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

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Men's 400 metres hurdles
at the Games of the XXII Olympiad
Volker Beck (1981)
VenueLenin Stadium
Dates24–26 July
Competitors22 from 19 nations
Winning time48.70
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Volker Beck
 East Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Vasyl Arkhypenko
 Soviet Union
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Gary Oakes
 Great Britain
← 1976
1984 →

The men's 400 metres hurdles at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had a start list of 22 competitors from 19 nations, with three quarterfinals (22 runners), two semifinals (16), and a final (8) that took place on Saturday July 26, 1980.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Volker Beck of East Germany, the nation's first medal in the event. Vasyl Arkhypenko earned silver, the second consecutive Games that the Soviet Union reached the podium in the event. Gary Oakes put Great Britain back on the podium after a one-Games absence with his bronze.

Background

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This was the 17th 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 1976 Games returned: sixth-place finisher Yanko Bratanov of Bulgaria. Also returning was 1972 gold medalist John Akii-Bua of Uganda, who had not competed in 1976 due to the African boycott. The overwhelming favorite would have been reigning champion Edwin Moses of the United States, but he (along with his biggest challenger, European champion Harald Schmid of West Germany) were absent from Moscow due to the American-led boycott.[2]

Botswana, Nicaragua, Syria, and Zambia each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its 15th appearance, most of any competing nation but behind the United States' 16; this was the first time the Americans did not compete in the event.

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 3 quarterfinal heats with 7 or 8 athletes each. The top 4 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 3 in each semifinal, and the next 2 fastest overall, 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 1980 Summer Olympics.

World record  Edwin Moses (USA) 47.13 Milan, Italy 3 July 1980
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 Moscow Time (UTC+3)

Date Time Round
Thursday, 24 July 1980 10:15 Quarterfinals
Friday, 25 July 1980 17:10 Semifinals
Saturday, 26 July 1980 19:55 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

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The quarterfinals were held on Thursday, 24 July 1980.

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Nikolay Vasilyev  Soviet Union 50.09 Q
2 Antônio Dias Ferreira  Brazil 50.14 Q
3 Volker Beck  East Germany 50.35 Q
4 Ryszard Szparak  Poland 50.45 Q
5 John Akii-Bua  Uganda 50.87 q
6 Horia Toboc  Romania 50.89 q
7 Davison Lishebo  Zambia 51.73

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Harry Schulting  Netherlands 50.01 Q
2 József Szalai  Hungary 50.23 Q
3 Gary Oakes  Great Britain 50.39 Q
4 Aleksandr Kharlov  Soviet Union 50.79 Q
5 José Casabona  Spain 51.26
Wilfred Kareng  Botswana DNF
Leonel Teller  Nicaragua DNF
Ali Hassan Kadhum  Iraq DNS

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Vasyl Arkhypenko  Soviet Union 50.22 Q
2 Franz Meier  Switzerland 50.32 Q
3 Rok Kopitar  Yugoslavia 50.34 Q
4 Juan Lloveras  Spain 50.48 Q
5 Yanko Bratanov  Bulgaria 50.56 q
6 Christer Gullstrand  Sweden 50.95 q
7 Amer Maaraoui  Syria 53.26
8 Abdultif Hashem  Kuwait 53.31

Semifinals

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The semifinals were held on Friday, 25 July 1980.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Volker Beck  East Germany 50.36 Q
2 Rok Kopitar  Yugoslavia 50.55 Q
3 Horia Toboc  Romania 50.58 Q
4 Harry Schulting  Netherlands 50.61
5 Aleksandr Kharlov  Soviet Union 50.64
6 József Szalai  Hungary 51.06
7 Antônio Dias Ferreira  Brazil 52.31
Christer Gullstrand  Sweden DNS

Semifinal 2

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Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes
1 Vasyl Arkhypenko  Soviet Union 49.80 Q
2 Nikolay Vasilyev  Soviet Union 49.87 Q
3 Gary Oakes  Great Britain 50.07 Q
4 Franz Meier  Switzerland 50.12 q
5 Yanko Bratanov  Bulgaria 50.17 q
6 Ryszard Szparak  Poland 50.41
7 John Akii-Bua  Uganda 51.10
8 Juan Lloveras  Spain 51.86

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Volker Beck  East Germany 48.70
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Vasyl Arkhypenko  Soviet Union 48.86
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Gary Oakes  Great Britain 49.11
4 Nikolay Vasilyev  Soviet Union 49.34
5 Rok Kopitar  Yugoslavia 49.67
6 Horia Toboc  Romania 49.84
7 Franz Meier  Switzerland 50.00
8 Yanko Bratanov  Bulgaria 56.35

Results summary

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Rank Athlete Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
1st place, gold medalist(s) Volker Beck  East Germany 50.35 50.36 48.70
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Vasyl Arkhypenko  Soviet Union 50.22 49.80 48.86
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Gary Oakes  Great Britain 50.39 50.07 49.11
4 Nikolay Vasilyev  Soviet Union 50.09 49.87 49.34
5 Rok Kopitar  Yugoslavia 50.34 50.55 49.67
6 Horia Toboc  Romania 50.89 50.58 49.84
7 Franz Meier  Switzerland 50.32 50.12 50.00
8 Yanko Bratanov  Bulgaria 50.56 50.17 56.35
9 Ryszard Szparak  Poland 50.45 50.41 Did not advance
10 Harry Schulting  Netherlands 50.01 50.61
11 Aleksandr Kharlov  Soviet Union 50.79 50.64
12 József Szalai  Hungary 50.23 51.06
13 John Akii-Bua  Uganda 50.87 51.10
14 Juan Lloveras  Spain 50.48 51.86
15 Antônio Dias Ferreira  Brazil 50.14 52.31
16 Christer Gullstrand  Sweden 50.95 DNS
17 José Casabona  Spain 51.26 Did not advance
18 Davison Lishebo  Zambia 51.73
19 Amer Maaraoui  Syria 53.26
20 Abdultif Hashem  Kuwait 53.31
21 Wilfred Kareng  Botswana DNF
Leonel Teller  Nicaragua DNF
Ali Hassan Kadhum  Iraq DNS

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1980 Moscow 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 18 January 2021.