Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

Men's 400 metres; at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Venue	White City Stadium
Dates	July 21 (quarterfinals) ; July 22 (semifinals) ; July 23 (final)
Competitors	37 from 10 nations
Medalists

The men's 400 metres was an Olympic event for the fourth time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held originally scheduled from July 21, 1908 to July 23, 1908. The rerun of the final was held on July 25, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres=¹⁄₃ mile in circumference.

37 runners from ten nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.[1]

It was the most controversial event of the London Games. The final resulted in the disqualification of American runner John Carpenter who was accused by the British officials of a manoeuvre that was legal under American rules (under which Carpenter normally competed) but prohibited by the British rules under which the race was run.

As part of the disqualification of Carpenter, a second final race was ordered. Halswelle was to face the other two finalists again. These athletes, William Robbins and John Taylor, were both Americans and decided not to participate in the repeat of the final to protest against the judges' decision. Halswelle was thus the only medallist in the 400 metres.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.

World Record	47.8(*)	Maxie Long	New York (USA)	September 29, 1900
Olympic Record	49.2(**)	Harry Hillman	St. Louis (USA)	August 29, 1904

(*) 440 yards (= 402.34 m)

(**) This track was 536.45 metres=¹⁄₃ mile in circumference.

In the semi-finals Wyndham Halswelle set a new Olympic record with 48.4 seconds.

Results

Heats

The heats were run on July 21, 1908. The winner of each advanced to the semifinals, with all other runners eliminated.

Heat 1

Montague led by twelve yards when he finished.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Edwin Montague	Great Britain	50.2	Q
2	Paul Pilgrim	United States	51.4

Heat 2

The second heat was cancelled as there were no starters.

Heat 3

Ryle had no competition in the third heat.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Edward Ryle	Great Britain	walkover	Q

Heat 4

Taylor won handily, with a twelve-yard margin.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John Taylor	United States	50.8	Q
2	Roberto Penna	Italy	52.4
3	Sven Låftman	Sweden	Unknown

Heat 5

Nicol won with a twelve-yard lead.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	George Nicol	Great Britain	50.8	Q
2	Oscar Guttormsen	Norway	52.4

Heat 6

Eight yards separated the two runners when Malfait crossed the line.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Georges Malfait	France	50.0	Q
2	Donald Buddo	Canada	51.2

Heat 7

Robbins had no difficulty in this race, winning with a 12-yard lead.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	William Robbins	United States	50.4	Q
2	József Nagy	Hungary	51.1
3	Noel Godfrey Chavasse	Great Britain	Unknown
4	Victor Henny	Netherlands	Unknown

Heat 8

Prout's lead was only two yards when he finished.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	William C. Prout	United States	50.4	Q
2	Christopher Maude Chavasse	Great Britain	50.7

Heat 9

Ramey's victory was one of the closest of the first round, with only a yard and a half separating him from Astley.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Horace Ramey	United States	51.0	Q
2	Arthur Astley	Great Britain	Unknown

Heat 10

Jacquemin pulled up lame, allowing Sebert to win by 20 yards.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Louis Sebert	Canada	50.2 seconds	Q
2	Massimo Cartasegna	Italy	52.7
—	Victor Jacquemin	Belgium	DNF

Heat 11

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John Atlee	United States	50.4	Q
2	Alan Patterson	Great Britain	50.6
3	Giuseppe Tarella	Italy	Unknown

Heat 12

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Charles Davies	Great Britain	50.4	Q
2	Cornelis den Held	Netherlands	51.0

Heat 13

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Ned Merriam	United States	52.2	Q
2	R. C. Robb	Great Britain	52.5

Heat 14

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John Carpenter	United States	49.8	Q
2	Otto Trieloff	Germany	50.9
3	Arvid Ringstrand	Sweden	Unknown
4	Henk van der Wal	Netherlands	Unknown

Heat 15

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Wyndham Halswelle	Great Britain	49.4	Q
2	Frederick de Selding	United States	50.8
3	Bram Evers	Netherlands	Unknown

Heat 16

Young won by 30 yards.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	G. W. Young	Great Britain	52.4	Q
2	Jacobus Hoogveld	Netherlands	(54.3)

Semifinals

The semifinals were held on July 22, 1908. Winners advanced, all others were eliminated.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John Carpenter	United States	49.4	Q
2	Charles Davies	Great Britain	49.8
3	Ned Merriam	United States	Unknown
4	G. W. Young	Great Britain	Unknown

Semifinal 2

Halswelle broke the Olympic record in the semifinal.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Wyndham Halswelle	Great Britain	48.4	Q, OR
2	Edwin Montague	Great Britain	49.8
3	George Nicol	Great Britain	Unknown
4	William C. Prout	United States	Unknown

Semifinal 3

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John Taylor	United States	49.8	Q
2	Horace Ramey	United States	50.5
3	Edward Ryle	Great Britain	Unknown
4	Georges Malfait	France	Unknown

Semifinal 4

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	William Robbins	United States	49.0	Q
2	Louis Sebert	Canada	49.5
3	John Atlee	United States	Unknown

Final

The final was initially held on July 23, 1908. After the disqualification of Carpenter, the second running of the final was scheduled for July 25.

First running

The first final ended with Carpenter finishing first, Halswelle following him, Robbins in third, and Taylor at the back. Roscoe Badger, one of the British umpires of the event, noticed Carpenter maneuvering so as to prevent Halswelle from passing him, which was legal at the time under the American rules under which Carpenter normally competed, but prohibited by the British rules that were in effect for the Olympics; Badger therefore signalled to the judges to declare the race void, leading to a thirty-minute argument between British and American team members. At the official inquiry later that day, the judges disqualified Carpenter and ordered the final to be rerun with Carpenter excluded.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time
1	John Carpenter	United States	47.8
2	Wyndham Halswelle	Great Britain	Unknown
3	William Robbins	United States	Unknown
4	John Taylor	United States	Unknown

Second running

Carpenter was not permitted to start in the rerun, and Robbins and Taylor refused to participate in protest of the decision by the judges. Halswelle won with a jog, for the one and only walkover win in Olympic track and field history.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time
	Wyndham Halswelle	Great Britain	50.0
—	William Robbins	United States	DNS
	John Taylor	United States	DNS
	John Carpenter	United States	DSQ

References

Official report, p. 32.

Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Retrieved 24 July 2006.
Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2006.

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[OR32-1] Official report, p. 32.

400 metres at the Olympic Games
Summary
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Women	1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016

Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Track events
100 m	men
200 m	men
400 m	men
800 m	men
1500 m	men
5 miles	men
110 m hurdles	men
400 m hurdles	men
3200 m steeplechase	men
Medley relay	men
3 mile team race	men
Road events
Marathon	men
3500 m walk	men
10 mile walk	men
Field events
Long jump	men
Triple jump	men
High jump	men
Pole vault	men
Standing long jump	men
Standing high jump	men
Shot put	men
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Javelin throw	men
Greek discus	men
Freestyle javelin	men