Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres

In only their second Olympics, the Jamaican team came with the top runners including the world record holder George Rhoden and returning gold and silver medalists, Arthur Wint and Herb McKenley, respectively. In the final, Rhoden on the far outside in lane 7 was unable to see the competitors staggered behind him. Alone he went out hard. The stagger behind him in lane 6, Ollie Matson, who like Rhoden trained in San Francisco, stayed in Rhoden's shadow, trying to match pace. On the inside, in lane 3, defending champion Went also went out hard, quickly making up the stagger on Karl-Friedrich Haas to his outside. Down the backstretch and through the final turn, Rhoden opened up a 5 metre lead on Wint, with Matson losing a couple of more metres. Through the final turn, McKenley began to get up a head of steam, catching Matson just before the home straight, still two metres behind Wint. At that point, Jamaica held the three medal positions, but McKenley was moving much faster than everyone else, quickly catching Wint and off after Rhoden. Wint had nothing to offer the challenge and instead began moving backward. Rhoden crossed the line just ahead of the fast closing McKenley, Matson also cruising past Wint, who was pipped by Haas at the line and almost caught by Mal Whitfield.