Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

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Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Olympic Stadium
Dates12 August 2016
(Heats)
13 August 2016
(semi-final)
14 August 2016
(final)
Competitors53 from 35 nations
Winning time43.03 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Wayde van Niekerk  South Africa
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Kirani James  Grenada
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) LaShawn Merritt  United States
← 2012
2020 →
Official Video Highlights

The men's 400 metres event at the

Olympic Stadium.[1] Fifty-three athletes from 35 nations competed.[2] The event was won by Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa, the nation's second gold medal in the men's 400 metres (after Bevil Rudd in 1920). Kirani James of Grenada and LaShawn Merritt of the United States became the sixth and seventh men to win two medals in the event, but Michael Johnson
remained the only man with two gold medals.

Summary

Kirani James was the Olympic champion in 2012 and was in good form before the competition with a run of 44.08 seconds placing him second on the global rankings. The 2008 Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt topped the lists for the season as the only man under 44 seconds. Wayde van Niekerk ranked third and was the 2015 World Championships winner. At that competition the trio had all run under 44 seconds for medals (a first for the sport) and were the principal challengers to the Olympic title. Two younger athletes, Baboloki Thebe and Machel Cedenio, were the next fastest athletes to enter.[3][4] James was the fastest in the first round with 44.93 and Cedenio was the other heat winner under 45 seconds. The 2016 World Indoor Champion Pavel Maslák, David Verburg and Rafał Omelko qualified as fastest losers. Former European champions Martyn Rooney and Kevin Borlée were eliminated.[5]

In the semi-finals, James had a season's best time of 44.02 to win the round nearly two tenths ahead of Merritt. Cedenio won the 2nd semi final ahead with van Niekerk second. Bralon Taplin won the third semi final. Fastest loser qualifiers Karabo Sibanda, Matthew Hudson-Smith and Ali Khamis all set personal bests.[6]

In the final, the three favorites James, van Niekerk and Merritt led from the start. By the end of the turn, van Niekerk had a clear 2 metre lead, Merritt just slightly ahead of James who had closed the gap during the turn. Cedenio was another four metres back, with Taplin another metre back. In the home straight van Niekerk increased his lead while James overtook Merritt, finishing second and third. Cedenio was fourth, Taplin faded, and in lane 1, 18-year-old Karabo Sibanda finished fifth.

Van Niekerk set a new world record of 43.03 seconds, beating

Michael Johnson’s previous record set at the 1999 World Championships by 0.15 seconds.[7] Johnson was in the stadium, working in the British commentary booth.[8]
This was also the first time that the event has been won and the world record broken by a runner in lane 8.

Cedenio set the national record for Trinidad and Tobago and Ali Khamis in sixth set the national record for Bahrain.

Background

This was the 28th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The top six finishers from 2012 (in order:

Chris Brown of the Bahamas, and Kevin Borlée and Jonathan Borlée of Belgium) returned. LaShawn Merritt of the United States, 2008 gold medalist who was injured and could not finish his heat in 2012, also returned. A new challenger was Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa. James (2011), Merritt (2013), and van Niekerk (2015) were the latest three world champions.[2]

Bahrain and Niger appeared in this event for the first time. Also competing was one member of the Refugee Olympic Team. The United States made its 27th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Qualification

A

IAAF. Indoor and outdoor meets were accepted. NOCs could also use their universality place—each NOC could enter one male athlete regardless of time if they had no male athletes meeting the entry standard for an athletics event—in the 400 metres.[9][10]

Competition format

The competition used the three-round format introduced in 2004. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was used for the first round and semifinals. There were 7 first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 runners. The top three runners in each heat advanced, along with the next three fastest overall. The 24 semifinalists were divided into 3 heats of 8 runners each. The top two runners in each semifinal heat and the next two fastest overall advanced, making an eight-man final.[11][2]

Records

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

World record  Michael Johnson (USA) 43.18 Seville, Spain 26 August 1999
Olympic record  
Michael Johnson (USA
)
43.49 Atlanta, United States 29 July 1996
Area
Time (s) Athlete Nation
Africa (records) 43.48 Wayde van Niekerk  South Africa
Asia (records) 43.93
Yousef Ahmed Masrahi
 Saudi Arabia
Europe (records) 44.33 Thomas Schönlebe  East Germany
North, Central America and Caribbean (records
)
43.18 Michael Johnson  United States
Oceania (records) 44.38 Darren Clark  Australia
South America (records
)
44.29 Sanderlei Parrela  Brazil

