| | Event type
400 metres Hurdles, Men
| Date | 20 – 21 July 1952 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Helsingin Olympiastadion, Helsinki |
| Participants | 40 from 24 countries |
Charles Moore had won the AAU title from 1949-52 and won the 1952 US Olympic Trials in 50.7, making him the second man to break 51 seconds. The top European was felt to be Soviet Yury Lituyev, runner-up in the 1950 European Championships. In the final, the field ran evenly thru four hurdles when Moore pulled away. Lituyev was close but Moore eventually won the gold medal by five metres over him, pulling away after the ninth barrier. The sixth place finisher was Armando Filiput (ITA), who had won the 1950 European Championships.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | QF | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1006 | Charlie Moore |  USA | 51.8 (1 h1) | 50.8 (1 h1) | 52.0 (1 h2) | 50.8 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 417 | Yury Lituyev |  URS | 53.5 (1 h4) | 52.2 (1 h3) | 51.8 (1 h1) | 51.3 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 970 | John Holland |  NZL | 53.3 (1 h6) | 52.2 (1 h2) | 52.0 (2 h1) | 52.2 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 433 | Anatoly Yulin | URS | 53.6 (1 h3) | 52.4 (2 h1) | 52.1 (3 h1) | 52.8 (4) | |||
| 5 | 192 | Harry Whittle |  GBR | 53.9 (2 h8) | 52.8 (3 h3) | 52.9 (2 h2) | 53.1 (5) | |||
| 6 | 252 | Armando Filiput |  ITA | 53.8 (1 h8) | 53.0 (3 h1) | 53.0 (3 h2) | 54.4 (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r3/4 | 190 | David Gracie | GBR | 54.2 (1 h7) | 53.9 (3 h2) | 52.4 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r3/4 | 1007 | Lee Yoder | USA | 55.2 (2 h2) | 53.3 (2 h2) | 53.0 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r3/4 | 1005 | Roland Blackmon | USA | 54.8 (3 h3) | 52.7 (2 h4) | 52.7 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r3/4 | 946 | Antal Lippay |  HUN | 54.0 (3 h8) | 52.7 (2 h3) | 53.0 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r3/4 | 685 | Rune Larsson |  SWE | 55.9 (3 h5) | 53.3 (3 h4) | 53.9 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r3/4 | 435 | Timofey Lunyov | URS | 54.3 (1 h2) | 52.7 (1 h4) | 53.1 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r2/4 | 615 | Robert Bart |  FRA | 54.5 (3 h4) | 53.0 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/4 | 796 | Arvo Hilli |  FIN | 54.6 (2 h5) | 54.0 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r2/4 | 673 | Lars Ylander | SWE | 53.7 (2 h1) | 53.1 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r2/4 | 191 | Angus Scott | GBR | 54.9 (3 h6) | 53.4 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/4 | 686 | Sven-Olov Eriksson | SWE | 54.3 (2 h6) | 53.8 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/4 | 379 | Fotios Kosmas |  GRE | 53.9 (2 h3) | 55.3 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r2/4 | 112 | Ron Wilke |  RSA | 54.5 (1 h5) | 54.5 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r2/4 | 779 | Rainer Pelkonen | FIN | 54.2 (2 h4) | 53.9 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/4 | 856 | Hans Schwarz |  SUI | 56.3 (3 h7) | 54.0 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/4 | 60 | Wilson Gomes |  BRA | 56.0 (2 h7) | 59.4 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r2/4 | 26 | Ken Doubleday |  AUS | 55.4 (3 h2) | 1:00.2 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r2/4 | 303 | Eitaro Okano |  JPN | 54.2 (3 h1) | 54.4 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/4 | 274 | Rudolf Haidegger |  AUT | 54.8 (4 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/4 | 533 | Muhammad Shafi |  PAK | 56.1 (4 