| | Event type

400 metres, Men

Date	3 – 7 September 1972
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympiastadion, Olympiapark, München
Participants	64 from 49 countries

The favorite was American John Smith, who had posted the best times of the year and in 1971 had broken the 440 yard world record in winning the AAU title. He made the final along with Americans Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett. Matthews was a surprise. He had just missed the US team in 1968 and had not competed much until 1972. In the final, Smith, with an injured leg, ran only a few steps before pulling up. Matthews led throughout and held off Collett down the final straight. Julius Sang (KEN) became the first black African to win a sprint Olympic medal. On the victory podium Collett and Matthews staged an impromptu “protest” in which they stood with their sweatsuits draped open, and during the national anthem, looked around, did not stand at attention, or look at the US flag, and talked openly to each other. It prompted multiple boos and whistles from the audience. The International Olympic Committee banned them from further competition. With Smith out from his injury, this prevented the US from having a 4×400 relay team, in which they would have been prohibitive favorites.

Pos	Nr	Athlete	NOC	R1	QF	SF	Final
1	999	Vince Matthews	USA	45.94 (2 h5)	45.62 (2 h2)	44.94 (1 h1)	44.66 (1)	Gold
2	978	Wayne Collett	USA	46.00 (2 h4)	45.80 (1 h1)	45.77 (3 h2)	44.80 (2)	Silver
3	587	Julius Sang	KEN	45.24 (1 h7)	45.92 (2 h4)	45.30 (1 h2)	44.92 (3)	Bronze
4	571	Charles Asati	KEN	45.16 (1 h6)	46.04 (1 h5)	45.47 (4 h1)	45.13 (4)
5	396	Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske	FRG	45.27 (1 h8)	45.41 (1 h2)	45.62 (2 h2)	45.31 (5)
6	210	Markku Kukkoaho	FIN	46.05 (1 h9)	46.11 (3 h3)	46.02 (4 h2)	45.49 (6)
7	370	Karl Honz	FRG	46.77 (4 h7)	45.87 (1 h4)	45.32 (2 h1)	45.68 (7)
AC r4/4	1018	John Smith	USA	46.00 (2 h8)	46.04 (2 h3)	45.46 (3 h1)	– (DNF)
5 h1 r3/4	293	David Jenkins	GBR	46.15 (1 h2)	45.99 (1 h3)	45.91 (5 h1)	–
5 h2 r3/4	137	Alberto Juantorena	CUB	45.94 (1 h4)	45.96 (2 h1)	46.07 (5 h2)	–
6 h1 r3/4	180	Tegegne Bezabeh	ETH	45.88 (1 h5)	45.97 (3 h2)	45.98 (6 h1)	–
6 h2 r3/4	747	Jan Werner	POL	45.93 (4 h6)	46.02 (3 h1)	46.26 (6 h2)	–
7 h1 r3/4	388	Georg Nückles	FRG	46.64 (1 h3)	46.30 (3 h5)	46.28 (7 h1)	–
7 h2 r3/4	306	Martin Reynolds	GBR	46.46 (2 h7)	46.11 (4 h1)	46.71 (7 h2)	–
8 h1 r3/4	708	Andrzej Badeński	POL	46.21 (1 h1)	46.19 (2 h5)	46.38 (8 h1)	–
3 h4 r2/4	718	Zbigniew Jaremski	POL	46.20 (2 h9)	46.52 (3 h4)	– (DNS h2)	–
4 h2 r2/4	231	Gilles Bertould	FRA	46.36 (4 h4)	46.14 (4 h2)	–	–
4 h3 r2/4	583	Munyoro Nyamau	KEN	46.33 (3 h2)	46.80 (4 h3)	–	–
4 h4 r2/4	843	Anders Faager	SWE	46.29 (2 h2)	46.54 (4 h4)	–	–
