The men's 400 metres was an Olympic event for the fourth time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The competition was held from 21 July 1908, to 23 July 1908. The rerun of the final was held on 25 July 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres= mile in circumference.
37 runners from 11 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
It was the most controversial event of the London Games: the final resulted in the disqualification of American runner John Carpenter who was accused by the British officials of a manoeuvre that was legal under American rules (under which Carpenter normally competed) but prohibited by the British rules under which the race was run.
As part of the disqualification of Carpenter, a second final race was ordered, with Halswelle to face the other two finalists again. These athletes, William Robbins and John Taylor, were both Americans, and they boycotted the re-run final to protest the judges' decision.
Thus, Halswelle was the only medallist in the 400 metres.
Background
This was the fourth time the event was held. Only one of the runners from 1904, Paul Pilgrim of the United States, returned. Defending gold medalist Harry Hillman, also American, was in London but competed only in the hurdles. The favorite was British runner Wyndham Halswelle, the 1905, 1906, and 1908 AAA champion.
Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands appeared in the event for the first time. The United States made its fourth appearance in the event, the only nation to compete in it at the first four Olympic Games.
Competition format
The competition consisted of three rounds. The first round had 16 heats, ranging from 0 to 4 runners (the second heat was cancelled because no athletes started). Only the top runner in each heat advanced to the semifinals. The semifinal was to consist of 4 heats of 4 runners each, but the final heat had only 3 runners due to the cancellation of the second heat in the first round. Again, only the top runner in each semifinal heat advanced, making a four-man final.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics.
(*) 440 yards (= 402.34 m)
(**) This track was 536.45 metres= mile in circumference.
In the semi-finals Wyndham Halswelle set a new Olympic record with 48.4 seconds.
Schedule
{| class="wikitable"
! Date
! Time
! Round
|-
| Tuesday, 21 July 1908 || || Round 1
|-
| Wednesday, 22 July 1908 || 17:30 || Semifinals
|-
| Thursday, 23 July 1908 || 17:30 || Final (original)
|-
|style=background:lemonchiffon| Saturday, 25 July 1908 ||style=background:lemonchiffon| 12:00 ||style=background:lemonchiffon| Final (rerun)
|}
Results
Heats
The heats were run on 21 July 1908. The winner of each advanced to the semifinals, with all other runners eliminated.
Heat 1
Montague led by twelve yards when he finished.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Montague, Edwin"| Edwin Montague ||align=left| || 50.2 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Pilgrim, Paul"| Paul Pilgrim ||align=left| || 51.4 ||
|}
Heat 2
The second heat was scratched as there were no starters.
Heat 3
Ryle had no competition in the third heat.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Ryle, Edward"| Edward Ryle ||align=left| || walkover ||
|}
Heat 4
Taylor won by twelve yards.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Taylor, John"| John Taylor ||align=left| || 50.8 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Penna, Roberto"| Roberto Penna ||align=left| || 52.4 ||
|-
| 3 ||align=left data-sort-value="Låftman, Sven"| Sven Låftman ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|}
Heat 5
Nicol won easily, holding a twelve-yard lead over Guttormsen as he crossed the finish line.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Nicol, George"| George Nicol ||align=left| || 50.8 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Guttormsen, Oscar"| Oscar Guttormsen ||align=left| || 52.4 ||
|}
Heat 6
Eight yards separated the two runners when Malfait crossed the line.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Malfait, Georges"| Georges Malfait ||align=left| || 50.0 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Buddo, Donald"| Donald Buddo ||align=left| || 51.2 ||
|}
Heat 7
Robbins had no difficulty in this race, leading from start to finish to win by six yards.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Robbins, William"| William Robbins ||align=left| || 50.4 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Nagy, József"| József Nagy ||align=left| || 51.1 ||
|-
| 3 ||align=left data-sort-value="Chavasse, Noel Godfrey"| Noel Godfrey Chavasse ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|-
| 4 ||align=left data-sort-value="Henny, Victor"| Victor Henny||align=left| || Unknown ||
|}
Heat 8
Prout's lead was only two yards when he finished.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Prout, William C."| William C. Prout ||align=left| || 50.4 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Chavasse, Christopher Maude"| Christopher Maude Chavasse ||align=left| || 50.7 ||
|}
Heat 9
Ramey's victory was one of the closest of the first round, with only a yard and a half separating him from Astley.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Ramey, Horace"| Horace Ramey ||align=left| || 51.0 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Astley, Arthur"| Arthur Astley ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|}
Heat 10
Jacquemin took an early lead, but pulled up lame, allowing Sebert to win by 20 yards.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Sebert, Louis"| Louis Sebert ||align=left| || 50.2 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Cartasegna, Massimo"| Massimo Cartasegna ||align=left| || 52.7 ||
|-
|data-sort-value=3| — ||align=left data-sort-value="Jacquemin, Victor"| Victor Jacquemin ||align=left| || ||
|}
Heat 11
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Atlee, John"| John Atlee ||align=left| || 50.4 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Patterson, Alan"| Alan Patterson ||align=left| || 50.6 ||
|-
| 3 ||align=left data-sort-value="Tarella, Giuseppe"| Giuseppe Tarella ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|}
Heat 12
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Davies, Charles"| Charles Davies ||align=left| || 50.4 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Held, Cornelis den"| Cornelis den Held ||align=left| || 51.0 ||
|}
Heat 13
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Merriam, Ned"| Ned Merriam ||align=left| || 52.2 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Robb, Robert"| Robert Robb ||align=left| || 52.5 ||
|}
Heat 14
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Carpenter, John"| John Carpenter ||align=left| || 49.8 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Trieloff, Otto"| Otto Trieloff ||align=left| || 50.9 ||
|-
| 3 ||align=left data-sort-value="Ringstrand, Arvid"| Arvid Ringstrand ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|-
| 4 ||align=left data-sort-value="Wal, Henk van der"| Henk van der Wal ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|}
Heat 15
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Halswelle, Wyndham"| Wyndham Halswelle ||align=left| || 49.4 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Selding, Frederick de"| Frederick de Selding ||align=left| || 50.8 ||
|-
| 3 ||align=left data-sort-value="Evers, Bram"| Bram Evers ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|}
Heat 16
Young won by 30 yards.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Young, G. W."| George Young ||align=left| || 52.4 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Hoogveld, Jacobus"| Jacobus Hoogveld ||align=left| || 54.3 ||
|}
Semifinals
The semifinals were held on 22 July 1908. Winners advanced, all others were eliminated.
Semifinal 1
Carpenter led throughout, with Davies challenging him at the end. Carpenter was "slowing fast in the last thirty yards" but managed to hold off Davies and win "by three yards."
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank || Athlete || Nation || Time || Notes
|- bgcolor=bbf3bb
| 1 ||align=left data-sort-value="Carpenter, John"| John Carpenter ||align=left| || 49.4 ||
|-
| 2 ||align=left data-sort-value="Davies, Charles"| Charles Davies ||align=left| || 49.8 ||
|-
| 3 ||align=left data-sort-value="Merriam, Ned"| Ned Merriam ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|-
| 4 ||align=left data-sort-value="Young, G. W."| George Young ||align=left| || Unknown ||
|}
Semifinal 2
Halswelle broke the Olympic record in this semifinal. He took the lead early and "was right away at the half distance," ultimately winning "by 12 yards."