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/4 | 795 | Ragnar Graeffe | FIN | 55.0 (4 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/4 | 80 | Pedro Yoma |  CHI | 56.8 (4 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/4 | 532 | Moshin Mirza Khan | PAK | 56.3 (4 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h6 r1/4 | 917 | Kemal Horulu |  TUR | 55.2 (4 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h7 r1/4 | 558 | Fernando Fernandes |  POR | 56.8 (4 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h8 r1/4 | 546 | Amadeo Francis |  PUR | 54.0 (4 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/4 | 405 | Johnny Fonck |  LUX | 57.8 (5 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/4 | 159 | Ingi Þorsteinsson |  ISL | 56.5 (5 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/4 | 79 | Jörn Gevert | CHI | 56.1 (5 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/4 | 976 | Paulino Ferrer |  VEN | 1:02.1 (5 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h6 r1/4 | 855 | Karl Schmid | SUI | 57.5 (5 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h7 r1/4 | 915 | Doğan Acarbay | TUR | 1:02.8 (5 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h8 r1/4 | 616 | Jean Thureau | FRA | 56.7 (5 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/4 | 916 | Emin Doybak | TUR | 56.6 (6 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 97 | José Fórmica |  ESP | – (DNS h1) | – | – | – | ||||
| 401 | Samuel Andersón |  CUB | – (DNS h4) | – | – | – | ||||
| 328 | Zvonko Sabolović |  YUG | – (DNS h2) | – | – | – |
Round One (20 July 1952 — 16:10)
Top three in each heat advanced to the quarter-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Charlie Moore | USA | 51.8 | 51.92 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Lars Ylander | SWE | 53.7 | 53.90 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Eitaro Okano | JPN | 54.2 | 54.42 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Rudolf Haidegger | AUT | 54.8 | 54.87 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Johnny Fonck | LUX | 57.8 | 57.93 | |||
| 4 | José Fórmica | ESP | – | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Timofey Lunyov | URS | 54.3 | – | |||
| 2 | 2 | Lee Yoder | USA | 55.2 | – | |||
| 3 | 3 | Ken Doubleday | AUS | 55.4 | – | |||
| 4 | 6 | Muhammad Shafi | PAK | 56.1 | – | |||
| 5 | 1 | Ingi Þorsteinsson | ISL | 56.5 | – | |||
| 5 | Zvonko Sabolović | YUG | – | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Anatoly Yulin | URS | 53.6 | – | |||
| 2 | 1 | Fotios Kosmas | GRE | 53.9 | – | |||
| 3 | 5 | Roland Blackmon | USA | 54.8 | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Ragnar Graeffe | FIN | 55.0 | – | |||
| 5 | 6 | Jörn Gevert | CHI | 56.1 | – | |||
| 6 | 2 | Emin Doybak | TUR | 56.6 | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Yury Lituyev | URS | 53.5 | 53.56 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Rainer Pelkonen | FIN | 54.2 | 54.32 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Robert Bart | FRA | 54.5 | 54.64 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Pedro Yoma | CHI | 56.8 | 57.03 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Paulino Ferrer | VEN | 1:02.1 | – | |||
| 5 | Samuel Andersón | CUB | – | – |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ron Wilke | RSA | 54.5 | – | |||
| 2 | 4 | Arvo Hilli | FIN | 54.6 | – | |||
| 3 | 2 | Rune Larsson | SWE | 55.9 | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Moshin Mirza Khan | PAK | 56.3 | – |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | John Holland | NZL | 53.3 | – | |||
| 2 | 4 | Sven-Olov Eriksson | SWE | 54.3 | – | |||
| 3 | 3 | Angus Scott | GBR | 54.9 | – | |||
