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4 × 400 metres Relay, Men

Date9 – 10 September 1972
StatusOlympic
LocationOlympiastadion, Olympiapark, München
Participants85 from 21 countries
Olympic Record 2:56.1 WR / Vince Matthews • Ron Freeman • Larry James • Lee Evans USA / 20 October 1968 / Details

The US had the three best 400 metre runners in München. The 400 had been won by Vince Matthews, who had opened the 4x400 for the US in 1968, with Wayne Collett second. John Smith was actually considered the favorite for the 400 gold medal but went down in the final after running only a few metres, the victim of a hamstring injury.

At the 400 medal ceremony, Matthews and Collett staged a mild protest, somewhat similar to Tommie Smith and John Carlos in 1968. As The Star-Spangled Banner played, they did not stand at attention, talked to each other, their warm-up jackets wide open, and did not even look at the US flag at it was raised. The IOC banned them from the Olympics. The US had nominated six runners for the 4x400 but, with Matthews, Collett, and Smith out, they did not have a team. This left the event wide open. In their absence, Kenya won the gold medal. At the final exchange, Kenya and Great Britain were virtually even, but Julius Sang ran the anchor in 43.5 for Kenya to seal the victory.

PosNumberCompetitorsNOCR1Final
1–KenyaKEN3:01.27 (2 h1)2:59.83 (1)Gold
Charles Asati • Munyoro Nyamau • Robert Ouko • Julius Sang • Bill Koskei (DNS) • Mike Murei (DNS)
2–Great BritainGBR3:01.26 (1 h1)3:00.46 (2)Silver
Martin Reynolds • Alan Pascoe • Dave Hemery • David Jenkins • Gary Armstrong (DNS) • Andy Williams (DNS)
3–FranceFRA3:03.13 (3 h3)3:00.65 (3)Bronze
Gilles Bertould • Roger Vélasques • Francis Kerbiriou • Jacques Carette • Francis Demarthon (DNS) • Francis Gonzalez (DNS)
4–West GermanyFRG3:03.27 (1 h2)3:00.88 (4)
Bernd Herrmann • Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske • Hermann Köhler • Karl Honz • Martin Jellinghaus (DNS) • Georg Nückles (DNS)
5–PolandPOL3:02.52 (1 h3)3:01.05 (5)
Jan Werner • Jan Balachowski • Zbigniew Jaremski • Andrzej Badeński • Waldemar Korycki (DNS)
6–FinlandFIN3:02.97 (2 h3)3:01.12 (6)
Stig Lönnqvist • Ari Salin • Ossi Karttunen • Markku Kukkoaho • Markku Juhola (DNS) • Markku Perttula (DNS)
7–SwedenSWE3:03.05 (3 h1)3:02.57 (7)
Erik Carlgren • Anders Faager • Kent Öhman • Ulf Rönner • Michael Fredriksson (DNS)
8–Trinidad and TobagoTTO3:03.48 (2 h2)3:03.58 (8)
Arthur Cooper • Pat Marshall • Charles Joseph • Edwin Roberts • Trevor James • Ainsley Armstrong (DNS)
3 h2 r1/2–NigeriaNGR3:04.31 (3 h2)–
Musa Dogon Yaro • Bruce Ijirighwo • Mamman Makama • Robert Ojo • Paulinus Nwokoro (DNS) • Taiko Orungbemi (DNS)
4 h1 r1/2–CanadaCAN3:04.22 (4 h1)–
Ian Gordon • Brian MacLaren • Craig Blackman • Tony Powell • Doug Chapman (DNS) • Ken Elmer (DNS)
4 h2 r1/2–EthiopiaETH3:08.59 (4 h2)–
Tegegne Bezabeh • Shoangizaw Worku • Ketema Benti • Mulugetta Tadesse • Fikru Deguefu (DNS) • Tesfaye Tegene (DNS)
4 h3 r1/2–JamaicaJAM3:03.83 (4 h3)–
Leighton Priestley • Kim Rowe • Trevor Campbell • Alfred Daley • Garth Case (DNS) • Dennis Dyce (DNS)
5 h1 r1/2–YugoslaviaYUG3:05.70 (5 h1)–
Miro Kocuvan • Laszlo Ubori • Jozo Alebić • Milorad Čikić • Jože Međimurec (DNS) • Luciano Sušanj (DNS)
5 h2 r1/2–ItalyITA3:09.7 (5 h2)–
Daniele Giovanardi • Giacomo Puosi • Lorenzo Cellerino • Sergio Bello • Pietro Mennea (DNS)
5 h3 r1/2–VenezuelaVEN3:06.99 (5 h3)–
Raúl Dome • Félix Pérez • José Jacinto Hidalgo • Eric Phillips • Héctor López (DNS) • Víctor Patíñez (DNS)
6 h1 r1/2–MoroccoMAR3:05.92 (6 h1)–
Omar Ghizlat • Omar Chokhmane • Salah Fettouh • Mohamed Bouboud • Ahmed Hasnaoui (DNS)
6 h2 r1/2–United Republic of TanzaniaTAN3:10.1 (6 h2)–
Hamad Ndee • Obedi Mwanga • Omari Abdallah • Claver Kamanya • Norman Chihota (DNS)
6 h3 r1/2–MalaysiaMAS3:13.51 (6 h3)–
Tambusamy Krishnan • Sinnayah Sabapathy • Mohamed Hassan bin Osman • Baba Singhe Peyadesa • Sinanair Sivaraman (DNS)
7 h1 r1/2–PortugalPOR3:10.00 (7 h1)–
Fernando Silva • Alberto Matos • José Carvalho • Fernando Mamede
7 h2 r1/2–SenegalSEN3:11.2 (7 h2)–
Omar Ba • Abdou Mamadou Sow • Samba Dièye • Jean-Pierre Mango • Amadou Gakou (DNS)
8 h2 r1/2–SudanSUD3:14.5 (8 h2)–
Mohamed Musa Gadou • Dafallah Sultan Farah • Ibrahim Saad Abdel Galil • Angelo Hussein • Izielia Mashinkok (DNS)
DNS–PakistanPAK––
Norman Brinkworth • Nusrat Iqbal Sahi • Muhammad Siddique • Muhammad Younis • Muhammad Ahmed Bashir
DNS–United StatesUSA––
Maurice Peoples • Tommie Turner • Lee Evans • John Smith • Wayne Collett • Vince Matthews

