Men's 400 metres at the Games of the I Olympiad
Venue	Panathinaiko Stadium
Dates	April 6 (heats) April 7 (final)
Competitors	7 from 4 nations
Medalists
Tom Burke United States   Herbert Jamison United States   Charles Gmelin Great Britain
	1900»

Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m		men
400 m		men
800 m		men
1500 m		men
110 m hurdles		men
Road events
Marathon		men
Field events
Long jump		men
Triple jump		men
High jump		men
Pole vault		men
Shot put		men
Discus throw		men

The men's 400 metres race was the second-shortest of the flat-track events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The competition's preliminary round was the last held on the first day, 6 April. The competitors were split into two groups. The top two runners in each heat advanced to the final, which was held on the second day, 7 April.

7 athletes from 4 nations competed. 5 of those athletes were also in the 100 metres.

Contents 1 Results 1.1 Heats 1.1.1 Heat 1 1.1.2 Heat 2 1.2 Final 2 References

[edit] Results

[edit] Heats

The first round heats were held on 6 April. The top two placers in each of the two groups advanced.

[edit] Heat 1

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Herbert Jamison (USA)	56.8 s
2	Fritz Hoffmann (GER)	58.6 s
3-4	Kurt Dörry (GER)	Unknown
	Alphonse Grisel (FRA)	Unknown

Herbert Jamison of the United States won the first heat with a time of 56.8 seconds, with Fritz Hoffmann of Germany coming in second. Hoffmann and Grisel each had to run 402 metres after being penalized for false starts.

Alphonse Grisel of France and Kurt Dörry of Germany also competed in this race, though their final positions are unclear.

[edit] Heat 2

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Tom Burke (USA)	58.4 s
2	Charles Gmelin (GBR)	Unknown
3	Frantz Reichel (FRA)	Unknown

Another American, Tom Burke, won the second heat with a time of 58.4 seconds despite being tired from already having run the 100 metres. Charles Gmelin placed second.

[edit] Final

Place	Athlete	Time
1	Tom Burke (USA)	54.2 s
2	Herbert Jamison (USA)	55.2 s
3	Charles Gmelin (GBR)	55.6 s
4	Fritz Hoffmann (GER)	55.6 s

The final resulted in the American pair taking the gold and silver medals. Gmelin placed third, with Hoffman finishing fourth.

[edit] References

• Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck.  (Digitally available at AAFLA.org)
• Mallon, Bill; & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9.  (Excerpt available at AAFLA.org)
• Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.