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| Event type

400 metres, Men

Date3 – 6 September 1960
StatusOlympic
LocationStadio Olimpico, Roma
Participants54 from 41 countries

There was no heavy favorite in this event in 1960. The best US runner was likely Otis Davis, but he was a relative newcomer to the event. No European runner had really established themselves as the leader in Europe. One interesting challenger was India’s Milkha Singh, who had won the 1958 Commonwealth Games, the first major title won in track & field athletics from that nation. The final was led by South Africa’s Malcolm Spence (not to be confused with Jamaica’s Mal Spence, who did not survive the semi-finals). Davis accelerated as he entered the final turn, and pulled ahead. On the final straight, Germany’s Carl Kaufmann began to close. He dove at the tape, but Davis won in a photo-finish. Both Davis and Kaufmann were credited with the world record of 44.9, Davis winning on auto-time, 45.07 to 45.08.

PosNrAthleteNOCR1QFSFFinal
1400Otis DavisUSA46.8 (1 h9)45.9 (1 h4)45.5 (1 h1)44.9 (1)GoldWR
2267Carl KaufmannGER47.3 (1 h3)46.5 (1 h1)45.7 (1 h2)44.9 (2)Silver
3109Malcolm SpenceRSA46.7 (1 h4)46.1 (2 h4)45.8 (2 h2)45.5 (3)Bronze
4171Milkha SinghIND47.6 (2 h6)46.5 (2 h1)45.9 (2 h1)45.6 (4)
5266Manfred KinderGER46.7 (1 h1)46.7 (3 h2)46.0 (3 h1)45.9 (5)
6401Earl YoungUSA47.6 (2 h7)46.1 (1 h3)46.1 (3 h2)45.9 (6)
4 h1 r3/4625Robbie BrightwellGBR48.4 (2 h2)46.2 (2 h3)46.1 (4 h1)
4 h2 r3/449Abdul Karim AmuNGR46.8 (1 h8)46.6 (3 h4)46.6 (4 h2)
5 h1 r3/4110Gordon DayRSA47.1 (2 h8)46.3 (3 h3)46.7 (5 h1)
5 h2 r3/4101Mal SpenceWIF47.6 (1 h7)46.9 (3 h1)46.8 (5 h2)
6 h1 r3/48Kevan GosperAUS47.1 (2 h4)46.5 (2 h2)47.1 (6 h1)
6 h2 r3/4402Jack YermanUSA47.2 (1 h6)46.4 (1 h2)48.9 (6 h2)
4 h1 r2/4136Terry TobaccoCAN47.4 (3 h4)47.5 (4 h1)
4 h2 r2/4102Jim WedderburnWIF47.4 (2 h9)47.0 (4 h2)
4 h3 r2/4268Jochen ReskeGER47.2 (3 h8)47.3 (4 h3)
4 h4 r2/4519Jerzy KowalskiPOL48.3 (2 h5)46.7 (4 h4)
5 h1 r2/4112Edgar DavisRSA47.2 (2 h1)48.0 (5 h1)
5 h2 r2/4247Germán GuenardPUR47.3 (1 h5)47.2 (5 h2)
5 h3 r2/4518Stanisław SwatowskiPOL48.1 (3 h6)47.4 (5 h3)
5 h4 r2/4599Giuseppe BommaritoITA48.6 (3 h5)47.5 (5 h4)
6 h1 r2/4627Malcolm YardleyGBR47.3 (3 h1)48.8 (6 h1)
6 h2 r2/4626John WrightonGBR47.4 (3 h9)48.0 (6 h2)
6 h3 r2/4551Konstantin GrachovURS49.3 (3 h2)47.6 (6 h3)
6 h4 r2/482Barry RobinsonNZL47.6 (2 h3)48.3 (6 h4)
7 h3 r2/4178Bartonjo RotichKEN47.7 (3 h7)47.8 (7 h3)
7 h4 r2/4235Louis De ClerckBEL47.9 (3 h3)48.4 (7 h4)
1 h2 r1/4345Alf PeterssonSWE48.3 (1 h2)– (DNS h1)
4 h1 r1/4148Josef TrousilTCH47.4 (4 h1)
4 h2 r1/455Felix HeuertzLUX50.2 (4 h2)
4 h3 r1/439Anubes da SilvaBRA48.0 (4 h3)
4 h4 r1/476Gadi AdoUGA49.0 (4 h4)
4 h5 r1/432Li Po-TingTPE49.5 (4 h5)
4 h6 r1/4682Mani JegathesanMAL48.4 (4 h6)
4 h7 r1/4147Zdeněk VáňaTCH48.3 (4 h7)
4 h8 r1/4495Voitto HellsténFIN48.4 (4 h8)
4 h9 r1/4221René WeberSUI47.6 (4 h9)
5 h1 r1/4130John Asare-AntwiGHA47.7 (5 h1)
5 h3 r1/4192Csaba CsutorásHUN48.2 (5 h3)
5 h4 r1/4241Marcel LambrechtsBEL49.5 (5 h4)
5 h5 r1/4167Clayton GlasgowGUY50.7 (5 h5)
5 h6 r1/4248Iván RodríguezPUR49.6 (5 h6)
5 h7 r1/4327Vasilios SillisGRE48.4 (5 h7)
5 h8 r1/423Jassim KarimIRQ49.2 (5 h8)
5 h9 r1/480Moussa SaidETH48.2 (5 h9)
6 h1 r1/4374Hirotada HayaseJPN49.1 (6 h1)
6 h3 r1/4253Hugh BullardBAH51.1 (6 h3)
6 h4 r1/4256Jorge TeránMEX49.6 (6 h4)
6 h5 r1/447George JohnsonLBR51.4 (6 h5)
6 h6 r1/444Claro PellosisPHI51.4 (6 h6)
6 h7 r1/464Manut BumrungphukTHA49.6 (6 h7)
6 h8 r1/4660Fahir ÖzgüdenTUR50.7 (6 h8)
6 h9 r1/4671Amos GrodzinowskyISR48.9 (6 h9)
7 h1 r1/43Habib SayedAFG53.8 (7 h1)
7 h4 r1/469Brahim KarabiTUN52.0 (7 h4)
DNS100George KerrWIF– (DNS h2)
DNS362Rafael RomeroVEN– (DNS h2)

