| | Event type
400 metres, Men
| Date | 26 – 29 July 1976 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Stade olympique, Parc olympique, Montréal, Québec |
| Participants | 44 from 29 countries |
Cuba’s Alberto Juantorena was world-ranked #1 in 1974, was fourth in 1975, and had finished second at the 1975 Pan American Games to Ronnie Ray of the USA. Earlier in Montréal he had won the 800 metres and was trying to become the first since Paul Pilgrim in 1906 to win the 400/800 Olympic double. He was favored but the US contingent of Fred Newhouse, Herman Frazier, and Maxie Parks would be formidable as always. In the final, Newhouse went to the lead and was three metres ahead by the halfway mark. But Juantorena’s long strides kept pulling him closer and he caught Newhouse with 20 metres left, pulling away to win by just over a metre and taking half a second off his personal best time to set the fastest time ever recorded at legal altitude.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | QF | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 217 | Alberto Juantorena |  CUB | 47.89 (3 h6) | 45.92 (2 h2) | 45.10 (1 h1) | 44.26 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 945 | Fred Newhouse |  USA | 45.42 (1 h2) | 45.97 (1 h4) | 44.89 (1 h2) | 44.40 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 926 | Herman Frazier | USA | 46.09 (1 h1) | 46.52 (1 h1) | 45.24 (3 h2) | 44.95 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 85 | Fons Brijdenbach |  BEL | 46.73 (1 h4) | 46.56 (2 h1) | 45.28 (2 h1) | 45.04 (4) | |||
| 5 | 947 | Maxie Parks | USA | 46.12 (1 h3) | 45.99 (3 h3) | 45.61 (3 h1) | 45.24 (5) | |||
| 6 | 60 | Rick Mitchell |  AUS | 46.11 (2 h2) | 45.76 (1 h2) | 45.69 (4 h1) | 45.40 (6) | |||
| 7 | 368 | David Jenkins |  GBR | 46.60 (1 h5) | 46.18 (2 h4) | 45.20 (2 h2) | 45.57 (7) | |||
| 8 | 741 | Jan Werner |  POL | 46.19 (3 h2) | 45.88 (2 h3) | 45.44 (4 h2) | 45.63 (8) | |||
| 5 h1 r3/4 | 419 | Bernd Herrmann |  FRG | 46.99 (2 h5) | 46.07 (4 h3) | 45.94 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r3/4 | 729 | Jerzy Pietrzyk | POL | 46.92 (2 h4) | 46.30 (3 h2) | 45.65 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r3/4 | 170 | Bryan Saunders |  CAN | 47.24 (5 h1) | 46.42 (4 h2) | 46.46 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r3/4 | 421 | Franz-Peter Hofmeister | FRG | 47.17 (3 h4) | 46.20 (3 h4) | 46.05 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r3/4 | 545 | Alfonso Di Guida |  ITA | 46.52 (4 h2) | 47.07 (4 h1) | 46.50 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r3/4 | 849 | Mike Solomon |  TTO | 47.29 (1 h6) | 45.83 (1 h3) | 46.20 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r3/4 | 116 | Delmo da Silva |  BRA | 47.21 (2 h3) | 46.48 (4 h4) | 46.69 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r3/4 | 422 | Karl Honz | FRG | 47.47 (4 h3) | 46.94 (3 h1) | 46.63 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/4 | 282 | Ossi Karttunen |  FIN | 47.22 (4 h4) | 47.45 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/4 | 573 | Leighton Priestley |  JAM | 46.74 (5 h2) | 46.45 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r2/4 | 283 | Markku Kukkoaho | FIN | 47.67 (4 h5) | 46.24 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r2/4 | 976 | Jozo Alebić |  YUG | 47.03 (3 h5) | 46.94 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/4 | 56 | Peter Grant | AUS | 47.03 (4 h1) | 47.69 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/4 | 76 | Mike Sands |  BAH | 46.52 (2 h1) | 46.48 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r2/4 | 214 | Eddy Gutiérrez | CUB | 47.89 (5 h3) | 46.65 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r2/4 | 713 | Zbigniew Jaremski | POL | 46.68 (3 h1) | 47.10 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 7 h1 r2/4 | 571 | Alfred Daley | JAM | 48.04 (4 h6) | 48.46 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/4 | 764 | Iván Mangual |  PUR | 47.39 (3 h3) | 46.56 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 7 h3 r2/4 | 359 | Glen Cohen | GBR | 47.77 (2 h6) | 47.67 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r2/4 | 16 | Fred Sowerby |  ANT | 48.12 (5 h6) | 48.03 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 8 h1 r2/4 | 141 | Glenn Bogue | CAN | 47.42 (5 h4) | 48.98 (8 h1) | – | – | |||
