Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles
| Men's 400 metres hurdles at the Games of the XVI Olympiad | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Date | November 23–24 |
| Competitors | 28 from 18 nations |
| Winning time | 50.1 =OR |
| Medalists | |
| Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Olympic Athletics.png | ||
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | |
| 800 m | men | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| 5000 m | men | |
| 10,000 m | men | |
| 80 m hurdles | women | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 400 m hurdles | men | |
| 3000 m steeplechase | men | |
| 4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 400 m relay | men | |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | |
| 20 km walk | men | |
| 50 km walk | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | women |
| Triple jump | men | |
| High jump | men | women |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Shot put | men | women |
| Discus throw | men | women |
| Javelin throw | men | women |
| Hammer throw | men | |
| Combined events | ||
| Decathlon | men | |
The men's 400 metres hurdles competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia took place on November 23–24 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[1] There were 28 competitors from 18 nations.[2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Glenn Davis of the United States, the nation's fourth consecutive and ninth overall victory in the men's 400 metres hurdles. Eddie Southern (silver) and Josh Culbreath (bronze) completed the American sweep, the third time (after 1904 and 1920) that the United States had swept the medals in the event.
Background
This was the 11th 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 six finalists from the 1952 Games returned: silver medalist Yuriy Lituyev and fourth-place finisher Anatoliy Yulin, both of the Soviet Union. Earlier in the year, at the U.S. trials, American Glenn Davis had demolished Lituyev's three year old world record, knocking almost a full second off the mark and taking the time under 50 seconds for the first time ever. Eddie Southern was also under 50 seconds in that race. The two young Americans joined Josh Culbreath, the 1953 to 1955 AAU and 1955 Pan American champion, on a strong United States team. Lituyev, as in 1952, was the strongest challenger to the Americans.[2] Romania made its debut in the event. The United States made its 11th appearance, the only nation to have competed at every edition of the event to that point.
Summary
During the final, the six lanes were fairly even, with Lituyev pushing the backstretch to gain a slight advantage going in to the final turn. That was swallowed up during the turn as Davis surged, leading Eddie Southern and Gert Potgieter off the turn. Davis expanded his lead over Southern from 2 meters to 5 meters down the home stretch for the win. Over the final barrier, Potgieter caught his trail leg on the hurdle which knocked him off balance. He was able to take two more strides then did a face plant in the middle of the track. On the inside, Josh Culbreath was able to cruise by for bronze, completing the American sweep.
Competition format
The competition returned to the three-round format used 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 6 quarterfinal heats with between 3 and 6 athletes each. The top 2 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. The 12 semifinalists were divided into 2 semifinals of 6 athletes each, with the top 3 in each semifinal advancing to the 6-man final.[2]
Records
Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | File:Flag of the United States.svg Glenn Davis (USA) | 49.5 | Los Angeles, United States | 29 June 1956 |
| Olympic record | File:US flag 48 stars.svg Charles Moore (USA) | 50.8 | Helsinki, Finland | 20 July 1952 |
Eddie Southern set a new Olympic record with 50.1 seconds in the first semifinal. Glenn Davis matched that time in the final.
Schedule
All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, 23 November 1956 | 14:30 17:40 |
Quarterfinals Semifinals |
| Saturday, 24 November 1956 | 17:10 | Final |
Results
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glenn Davis | File:US flag 48 stars.svg United States | 51.3 | Q |
| 2 | David Lean | File:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | 51.4 | Q |
| 3 | Keiji Ogushi | File:Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Japan | 53.2 | |
| 4 | Ovidio de Jesús | File:Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg Puerto Rico | 54.0 | |
| 5 | Pablo Somblingo | File:Flag of the Philippines (1936–1985, 1986–1998).svg Philippines | 54.5 |
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Quarterfinal 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddie Southern | File:US flag 48 stars.svg United States | 51.3 | Q |
| 2 | Harry Kane | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 51.8 | Q |
| 3 | Geoff Goodacre | File:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | 52.5 | |
| 4 | Kalim Khawaja Ghani | File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan | 55.1 | |
| 5 | Jagdev Singh | File:Flag of India.svg India | 55.2 |
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Quarterfinal 3
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Culbreath | File:US flag 48 stars.svg United States | 50.9 | Q |
| 2 | Guy Cury | File:Flag of France.svg France | 51.6 | Q |
| 3 | Jaime Aparicio | File:Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia | 52.0 | |
| 4 | Tom Farrell | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 52.7 | |
| 5 | Muhammad Yaqub | File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan | 53.1 | |
| 6 | Tsai Cheng-Fu | File:Flag of the Republic of China.svg Republic of China | 54.6 |
Quarterfinal 4
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Parker | File:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | 53.5 | Q |
| 2 | Ioannis Kambadelis | File:Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg Greece | 53.7 | Q |
| 3 | Amadeo Francis | File:Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg Puerto Rico | 54.3 |
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Quarterfinal 5
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuriy Lituyev | File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union | 51.6 | Q |
| 2 | Gert Potgieter | File:Flag of South Africa (1928–1982).svg South Africa | 52.0 | Q |
| 3 | Ossi Mildh | File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland | 52.1 | |
| 4 | Alexandre Yankoff | File:Flag of France.svg France | 53.1 | |
| 5 | Marcel Lambrechts | File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium | 54.0 |
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Quarterfinal 6
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anatoliy Yulin | File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union | 52.1 | Q |
| 2 | Ilie Savel | File:Flag of Romania (1952-1965).svg Romania | 52.2 | Q |
| 3 | Bob Shaw | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 52.5 | |
| 4 | Ulisses dos Santos | File:Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Brazil | 53.8 |
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Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddie Southern | File:US flag 48 stars.svg United States | 50.1 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Glenn Davis | File:US flag 48 stars.svg United States | 50.7 | Q |
| 3 | Gert Potgieter | File:Flag of South Africa (1928–1982).svg South Africa | 51.3 | Q |
| 4 | Guy Cury | File:Flag of France.svg France | 51.5 | |
| 5 | Anatoliy Yulin | File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union | 51.7 | |
| 6 | Ross Parker | File:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | 52.6 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Culbreath | File:US flag 48 stars.svg United States | 50.9 | Q |
| 2 | David Lean | File:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | 51.4 | Q |
| 3 | Yuriy Lituyev | File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union | 51.8 | Q |
| 4 | Ilie Savel | File:Flag of Romania (1952-1965).svg Romania | 52.0 | |
| 5 | Harry Kane | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg Great Britain | 52.7 | |
| 6 | Ioannis Kambadelis | File:Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg Greece | 53.8 |
Final
Results summary
References
- ↑ "Athletics at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Hurdles". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "400 metres Hurdles, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
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