Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

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Men's 400 metres
at the Games of the XXII Olympiad
VenueCentral Lenin Stadium
Dates27 July 1980 (heats)
28 July 1980 (quarter-finals and semi-finals)
30 July 1980 (final)
Competitors50 from 32 nations
Winning time44.60
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Viktor Markin
 Soviet Union
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Rick Mitchell
 Australia
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Frank Schaffer
 East Germany
← 1976
1984 →

The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The competition was held from July 27 to July 30, 1980.[1] Fifty athletes from 32 nations competed.[2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Viktor Markin of the Soviet Union, the nation's first title in the men's 400 metres and first medal in the event since 1956. With the United States boycotting the Games, the country was not represented on the podium for the first time since 1920. Australia earned its first medal in the event with Rick Mitchell's silver, while East Germany won its first medal with Frank Schaffer's bronze, which was the first medal by any German since the United Team took silvers in 1956 and 1960.

Background[edit]

This was the nineteenth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Defending gold medalist from 1976 Alberto Juantorena of Cuba returned to try to repeat without competition from the Americans, but with an Achilles tendon injury from 1979. Other returning finalists were fourth-place finisher Fons Brijdenbach of Belgium, sixth-place finisher Rick Mitchell of Australia, and seventh-place finisher David Jenkins of Great Britain. The field was relatively open, with no clear favorite.[2]

Botswana, Guinea, Laos, Libya, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and Syria appeared in this event for the first time. Great Britain made its seventeenth appearance in the event, most of any present in Moscow but still one behind the United States at 18.

Competition format[edit]

The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was available but not used because there were 8 first-round heats, making for even advancement. Each heat has 6 or 7 runners, with the top 4 advancing. The 4 quarterfinals each had 8 runners; the top four athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals, with no "fastest loser" spots. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 8 runners each. The top four runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making an eight-man final.[2][3]

Records[edit]

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1976 Summer Olympics.

World record  Lee Evans (USA) 43.86 Mexico City, Mexico 18 October 1968
Olympic record  Lee Evans (USA) 43.86 Mexico City, Mexico 18 October 1968

No world or Olympic records were set during this event.

Schedule[edit]

The quarterfinals were moved to the second day (along with the semifinals) after one time on the first day in 1976.

All times are Moscow Time (UTC+3)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 27 July 1980 11:30 Round 1
Monday, 28 July 1980 11:00
19:30
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Wednesday, 30 July 1980 18:40 Final

Results[edit]

Round 1[edit]

Eight Round One heats were held at the Lenin Stadium on Sunday, 27 July 1980. The first four in each heat progressed to the quarterfinals.

Heat 1[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 6 David Jenkins  Great Britain 46.67 Q
2 5 Karel Kolář  Czechoslovakia 47.26 Q
3 2 Francis Demarthon  France 47.43 Q
4 3 Eddy De Leeuw  Belgium 47.59 Q
5 7 Charles Dramiga  Uganda 48.69
6 4 Asfaw Deble  Ethiopia 49.77
Constantino Reis  Mozambique DNS

Heat 2[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 1 Bert Cameron  Jamaica 47.54 Q
2 3 Didier Dubois  France 47.57 Q
3 4 Silver Ayoo  Uganda 47.78 Q
4 6 Charles Lupiya  Zambia 48.49 Q
5 7 Horia Toboc  Romania 49.90
6 2 Léopold Hounkanrin  Benin 51.04
7 5 Joseph Ramotshabi  Botswana 51.49

Heat 3[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 1 Dele Udo  Nigeria 46.48 Q
2 7 Joseph Coombs  Trinidad and Tobago 46.55 Q
3 3 Rick Mitchell  Australia 46.63 Q
4 5 Jens Smedegaard Hansen  Denmark 47.01 Q
5 4 Jimmy Massallay  Sierra Leone 49.68
6 6 El-Mehdi Sallah Diab  Libya 49.89
7 2 Panh Khemanith  Laos 53.74

Heat 4[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Derrick Peynado  Jamaica 47.37 Q
2 3 Fons Brijdenbach  Belgium 47.72 Q
3 1 Andrzej Stępień  Poland 47.99 Q
4 2 Glen Cohen  Great Britain 48.35 Q
5 6 Régis Tranquille  Seychelles 49.34
6 5 Mohamed Diakité  Guinea 49.59
Emmanuel Bitanga  Cameroon DNS

Heat 5[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 3 Viktor Markin  Soviet Union 46.88 Q
2 1 Mike Solomon  Trinidad and Tobago 47.24 Q
3 6 Hope Ezeigbo  Nigeria 47.46 Q
4 4 Jacques Borlée  Belgium 47.77 Q
5 2 Mohamed El-Abed  Syria 50.47
6 5 Sahr Kendor  Sierra Leone 52.98
Koen Gijsbers  Netherlands DNS