| 8 h2 r2/4 | 848 | Charles Joseph | TTO | 47.72 (5 h5) | 46.61 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 8 h4 r2/4 | 1 | Raymond Heerenveen |  AHO | 47.44 (6 h4) | 48.88 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/4 | 228 | Carlos Noroña | CUB | 48.46 (6 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/4 | 147 | Don Domansky | CAN | 47.24 (6 h2) | – (DNS h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/4 | 109 | Renelda Swan |  BER | 49.13 (6 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h5 r1/4 | 788 | Samba Dièye |  SEN | 47.98 (6 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h6 r1/4 | 192 | Avognan Nogboum |  CIV | 48.24 (6 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/4 | 81 | Hamil Grimes |  BAR | 49.24 (7 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/4 | 112 | Errol Thurton |  BIZ | 48.91 (7 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r1/4 | 675 | Wavala Kali |  PNG | 48.85 (7 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 7 h5 r1/4 | 530 | Bjarni Stefánsson |  ISL | 48.34 (7 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 7 h6 r1/4 | 748 | José Carvalho |  POR | 48.47 (7 h6) | – | – | – | |||
| 8 h1 r1/4 | 480 | Wilfrid Cyriaque |  HAI | 51.49 (8 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 8 h2 r1/4 | 35 | Ahmed Al-Assiri |  KSA | 49.72 (8 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 8 h4 r1/4 | 652 | Ricardo Larios |  NCA | 50.52 (8 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 275 | Tony Moore |  FIJ | – (DNS h3) | – | – | – | ||||
| 469 | Stavros Tziortzis |  GRE | – (DNS h3) | – | – | – |
Round One (26 July 1976 — 11:00)
Top five in each heat and next two fastest advanced to the quarter-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Herman Frazier | USA | 46.09 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Mike Sands | BAH | 46.52 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Zbigniew Jaremski | POL | 46.68 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Peter Grant | AUS | 47.03 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Bryan Saunders | CAN | 47.24 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Carlos Noroña | CUB | 48.46 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Hamil Grimes | BAR | 49.24 | |||
| 8 | 4 | Wilfrid Cyriaque | HAI | 51.49 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Fred Newhouse | USA | 45.42 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Rick Mitchell | AUS | 46.11 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Jan Werner | POL | 46.19 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Alfonso Di Guida | ITA | 46.52 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Leighton Priestley | JAM | 46.74 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Don Domansky | CAN | 47.24 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Errol Thurton | BIZ | 48.91 | |||
| 8 | 3 | Ahmed Al-Assiri | KSA | 49.72 |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Maxie Parks | USA | 46.12 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Delmo da Silva | BRA | 47.21 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Iván Mangual | PUR | 47.39 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Karl Honz | FRG | 47.47 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Eddy Gutiérrez | CUB | 47.89 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Renelda Swan | BER | 49.13 | |||
| 8 | Tony Moore | FIJ | – | ||||
| 6 | Stavros Tziortzis | GRE | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Fons Brijdenbach | BEL | 46.73 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Jerzy Pietrzyk | POL | 46.92 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Franz-Peter Hofmeister | FRG | 47.17 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Ossi Karttunen | FIN | 47.22 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Glenn Bogue | CAN | 47.42 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Raymond Heerenveen | AHO | 47.44 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Wavala Kali | PNG | 48.85 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Ricardo Larios | NCA | 50.52 |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | David Jenkins | GBR | 46.60 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Bernd Herrmann | FRG | 46.99 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Jozo Alebić | YUG | 47.03 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Markku Kukkoaho | FIN | 47.67 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Charles Joseph | TTO | 47.72 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Samba Dièye | SEN | 47.98 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Bjarni Stefánsson | ISL | 48.34 |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mike Solomon | TTO | 47.29 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Glen Cohen | GBR | 47.77 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Alberto Juantorena | CUB | 47.89 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Alfred Daley | JAM | 48.04 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Fred Sowerby | ANT | 48.12 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Avognan Nogboum | CIV | 48.24 | |||
