| | Event type
400 metres Hurdles, Men
| Date | 15 – 16 August 1920 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen |
| Participants | 19 from 9 countries |
The event was rarely contested in this era and was considered wide open. The Americans swept the event with the three medalists finishing in the same order in which they finished at the Olympic Trials earlier in the year. Frank Loomis, who won the race, broke the world record of 54.2 that had been set by the silver medalist, John Norton, at the Western Olympic Trials in Pasadena in June 1920.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 200 | Frank Loomis |  USA | 55.8 (1 h5) | 55.4 (1 h2) | 54.0 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 215 | John Norton | USA | 57.6 (1 h3) | 56.2est / at 5 metres (3 h1) | 54.6est / at 4 metres (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 153 | Gus Desch | USA | 57.8 (1 h1) | 55.4 (1 h1) | 54.8est / at 1 metre (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 294 | Géo André |  FRA | 55.9est (2 h5) | 55.5est / at chest (2 h1) | 54.8est / at 1 metre (4) | |||
| 5 | 573 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson |  SWE | 56.4 (1 h4) | 55.6est / at 2 metres (2 h2) | 55.4est / at 4 metres (5) | |||
| 6 | 150 | Charles Daggs | USA | 56.7est / at 2 metres (2 h4) | 55.7est / at 1 metre (3 h2) | 56.5est / at 9 metres (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | 570 | Gösta Bladin | SWE | 58.0est / at 4 metres (2 h2) | 56.5est / at 2 metres (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | 425 | Edward Wheller |  GBR | 58.4est / at 5 metres (2 h3) | 55.8est / at 1 metre (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | 3 | Wilfrid Kent Hughes |  AUS | 57.4 (1 h2) | 57.0est / at 3 metres (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | 292 | Erkka Wilén |  FIN | 59.0est / at 8 metres (2 h1) | 56.0est / at 2 metres (5 h2) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | 393 | George Gray | GBR | 59.6est / at 4 metres (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | 657 | František Kiehlmann |  TCH | 1:00.2est / at 15 metres (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | 604 | Georg Lindström | SWE | 59.2est / at 5 metres (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | 291 | Valdemar Wickholm | FIN | 57.9est / at 8 metres (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | 661 | František Marek | TCH | 1:02.0est (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | 340 | Albert Lucas | FRA | – (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| AC h2 r1/3 | 338 | Antonin Jarrety | FRA | – (DNF h2) | – | – | |||
| AC h2 r1/3 | 562 | Attie van Heerden |  RSA | – (DNF h2) | – | – | |||
| AC h4 r1/3 | 52 | Omer Smet |  BEL | – (DNF h4) | – | – | |||
| – | Georges Daullé | FRA | – | – | – | ||||
| 303 | Henri Bernard | FRA | – | – | – | ||||
| 358 | Étienne Proux | FRA | – | – | – | ||||
| 84 | Tommy Thomson |  CAN | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| 465 | Giuseppe Bernardoni |  ITA | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| – | Albert van Dyck | BEL | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| – | Torwald Norling | SWE | – (DNS h5) | – | – |
Round One (15 August 1920 — 11:30)
Top two in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 153 | Gus Desch | USA | 57.8 | |||
| 2 | 292 | Erkka Wilén | FIN | 59.0est / at 8 metres | |||
| 3 | 393 | George Gray | GBR | 59.6est / at 4 metres | |||
| 4 | 661 | František Marek | TCH | 1:02.0est | |||
| 84 | Tommy Thomson | CAN | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Wilfrid Kent Hughes | AUS | 57.4 | |||
| 2 | 570 | Gösta Bladin | SWE | 58.0est / at 4 metres | |||
| 3 | 657 | František Kiehlmann | TCH | 1:00.2est / at 15 metres | |||
| 338 | Antonin Jarrety | FRA | – | ||||
| 562 | Attie van Heerden | RSA | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 215 | John Norton | USA | 57.6 | |||
| 2 | 425 | Edward Wheller | GBR | 58.4est / at 5 metres | |||
| 3 | 604 | Georg Lindström | SWE | 59.2est / at 5 metres | |||
| 4 | 340 | Albert Lucas | FRA | – | |||
| 465 | Giuseppe Bernardoni | ITA | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 573 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson | SWE | 56.4 | |||
| 2 | 150 | Charles Daggs | USA | 56.7est / at 2 metres | |||
| 3 | 291 | Valdemar Wickholm | FIN | 57.9est / at 8 metres | |||
| 52 | Omer Smet | BEL | – |
Heat Five
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 200 | Frank Loomis | USA | 55.8 | |||
| 2 | 294 | Géo André | FRA | 55.9est | |||
| – | Albert van Dyck | BEL | – | ||||
| – | Torwald Norling | SWE | – |
Semi-Finals (15 August 1920 — 14:30)
Top three in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 153 | Gus Desch | USA | 55.4 | |||
| 2 | 294 | Géo André | FRA | 55.5est / at chest | |||
| 3 | 215 | John Norton | USA | 56.2est / at 5 metres | |||
| 4 | 570 | Gösta Bladin | SWE | 56.5est / at 2 metres | |||
| 5 | 3 | Wilfrid Kent Hughes | AUS | 57.0est / at 3 metres |
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 200 | Frank Loomis | USA | 55.4 | |||
| 2 | 573 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson | SWE | 55.6est / at 2 metres | |||
| 3 | 150 | Charles Daggs | USA | 55.7est / at 1 metre | |||
| 4 | 425 | Edward Wheller | GBR | 55.8est / at 1 metre | |||
| 5 | 292 | Erkka Wilén | FIN | 56.0est / at 2 metres |
Final (16 August 1920 — 14:30)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Frank Loomis | USA | 54.0 | |||
| 2 | 5 | John Norton | USA | 54.6est / at 4 metres | |||
| 3 | 2 | Gus Desch | USA | 54.8est / at 1 metre | |||
| 4 | 4 | Géo André | FRA | 54.8est / at 1 metre | |||
| 5 | 1 | Carl-Axel Christiernsson | SWE | 55.4est / at 4 metres | |||
| 6 | 6 | Charles Daggs | USA | 56.5est / at 9 metres |