| | Event type
400 metres Hurdles, Men
| Date | 23 – 25 July 1976 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Stade olympique, Parc olympique, Montréal, Québec |
| Participants | 22 from 16 countries |
| Olympic Record | 47.82 WR / John Akii-Bua  UGA / 2 September 1972 |
The favorite coming into 1976 was the defending champion John Akii-Bua but the African boycott kept him out of the competition. Also highly considered was 1974 European and Commonwealth Champion Alan Pascoe (GBR), but a leg injury had him at less than his best in Montréal. Akii-Bua’s absence prevented what could have been one of the great races of the Olympics. In his absence the race turned into a showcase coming out party for Edwin Moses, the man who would soon become known as the greatest practitioner of the event ever. He won the gold medal by over a second in a world record 47.63. American Mike Shine closed quickly for the silver medal.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 943 | Edwin Moses |  USA | 49.95 (1 h4) | 48.29 (1 h2) | 47.63 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 959 | Mike Shine | USA | 50.91 (1 h3) | 49.90 (1 h1) | 48.69 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 880 | Yevgeny Gavrilenko |  URS | 50.93 (2 h3) | 49.73 (2 h2) | 49.45 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 967 | Quentin Wheeler | USA | 50.32 (1 h2) | 50.22 (4 h1) | 49.86 (4) | |||
| 5 | 748 | José Carvalho |  POR | 50.99 (4 h1) | 49.97 (2 h1) | 49.94 (5) | |||
| 6 | 121 | Yanko Bratanov |  BUL | 51.84 (4 h3) | 50.11 (3 h1) | 50.03 (6) | |||
| 7 | 203 | Dámaso Alfonso |  CUB | 50.76 (2 h1) | 49.84 (3 h2) | 50.19 (7) | |||
| 8 | 376 | Alan Pascoe |  GBR | 51.66 (2 h4) | 49.95 (4 h2) | 51.29 (8) | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | 906 | Dmitry Stukalov | URS | 50.78 (=3 h2) | 50.47 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | 330 | Jean-Claude Nallet |  FRA | 50.77 (3 h1) | 50.08 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | 331 | Jean-Pierre Perrinelle | FRA | 50.78 (=3 h2) | 50.82 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | 469 | Stavros Tziortzis |  GRE | 50.42 (1 h1) | 50.30 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | 712 | Jerzy Hewelt |  POL | 51.39 (3 h3) | 50.57 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r2/3 | 762 | Julio Ferrer |  PUR | 52.45 (4 h4) | 51.04 (8 h2) | – | |||
| AC h1 r2/3 | 439 | Harald Schmid |  FRG | 50.57 (2 h2) | 50.30 (AC h1) | – | |||
| AC h1 r2/3 | 468 | Georgios Parris | GRE | 51.91 (3 h4) | – (AC h1) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | 57 | Don Hanly |  AUS | 51.90 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | 56 | Peter Grant | AUS | 51.07 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | 620 | Abdul Latif Abbas |  KUW | 53.06 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | 20 | Kamil Al-Abbasi |  KSA | 55.00 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | 13 | Conrad Mainwaring |  ANT | 54.67 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| AC h4 r1/3 | 202 | Jesús Villegas |  COL | – (AC h4) | – | – |
Round One (23 July 1976 — 10:00)
Top four in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Stavros Tziortzis | GRE | 50.42 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Dámaso Alfonso | CUB | 50.76 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Jean-Claude Nallet | FRA | 50.77 | |||
| 4 | 4 | José Carvalho | POR | 50.99 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Don Hanly | AUS | 51.90 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Quentin Wheeler | USA | 50.32 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Harald Schmid | FRG | 50.57 | |||
| =3 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Perrinelle | FRA | 50.78 | |||
| =3 | 2 | Dmitry Stukalov | URS | 50.78 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Peter Grant | AUS | 51.07 |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mike Shine | USA | 50.91 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Yevgeny Gavrilenko | URS | 50.93 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Jerzy Hewelt | POL | 51.39 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Yanko Bratanov | BUL | 51.84 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Abdul Latif Abbas | KUW | 53.06 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Conrad Mainwaring | ANT | 54.67 |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Edwin Moses | USA | 49.95 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Alan Pascoe | GBR | 51.66 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Georgios Parris | GRE | 51.91 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Julio Ferrer | PUR | 52.45 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Kamil Al-Abbasi | KSA | 55.00 | |||
| AC | 5 | Jesús Villegas | COL | – |
Semi-Finals (24 July 1976 — 15:00)
Top four in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Mike Shine | USA | 49.90 | |||
| 2 | 6 | José Carvalho | POR | 49.97 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Yanko Bratanov | BUL | 50.11 | |||
| 4 | 8 | Quentin Wheeler | USA | 50.22 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Dmitry Stukalov | URS | 50.47 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Jean-Pierre Perrinelle | FRA | 50.82 | |||
| AC | 4 | Georgios Parris | GRE | – | |||
| AC | 3 | Harald Schmid | FRG | 50.30 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Edwin Moses | USA | 48.29 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Yevgeny Gavrilenko | URS | 49.73 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Dámaso Alfonso | CUB | 49.84 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Alan Pascoe | GBR | 49.95 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Jean-Claude Nallet | FRA | 50.08 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Stavros Tziortzis | GRE | 50.30 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Jerzy Hewelt | POL | 50.57 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Julio Ferrer | PUR | 51.04 |
Final (25 July 1976 — 17:30)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Edwin Moses | USA | 47.63 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Mike Shine | USA | 48.69 | |||
| 3 | 8 | Yevgeny Gavrilenko | URS | 49.45 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Quentin Wheeler | USA | 49.86 | |||
| 5 | 3 | José Carvalho | POR | 49.94 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Yanko Bratanov | BUL | 50.03 | |||
| 7 | 6 | Dámaso Alfonso | CUB | 50.19 | |||
| 8 | 5 | Alan Pascoe | GBR | 51.29 |