4 h5 r2/4	861	Claver Kamanya	TAN	46.18 (3 h4)	46.55 (4 h5)	–	–
5 h1 r2/4	897	Charles Joseph	TTO	46.38 (2 h1)	46.14 (5 h1)	–	–
5 h2 r2/4	109	Wickramesinghe Wimaladasa	SRI	46.62 (4 h1)	46.50 (5 h2)	–	–
5 h3 r2/4	664	Bruce Ijirighwo	NGR	46.59 (5 h2)	46.81 (5 h3)	–	–
5 h4 r2/4	251	Francis Kerbiriou	FRA	47.01 (3 h3)	46.63 (5 h4)	–	–
5 h5 r2/4	190	Mulugetta Tadesse	ETH	46.38 (3 h1)	46.85 (5 h5)	–	–
6 h1 r2/4	668	Robert Ojo	NGR	47.03 (4 h5)	46.73 (6 h1)	–	–
6 h2 r2/4	550	Leighton Priestley	JAM	45.75 (2 h6)	47.76 (6 h2)	–	–
6 h3 r2/4	270	Roger Vélasques	FRA	46.70 (3 h7)	46.91 (6 h3)	–	–
6 h4 r2/4	567	Yoshiharu Tomonaga	JPN	47.01 (2 h3)	46.92 (6 h4)	–	–
6 h5 r2/4	493	Bjarni Stefánsson	ISL	46.76 (5 h1)	46.92 (6 h5)	–	–
7 h1 r2/4	625	Omar Ghizlat	MAR	46.37 (4 h2)	46.84 (7 h1)	–	–
7 h2 r2/4	894	Arthur Cooper	TTO	47.15 (3 h9)	48.29 (7 h2)	–	–
7 h3 r2/4	792	Amadou Gakou	SEN	47.68 (4 h9)	46.96 (7 h3)	–	–
7 h4 r2/4	273	Gary Armstrong	GBR	46.48 (5 h6)	47.10 (7 h4)	–	–
7 h5 r2/4	1044	Eric Phillips	VEN	46.74 (5 h4)	46.97 (7 h5)	–	–
8 h1 r2/4	418	Sam Bugri	GHA	47.83 (4 h3)	47.34 (8 h1)	–	–
8 h2 r2/4	490	Reza Entezari	IRI	47.89 (4 h8)	48.69 (8 h2)	–	–
8 h3 r2/4	816	Angelo Hussein	SUD	47.01 (3 h5)	47.33 (8 h3)	–	–
8 h4 r2/4	432	Kyriakos Onisiforou	GRE	46.94 (3 h8)	47.22 (8 h4)	–	–
3 h6 r1/4	706	Fernando Acevedo	PER	45.80 (3 h6)	–	–	–
5 h3 r1/4	600	Thomas N'Ma	LBR	49.73 (5 h3)	–	–	–
5 h5 r1/4	487	Fanahan McSweeney	IRL	47.07 (5 h5)	–	–	–
5 h7 r1/4	48	Franklin Rahming	BAH	48.30 (5 h7)	–	–	–
5 h8 r1/4	594	Mohamed Saad	KUW	49.61 (5 h8)	–	–	–
5 h9 r1/4	614	Tambusamy Krishnan	MAS	48.31 (5 h9)	–	–	–
6 h1 r1/4	1048	Jozo Alebić	YUG	47.01 (6 h1)	–	–	–
6 h2 r1/4	199	Samuela Yavala	FIJ	47.76 (6 h2)	–	–	–
6 h3 r1/4	442	Jean-Max Faustin	HAI	52.33 (6 h3)	–	–	–
6 h4 r1/4	765	Pedro Ferrer	PUR	47.90 (6 h4)	–	–	–
6 h5 r1/4	756	Fernando Silva	POR	47.67 (6 h5)	–	–	–
6 h6 r1/4	1072	Francisco Rojas	PAR	47.46 (6 h6)	–	–	–
6 h7 r1/4	146	Ibrahima Idrissou	BEN	48.50 (6 h7)	–	–	–
6 h8 r1/4	20	Mohamed Jaman Al-Dosari	KSA	49.67 (6 h8)	–	–	–
6 h9 r1/4	606	Frédérique Andrianaivo	MAD	48.72 (6 h9)	–	–	–
7 h1 r1/4	913	Silver Ayoo	UGA	47.04 (7 h1)	–	–	–
7 h2 r1/4	1066	Théophile Nkounkou	CGO	47.86 (7 h2)	–	–	–
7 h4 r1/4	1059	Nicodemus Maipampe	ZAM	48.84 (7 h4)	–	–	–
7 h5 r1/4	604	Kassem Hamzé	LBN	49.20 (7 h5)	–	–	–
7 h6 r1/4	96	Brian MacLaren	CAN	47.65 (7 h6)	–	–	–
7 h7 r1/4	634	William Msiska	MAW	48.81 (7 h7)	–	–	–
7 h9 r1/4	591	Savin Chem	CAM	48.82 (7 h9)	–	–	–
8 h1 r1/4	702	Nusrat Iqbal Sahi	PAK	49.57 (8 h1)	–	–	–
8 h2 r1/4	653	Francisco Menocal	NCA	50.96 (8 h2)	–	–	–
AC h6 r1/4	52	Caspar Springer	BAR	– (DNF h6)	–	–	–
DNS	519	Marcello Fiasconaro	ITA	– (DNS h3)	–	–	–
DNS	845	Michael Fredriksson	SWE	– (DNS h3)	–	–	–
DNS	129	Jimmy Sierra	COL	– (DNS h9)	–	–	–
DNS	1057	Luciano Sušanj	YUG	– (DNS h8)	–	–	–