The following new world, Olympic and African record were established during this competition:

Date Round Athlete Time Notes
14 August Final  
Wayde Van Niekerk (RSA
)
43.03 WR, OR, AR

The following national records were established during the competition:

Country Athlete Round Time Notes
Slovenia  Luka Janežič (SLO) Semifinals 45.07
Bahrain  Ali Khamis (BRN) Semifinals 44.49
South Africa  Wayde van Niekerk (RSA) Final 43.03 WR, OR, AR
Trinidad and Tobago  Machel Cedenio (TTO) Final 44.01
Bahrain  Ali Khamis (BRN) Final 44.36

Schedule

All times are

UTC-3
)

Date Time Round
Friday, 12 August 2016 21:00 Round 1
Saturday, 13 August 2016 20:30 Semifinals
Sunday, 14 August 2016 22:00 Final

Results

Round 1

Qualification rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 3 fastest times (q) qualified.[12]

Heat 1

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 2 Machel Cedenio  Trinidad and Tobago 0.179 44.98 Q
2 7 Gil Roberts  United States 0.168 45.27 Q
3 4 Yoandys Lescay  Cuba 0.199 45.36 Q, SB
4 6 Fitzroy Dunkley  Jamaica 0.176 45.66
5 3 Kevin Borlée  Belgium 0.138 45.90
6 5 Alberth Bravo  Venezuela 0.205 46.15
7 1
Alex Lerionka Sampao
 Kenya 0.199 46.62
8 8 Ousseini Djibo Idrissa  Niger 0.173 50.06

Heat 2

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 4 Bralon Taplin  Grenada 0.162 45.15 Q
2 2 Nery Brenes  Costa Rica 0.151 45.53 Q
3 7 Karabo Sibanda  Botswana 0.166 45.56 Q
4 1 Matteo Galvan  Italy 0.154 46.07
5 3 Raymond Kibet  Kenya 0.234 46.15
6 6 Mehboob Ali  Pakistan 0.212 48.37
7 8 Bachir Mahamat  Chad 0.188 48.59
5 Anas Beshr  Egypt 0.141 DQ R163.3a

Heat 3

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 7 Wayde van Niekerk  South Africa 0.147 45.26 Q
2 2 Luguelín Santos  Dominican Republic 0.148 45.61 Q
3 8 Javon Francis  Jamaica 0.172 45.88 Q
4 6 Jonathan Borlée  Belgium 0.162 46.01
5 3 Alphas Kishoyian  Kenya 0.147 46.74
6 5 Brandon Valentine-Parris  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.144 47.62
4 Alonzo Russell  Bahamas 0.159 DQ R163.3a

Heat 4

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 5 Lalonde Gordon  Trinidad and Tobago 0.153 45.24 Q
2 4 Luka Janežič  Slovenia 0.148 45.33 Q
3 6 Baboloki Thebe  Botswana 0.155 45.41 Q
4 1 Chris Brown  Bahamas 0.147 45.56 SB
5 2 Martyn Rooney  Great Britain 0.154 45.60
6 7
Julian Jrummi Walsh
 Japan 0.149 46.37
7 8 Gustavo Cuesta  Dominican Republic 0.143 46.92
8 3 James Chiengjiek  Refugee Olympic Team 0.213 52.89

Heat 5

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 8 LaShawn Merritt  United States 0.235 45.28 Q
2 3
Abdelalelah Haroun
 Qatar 0.190 45.76 Q
3 6 Isaac Makwala  Botswana 0.242 45.91 Q
4 2 Vitaliy Butrym  Ukraine 0.166 45.92
5 4 Donald Blair-Sanford  Israel 0.163 46.06
6 5 Deon Lendore  Trinidad and Tobago 0.201 46.15
7 7 Hederson Estefani  Brazil 0.234 46.68

