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| Event type

400 metres Hurdles, Men

Date31 August – 2 September 1960
StatusOlympic
LocationStadio Olimpico, Roma
Participants34 from 23 countries

Glenn Davis was the defending champion, world record holder, and the heavy favorite in 1960. He had won the AAU title in 1956, 57, 58, and 60, not competing in 1959 when the event was won by Dick Howard. Howard had also placed second at the 1959 Pan-American Games, third in that event going to Cliff Cushman. The only hurdler felt capable of challenging Davis was South Africa’s Gert Potgieter, 1958 Commonwealth Games champion in a 440 yard world record of 49.7. But he was injured in a car accident shortly before the Roma Olympics and could not compete. In Roma, Davis led an American sweep, with Howard getting the bronze medal, the silver medal going to Cushman. Cushman and Howard both died young, for different reasons. Cushman was listed as missing in action in Vietnam in 1966, while Howard died in 1967 from a heroin overdose.

PosNrAthleteNOCR1SFFinal
1417Glenn DavisUSA52.2 (2 h2)51.1 (1 h1)49.3 (1)GoldOR
2416Cliff CushmanUSA51.8 (1 h3)50.8 (1 h2)49.6 (2)Silver
3418Dick HowardUSA51.2 (2 h1)50.8 (2 h2)49.7 (3)Bronze
4284Helmut JanzGER51.1 (1 h5)51.4 (3 h1)49.9 (4)
5501Jussi RintamäkiFIN51.5 (3 h5)51.1 (2 h1)50.8 (5)
6224Bruno GallikerSUI51.0 (1 h1)51.3 (3 h2)51.0 (6)
4 h1 r2/3566Georgy ChevychalovURS51.8 (1 h4)52.0 (4 h1)
4 h2 r2/3607Salvatore MoraleITA52.0 (2 h4)51.3 (4 h2)
5 h1 r2/3609Elio CatolaITA51.8 (4 h5)52.3 (5 h1)
5 h2 r2/3178Bartonjo RotichKEN51.2 (2 h5)51.8 (5 h2)
6 h1 r2/3686Jan GulbrandsenNOR52.2 (1 h2)52.4 (6 h1)
6 h2 r2/3285Willi MatthiasGER52.1 (2 h3)51.8 (6 h2)
7 h1 r2/3608Moreno MartiniITA52.1 (2 h6)52.4 (7 h1)
7 h2 r2/3643John MetcalfGBR52.1 (1 h6)52.5 (7 h2)
3 h1 r1/339Anubes da SilvaBRA52.1 (3 h1)
3 h2 r1/3567Arnold MatsulevichURS52.9 (3 h2)
3 h3 r1/3376Keiji OgushiJPN52.4 (3 h3)
3 h4 r1/3348Per-Owe TrollsåsSWE52.3 (3 h4)
3 h6 r1/3565Boris KriunovURS52.5 (3 h6)
4 h1 r1/3644Max BoyesGBR52.1 (4 h1)
4 h2 r1/3141George ShepherdCAN53.0 (4 h2)
4 h3 r1/3642Chris GoudgeGBR52.6 (4 h3)
4 h4 r1/3283Wolfgang FischerGER53.2 (4 h4)
4 h6 r1/3363Víctor MaldonadoVEN52.6 (4 h6)
5 h1 r1/3529Wiesław KrólPOL52.4 (5 h1)
5 h2 r1/3241Marcel LambrechtsBEL53.5 (5 h2)
5 h3 r1/3120Muhammad YaqubPAK52.8 (5 h3)
5 h4 r1/3333Dimitrios SkourtisGRE53.7 (5 h4)
5 h5 r1/3660Fahir ÖzgüdenTUR55.3 (5 h5)
5 h6 r1/3528Zdzisław KumiszczePOL53.3 (5 h6)
6 h1 r1/3186Mohamed ZouakiMAR55.2 (6 h1)
6 h3 r1/372Mongi Soussi ZarroukiTUN54.3 (6 h3)
6 h5 r1/325Nazzar Al-JamaliIRQ58.0 (6 h5)
6 h6 r1/332Li Po-TingTPE54.1 (6 h6)
DNS493 SoedjanoedjiINA– (DNS h2)
DNS3Habib SayedAFG– (DNS h4)

Round One (31 August 1960 — 15:00)

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

Heat One

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
13Bruno GallikerSUI51.051.20Q
26Dick HowardUSA51.251.32Q
35Anubes da SilvaBRA52.152.25
42Max BoyesGBR52.152.32
51Wiesław KrólPOL52.452.52
64Mohamed ZouakiMAR55.255.65

Heat Two

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
13Jan GulbrandsenNOR52.252.39Q
25Glenn DavisUSA52.252.41Q
34Arnold MatsulevichURS52.953.00
42George ShepherdCAN53.053.05
56Marcel LambrechtsBEL53.553.67
DNS1 SoedjanoedjiINA

Heat Three

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
15Cliff CushmanUSA51.851.98Q
24Willi MatthiasGER52.152.23Q
31Keiji OgushiJPN52.452.58
42Chris GoudgeGBR52.652.75
56Muhammad YaqubPAK52.852.91
63Mongi Soussi ZarroukiTUN54.354.34

Heat Four

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
11Georgy ChevychalovURS51.851.97Q
23Salvatore MoraleITA52.052.13Q
35Per-Owe TrollsåsSWE52.352.49
46Wolfgang FischerGER53.253.35
54Dimitrios SkourtisGRE53.753.85
DNS2Habib SayedAFG

Heat Five

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
11Helmut JanzGER51.151.30Q
24Bartonjo RotichKEN51.251.39Q
33Jussi RintamäkiFIN51.551.70q
42Elio CatolaITA51.851.94q
56Fahir ÖzgüdenTUR55.355.43
65Nazzar Al-JamaliIRQ58.0

Heat Six

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
12John MetcalfGBR52.152.24Q
26Moreno MartiniITA52.152.26Q
35Boris KriunovURS52.552.66
44Víctor MaldonadoVEN52.652.79
53Zdzisław KumiszczePOL53.353.47
61Li Po-TingTPE54.154.23

Semi-Finals (1 September 1960 — 16:15)

Top three in each heat advanced to the final.

Heat One

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
16Glenn DavisUSA51.151.20Q
25Jussi RintamäkiFIN51.151.20Q
32Helmut JanzGER51.451.55Q
41Georgy ChevychalovURS52.052.14
57Elio CatolaITA52.352.44
64Jan GulbrandsenNOR52.452.56
73Moreno MartiniITA52.452.57

Heat Two

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
15Cliff CushmanUSA50.850.89Q
21Dick HowardUSA50.850.91Q
34Bruno GallikerSUI51.351.47Q
46Salvatore MoraleITA51.351.48
57Bartonjo RotichKEN51.851.971
62Willi MatthiasGER51.851.952
73John MetcalfGBR52.552.72

Final (2 September 1960 — 16:00)

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
16Glenn DavisUSA49.349.51OR
25Cliff CushmanUSA49.649.77
31Dick HowardUSA49.749.90
42Helmut JanzGER49.950.05
54Jussi RintamäkiFIN50.850.98
63Bruno GallikerSUI51.051.11