Round One (3 September 1972 — 16:00)

Top four in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the quarter-finals.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	4	Andrzej Badeński	POL	46.21	Q
2	3	Charles Joseph	TTO	46.38	Q
3	5	Mulugetta Tadesse	ETH	46.38	Q
4	7	Wickramesinghe Wimaladasa	SRI	46.62	Q
5	2	Bjarni Stefánsson	ISL	46.76	q
6	6	Jozo Alebić	YUG	47.01
7	8	Silver Ayoo	UGA	47.04
8	1	Nusrat Iqbal Sahi	PAK	49.57

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	2	David Jenkins	GBR	46.15	Q
2	7	Anders Faager	SWE	46.29	Q
3	8	Munyoro Nyamau	KEN	46.33	Q
4	5	Omar Ghizlat	MAR	46.37	Q
5	3	Bruce Ijirighwo	NGR	46.59	q
6	6	Samuela Yavala	FIJ	47.76
7	1	Théophile Nkounkou	CGO	47.86
8	4	Francisco Menocal	NCA	50.96

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	8	Georg Nückles	FRG	46.64	Q
2	6	Yoshiharu Tomonaga	JPN	47.01	Q
3	3	Francis Kerbiriou	FRA	47.01	Q
4	1	Sam Bugri	GHA	47.83	Q
5	2	Thomas N'Ma	LBR	49.73
6	5	Jean-Max Faustin	HAI	52.33
DNS	7	Marcello Fiasconaro	ITA	–
DNS	4	Michael Fredriksson	SWE	–

Heat Four

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	5	Alberto Juantorena	CUB	45.94	Q
2	1	Wayne Collett	USA	46.00	Q
3	3	Claver Kamanya	TAN	46.18	Q
4	4	Gilles Bertould	FRA	46.36	Q
5	2	Eric Phillips	VEN	46.74	q
6	6	Pedro Ferrer	PUR	47.90
7	7	Nicodemus Maipampe	ZAM	48.84

Heat Five

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	2	Tegegne Bezabeh	ETH	45.88	Q
2	1	Vince Matthews	USA	45.94	Q
3	7	Angelo Hussein	SUD	47.01	Q
4	3	Robert Ojo	NGR	47.03	Q
5	5	Fanahan McSweeney	IRL	47.07
6	6	Fernando Silva	POR	47.67
7	4	Kassem Hamzé	LBN	49.20

Heat Six

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	8	Charles Asati	KEN	45.16	Q
2	5	Leighton Priestley	JAM	45.75	Q
3	2	Fernando Acevedo	PER	45.80	Q
4	6	Jan Werner	POL	45.93	Q
5	4	Gary Armstrong	GBR	46.48	q
6	3	Francisco Rojas	PAR	47.46
7	1	Brian MacLaren	CAN	47.65
DNF	7	Caspar Springer	BAR	–

Heat Seven

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	5	Julius Sang	KEN	45.24	Q
2	1	Martin Reynolds	GBR	46.46	Q
3	2	Roger Vélasques	FRA	46.70	Q
4	3	Karl Honz	FRG	46.77	Q
5	7	Franklin Rahming	BAH	48.30
6	6	Ibrahima Idrissou	BEN	48.50
7	4	William Msiska	MAW	48.81

Heat Eight

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	3	Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske	FRG	45.27	Q
2	7	John Smith	USA	46.00	Q
3	1	Kyriakos Onisiforou	GRE	46.94	Q
4	5	Reza Entezari	IRI	47.89	Q
5	6	Mohamed Saad	KUW	49.61
6	4	Mohamed Jaman Al-Dosari	KSA	49.67
DNS	2	Luciano Sušanj	YUG	–