Round One

Date9 September 1972 — 15:45
FormatTop 2 in each heat and next 2 fastest advanced to the final round.
PosTeamNOCTime (automatic)
1Great BritainGBR3:01.26Q
2KenyaKEN3:01.27Q
3PolandPOL3:02.52Q
4FinlandFIN3:02.97Q
5SwedenSWE3:03.05q
6FranceFRA3:03.13q
7West GermanyFRG3:03.27Q
8Trinidad and TobagoTTO3:03.48Q
9JamaicaJAM3:03.83
10CanadaCAN3:04.22
11NigeriaNGR3:04.31
12YugoslaviaYUG3:05.70
13MoroccoMAR3:05.92
14VenezuelaVEN3:06.99
15EthiopiaETH3:08.59
16ItalyITA3:09.7
17PortugalPOR3:10.00
18United Republic of TanzaniaTAN3:10.1
19SenegalSEN3:11.2
20MalaysiaMAS3:13.51
21SudanSUD3:14.5

Heat #1

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime (Automatic)SplitExchange
11Great BritainGBR3:01.26– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off306Martin Reynolds –46.6 (=4)– (–)
2nd Leg302Alan Pascoe –46.8 (6)1:33.4 (6)
3rd Leg288Dave Hemery –43.4 (1)2:16.8 (2)
Anchor293David Jenkins –44.5 (1)– (–)
22KenyaKEN3:01.27– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off571Charles Asati –45.7 (=1)– (–)
2nd Leg583Munyoro Nyamau –45.6 (1)1:31.3 (1)
3rd Leg585Robert Ouko –44.9 (2)2:16.2 (1)
Anchor587Julius Sang –45.1 (2)– (–)
35SwedenSWE3:03.05– (–)– (–)q
Lead-Off840Erik Carlgren –45.7 (=1)– (–)
2nd Leg853Kent Öhman –45.7 (2)1:31.4 (2)
3rd Leg854Ulf Rönner –46.2 (4)2:17.6 (3)
Anchor843Anders Faager –45.5 (3)– (–)
44CanadaCAN3:04.22– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off93Ian Gordon –46.0 (3)– (–)
2nd Leg96Brian MacLaren –46.6 (4)1:32.6 (3)
3rd Leg84Craig Blackman –45.8 (3)2:18.4 (4)
Anchor103Tony Powell –45.8 (4)– (–)
53YugoslaviaYUG3:05.70– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off1051Miro Kocuvan –46.6 (=4)– (–)
2nd Leg1058Laszlo Ubori –46.7 (5)1:33.3 (5)
3rd Leg1048Jozo Alebić –46.3 (5)2:19.6 (5)
Anchor1049Milorad Čikić –46.1 (6)– (–)
66MoroccoMAR3:05.92– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off625Omar Ghizlat –46.8 (6)– (–)
2nd Leg623Omar Chokhmane –45.9 (3)1:32.7 (4)
3rd Leg624Salah Fettouh –47.2 (6)2:19.9 (6)
Anchor622Mohamed Bouboud –46.0 (5)– (–)
77PortugalPOR3:10.00– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off756Fernando Silva –47.6 (7)– (–)
2nd Leg755Alberto Matos –47.0 (7)1:34.6 (7)
3rd Leg752José Carvalho –47.4 (7)2:22.0 (7)
Anchor754Fernando Mamede –48.0 (7)– (–)