| 4 | 1 | Kemal Horulu | TUR | 55.2 | – | |||
| 5 | 2 | Karl Schmid | SUI | 57.5 | – |
Heat Seven
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | David Gracie | GBR | 54.2 | – | |||
| 2 | 5 | Wilson Gomes | BRA | 56.0 | – | |||
| 3 | 4 | Hans Schwarz | SUI | 56.3 | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Fernando Fernandes | POR | 56.8 | – | |||
| 5 | 2 | Doğan Acarbay | TUR | 1:02.8 | – |
Heat Eight
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Armando Filiput | ITA | 53.8 | – | |||
| 2 | 1 | Harry Whittle | GBR | 53.9 | – | |||
| 3 | 5 | Antal Lippay | HUN | 54.0 | – | |||
| 4 | 2 | Amadeo Francis | PUR | 54.0 | – | |||
| 5 | 4 | Jean Thureau | FRA | 56.7 | – |
Quarter-Finals (20 July 1952 — 19:25)
Top three in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1006 | Charlie Moore | USA | 50.8 | 50.98 | |||
| 2 | 433 | Anatoly Yulin | URS | 52.4 | 52.64 | |||
| 3 | 252 | Armando Filiput | ITA | 53.0 | 53.00 | |||
| 4 | 615 | Robert Bart | FRA | 53.0 | 53.33 | |||
| 5 | 686 | Sven-Olov Eriksson | SWE | 53.8 | 53.96 | |||
| 6 | 856 | Hans Schwarz | SUI | 54.0 | 54.09 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 970 | John Holland | NZL | 52.2 | 52.24 | |||
| 2 | 1007 | Lee Yoder | USA | 53.3 | 53.40 | |||
| 3 | 190 | David Gracie | GBR | 53.9 | 53.94 | |||
| 4 | 796 | Arvo Hilli | FIN | 54.0 | 54.28 | |||
| 5 | 379 | Fotios Kosmas | GRE | 55.3 | 55.50 | |||
| 6 | 60 | Wilson Gomes | BRA | 59.4 | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 417 | Yury Lituyev | URS | 52.2 | 52.37 | |||
| 2 | 946 | Antal Lippay | HUN | 52.7 | 52.93 | |||
| 3 | 192 | Harry Whittle | GBR | 52.8 | 52.94 | |||
| 4 | 673 | Lars Ylander | SWE | 53.1 | 53.29 | |||
| 5 | 112 | Ron Wilke | RSA | 54.5 | 54.76 | |||
| 6 | 26 | Ken Doubleday | AUS | 1:00.2 | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 435 | Timofey Lunyov | URS | 52.7 | 52.87 | |||
| 2 | 1005 | Roland Blackmon | USA | 52.7 | 52.88 | |||
| 3 | 685 | Rune Larsson | SWE | 53.3 | 53.35 | |||
| 4 | 191 | Angus Scott | GBR | 53.4 | 53.69 | |||
| 5 | 779 | Rainer Pelkonen | FIN | 53.9 | 54.06 | |||
| 6 | 303 | Eitaro Okano | JPN | 54.4 | 54.42 |
Semi-Finals (21 July 1952 — 15:00)
Top three in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Yury Lituyev | URS | 51.8 | 51.90 | |||
| 2 | 1 | John Holland | NZL | 52.0 | 52.22 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Anatoly Yulin | URS | 52.1 | 52.28 | |||
| 4 | 5 | David Gracie | GBR | 52.4 | 52.65 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Roland Blackmon | USA | 52.7 | 52.86 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Rune Larsson | SWE | 53.9 | 54.06 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Charlie Moore | USA | 52.0 | 52.08 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Harry Whittle | GBR | 52.9 | 52.98 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Armando Filiput | ITA | 53.0 | 52.98 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Lee Yoder | USA | 53.0 | 53.08 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Antal Lippay | HUN | 53.0 | 53.10 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Timofey Lunyov | URS | 53.1 | 53.30 |
Final (21 July 1952 — 17:40)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Charlie Moore | USA | 50.8 | 51.06 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Yury Lituyev | URS | 51.3 | 51.51 | |||
| 3 | 3 | John Holland | NZL | 52.2 | 52.26 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Anatoly Yulin | URS | 52.8 | 52.81 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Harry Whittle | GBR | 53.1 | 53.36 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Armando Filiput | ITA | 54.4 | 54.49 |