Heat Nine

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	6	Markku Kukkoaho	FIN	46.05	Q
2	3	Zbigniew Jaremski	POL	46.20	Q
3	7	Arthur Cooper	TTO	47.15	Q
4	8	Amadou Gakou	SEN	47.68	Q
5	4	Tambusamy Krishnan	MAS	48.31
6	1	Frédérique Andrianaivo	MAD	48.72
7	5	Savin Chem	CAM	48.82
DNS	2	Jimmy Sierra	COL	–

Quarter-Finals (4 September 1972 — 11:35)

Top three in each heat and next fastest advanced to the semi-finals.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	2	Wayne Collett	USA	45.80	Q
2	6	Alberto Juantorena	CUB	45.96	Q
3	7	Jan Werner	POL	46.02	Q
4	5	Martin Reynolds	GBR	46.11	q
5	1	Charles Joseph	TTO	46.14
6	8	Robert Ojo	NGR	46.73
7	4	Omar Ghizlat	MAR	46.84
8	3	Sam Bugri	GHA	47.34

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	2	Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske	FRG	45.41	Q
2	3	Vince Matthews	USA	45.62	Q
3	6	Tegegne Bezabeh	ETH	45.97	Q
4	1	Gilles Bertould	FRA	46.14
5	5	Wickramesinghe Wimaladasa	SRI	46.50
6	7	Leighton Priestley	JAM	47.76
7	4	Arthur Cooper	TTO	48.29
8	8	Reza Entezari	IRI	48.69

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	7	David Jenkins	GBR	45.99	Q
2	8	John Smith	USA	46.04	Q
3	4	Markku Kukkoaho	FIN	46.11	Q
4	3	Munyoro Nyamau	KEN	46.80
5	2	Bruce Ijirighwo	NGR	46.81
6	6	Roger Vélasques	FRA	46.91
7	5	Amadou Gakou	SEN	46.96
8	1	Angelo Hussein	SUD	47.33

Heat Four

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	3	Karl Honz	FRG	45.87	Q
2	7	Julius Sang	KEN	45.92	Q
3	5	Zbigniew Jaremski	POL	46.52	Q
4	1	Anders Faager	SWE	46.54
5	4	Francis Kerbiriou	FRA	46.63
6	2	Yoshiharu Tomonaga	JPN	46.92
7	6	Gary Armstrong	GBR	47.10
8	8	Kyriakos Onisiforou	GRE	47.22		1

Heat Five

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	1	Charles Asati	KEN	46.04	Q
2	5	Andrzej Badeński	POL	46.19	Q
3	4	Georg Nückles	FRG	46.30	Q
4	8	Claver Kamanya	TAN	46.55
5	6	Mulugetta Tadesse	ETH	46.85
6	7	Bjarni Stefánsson	ISL	46.92
7	2	Eric Phillips	VEN	46.97

Semi-Finals (4 September 1972 — 17:45)

Top four in each heat advanced to the final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	4	Vince Matthews	USA	44.94	Q
2	3	Karl Honz	FRG	45.32	Q
3	1	John Smith	USA	45.46	Q
4	2	Charles Asati	KEN	45.47	Q
5	8	David Jenkins	GBR	45.91
6	6	Tegegne Bezabeh	ETH	45.98
7	5	Georg Nückles	FRG	46.28
8	7	Andrzej Badeński	POL	46.38

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	1	Julius Sang	KEN	45.30	Q
2	3	Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske	FRG	45.62	Q
3	2	Wayne Collett	USA	45.77	Q
4	4	Markku Kukkoaho	FIN	46.02	Q
5	5	Alberto Juantorena	CUB	46.07
6	8	Jan Werner	POL	46.26
7	7	Martin Reynolds	GBR	46.71
DNS	6	Zbigniew Jaremski	POL	–

Final (7 September 1972 — 17:30)

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	2	Vince Matthews	USA	44.66
2	3	Wayne Collett	USA	44.80
3	5	Julius Sang	KEN	44.92
4	8	Charles Asati	KEN	45.13
5	7	Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske	FRG	45.31
6	4	Markku Kukkoaho	FIN	45.49
7	1	Karl Honz	FRG	45.68
DNF	6	John Smith	USA	–