Heat #2

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime (Automatic)SplitExchange
16West GermanyFRG3:03.27– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off368Bernd Herrmann –46.3 (4)– (–)
2nd Leg396Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske –45.3 (2)1:31.6 (2)
3rd Leg376Hermann Köhler –46.0 (2)2:17.6 (=2)
Anchor370Karl Honz –45.7 (=2)– (–)
27Trinidad and TobagoTTO3:03.48– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off901Edwin Roberts –45.6 (2)– (–)
2nd Leg897Charles Joseph –44.9 (1)1:30.5 (1)
3rd Leg894Arthur Cooper –46.7 (3)2:17.2 (1)
Anchor896Trevor James –46.3 (5)– (–)
34NigeriaNGR3:04.31– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off662Musa Dogon Yaro –46.2 (3)– (–)
2nd Leg664Bruce Ijirighwo –46.2 (3)1:32.4 (3)
3rd Leg666Mamman Makama –45.2 (1)2:17.6 (=2)
Anchor668Robert Ojo –46.7 (8)– (–)
45EthiopiaETH3:08.59– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off180Tegegne Bezabeh –45.1 (1)– (–)
2nd Leg196Shoangizaw Worku –47.5 (5)1:32.6 (4)
3rd Leg179Ketema Benti –49.6 (=7)2:22.2 (4)
Anchor190Mulugetta Tadesse –46.4 (=6)– (–)
58ItalyITA3:09.7– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off523Daniele Giovanardi –47.4 (5)– (–)
2nd Leg533Giacomo Puosi –47.0 (4)1:34.4 (5)
3rd Leg510Lorenzo Cellerino –49.6 (=7)2:24.0 (5)
Anchor504Sergio Bello –45.7 (=2)– (–)
62United Republic of TanzaniaTAN3:10.1– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off863Hamad Ndee –47.5 (6)– (–)
2nd Leg862Obedi Mwanga –49.1 (7)1:36.6 (6)
3rd Leg857Omari Abdallah –48.3 (5)2:24.9 (6)
Anchor861Claver Kamanya –45.2 (1)– (–)
71SenegalSEN3:11.2– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off787Omar Ba –48.7 (8)– (–)1
2nd Leg799Abdou Mamadou Sow –48.7 (6)1:37.4 (7)
3rd Leg790Samba Dièye –48.0 (4)2:25.4 (7)
Anchor796Jean-Pierre Mango –45.8 (4)– (–)
83SudanSUD3:14.5– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off815Mohamed Musa Gadou –48.5 (7)– (–)
2nd Leg810Dafallah Sultan Farah –51.1 (8)1:39.6 (8)
3rd Leg809Ibrahim Saad Abdel Galil –48.5 (6)2:28.1 (8)
Anchor816Angelo Hussein –46.4 (=6)– (–)