Round One (3 September 1960 — 9:50)

Top three in each heat advanced to the quarter-finals.

Heat One

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
13Manfred KinderGER46.746.84Q
25Edgar DavisRSA47.247.31Q
32Malcolm YardleyGBR47.347.38Q
41Josef TrousilTCH47.447.53
54John Asare-AntwiGHA47.747.81
67Hirotada HayaseJPN49.149.13
76Habib SayedAFG53.853.91

Heat Two

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
15Alf PeterssonSWE48.348.44Q
24Robbie BrightwellGBR48.448.58Q
33Konstantin GrachovURS49.349.44Q
42Felix HeuertzLUX50.250.34
DNS1George KerrWIF
DNS6Rafael RomeroVEN

Heat Three

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
13Carl KaufmannGER47.347.42Q
26Barry RobinsonNZL47.647.70Q
35Louis De ClerckBEL47.948.00Q
42Anubes da SilvaBRA48.048.10
51Csaba CsutorásHUN48.248.31
64Hugh BullardBAH51.151.20

Heat Four

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
15Malcolm SpenceRSA46.746.79Q
22Kevan GosperAUS47.147.20Q
34Terry TobaccoCAN47.448.52Q1
46Gadi AdoUGA49.049.12
51Marcel LambrechtsBEL49.549.66
67Jorge TeránMEX49.649.75
73Brahim KarabiTUN52.052.12

