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Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles

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Men's 400 metres hurdles
at the Games of the XXI Olympiad
Edwin Moses (1987)
VenueOlympic Stadium
Dates23 July 1976 (quarterfinals)
24 July 1976 (semifinals)
25 July 1976 (final)
Competitors22 from 16 nations
Winning time47.64 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Edwin Moses
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Michael Shine
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Yevgeniy Gavrilenko
 Soviet Union
← 1972
1980 →

The men's 400 metres hurdles was an event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The competition was held from July 23, 1976, to July 25, 1976.[1] There were 22 competitors from 16 nations.[2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. American Edwin Moses won the final in a world record and Olympic record time of 47.64 seconds, winning by 1.05 seconds. His time was initially noted as one hundredth slower, but this was rounded up after an analysis of the photo finish.[3] It was the United States' first victory in the event since 1964 and 12th overall. Fellow American Michael Shine took silver. Yevgeniy Gavrilenko earned the Soviet Union's first medal in the event since 1952 with his bronze. Great Britain's three-Games podium streak in the event ended.

Background

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This was the 16th 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.

Two of the eight finalists from the 1972 Games returned: the joint sixth-place finishers Yevgeny Gavrilenko of the Soviet Union and Stavros Tziortzis of Greece. The favorite would have been reigning champion John Akii-Bua of Uganda, but the African boycott of the 1976 Games prevented him from competing. Without him, the field was relatively weak. European and Commonwealth champion Alan Pascoe of Great Britain was hampered by a leg injury. None of the Americans were particularly prominent; the United States team was led by Edwin Moses, a hurdler competing in his first international meet, though he would go on to become the preeminent athlete in the event.[2]

Antigua and Barbuda, Bulgaria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 16th 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 4 quarterfinal heats with 5 or 6 athletes each. The top 4 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. 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 1976 Summer Olympics.

World record  John Akii-Bua (UGA) 47.82 Munich, West Germany 2 September 1972
Olympic record  John Akii-Bua (UGA) 47.82 Munich, West Germany 2 September 1972

Edwin Moses set a new world record in the final with a time of 47.64 seconds.

Schedule

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All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

Date Time Round
Friday, 23 July 1976 10:00 Quarterfinals
Saturday, 24 July 1976 15:00 Semifinals
Sunday, 25 July 1976 17:30 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

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The quarterfinals were held on July 23, 1976.

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Stavros Tziortzis  Greece 50.42 Q
2 Dámaso Alfonso  Cuba 50.76 Q
3 Jean-Claude Nallet  France 50.77 Q
4 José Carvalho  Portugal 50.99 Q
5 Don Hanly  Australia 51.90

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Quentin Wheeler  United States 50.32 Q
2 Harald Schmid  West Germany 50.57 Q
3 Jean-Pierre Perrinelle  France 50.78 Q
Dmitry Stukalov  Soviet Union 50.78 Q
5 Peter Grant  Australia 51.07

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Michael Shine  United States 50.91 Q
2 Yevgeniy Gavrilenko  Soviet Union 50.93 Q
3 Jerzy Hewelt  Poland 51.39 Q
4 Yanko Bratanov  Bulgaria 51.84 Q
5 Abdul Latif Youssef Hashem  Kuwait 53.06
6 Conrad Mainwaring  Antigua and Barbuda 54.67

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Edwin Moses  United States 49.95 Q
2 Alan Pascoe  Great Britain 51.66 Q
3 Georgios Parris  Greece 51.91 Q
4 Julio Ferrer  Puerto Rico 52.45 Q
5 Kamil Al-Abbasi  Saudi Arabia 55.00
Jesús Villegas  Colombia DNF

Semifinals

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The semifinals were held on July 24, 1976.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Michael Shine  United States 49.90 Q
2 José Carvalho  Portugal 49.97 Q
3 Yanko Bratanov  Bulgaria 50.11 Q
4 Quentin Wheeler  United States 50.22 Q
5 Dmitry Stukalov  Soviet Union 50.47
6 Jean-Pierre Perrinelle  France 50.82
Georgios Parris  Greece DNF
Harald Schmid  West Germany DSQ

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Edwin Moses  United States 48.29 Q
2 Yevgeniy Gavrilenko  Soviet Union 49.73 Q
3 Dámaso Alfonso  Cuba 49.84 Q
4 Alan Pascoe  Great Britain 49.95 Q
5 Jean-Claude Nallet  France 50.08
6 Stavros Tziortzis  Greece 50.30
7 Jerzy Hewelt  Poland 50.57
8 Julio Ferrer  Puerto Rico 51.04

Final

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The final was held on July 25, 1976.

Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Edwin Moses  United States 47.64 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Michael Shine  United States 48.69
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Yevgeniy Gavrilenko  Soviet Union 49.45
4 Quentin Wheeler  United States 49.86
5 José Carvalho  Portugal 49.94
6 Yanko Bratanov  Bulgaria 50.03
7 Dámaso Alfonso  Cuba 50.19
8 Alan Pascoe  Great Britain 51.29

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Edwin Moses  United States 49.95 48.29 47.64 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Michael Shine  United States 50.91 49.90 48.69
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Yevgeniy Gavrilenko  Soviet Union 50.93 49.73 49.45
4 Quentin Wheeler  United States 50.32 50.22 49.86
5 José Carvalho  Portugal 50.99 49.97 49.94
6 Yanko Bratanov  Bulgaria 51.84 50.11 50.03
7 Dámaso Alfonso  Cuba 50.76 49.84 50.19
8 Alan Pascoe  Great Britain 51.66 49.95 51.29
9 Jean-Claude Nallet  France 50.77 50.08 Did not advance
10 Stavros Tziortzis  Greece 50.42 50.30
11 Dmitry Stukalov  Soviet Union 50.78 50.47
12 Jerzy Hewelt  Poland 51.39 50.57
13 Jean-Pierre Perrinelle  France 50.78 50.82
14 Julio Ferrer  Puerto Rico 52.45 51.04
15 Georgios Parris  Greece 51.91 DNF
Harald Schmid  West Germany 50.57 DSQ
17 Peter Grant  Australia 51.07 Did not advance
18 Don Hanly  Australia 51.90
19 Abdul Latif Youssef Hashem  Kuwait 53.06
20 Conrad Mainwaring  Antigua and Barbuda 54.67
21 Kamil Al-Abbasi  Saudi Arabia 55.00
22 Jesús Villegas  Colombia DNF

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1976 Montreal 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 18 January 2021.
  3. ^ Olympic Games Medallists (Athletics - Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-07-04.