Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres
The men's 400 metres sprint event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place between August 4 and August 5. The final was won by Jamaican Arthur Wint coming from almost 10 meters back to catch teammate and world record holder Herb McKenley.
Records
Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.| World Record | 46.0 | Frankfurt am Main, Germany | 12 August 1939 | |
| Olympic Record | 46.2 | Los Angeles, United States | 5 August 1932 |
Schedule
All times are British Summer Time| Date | Time | Round |
| Wednesday, 4 August 1948 | 15:30 17:15 | Round 1 Round 2 |
| Thursday, 5 August 1948 | 15:00 16:45 | Semifinals Finals |
Results
Round 1
The fastest two runners in each of the twelve heats advanced to Round 2.Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
Heat 5
Heat 6
Heat 7
Heat 8
Heat 9
Heat 10
Heat 11
Heat 12
Round 2
The fastest three runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinal round.Quarterfinal 1
Quarterfinal 2
Quarterfinal 3
Quarterfinal 4
Semifinals
The fastest three runners in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2
Final
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| Arthur Wint | 46.2 | =OR | ||
| Herb McKenley | 46.4 | |||
| Mal Whitfield | 46.9 | |||
| 4 | Dave Bolen | 47.2 | ||
| 5 | Morris Curotta | 47.9 | ||
| 6 | George Guida | 50.2 |
Key: =OR = Equalled Olympic record