Heat 6

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 6 Kirani James  Grenada 0.156 44.93 Q
2 5 Rusheen McDonald  Jamaica 0.179 45.22 Q, SB
3 2 Matthew Hudson-Smith  Great Britain 0.142 45.26 Q
4 3 David Verburg  United States 0.167 45.48 q
5 7 Winston George  Guyana 0.186 45.77
6 8 Diego Palomeque  Colombia 0.159 46.48
4 Abbas Abubakar Abbas  Bahrain 0.192 DQ R163.3a

Heat 7

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 7 Ali Khamis  Bahrain 0.161 45.12 Q
2 1 Steven Gardiner  Bahamas 0.149 45.24 Q
3 8 Liemarvin Bonevacia  Netherlands 0.142 45.49 Q
4 5 Rafał Omelko  Poland 0.177 45.54 q
5 4 Pavel Maslák  Czech Republic 0.183 45.54 q
6 6
Mohammad Anas
 India 0.158 45.95
7 2 Orukpe Erayokan  Nigeria 0.180 47.42 SB
8 3 Yuzo Kanemaru  Japan 0.144 48.38

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 4 Kirani James  Grenada 0.144 44.02 Q, SB
2 6 LaShawn Merritt  United States 0.271 44.21 Q
3 2 Karabo Sibanda  Botswana 0.174 44.47 q, PB
4 7 Luguelín Santos  Dominican Republic 0.155 44.71 SB
5 1 Javon Francis  Jamaica 0.170 44.96
6 5 Nery Brenes  Costa Rica 0.181 45.02
7 8 Liemarvin Bonevacia  Netherlands 0.166 45.03 SB
8 3 Lalonde Gordon  Trinidad and Tobago 0.157 45.13

Semifinal 2

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 5 Machel Cedenio  Trinidad and Tobago 0.243 44.39 Q
2 3 Wayde van Niekerk  South Africa 0.156 44.45 Q
3 2 Pavel Maslák  Czech Republic 0.185 45.06 SB
4 6 Luka Janežič  Slovenia 0.154 45.07 NR
5 1 David Verburg  United States 0.159 45.61
6 4 Rusheen McDonald  Jamaica 0.182 46.12
7 7
Abdelalelah Haroun
 Qatar 0.173 46.66
8 Baboloki Thebe  Botswana DNS

Semifinal 3

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1 6 Bralon Taplin  Grenada 0.171 44.44 Q
2 8 Matthew Hudson-Smith  Great Britain 0.143 44.48 Q, PB
3 3 Ali Khamis  Bahrain 0.145 44.49 q, NR
4 4 Gil Roberts  United States 0.151 44.65 SB
5 5 Steven Gardiner  Bahamas 0.156 44.72
6 7 Yoandys Lescay  Cuba 0.216 45.00 PB
7 2 Rafał Omelko  Poland 0.164 45.28
8 1 Isaac Makwala  Botswana 0.173 46.60

Final

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Reaction Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 Wayde van Niekerk  South Africa 0.181 43.03 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 Kirani James  Grenada 0.134 43.76 SB
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 LaShawn Merritt  United States 0.204 43.85 SB
4 3 Machel Cedenio  Trinidad and Tobago 0.203 44.01 NR
5 1 Karabo Sibanda  Botswana 0.164 44.25 PB
6 2 Ali Khamis  Bahrain 0.148 44.36 NR
7 4 Bralon Taplin  Grenada 0.181 44.45
8 7 Matthew Hudson-Smith  Great Britain 0.138 44.61

References

  1. ^ "Men's 400m". Rio 2016 Organisation. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. ^ Minshull, Phil (2016-08-10). Preview: men's 400m – Rio 2016 Olympic Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-08-12.
  4. ^ senior outdoor 2016 400 Metres men. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-08-12.
  5. ^ Minshull, Phil (2016-08-13). Report: men's 400m heats – Rio 2016 Olympic Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-08-13.
  6. ^ Minshull, Phli (2016-08-14). Report: men's 400m semi-finals – Rio 2016 Olympic Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-08-14.
  7. ^ South African beats Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old 400m world record for gold
  8. ^ "Wayde van Niekerk smashes Michael Johnson's record to claim 400m gold". Guardian. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  9. ^ "IAAF approves entry standards for Rio 2016 Olympic Games". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  10. IAAF
    . Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  11. ^ Official Report, Results Book for Athletics.
  12. ^ "Start List" (PDF). Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.