Heat #3

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime (Automatic)SplitExchange
14PolandPOL3:02.52– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off747Jan Werner –45.7 (1)– (–)
2nd Leg709Jan Balachowski –45.5 (=2)1:31.2 (1)
3rd Leg718Zbigniew Jaremski –46.0 (4)2:17.2 (1)
Anchor708Andrzej Badeński –45.3 (3)– (–)
27FinlandFIN3:02.97– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off211Stig Lönnqvist –47.2 (5)– (–)
2nd Leg220Ari Salin –45.5 (=2)1:32.7 (4)
3rd Leg208Ossi Karttunen –45.8 (3)2:18.5 (4)
Anchor210Markku Kukkoaho –44.5 (1)– (–)
35FranceFRA3:03.13– (–)– (–)q
Lead-Off231Gilles Bertould –46.5 (3)– (–)
2nd Leg270Roger Vélasques –45.9 (4)1:32.4 (3)
3rd Leg251Francis Kerbiriou –45.6 (1)2:18.0 (3)
Anchor237Jacques Carette –45.1 (2)– (–)
43JamaicaJAM3:03.83– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off550Leighton Priestley –46.4 (2)– (–)
2nd Leg552Kim Rowe –45.3 (1)1:31.7 (2)
3rd Leg538Trevor Campbell –45.7 (2)2:17.4 (2)
Anchor540Alfred Daley –46.4 (5)– (–)
52VenezuelaVEN3:06.99– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off1046Raúl Dome –47.1 (4)– (–)
2nd Leg1043Félix Pérez –47.3 (5)1:34.4 (5)
3rd Leg1038José Jacinto Hidalgo –46.5 (5)2:20.9 (5)
Anchor1044Eric Phillips –46.1 (4)– (–)
61MalaysiaMAS3:13.51– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off614Tambusamy Krishnan –48.7 (6)– (–)
2nd Leg618Sinnayah Sabapathy –49.1 (6)1:37.8 (6)
3rd Leg616Mohamed Hassan bin Osman –47.2 (6)2:25.0 (6)
Anchor617Baba Singhe Peyadesa –48.5 (6)– (–)

Final Round

Date10 September 1972 — 16:45
PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime (Automatic)SplitExchange
16KenyaKEN2:59.83– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off571Charles Asati –45.3 (1)– (–)
2nd Leg583Munyoro Nyamau –45.3 (6)1:30.6 (3)
3rd Leg585Robert Ouko –45.6 (=5)2:16.2 (3)
Anchor587Julius Sang –43.6 (1)– (–)
25Great BritainGBR3:00.46– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off306Martin Reynolds –46.3 (6)– (–)
2nd Leg302Alan Pascoe –44.9 (3)1:31.2 (5)
3rd Leg288Dave Hemery –45.2 (3)2:16.4 (4)
Anchor293David Jenkins –44.1 (2)– (–)
32FranceFRA3:00.65– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off231Gilles Bertould –46.2 (5)– (–)
2nd Leg270Roger Vélasques –44.1 (1)1:30.3 (=1)
3rd Leg251Francis Kerbiriou –45.6 (=5)2:15.9 (=1)
Anchor237Jacques Carette –44.8 (5)– (–)
43West GermanyFRG3:00.88– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off368Bernd Herrmann –45.8 (2)– (–)
2nd Leg396Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske –44.5 (2)1:30.3 (=1)
3rd Leg376Hermann Köhler –45.6 (=5)2:15.9 (=1)
Anchor370Karl Honz –45.0 (6)– (–)
57PolandPOL3:01.05– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off747Jan Werner –46.0 (=3)– (–)
2nd Leg709Jan Balachowski –45.0 (4)1:31.0 (4)
3rd Leg718Zbigniew Jaremski –45.6 (=5)2:16.6 (=5)
Anchor708Andrzej Badeński –44.5 (=3)– (–)
68FinlandFIN3:01.12– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off211Stig Lönnqvist –46.7 (=7)– (–)
2nd Leg220Ari Salin –45.1 (5)1:31.8 (7)
3rd Leg208Ossi Karttunen –44.8 (2)2:16.6 (=5)
Anchor210Markku Kukkoaho –44.5 (=3)– (–)
71SwedenSWE3:02.57– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off840Erik Carlgren –46.0 (=3)– (–)
2nd Leg843Anders Faager –45.5 (7)1:31.5 (6)
3rd Leg853Kent Öhman –45.3 (4)2:16.8 (7)
Anchor854Ulf Rönner –45.8 (7)– (–)
84Trinidad and TobagoTTO3:03.58– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off894Arthur Cooper –46.7 (=7)– (–)
2nd Leg899Pat Marshall –46.0 (8)1:32.7 (8)
3rd Leg897Charles Joseph –44.5 (1)2:17.2 (8)
Anchor901Edwin Roberts –46.4 (8)– (–)