| 7 | 2 | José Carvalho | POR | 48.47 |
Quarter-Finals (26 July 1976 — 15:15)
Top four in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Herman Frazier | USA | 46.52 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Fons Brijdenbach | BEL | 46.56 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Karl Honz | FRG | 46.94 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Alfonso Di Guida | ITA | 47.07 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Ossi Karttunen | FIN | 47.45 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Peter Grant | AUS | 47.69 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Alfred Daley | JAM | 48.46 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Glenn Bogue | CAN | 48.98 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Rick Mitchell | AUS | 45.76 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Alberto Juantorena | CUB | 45.92 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Jerzy Pietrzyk | POL | 46.30 | |||
| 4 | 8 | Bryan Saunders | CAN | 46.42 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Leighton Priestley | JAM | 46.45 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Mike Sands | BAH | 46.48 | |||
| 7 | 2 | Iván Mangual | PUR | 46.56 | |||
| 8 | 6 | Charles Joseph | TTO | 46.61 |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Mike Solomon | TTO | 45.83 | |||
| 2 | 8 | Jan Werner | POL | 45.88 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Maxie Parks | USA | 45.99 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Bernd Herrmann | FRG | 46.07 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Markku Kukkoaho | FIN | 46.24 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Eddy Gutiérrez | CUB | 46.65 | |||
| 7 | 4 | Glen Cohen | GBR | 47.67 | |||
| 5 | Don Domansky | CAN | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Fred Newhouse | USA | 45.97 | |||
| 2 | 2 | David Jenkins | GBR | 46.18 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Franz-Peter Hofmeister | FRG | 46.20 | |||
| 4 | 8 | Delmo da Silva | BRA | 46.48 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Jozo Alebić | YUG | 46.94 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Zbigniew Jaremski | POL | 47.10 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Fred Sowerby | ANT | 48.03 | |||
| 8 | 5 | Raymond Heerenveen | AHO | 48.88 |
Semi-Finals (28 July 1976 — 15:20)
Top four in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Alberto Juantorena | CUB | 45.10 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Fons Brijdenbach | BEL | 45.28 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Maxie Parks | USA | 45.61 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Rick Mitchell | AUS | 45.69 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Bernd Herrmann | FRG | 45.94 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Bryan Saunders | CAN | 46.46 | |||
| 7 | 4 | Alfonso Di Guida | ITA | 46.50 | |||
| 8 | 6 | Delmo da Silva | BRA | 46.69 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Fred Newhouse | USA | 44.89 | |||
| 2 | 7 | David Jenkins | GBR | 45.20 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Herman Frazier | USA | 45.24 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Jan Werner | POL | 45.44 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Jerzy Pietrzyk | POL | 45.65 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Franz-Peter Hofmeister | FRG | 46.05 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Mike Solomon | TTO | 46.20 | |||
| 8 | 5 | Karl Honz | FRG | 46.63 |
Final (29 July 1976 — 16:00)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alberto Juantorena | CUB | 44.26 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Fred Newhouse | USA | 44.40 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Herman Frazier | USA | 44.95 | |||
| 4 | 8 | Fons Brijdenbach | BEL | 45.04 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Maxie Parks | USA | 45.24 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Rick Mitchell | AUS | 45.40 | |||
| 7 | 5 | David Jenkins | GBR | 45.57 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Jan Werner | POL | 45.63 |