| | Event type
400 metres Hurdles, Men
| Date | 14 – 16 October 1964 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Kokuritsu Kyogijo, Shinjuku, Tokyo |
| Participants | 39 from 25 countries |
At the US Olympic Trials in 1964, Warren “Rex” Cawley won in a world record 49.1. He had won the 1963 AAU title and was favored in Tokyo. In the final he got off to a terrible start, trailing Roberto Frinolli through the first half of the race. But he faded and Cawley took the lead at the seventh hurdle, pulling away to an easy victory. The silver medalist was Briton John Cooper, who died on 3 March 1974 in the Turkish Air Lines crash over France that killed 346 people.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 726 | Rex Cawley |  USA | 50.8 (1 h2) | 49.8 (1 h1) | 49.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 170 | John Cooper |  GBR | 50.5 (1 h1) | 50.4 (1 h2) | 50.1 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 352 | Salvatore Morale |  ITA | 51.1 (1 h4) | 50.4 (3 h2) | 50.1 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 14 | Gary Knoke |  AUS | 50.9 (2 h1) | 50.6 (3 h1) | 50.4 (4) | |||
| 5 | 728 | Jay Luck | USA | 51.7 (3 h3) | 50.4 (2 h2) | 50.5 (5) | |||
| 6 | 351 | Roberto Frinolli | ITA | 51.2 (3 h1) | 50.2 (2 h1) | 50.7 (6) | |||
| 7 | 658 | Vasily Anisimov |  URS | 51.7 (2 h4) | 50.7 (4 h2) | 51.1 (7) | |||
| 8 | 42 | Wilfried Geeroms |  BEL | 51.2 (1 h3) | 51.0 (4 h1) | 51.4 (8) | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | 172 | Peter Warden | GBR | 51.6 (3 h2) | 51.2 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | 8 | Ken Roche | AUS | 51.5 (2 h3) | 50.8 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | 218 | Ferdinand Haas |  GER | 52.2 (3 h4) | 51.6 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | 727 | Billy Hardin | USA | 51.3 (1 h5) | 50.9 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r2/3 | 689 | Edvīns Zāģeris | URS | 51.5 (4 h1) | 52.2 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | 773 | Víctor Maldonado |  VEN | 51.6 (2 h5) | 51.1 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r2/3 | 104 | Jaakko Tuominen |  FIN | 51.8 (3 h5) | 54.0 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r2/3 | 1 | Juan Carlos Dyrzka |  ARG | 51.1 (2 h2) | 53.1 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | 217 | Joachim Singer | GER | 52.1 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | 635 | Jorem Ochana |  UGA | 52.4 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | 171 | Mike Hogan | GBR | 52.5 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | 131 | Jean-Jacques Behm |  FRA | 52.2 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | 61 | Bill Gairdner |  CAN | 53.8 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | 501 | Bogusław Gierajewski |  POL | 52.8 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | 132 | Robert Poirier | FRA | 52.6 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | 798 | Keiji Ogushi |  JPN | 53.6 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | 799 | Eki Iijima | JPN | 52.8 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | 29 | Helmut Haid |  AUT | 54.6 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | 334 | Samir Vincent |  IRQ | 54.0 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | 532 | Valeriu Jurcă |  ROU | 52.7 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | 484 | José Cavero |  PER | 53.7 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h5 r1/3 | 548 | Mamadou Sarr |  SEN | 53.2 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/3 | 800 | Kiyoo Yui | JPN | 54.7 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 7 h3 r1/3 | 385 | Kimaru Songok |  KEN | 54.5 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r1/3 | 418 | Karu Selvaratnam |  MAS | 53.8 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 7 h5 r1/3 | 313 | Amrit Pal |  IND | 53.3 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| 8 h2 r1/3 | 15 | Michael Ryan | AUS | 58.0 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 8 h3 r1/3 | 480 | Mansour ul-Haq Awan |  PAK | 55.3 (8 h3) | – | – | |||
| 8 h5 r1/3 | 660 | Imants Kukličs | URS | 53.3 (8 h5) | – | – | |||
| AC h1 r1/3 | 219 | Horst Gieseler | GER | – (DNF h1) | – | – | |||
| AC h4 r1/3 | 783 | Ðani Kovač |  YUG | – (DQ h4) | – | – | |||
| 47 | Nikola Dagorov |  BUL | – (DNS h1) | – | – |
Round One (14 October 1964 — 14:00)