Heat 6[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 4 Jozo Alebić  Yugoslavia 47.61 Q
2 2 Stefano Malinverni  Italy 47.63 Q
3 3 Ian Stapleton  Jamaica 47.97 Q
4 6 Hussain Ali Nasayyif  Iraq 48.03 Q
5 5 Harry Schulting  Netherlands 48.53
6 1 William Akabi-Davis  Sierra Leone 50.80
Ramyan al-Ramian  Kuwait DNS

Heat 7[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Frank Schaffer  East Germany 46.13 Q
2 5 Viktor Burakov  Soviet Union 46.41 Q
3 4 Alberto Juantorena  Cuba 46.69 Q
4 3 Roberto Tozzi  Italy 47.01 Q
5 6 Jerzy Pietrzyk  Poland 47.18
6 1 Geraldo José Pegado  Brazil 48.71
Ruben Inacio  Angola DNS
Boubacar Diallo  Senegal DNS

Heat 8[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 6 Nikolay Chernetskiy  Soviet Union 47.04 Q
2 2 Mauro Zuliani  Italy 47.16 Q
3 3 Marcel Klarenbeek  Netherlands 47.67 Q
4 7 Alan Bell  Great Britain 47.38 Q
5 5 Oddur Sigurðsson  Iceland 47.39
6 1 Isidoro Hornillos  Spain 47.45
Christer Gullstrand  Sweden DNS

Quarterfinals[edit]

The quarterfinals were held on 28 July 1980. The top four in each heat advanced to the semifinals.

Quarterfinal 1[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Rick Mitchell  Australia 45.73 Q
2 6 Fons Brijdenbach  Belgium 45.88 Q
3 2 Jens Smedegaard Hansen  Denmark 45.89 Q
4 1 Dele Udo  Nigeria 46.18 Q
5 4 Francis Demarthon  France 46.38
6 3 Jozo Alebić  Yugoslavia 46.60
7 5 Charles Lupiya  Zambia 47.67
8 8 Stefano Malinverni  Italy 47.79

Quarterfinal 2[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 2 Viktor Markin  Soviet Union 45.58 Q
2 4 Joseph Coombs  Trinidad and Tobago 45.81 Q
3 1 Mauro Zuliani  Italy 45.93 Q
4 3 Alan Bell  Great Britain 46.17 Q
5 5 Andrzej Stępień  Poland 46.31
6 7 Eddy De Leeuw  Belgium 46.47
7 8 Derrick Peynado  Jamaica 46.50
8 6 Marcel Klarenbeek  Netherlands 46.81

Quarterfinal 3[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Frank Schaffer  East Germany 46.15 Q
2 6 Alberto Juantorena  Cuba 46.23 Q
3 2 Viktor Burakov  Soviet Union 46.23 Q
4 5 Didier Dubois  France 46.60 Q
5 1 Silver Ayoo  Uganda 47.03
6 4 Bert Cameron  Jamaica 47.31 3
7 3 Glen Cohen  Great Britain 47.35
8 8 Jacques Borlée  Belgium 47.73

Quarterfinal 4[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 8 David Jenkins  Great Britain 45.99 Q
2 1 Mike Solomon  Trinidad and Tobago 46.12 Q
3 2 Karel Kolář  Czechoslovakia 46.27 Q
4 3 Nikolay Chernetskiy  Soviet Union 46.30 Q
5 5 Roberto Tozzi  Italy 46.73
6 6 Hope Ezeigbo  Nigeria 46.88
7 4 Ian Stapleton  Jamaica 47.64
8 7 Hussain Ali Nasayyif  Iraq 48.50

Semifinals[edit]

The semifinals were held on Tuesday, July 29, 1980.

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 5 Fons Brijdenbach  Belgium 45.46 Q
2 4 Rick Mitchell  Australia 45.48 Q
3 7 David Jenkins  Great Britain 45.59 Q
4 8 Mike Solomon  Trinidad and Tobago 45.61 Q
5 3 Dele Udo  Nigeria 45.88
6 2 Nikolay Chernetskiy  Soviet Union 45.94
7 6 Mauro Zuliani  Italy 46.01
8 1 Karel Kolář  Czechoslovakia 46.11

Semifinal 2[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 7 Frank Schaffer  East Germany 45.47 Q
2 1 Viktor Markin  Soviet Union 45.60 Q
3 8 Alberto Juantorena  Cuba 45.95 Q
4 3 Joseph Coombs  Trinidad and Tobago 45.96 Q
5 6 Viktor Burakov  Soviet Union 45.97
6 4 Didier Dubois  France 46.72
7 5 Jens Smedegaard Hansen  Denmark 47.00
8 2 Alan Bell  Great Britain 48.50

Final[edit]

Rank Lane Athlete Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) 2 Viktor Markin  Soviet Union 44.60
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 Rick Mitchell  Australia 44.84
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 Frank Schaffer  East Germany 44.87
4 3 Alberto Juantorena  Cuba 45.09
5 1 Fons Brydenbach  Belgium 45.10
6 7 Mike Solomon  Trinidad and Tobago 45.55
7 8 David Jenkins  Great Britain 45.56
8 5 Joseph Coombs  Trinidad and Tobago 46.33

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games: Men's 400 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, p. 29.

External links[edit]