Heat Five

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
12Germán GuenardPUR47.347.39Q
24Jerzy KowalskiPOL48.348.49Q
33Giuseppe BommaritoITA48.648.79Q
45Li Po-TingTPE49.549.69
56Clayton GlasgowGUY50.750.84
61George JohnsonLBR51.451.54

Heat Six

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
15Jack YermanUSA47.247.37Q
22Milkha SinghIND47.647.72Q
31Stanisław SwatowskiPOL48.148.23Q
43Mani JegathesanMAL48.448.56
56Iván RodríguezPUR49.649.74
64Claro PellosisPHI51.451.51

Heat Seven

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
12Mal SpenceWIF47.647.77Q
25Earl YoungUSA47.647.79Q
34Bartonjo RotichKEN47.747.89Q
41Zdeněk VáňaTCH48.348.48
53Vasilios SillisGRE48.448.56
66Manut BumrungphukTHA49.649.85

Heat Eight

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
11Abdul Karim AmuNGR46.846.93Q
23Gordon DayRSA47.147.22Q
34Jochen ReskeGER47.247.38Q
45Voitto HellsténFIN48.448.52
52Jassim KarimIRQ49.249.35
66Fahir ÖzgüdenTUR50.750.87

Heat Nine

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
16Otis DavisUSA46.846.91Q
21Jim WedderburnWIF47.447.56Q
34John WrightonGBR47.447.60Q
42René WeberSUI47.647.73
55Moussa SaidETH48.248.30
63Amos GrodzinowskyISR48.949.03

Quarter-Finals (3 September 1960 — 16:10)

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

Heat One

PosNrAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
1267Carl KaufmannGER46.546.67Q
2171Milkha SinghIND46.546.71Q
3101Mal SpenceWIF46.947.00Q
4136Terry TobaccoCAN47.547.61
5112Edgar DavisRSA48.048.18
6627Malcolm YardleyGBR48.848.93
DNS345Alf PeterssonSWE

Heat Two

PosNrAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
1402Jack YermanUSA46.446.54Q
28Kevan GosperAUS46.546.64Q
3266Manfred KinderGER46.746.82Q
4102Jim WedderburnWIF47.047.22
5247Germán GuenardPUR47.247.39
6626John WrightonGBR48.048.09

Heat Three

PosNrAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
1401Earl YoungUSA46.146.25Q
2625Robbie BrightwellGBR46.246.31Q
3110Gordon DayRSA46.346.47Q
4268Jochen ReskeGER47.347.43
5518Stanisław SwatowskiPOL47.447.56
6551Konstantin GrachovURS47.647.78
7178Bartonjo RotichKEN47.847.97

Heat Four

PosNrAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
1400Otis DavisUSA45.946.02Q=OR
2109Malcolm SpenceRSA46.146.21Q
349Abdul Karim AmuNGR46.646.76Q
4519Jerzy KowalskiPOL46.746.82
5599Giuseppe BommaritoITA47.547.71
682Barry RobinsonNZL48.348.44
7235Louis De ClerckBEL48.448.51

Semi-Finals (5 September 1960 — 16:15)

Top three in each heat advanced to the final.

Heat One

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
15Otis DavisUSA45.545.62QOR
23Milkha SinghIND45.946.08Q
36Manfred KinderGER46.046.13Q
44Robbie BrightwellGBR46.146.25
52Gordon DayRSA46.746.84
61Kevan GosperAUS47.147.28

Heat Two

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
16Carl KaufmannGER45.745.88Q
25Malcolm SpenceRSA45.846.01Q
34Earl YoungUSA46.146.29Q
41Abdul Karim AmuNGR46.646.74
53Mal SpenceWIF46.846.99
62Jack YermanUSA48.948.96

Final (6 September 1960 — 15:45)

PosLaneAthleteNOCTime (H)Time (A)
13Otis DavisUSA44.945.07WR
21Carl KaufmannGER44.945.08=WR
34Malcolm SpenceRSA45.545.60
45Milkha SinghIND45.645.73
56Manfred KinderGER45.946.04
62Earl YoungUSA45.946.07