee   United States Los Angeles, USA September 12, 1964[1]
44.5+ Tommie Smith   United States San Jose, USA May 20, 1967[1]
44.1A 44.19 Larry James   United States Echo Summit, USA September 14, 1968[1]
43.8A 43.86 Lee Evans   United States Mexico City, Mexico October 18, 1968[1]

(+) plus sign denotes en route time during longer race
"y" denotes time for 440 yards, ratified as a record for this event "A" indicates that the time was set at altitude.

Records post-1976

edit

From 1975, the IAAF accepted separate automatically electronically timed records for events up to 400 metres. Starting January 1, 1977, the IAAF required fully automatic timing to the hundredth of a second for these events.[1]

Lee Evans' 1968 Olympic gold medal victory time of 43.86 was the fastest recorded result to that time.

Time Athlete Nationality Location of race Date
43.86 Lee Evans   United States Mexico City, Mexico October 18, 1968[1]
43.29 Butch Reynolds   United States Zürich, Switzerland August 17, 1988[1]
43.18 Michael Johnson   United States Seville, Spain August 26, 1999[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 547. Archived from the original (pdf) on November 23 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  2. ^ http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675028733_Track-and-field-events-at-Franklin-field_400-meters_pole-vault_Grover-klemmer

400, men 400, men