Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games took place July 20 and July 21. The final was won by American Charles Moore.Results
Heats
The first round was held on July 20. The three fastest runners from each heat qualified for the quarterfinals.
Heat 1
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Charles Moore | | 51.8 | |
| 2 | Lars Ylander | | 53.7 | |
| 3 | Eitaro Okano | | 54.2 | |
| 4 | Rudolf Haidegger | | 54.8 | |
| 5 | Johny Fonck | | 57.8 | |
Heat 2
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Timofey Lunev | | 54.3 | |
| 2 | Lee Yoder | | 55.2 | |
| 3 | Ken Doubleday | | 55.4 | |
| 4 | Muhammad Shafi | | 56.1 | |
| 5 | Ingi Þorsteinsson | | 56.5 | |
Heat 3
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Anatoly Yulin | | 53.6 | |
| 2 | Fotios Kosmas | | 53.9 | |
| 3 | Roland Blackman | | 54.8 | |
| 4 | Ragnar Graeffe | | 55.0 | |
| 5 | Jörn Gevert | | 56.1 | |
| 6 | Emin Doybak | | 56.6 | |
Heat 4
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Yuriy Lituyev | | 53.5 | |
| 2 | Rainer Pelkonen | | 54.2 | |
| 3 | Robert Bart | | 54.5 | |
| 4 | Pedro Yoma | | 56.8 | |
| 5 | Paulino Ferrer | | 1:02.1 | |
Heat 5
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Ron Wilkie | | 54.5 | |
| 2 | Arvo Hilli | | 54.6 | |
| 3 | Rune Larsson | | 55.9 | |
| 4 | Mirza Khan | | 56.3 | |
Heat 6
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | John Holland | | 53.3 | |
| 2 | Sven-Olov Eriksson | | 54.3 | |
| 3 | Angus Scott | | 54.9 | |
| 4 | Kemal Horulu | | 55.2 | |
| 5 | Karl Schmid | | 57.5 | |
Heat 7
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | David Gracie | | 54.2 | |
| 2 | Wilson Carneiro | | 56.0 | |
| 3 | Hans Schwarz | | 56.3 | |
| 4 | Fernando Fernandes | | 56.8 | |
| 5 | Doğan Acarbay | | 1:02.8 | |
Heat 8
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Armando Filiput | | 53.8 | |
| 2 | Harry Whittle | | 53.9 | |
| 3 | Antal Lippay | | 54.0 | |
| 4 | Amadeo Francis | | 54.0 | |
| 5 | Jean Thureau | | 56.7 | |
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals were held on July 20. The three fastest runners from each heat qualified for the semifinals.
Heat 1
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Charles Moore | | 50.8 | OR |
| 2 | Anatoly Yulin | | 52.4 | |
| 3 | Armando Filiput | | 53.0 | |
| 4 | Robert Bart | | 53.0 | |
| 5 | Sven-Olov Eriksson | | 53.8 | |
| 6 | Hans Schwarz | | 54.0 | |
Heat 2
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | John Holland | | 52.2 | |
| 2 | Lee Yoder | | 53.3 | |
| 3 | David Gracie | | 53.9 | |
| 4 | Arvo Hilli | | 54.0 | |
| 5 | Fotios Kosmas | | 55.3 | |
| 6 | Wilson Carneiro | | 59.4 | |
Heat 3
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Yuriy Lituyev | | 52.2 | |
| 2 | Antal Lippay | | 52.7 | |
| 3 | Harry Whittle | | 52.8 | |
| 4 | Lars Ylander | | 53.1 | |
| 5 | Ron Wilkie | | 54.5 | |
| 6 | Ken Doubleday | | 1:00.2 | |
Heat 4
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Timofey Lunev | | 52.7 | |
| 2 | Roland Blackman | | 52.7 | |
| 3 | Rune Larsson | | 53.3 | |
| 4 | Angus Scott | | 53.4 | |
| 5 | Rainer Pelkonen | | 53.9 | |
| 6 | Eitaro Okano | | 54.4 | |
Semifinals
The semifinals were held on July 21. The three fastest runners from each heat qualified for the final.
Heat 1
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Yuriy Lituyev | | 51.8 | |
| 2 | John Holland | | 52.0 | |
| 3 | Anatoly Yulin | | 52.1 | |
| 4 | David Gracie | | 52.4 | |
| 5 | Roland Blackman | | 52.7 | |
| 6 | Rune Larsson | | 53.9 | |
Heat 2
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Result | Notes |
| 1 | Charles Moore | | 52.0 | |
| 2 | Harri Whittle | | 52.9 | |
| 3 | Armando Filiput | | 53.0 | |
| 4 | Lee Yoder | | 53.0 | |
| 5 | Antal Lippay | | 53.0 | |
| 6 | Timofey Lunev | | 53.1 | |
Final
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| Charles Moore | | 50.8 | =OR |
| Yuriy Lituyev | | 51.3 | |
| John Holland | | 52.2 | |
| 4 | Anatoliy Yulin | | 52.8 | |
| 5 | Harry Whittle | | 53.1 | |
| 6 | Armando Filiput | | 54.4 | |
Key: =OR = Equalled Olympic record
