Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres hurdles

The men's 400 metres hurdles event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Sunday, August 15, 1920, and on Monday, August 16, 1920. 19 runners from 9 nations competed.^[1] Nations were limited to 4 hurdlers each. The event was won by Frank Loomis of the United States, the fourth consecutive victory (in four appearances of the event) by an American. The United States secured its second sweep in the event, and first with other nations competing (only Americans had run in 1900), with John Norton taking silver and August Desch bronze.

Men's 400 metres hurdles at the Games of the VII Olympiad
Frank Loomis in the final
Venue	Olympisch Stadion
Dates	August 15–16, 1920
Competitors	19 from 9 nations
Winning time	54.0 WR
Medalists
Frank Loomis  United States John Norton  United States August Desch  United States
← 1908 1924 →

Background

This was the fourth time the event was held. It had been introduced along with the men's 200 metres hurdles in 1900, with the 200 being dropped after 1904 and the 400 being held through 1908 before being left off the 1912 programme. However, when the Olympics returned after World War I, the men's 400 metres hurdles was back and would continue to be contested at every Games thereafter.

There was no favorite in the event, which was not a common competition (and had not been held at the previous Games).^[2]

Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, South Africa, and Sweden each made their debut in the event. The United States made its fourth appearance, the only nation to have competed at every edition of the event to that point.

Competition format

As in 1908, the competition consisted of three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Ten sets of hurdles were set on the course. The hurdles were 3 feet (91.5 centimetres) tall and were placed 35 metres apart beginning 45 metres from the starting line, resulting in a 40 metres home stretch after the last hurdle.

There were 5 quarterfinal heats, with between 2 and 5 athletes each. The top 2 men in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. The 10 semifinalists were divided into 2 semifinals of 5 athletes each, with the top 3 in each semifinal advancing to the 6-man final.^[2]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.

World record	John Norton (USA)	54.2	Pasadena, United States	26 June 1920
Olympic record	Charles Bacon (USA)	55.0	London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	22 July 1908

Frank Loomis set a new world record with 54.0 seconds in the final.

Schedule

Date	Time	Round
Sunday, 15 August 1920	11:30 14:30	Quarterfinals Semifinals
Monday, 16 August 1920	14:30	Final

Results

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	August Desch	United States	57.6	Q
2	Erik Wilén	Finland	58.4	Q
3	George Gray	Great Britain	58.8
4	František Marek	Czechoslovakia	Unknown

Quarterfinal 2

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Wilfrid Kent-Hughes	Australia	57.2	Q
2	Gösta Bladin	Sweden	57.7	Q
3	František Kiehlmann	Czechoslovakia	59.9
—	Antoine Jarrety	France	DNF
	Attie van Heerden	South Africa	DNF

Quarterfinal 3

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John Norton	United States	57.6	Q
2	Edward Wheller	Great Britain	58.4	Q
3	Georg Lindström	Sweden	59.1
4	Albert Lucas	France	Unknown

Quarterfinal 4

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Carl-Axel Christiernsson	Sweden	56.4	Q
2	Charles Daggs	United States	56.7	Q
3	Valdemar Wickholm	Finland	57.9
—	Omer Smet	Belgium	DNF

Quarterfinal 5

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Frank Loomis	United States	55.8	Q
2	Géo André	France	55.9	Q

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	August Desch	United States	55.4	Q
2	Géo André	France	55.5	Q
3	John Norton	United States	56.2	Q
4	Gösta Bladin	Sweden	56.5
5	Wilfrid Kent-Hughes	Australia	56.9

Semifinal 2

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Frank Loomis	United States	55.4	Q
2	Carl-Axel Christiernsson	Sweden	55.7	Q
3	Charles Daggs	United States	55.8	Q
4	Edward Wheller	Great Britain	Unknown
5	Erik Wilén	Finland	Unknown

Final

The final was held on Monday, August 16, 1920.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
	Frank Loomis	United States	54.0	WR
	John Norton	United States	54.6
	August Desch	United States	54.7
4	Géo André	France	54.8
5	Carl-Axel Christiernsson	Sweden	55.4
6	Charles Daggs	United States	55.7

Results summary

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final	Notes
	Frank Loomis	United States	55.8	55.4	54.0	WR
	John Norton	United States	57.6	56.2	54.6
	August Desch	United States	57.6	55.4	54.7
4	Géo André	France	55.9	55.5	54.8
5	Carl-Axel Christiernsson	Sweden	56.4	55.7	55.4
6	Charles Daggs	United States	56.7	55.8	55.7
7	Gösta Bladin	Sweden	57.7	56.5	Did not advance
8	Wilfrid Kent-Hughes	Australia	57.2	56.9
9	Edward Wheller	Great Britain	58.4	Unknown		4th in semifinal
10	Erik Wilén	Finland	58.4	Unknown		5th in semifinal
11	Valdemar Wickholm	Finland	57.9	Did not advance
12	George Gray	Great Britain	58.8
13	Georg Lindström	Sweden	59.1
14	František Kiehlmann	Czechoslovakia	59.9
15	Albert Lucas	France	Unknown			4th in quarterfinal
	František Marek	Czechoslovakia	Unknown			4th in quarterfinal
17	Attie van Heerden	South Africa	DNF
	Antoine Jarrety	France	DNF
	Omer Smet	Belgium	DNF