Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres


The men's 400 metres sprint event at the 1932 Olympic Games took place on August 4 and August 5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Twenty-seven athletes from 15 nations competed. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes. The event was won by Bill Carr of the United States, that nation's second consecutive title and sixth overall in the event. Ben Eastman's silver marked the first time countrymen had gone one-two in the event since the United States did it at the first three Olympics.

Background

This was the ninth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The defending gold medalist, Ray Barbuti of the United States, did not return, but 1928 silver medalist Jimmy Ball of Canada and bronze medalist Joachim Büchner of Germany did. The United States had a strong team, led by Ben Eastman and Bill Carr.
New Zealand appeared in the event for the first time. The United States made its ninth appearance in the event, the only nation to compete in it at every Olympic Games to that point.

Competition format

The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. With fewer athletes than previous editions, the first round was reduced to 6 heats. Each heat had between 4 and 6 athletes. The top three runners in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals. There were 3 quarterfinals of 6 runners each; the top four athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 6 runners each. The top two runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making a six-man final.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Bill Carr broke the Olympic record in the semifinals and the world record in the final.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Thursday, 4 August 193214:30
16:00		Heats
Quarterfinals
Friday, 5 August 193214:30
16:30		Semifinals
Final

Results

Heats

Six heats were held; the fastest three runners advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

Heat 5

Heat 6

Quarterfinals

Three heats were held; the four fastest runners in each heat advanced to the semifinal round.

Quarterfinal 1

Quarterfinal 2

Quarterfinal 3

Semifinals

Two heats were held; the fastest three runners advanced to the final round.

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

RankLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes
4Bill Carr46.28
2Ben Eastman46.50
3Alex Wilson47.4
41Willie Walters48.2
55James Gordon48.2
66George Golding48.8