Top three in each heat and next fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | John Cooper | GBR | 50.5 | 50.58 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Gary Knoke | AUS | 50.9 | 50.94 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Roberto Frinolli | ITA | 51.2 | 51.23 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Edvīns Zāģeris | URS | 51.5 | 51.59 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Bill Gairdner | CAN | 53.8 | – | |||
| 6 | 3 | Helmut Haid | AUT | 54.6 | – | |||
| 8 | Horst Gieseler | GER | – | – | ||||
| 1 | Nikola Dagorov | BUL | – | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Rex Cawley | USA | 50.8 | 50.88 | |||
| 2 | 8 | Juan Carlos Dyrzka | ARG | 51.1 | 51.17 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Peter Warden | GBR | 51.6 | 51.61 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Joachim Singer | GER | 52.1 | – | |||
| 5 | 2 | Bogusław Gierajewski | POL | 52.8 | – | |||
| 6 | 7 | Samir Vincent | IRQ | 54.0 | – | |||
| 7 | 1 | Kiyoo Yui | JPN | 54.7 | – | |||
| 8 | 5 | Michael Ryan | AUS | 58.0 | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Wilfried Geeroms | BEL | 51.2 | 51.24 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Ken Roche | AUS | 51.5 | 51.52 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Jay Luck | USA | 51.7 | 51.77 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Jorem Ochana | UGA | 52.4 | – | |||
| 5 | 1 | Robert Poirier | FRA | 52.6 | – | |||
| 6 | 3 | Valeriu Jurcă | ROU | 52.7 | – | |||
| 7 | 5 | Kimaru Songok | KEN | 54.5 | – | |||
| 8 | 4 | Mansour ul-Haq Awan | PAK | 55.3 | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Salvatore Morale | ITA | 51.1 | 51.17 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Vasily Anisimov | URS | 51.7 | 51.72 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Ferdinand Haas | GER | 52.2 | – | |||
| 4 | 4 | Mike Hogan | GBR | 52.5 | – | |||
| 5 | 5 | Keiji Ogushi | JPN | 53.6 | – | |||
| 6 | 8 | José Cavero | PER | 53.7 | – | |||
| 7 | 3 | Karu Selvaratnam | MAS | 53.8 | – | |||
| 7 | Ðani Kovač | YUG | – | – |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Billy Hardin | USA | 51.3 | 51.37 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Víctor Maldonado | VEN | 51.6 | 51.64 | |||
| 3 | 8 | Jaakko Tuominen | FIN | 51.8 | 51.88 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Jean-Jacques Behm | FRA | 52.2 | 52.20 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Eki Iijima | JPN | 52.8 | – | |||
| 6 | 4 | Mamadou Sarr | SEN | 53.2 | – | |||
| 7 | 3 | Amrit Pal | IND | 53.3 | – | |||
| 8 | 6 | Imants Kukličs | URS | 53.3 | – |
Semi-Finals (15 October 1964 — 14:15)
Top four in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Rex Cawley | USA | 49.8 | 49.89 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Roberto Frinolli | ITA | 50.2 | 50.28 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Gary Knoke | AUS | 50.6 | 50.63 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Wilfried Geeroms | BEL | 51.0 | 51.00 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Peter Warden | GBR | 51.2 | – | |||
| 6 | 6 | Ferdinand Haas | GER | 51.6 | – | |||
| 7 | 8 | Edvīns Zāģeris | URS | 52.2 | – | |||
| 8 | 2 | Jaakko Tuominen | FIN | 54.0 | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | John Cooper | GBR | 50.4 | 50.40 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Jay Luck | USA | 50.4 | 50.43 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Salvatore Morale | ITA | 50.4 | 50.48 | |||
| 4 | 8 | Vasily Anisimov | URS | 50.7 | 50.72 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Ken Roche | AUS | 50.8 | 50.86 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Billy Hardin | USA | 50.9 | 50.90 | |||
| 7 | 4 | Víctor Maldonado | VEN | 51.1 | 51.19 | |||
| 8 | 6 | Juan Carlos Dyrzka | ARG | 53.1 | – |
Final (16 October 1964 — 16:00)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Rex Cawley | USA | 49.6 | |||
| 2 | 4 | John Cooper | GBR | 50.1 | |||
| 3 | 8 | Salvatore Morale | ITA | 50.1 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Gary Knoke | AUS | 50.4 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Jay Luck | USA | 50.5 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Roberto Frinolli | ITA | 50.7 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Vasily Anisimov | URS | 51.1 | |||
| 8 | 5 | Wilfried Geeroms | BEL | 51.4 |