The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were a total number of 68 participating athletes from 52 nations, with nine qualifying heats.[1][2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Quincy Watts of the United States, the third in what would ultimately be seven consecutive American victories stretching from 1984 to 2008 and the 15th overall title in the event by the United States. Steve Lewis became the third man (and first American) to win a second medal in the event. Samson Kitur earned Kenya's first medal in the men's 400 metres since 1972.
In heat 1 of the semifinal round, Derek Redmond tore his hamstring 250 meters to the finish line and was disqualified due to outside assistance from his father. Despite the results, the crowd gave him a standing ovation, and became as one of the well-remembered moments in Olympic's history.
In heat 2 of the semifinal round, Quincy Watts ran the number 2 time in history, 43.71, only surpassed by the world record held by Butch Reynolds. At those trials, Danny Everett had run the previous number time in history 43.81, while Reynolds did not qualify. In heat 2, Everett suffered a foot injury and hobbled home. In the final, Watts again improved the number 2 time in history while breaking the Olympic Record with his 43.50 win.[3]
Background
This was the 22nd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Defending gold medalist Steve Lewis and bronze medalist Danny Everett of the United States, but Quincy Watts beat silver medalist Butch Reynolds at the U.S. Olympic trials to take the third spot. Roger Black of Great Britain had taken silver at the 1991 world championship.[2]
Angola, the Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritania, and Qatar appeared in this event for the first time. The Unified Team, consisting of some former Soviet republics, competed in the only Summer Games the Unified Team existed. One Yugoslav athlete competed as an "Independent Olympic Participant." The United States made its 21st appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.
Competition format
The competition retained the basic four-round format from 1920. The "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1964, was used for the first round. There were 9 first-round heats, each with 7 or 8 runners. The top three runners in each heat advanced, along with the next five fastest overall. The 32 quarterfinalists were divided into 4 quarterfinals with 8 runners each; the top four athletes in each quarterfinal heat advanced to the semifinals, with no "fastest loser" spots. The semifinals featured 2 heats of 8 runners each. The top four runners in each semifinal heat advanced, making an eight-man final.[2][4]
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1976 Summer Olympics.
